Maclock

Can they do this? I am mildly annoyed to say the least. I have a confirmed ticket in hand and the woman at the AC office in my city booked it for 100,000 miles, assuring me that she could do so (she made the booking in my presence). Then later that same day, AFTER the ticket was issued and sent to me, she called me to say that Aeroplan wants another 15,000 miles.

The lady at the AC office said that I have up until the day before departure to call them back and authorize the release of an extra 15,000 miles. I pointed out to her that:

(1) she ticketed me at 100,000 miles;
(2) she said it was alright because even though it was now an all-AC itinerary, it had been a Star Alliance trans-Pacific business class reward so the 100,000 mile level was just fine; and
(3) the "General Rules" section of my confirmed Aeroplan ticket states: "Flight Reward mileage level quotes are valid at the time of redemption and only for the itinerary booked." (She reissued my ticket at the 100,000 mile reward level on an all-AC itinerary; no changes have been made since and I don't anticipate that any will be made.)

I really don't want to give up those 15,000 miles. As I explained politely to this nice woman, the rules suggest that I shouldn't have to do so. That being said, I also told her that I don't want her to get in trouble.

It's not unlike dining in a restaurant: I inquire about the special of the day; I am told how much it is; I order it, I pay for it and then when driving off the parking lot, someone chases me down and tells me that I have to pay another $150 for it. Ummmm...no.

Offer, acceptance, all supported by consideration. Terms agreed. We are done.

Would AE do something to cancel my ticket or should I not bother with it further and just turn up and fly as scheduled? Anyone?

Stranger

Sounds like this a case where you initially were issued a Star reward, which got changed at some point to an AC-only reward?

So the question then is: who initiated the change, them or you?

Maclock

I initiated it, but AC reissued the ticket at the 100,000 mile reward level and told me that it was OK. The AC agent was aware of the 100,000/115,000 mile distinction at the time she reissued the ticket. She told me that I would be given the ticket for 100,000 miles.

The ticket was reissued and I had it in hand for hours before she called me the first time looking for another 15,000 miles.

The Lev

If the change was at your request, then you may be out of luck. You could just add a side-trip on Air New Zealand and avoid all this nuisance.

Keep in mind that AC and AE are different companies, so the AC person is proably not authorized to "give away" 15,000 points.

I'd be careful lest you are denied boarding over a lousy 15,000 points.

Stranger

Adding a side trip sounds like a good idea.

As to being denied boarding, I don't think they are supposed to do that if the ticket has been issued. Proper remedy would be more like invoicing him for the difference; in fact I am surprised they didn't just take the 15000 points from his account. But then, you never know; still, if they would deny boarding, I would think that would be valid grounds fro a formal complaint.

But anyway, to me the real issue is that the agent might end up in trouble, which is not fair.

ALW

I have great sympathy for the agent in this situation (and in most) but if the agent issued a ticket and gave incorrect assurances to a customer, perhaps getting into trouble (not fired, but a reminder) is appropriate. In any case, since the error is known by (AC|AP), the agent's not likely to get into more trouble for doing the wrong thing and the customer refusing to correct it, than for doing the wrong thing and the customer agreeing. I say all this on the assumption that it wasn't the agent who discovered the error but AC|AP.

=aw

bestof2k9

Hi Maclock,

So im trying to get this straight. An Ac reservations employee made the aeroplan booking on your behalf? So she phoned the call center for you?
You say its an all AC itinerary but with a trans-pacific star alliance flight?
You originally booked an *A reward and then changed it to an all AC itinirery and the AC agent told you it was fine for 100k miles?? Im quite surprised that they haven't just taken the miles out when ticket was reissued....

everywhere

I love Flyertalk analogies.

Why should you be expected to 'pay' for someone else's error? OTH if it means that staff are less likely to make errors in your favour....

Maclock

I don't know exactly what AC ticket agent did. She did call someone and discussed the situation with this individual for maybe five-to-ten minutes. As it was in a language that I neither speak nor understand, I could only pick out a few words.

The ticket having been been issued, I think they may need my permission to remove any more miles. Basically, the ticket is bought and paid for at the 100,000 mile reward level.

Maclock

Yes, after the ticket was issued, it was Aeroplan who told the agent that she needs to collect another 15,000 miles.

As noted, I don't want the AC ticket agent to get in trouble.

[Emphasis added.]

Maclock

I wish that were an option, but that would put me well over the MPM for this trip.

I would argue that failing to collect is not exactly the same as giving away. The reservation system to which the AC agent has access accepted the booking at the 100,000 mile reward level. I was told specifically by the agent that she would be able to maintain the reward at the 100,000 mile level and that 115,000 miles would not be required. The ticket was confirmed by the agent, and it was reissued and given to me on the spot. If there's some kind of problem in the AC/AP interface, is that really my concern? It sounds to me like something that the two companies might want to sort out between themselves.

Agreed, but having a validly issued ticket in hand, I feel much more confident.

Maclock

Unfortunately, I cannot do that because it would put me well over the MPM for this trip.

That is also my understanding.

As the AC ticket agent now proposes to take an extra 15,000 reward miles which are rightfully my property to correct an alleged error, then she needs my permission to access my account. It's no different than being asked permission to charge one's credit card or to reach into one's wallet and take out a few dollars.

I don't want to risk being denied boarding.

And I don't want the agent to get in trouble. Given the prevailing culture in my current location, though, if she would get in trouble for such a situation, it is likely that she is already in hot water for the alleged mistake having been made in the first place.

bestof2k9

Actually thats incorrect. The milleage level quoted is valid at time of booking for the proper reward. They really dont need your permission to deduct that extra 15k miles. They regularly do audits of the system to find mistakes like these, and deduct additional milleage. I received a call once (a few months ago) from a customer was inquiring about two 25k deductions from his account and after looking into it it was because they did an audit and found 2 rewards dated from 2006 that didnt have the proper amount of miles deducted.

Maclock

I'm tempted to fly on the 100,000 mile reward and see if AP deducts the 15,000 extra reward miles it claims it is owed at a later date.

*A Flyer

That may be what AE does but that doesn't make it legal.

<commence legal rant>

This is a very simple case of a Sale of Goods contract. The goods are advertised at 115,000 points. At this point we have an invitation to treat, just like the tag on a TV at BestBuy. When the agent told Maclock that it was fine for 100,000 points that was a reduction (on the part of AE) to the price. When Maclock told the agent to ticket it he essentially offered to buy it at 100,000 points and by removing 100,000 points AE accepted his offer at that price. It is a cut and dried contract scenario with offer, acceptance and consideration. They cannot legally claim the additional 15,000 points unless they are providing an additional promise in return for the increased consideration that would be paid.

The bottom line is that even though AE does not advertise its reward at 100,000 points, that does not mean that they cannot sell the fare at that price. In this case they did. The fact that AE's agent specifically noted the normal difference but said that in this case it did not apply and the fact that it was ticketed at that price further indicated that AE cannot recover the miles.

<end legal rant>

I would fly the ticket and if they try to deny boarding or unilaterally take the miles either now or in the future I would be writing several letters to AE and AC specifically pointing out that their actions are illegal as they have accepted the contract price in this case of 100,000 points and thus cannot claim the additional that they want .