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Old Jul 8, 2014, 8:13 am
  #1  
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Refund for Baggage fee

I was flying from Chicago Ohare to Bahrain via London, and the agent when I checked in insisted on charging me a baggage fee. I told her I was gold status on both airlines(which I was) but her system did not reflect it. She insisted that there was no manager on duty to help me resolve it, and my only choice was to call aadvantage customer service, which I did and they were closed for Memorial Day. So my only choice was to pay and try to get it back later.

3 phone calls and 3 emails later, I am nowhere near getting my money back.
When I call, they tell me I have to email, when I email, I get either a lame response not addressing my request or instructions to call.

Anyone have any suggestions?
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 10:52 am
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If you've made a reasonable effort to correct it (and I think you have) and you paid via a CC, I'd dispute the charge with my card provider.

If you paid cash or something else that isn't disputable - not sure. Keep calling I guess??
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 11:01 am
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If you have a Twitter account, try contacting @AmericanAir. You'll be asked to provide the details via Direct Message and follow them so they can respond likewise.
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 1:00 pm
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DOT rules require that your baggage allowance be printed on your e-ticket receipt. Presumably that shows the free bags. Send that off with your CC dispute and you should see your credit soon enough.

As an aside, it's always worth having a hard copy of your e-ticket receipt. The agent sees what you see on your receipt and that is what will govern your flight. It's also helpful because if you see an error on your e-ticket receipt, e.g., no free bags, you can get that fixed in advance.
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 1:11 pm
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Originally Posted by bchandler02
If you've made a reasonable effort to correct it (and I think you have) and you paid via a CC, I'd dispute the charge with my card provider.

If you paid cash or something else that isn't disputable - not sure. Keep calling I guess??
IMHO, This is not a valid card dispute.
He gave the airline his credit card to pay for the baggage fees, and signed for the charge. You can't agree to the charge, present your card, and then tell your credit card issuer you want a chargeback.

OP: How many bags did you have? How much did you pay?
How much did they weigh? Something doesn't sound right here.
Did your boarding pass show your status?
You stated you were gold on both carriers. Which frequent flyer number was in the reservation? If it was the AA one, did the status show up correctly when you logged into AA.com?
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 1:20 pm
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Originally Posted by mvoight
IMHO, This is not a valid card dispute.
He gave the airline his credit card to pay for the baggage fees, and signed for the charge.

OP: How many bags did you have? How much did you pay?
How much did they weigh? Something doesn't sound right here.
It's not a valid dispute as being an unknown charge, but if a merchant sells you something and then won't process a legitimate refund in a timely manner, then you can/should request the assistance of your CC to get their attention. Unfortunately there are some very large merchants (like AA) that make if near impossible to do a charge-back and the CC may choose to absorb the charge.

It sounds like the agent was taking advantage of no one being available to correct them. If the OP has status and status says free baggage, then that's what they should get.
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 6:43 pm
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Seems more info is needed. At least one bag is free on most international routes. I assume that this charge was for an excess bag or an overweight bag. I would still try to get AA to refund before going to the CC issuer.
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 7:18 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
DOT rules require that your baggage allowance be printed on your e-ticket receipt. Presumably that shows the free bags. Send that off with your CC dispute and you should see your credit soon enough.

As an aside, it's always worth having a hard copy of your e-ticket receipt. The agent sees what you see on your receipt and that is what will govern your flight. It's also helpful because if you see an error on your e-ticket receipt, e.g., no free bags, you can get that fixed in advance.
After reading your post, I decided to print my e-ticket receipts for my upcoming AA flights. None of the receipts show anything, such as charges or free, about baggage with the exception of the following notice:
BAGGAGE INFORMATION
To enhance security, FAA requirements mandate that customers are allowed one carry-on bag plus one personal item onboard. To learn more about current carry-on baggage allowances including checked bag policies and applicable charges, please visit www.aa.com/baggageinfo.
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 7:31 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
DOT rules require that your baggage allowance be printed on your e-ticket receipt. Presumably that shows the free bags. Send that off with your CC dispute and you should see your credit soon enough.

As an aside, it's always worth having a hard copy of your e-ticket receipt. The agent sees what you see on your receipt and that is what will govern your flight. It's also helpful because if you see an error on your e-ticket receipt, e.g., no free bags, you can get that fixed in advance.
In the past I have had my free bags shown on the e-ticket receipt. For a future domestic flight (booked via the EXP desk) it shows $25 as the fee for this first bag with the following disclaimer: "*Note: If you qualify for elite bag allowance, your privileges will be applied at baggage check.".

So I'm not sure the e-ticket receipt would help the OP
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Old Jul 8, 2014, 8:27 pm
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Originally Posted by omarhaydar
I was flying from Chicago Ohare to Bahrain via London, and the agent when I checked in insisted on charging me a baggage fee. I told her I was gold status on both airlines(which I was) but her system did not reflect it. She insisted that there was no manager on duty to help me resolve it, and my only choice was to call aadvantage customer service, which I did and they were closed for Memorial Day. So my only choice was to pay and try to get it back later.

3 phone calls and 3 emails later, I am nowhere near getting my money back.
When I call, they tell me I have to email, when I email, I get either a lame response not addressing my request or instructions to call.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Which airline's FFP number was in your reservation record? AA Gold does not give you any additional checked-baggage allowance on international itineraries.

If you wanted to take advantage of the additional checked-baggage allowance offered to BA Gold elites, you needed to either: 1) have your BAEC account number in your reservation record; or 2) show your BAEC Gold card to the AA agent when checking in at ORD.
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Old Jul 10, 2014, 3:21 am
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Thanks for the responses.
I had 3 bags, and even combined the weight did not exceed the weight limit for 2.
The agent told me that if my gold status on either airline was indicated, she would not charge me for the extra bag.
It was a gulf air ticket, and the reservation had both my gulf air ff number (for the gulf air leg) and my AAdvantage (for the American Air leg).
I guess I will wait for the last reply from American and then dispute the charge to my cc if it is not satisfactory.
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Old Jul 10, 2014, 3:22 am
  #12  
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I did also present my Gulf Air Gold card and my Aadvantage gold old card and receipt for my payment to renew my Aadvantage gold to the agent, to no avail.
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Old Jul 10, 2014, 3:36 am
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Originally Posted by omarhaydar
Thanks for the responses.
I had 3 bags, and even combined the weight did not exceed the weight limit for 2.
The agent told me that if my gold status on either airline was indicated, she would not charge me for the extra bag.
It was a gulf air ticket, and the reservation had both my gulf air ff number (for the gulf air leg) and my AAdvantage (for the American Air leg).
I guess I will wait for the last reply from American and then dispute the charge to my cc if it is not satisfactory.
Unless im mistaken, isn't Bahrain only a 2 bag limit for free?
a 3rd bag would indeed get an extra bag fee, and there is no extra baggage allowance on international flights for AAdvantage Gold.

It doesn't matter about the weight, bag allowances are calculated on a piece per piece basis.
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Old Jul 10, 2014, 3:43 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by omarhaydar
Thanks for the responses.
I had 3 bags, and even combined the weight did not exceed the weight limit for 2.
The agent told me that if my gold status on either airline was indicated, she would not charge me for the extra bag.
It was a gulf air ticket, and the reservation had both my gulf air ff number (for the gulf air leg) and my AAdvantage (for the American Air leg).
I guess I will wait for the last reply from American and then dispute the charge to my cc if it is not satisfactory.
It doesn't make any difference if the weight of 3 was less than the limit for 2.
You exceeded the piece limit.
Gold status on neither carrier gets you an extra bag. So, you should be charged for the third bag.

You are still skipping the answers needed.
How much did you pay?
If it was just for the 3rd bag, then you should have been charged.
By what basis are you saying you get 3 free bags?
Even Gulf Air doesn't say you get 3 free
Falcon Gold
If the AA flight is a codehare
"Two checked pieces, provided that the total linear dimensions (height + width + depth) for each bag does not exceed 158 cm (62 inches) and the weight of each bag does not exceed 32 kg (70 lbs)"

If the flight is NOT a Gulf Air codeshare, you get the baggage limit for that carrier.
"Gulf Air tickets issued for travel on other Airlines to/from the USA and Canada

If you purchase a Gulf Air ticket to/from the USA or Canada that involves a connection with a flight operated by another airline (for American Airlines see policy above), your free baggage allowance is based on a combination of how many piece(s) you can carry and a maximum weight per individual piece. Individual airlines have varying policies on this"
http://www.gulfair.com/English/info/...llowances.aspx

Last edited by mvoight; Jul 10, 2014 at 4:03 am
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Old Jul 10, 2014, 4:01 am
  #15  
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Originally Posted by guv1976
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Which airline's FFP number was in your reservation record? AA Gold does not give you any additional checked-baggage allowance on international itineraries.

If you wanted to take advantage of the additional checked-baggage allowance offered to BA Gold elites, you needed to either: 1) have your BAEC account number in your reservation record; or 2) show your BAEC Gold card to the AA agent when checking in at ORD.
Where did OP say he was BA Gold? I assumed he was Gold on Gulf Air (and AA)
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