Cathay refund problem, denies assistance
 

Refund a ticket on 8/18, didn't see the money back to the AE I used. Call Cathay. They claimed it's refunded on 8/23 on their record. Called AE. No evidence of such refund. Called Cathay both Reservation and MPO, both said they can't help any more than saying their record shows refund happened on 8/23. I asked them to investigate and they refused, adamant that what their record shows is proof enough, and the problem is on AE side. Called AE, didn't have any record Cathay attempted a refund.

Anything more I can do about this?

Are you certain you used that card to pay for the transaction? And the CX records show the refund going to the correct account?

If so i would ask AE to chase it. CX are more likely to listen to them.

Ive refunded lots of CX tickets and NEVER got the refund credited to my account that quickly (5 days). Perhaps the 8/23 refund is simply their internal approval for that and it hasn't been sent to AE yet? Usually refunds occur for me in 2-3 weeks.

It takes me 2-3 weeks for any refunds to show up - revenue ticket cancellations, award ticket cancellations,

23/8 is probably when CX approved the refund. My guess is it'll show up on your side next week.

i would say relax. refund takes ages and in past money showed up as late as a mth....

keep waiting

File a chargeback with AMEX.

If CX has been legitimately approved the refund, CX does not mind a chargeback at all.

There is sometimes a period where a refund from an airline (or hotel) has been submitted/approved/completed (or whatever term they use) but doesn't show up in the side of the bank yet. It's frustrating since you're on the hook for that amount until it does.

I'd ask for the record of the refund from CX then wait another week and if it doesn't show up, file a dispute with AE forwarding the record to them.

IIRC AmEx will deduct the anticipated refund from the amount you owe and not charge interest and penalties, provided that the refund does eventually come through to your account. Doing this might involve filing a dispute/chargeback, so think carefully if it's worth it.

Thanks guys. Called AE again and the agent actually told me about this and said just filed a dispute and let AE take over from here, and they will deduct that amount from my obligation until the issue is resolved.

Thanks guys!

Does itinerary involve a US point? If so, US laws require carrier to post refund to credit card within 7 business days.

DOT has dinged a few carriers for routinely taking 8+ weeks.

The chargeback route, presuming that you have used a US-issued CC (or another country with similar chargeback rules) is far the best way to go. Just request the refund from the vendor, e.g. CX, give it 7 business days and on the 8th day file the chargeback dispute.

Advantages are that you receive an immediate temporary credit which restores your CL if you are concerned about that, forestalls interest accumulation, and puts the shoe on CX's foot. Given that CX has already agreed to the refund, it won't do anything and, in due course, the temporary credit will become final.

On the other hand, if the CX refund arrives in the meantime, the card-issuer will match it up with the dispute and the temporary credit will become final sooner.

Bottom line here is that time is money and it ought not require multiple calls to get anything done.

While FT is popular in the U.S., keep in mind AM is a Hong Kong-based program.

It is better to presume that it is a Hong Kong credit card rather than one from the U.S.

Cancelled my ticket 8/7, still haven't received the funds back into my Amex card although I was informed it would take 4-6 weeks.

Another reason to use a good physical travel agent. They offset the funds they owe from what they are owed, and thus I get refunds of fully refundable fares overnight.

But people balk at paying $35 for a $7,500 ticket for such assistance.

Maybe they do in Canada but in Hong Kong my work travel agent makes me wait three months for a refund which is ridiculous.