scubadu

To be honest, I'm not aware of any data point where anyone that has properly followed guidance in this thread failed to have the credit eventually post. I'm sure mia will eventually come along to the provide one or two exceptions to this rule, but I continue to be perplexed at the continual need for the "emotional security blanket" this thread apparently provides to people.

I mean, you are literally paying $200 for "gift cards" worth $200, so even in the worst case, if the credits didn't post (which history shows they always do), you'd still have a currency worth $200 for purchasing UA airfare. Now, if ones counter to that is, "but I don't like flying UA in the first place" Then my counter to that counter, is then why would you be buying UA Travelbank credit to begin with, because if the credits do successfully post, then you have effectively committed yourself to fly an airline you apparently don't want to fly.

Anyhow, I continue to hold the position that this thread would be far more valuable if the only postings were true failures (e.g. over 30 days from purchase with no credit) of the credit to post. That should be the only necessity for this thread. But sadly, it's like 95%:

• "I'm planning to purchase TB credits tomorrow and I'll come back and post when I have."
• "I purchased TB today, but the meter hasn't moved yet and the charge says it's 'airfare.' Will it still post or am I screwed"
• "I purchased yesterday but the meter hasn't moved yet and the credit hasn't posted yet. What should I do? Should I call Amex? United?"
• "I purchased five days ago and the credit hasn't posted and the meter hasn't moved yet. I can't remember if I allowed 24 hours between making my airline selection and purchasing TB credit. Do you think that is it?
• "I purchased 10 days ago and the credit hasn't posted yet and the meter hasn't even moved. Everyone else's seem to post faster than this, I think the 'gig' is up for real this time..."
• "I purchased 11 days ago and no credit, what am I supposed to tell my wife? This was the whole basis for selling her on getting a $695 annual fee credit card. Cheers to those that have gotten their credits in the past, but it looks like this no longer works. I will NOT be renewing my Amex Platinum card when the annual fee posts."
• "I purchased 12 days ago and the meter moved!!!! This is amazing, maybe it's back on, or am I getting ahead of myself? Looks like it might still work"
• "I purchased 13 days ago and the credit has finally posted!! Whoot! Whoot! It's seems to still working. See you all again next year!"

Regards

Sloflyer032

Amazing work. You just need to add a bullet between the 1st two:

"Is travelbank dead? I went to the website and could not find it. Do i have to login? Looks like United pulled the plug once and for all."

Dr Jabadski

The thread from which this post was relocated (Airline fee $250/$200 reimbursement reports: UA only (2023)) would be far shorter, but less helpful, if the only postings were true failures. When it’s time for any given individual to buy TB (with the expectation of triggering the Airline Fee credit) it’s helpful and comforting to be able to read multiple recent positive datapoints instead of (potentially) being the first negative datapoint.

That said written, it would also be immensely pertinent and appropriate to post concise and accurate datapoints: type of card, date, purchase amount, credit date, credit amount. Meter movement (on day prior to credit posting) correlates almost 100% rendering meter movement datapoints insignificant and unnecessary. Negative and pending posts within 10-12 days of purchase are similarly unhelpful.

scubadu

First, why is "someone else" always supposed to the "first negative data point?" I reject that right there. We are all playing the same game and there is absolutely no reason that YOU (or anyone else) shouldn't be the data point you seek, and yes, that might mean at some point, if the Travelbank world really does end, YOU (or me) might be the negative data point. To be crystal clear, we are all basically exploiting a "loophole" which is explicitly disallowed by the terms and conditions of the benefit, so every single one of us should be fully prepared to be the "first negative data point" if this thing ever stops working.

And guess what? You'll still have a currency that allows you to purchase United Airlines airfare, dollar for dollar, in the amount you purchased if it ever stops working. That doesn't exactly strike me as a world ending or devestating outcome. And frankly, if someone doesn't have the finances to float this amount of purchase or even eat it if this loophole really does get closed eventually, then honestly, they shouldn't even be playing this game.

I mean, seriously, at what point do we have enough data points to be "comfortable?" We literally have years and years and years and years of data points. Remember, this thread gets reset every calendar year and the previous years thread gets locked, but those are still absolutely valid data points. So, again, we have an almost never ending stream of data points validating this process. How many are enough?

At some point, doesn't it make sense to just assume it works until such time as it doesn't? (and I mean really doesn't, not fake panic doesn't). Again, the downside of making that assumption does not even remotely seem catastrophic (i.e. you received a "currency" dollar for dollar relative to how much you spent)

Regards

friedablass

We've had this argument in the past (perhaps earlier in this thread but definitely in prior year's threads). Everyone has their opinion about if to post both successes and failures or just failures. I'm ok with either way.

However, what I'm not ok with is, similar to what scubadu mentioned, that people should have multiple posts about their pending purchases, posted purchases, time waiting for meter to move, and credit posting (along with all the commentary he/ she wrote above ). It's completely not necessary. At most, the success posts that are written should follow the format that Dr Jabadski recommended which happens only AFTER the credit has successfully been received and nothing before that.

blitzen

Yes and failures should be not reported before 14 days passed (as the typical transaction time seems to be 10 days nowadays).

Kacee

Regrettably, no one is going to change the posting habits of the self-absorbed; they're too self-absorbed to realize they qualify.

scubadu

I honestly agree with you. That said, "if there is a will, there is a way." What I mean by that is FT certainly has precendance for defining (and policing) threads that require a specific "format" to be generally accepted. I don't know how many threads there are like it, but two examples would be:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...tels-only.html and
Sale Fares Pricing ONLY

The first one (FHR thread) is not aggressively policed by moderators, but seems to stay largely on track and most posts respect the recommended format.
The second, the QR Sales Fare thread is more aggressively moderated and non-compliant posts end up getting deleted, so developing some discipline in posters is possible if there is a will. If posters are "trained" that there is a required format for posting within a thread and that not compliant posts will be summarily deleted, I think a new norm could be established in fairly short order. That said, I don't get the sense there is a will in this forum though.


Regards

notquiteaff

I have previously (probably a few years ago) expressed my thoughts on this, that it basically doesn’t help to have an endless stream of repeat data points. But I guess I don’t really care enough - in a few days I will buy my $250 of Amex Plat and Aspire Q1 travel bank credit, and then I will ignore the thread for the next three months, and maybe longer if I use the Aspire for some other airline credit. Which also means I likely won’t be answering any questions, especially any redundant ones (which seem to be the most common ones). And I don’t know that it is worth the moderator effort to police these threads more.

ZenFlyer

Fwiw, without intending to pre-empt our moderator, but since folks were already off to the races with a new thread for 2024, I've made a suggestion there for limiting the reporting of Travel Bank-related activity. Defer to @mia if that's not appropriate or needs to be moved elsewhere. It did not seem that folks who were already posting in that thread had seen this discussion.

mia

Happy New Year

We can have a constructive discussion about the best way to use Airline Fee Reimbursement threads. The discussion cannot include disparaging characterizations of those who post differently. People come to Flyertalk with different experiences, needs and expectations. Everyone is welcome. The most effective way to discourage inefficient posting is silence. Do not reply unless you have something helpful to add. Posts which attack others will be removed; this includes sarcasm, ridicule, mockery, and hectoring.

This is the time of year when I close and restart threads. Please reply to this post by suggesting succinct language which could be included in the Wikiposts to encourage more productive posting.

friedablass

Happy New Year!

I believe we've already set up the Wiki in the new UA thread with the suggestions that were made. If you think anything needs to be changed/added please feel free to update.

Thank you for your efforts in keeping FT open and welcome to all.

mia

Very good. For reference, here is the language from that thread:

I am travelling, and will not comment on specifics now.

ZenFlyer

I think the language drafted by friedablass in the wiki is very good! While I tend to agree with the comment that relatively few people actually read the wiki before posting, I think the wiki is nonetheless useful as a point of reference. I also think what many people pay more attention to in terms of understanding the purpose of a thread is the couple of posts right above their own. It was for that reason that I wanted to flag the issue for consideration at the beginning of the 2024 thread rather than waiting longer.

I agree that FT serves different purposes for different people. But I think that posting everyone's individual worries about whether their credit will post is counterproductive in that it leads more people to feel that they, too, should be counting the hours or minutes until it happens. Maybe there could be some kind of more general thread created that allows people to express their worries and complaints about posting times -- e.g. Coupon Book Complaints -- but keep that separate from the objective data.

Flying Machine

I actually like when people would post when they first made their purchase, I may be the outlier.. however when we updated our post to show the successes all can see. I don’t think scrolling back a few pages is an issue for most. It’s been working well in the prior years. Just a thought…