Cancelled credit card used to book flight; afraid they'll ask for it at check in
Jan 25, 2024, 11:33 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Chicago
Posts: 319
Cancelled credit card used to book flight; afraid they'll ask for it at check in
I have two upcoming flights I book with Avios. One is ORD-LHR (round trip) and the other is ORD-HND (round trip).
In preparing for my trip today, I noticed that my confirmation emails for both of these flights say 'If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.'
I booked with Avios, but still paid several hundred $ in fees for both flights. I paid using my amex business gold, which I cancelled a few months ago.
What's the likelihood that they'll actually ask for the card at check in? I do have an old picture of the front and back of the card. And I could probably download an old statement. Maybe that would suffice?
Any advice is appreciated.
In preparing for my trip today, I noticed that my confirmation emails for both of these flights say 'If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.'
I booked with Avios, but still paid several hundred $ in fees for both flights. I paid using my amex business gold, which I cancelled a few months ago.
What's the likelihood that they'll actually ask for the card at check in? I do have an old picture of the front and back of the card. And I could probably download an old statement. Maybe that would suffice?
Any advice is appreciated.
Jan 25, 2024, 11:45 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 608
I've only been asked once, in OTP. Booked the flight months in advance, by the time I flew card I used had expired and disposed.
Check in demanded to see the card or no fly. Explained calmly, slowly and several times, that card doesn't physically exist any more. Finally they made me 'one time exception'.
Check in demanded to see the card or no fly. Explained calmly, slowly and several times, that card doesn't physically exist any more. Finally they made me 'one time exception'.
Jan 25, 2024, 12:03 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: LCYJFKGIG
Programs: BAEC - Gold, OWE
Posts: 158
I've had this before, but like Swanhunter said not for many years. What I know to work is a photo of the front and back of the card, and simply say you left the physical card at home for "safety." They also accepted seeing the card in my Apple Pay wallet. All they do is check that the last 4 digits match. They don't swipe the card to see if actually valid.
Jan 25, 2024, 12:36 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 1,866
I was asked at Manchester by CX to see my credit card. Cash J ticket paid using an amex that I had cancelled months after booking and before travelling.
I ended up using the desk agent's supervisor's phone to log in to my amex account and show them the old statement.
So really they don't need to see the card, they need to know that it was your card when you booked. So a photo of the card or a paper statement would probably do as well.
I think I got flagged because it wasn't my normal travel pattern. Of course the only time I have ever been asked (in 25 years of semi-regular flying) was the one time I didnt have the card
Why a passport with the same name on it isn't good enough I don't really know.
I ended up using the desk agent's supervisor's phone to log in to my amex account and show them the old statement.
So really they don't need to see the card, they need to know that it was your card when you booked. So a photo of the card or a paper statement would probably do as well.
I think I got flagged because it wasn't my normal travel pattern. Of course the only time I have ever been asked (in 25 years of semi-regular flying) was the one time I didnt have the card
Why a passport with the same name on it isn't good enough I don't really know.
Jan 26, 2024, 12:23 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,449
It was very common with BA once upon a time, but that's 15+ years ago. I did also have quite a painful experience at BOM with UL where they wanted to see the credit card our corp TA had used to book the flights. The TA was Amex and they used a dummy Amex number as payment. Took a while to sort out.
Jan 26, 2024, 12:43 am
#13
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: BAEC, VS Flying Club
Posts: 797
Credit cards are very unlikely to be checked when leaving the US or UK.
Perhaps more likely when leaving countries where there’s a culture of buying tickets at the last minute, and where there’s a high prevalence of fraud.
Perhaps more likely when leaving countries where there’s a culture of buying tickets at the last minute, and where there’s a high prevalence of fraud.
Jan 26, 2024, 2:47 am
#15
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 32
I was asked for the credit card that I used to book last year, in Phuket, By Etihad, the credit card had been cancelled a long time ago, in the end I was able to find online a copy of my credit card statement showing the credit card number with my name. It took a long time to get approval for this as they had to wait for approval from Abu Dhabi to allow me to check-in. It was a J ticket that was purchased. This was the first time in many years I was asked for this and I have not been asked since.