I stupidly purchased a "value price" ticket on Travelocity last week. When I called to upgrade my flight (I'm a platinum member on this particular airline) I was told "Oh sorry, you can't upgrade or do anything on this ticket. This is a bulk ticket and you can't even call us if you need help, like a "regular" travel agent or airline-issued ticket. Needless to say, i was SHOCKED. I did notice (too late) in the fine print that this ticket was ineligible for FF miles, but it didn't say that buying this kind of ticket turned me from a preferred customer to a carry-on bag! I called all the way up to a guy named Steve Kaufman, who is the "Director of Operations" at Travelocity and he rudely told me "an upgrade is a ticket change, and this ticket is not changable". He also mentioned that "once a ticket is issued, it is *impossible* to ever refund it (bull) and that it doesn't matter if "minor" restrictions are disclosed or not, non-refundable is non-refundable. Does this seem reasonable to you??

Restrictions, answers and conditions...YES.

The attitude, NO...perhaps after working your way up you picked up a bit of an attitude that you received back???

When buying from a price slasher you need to be very careful and read all the fine print and expect no more that is explicitely offered. Now you know, and can decide for next time if the savings was worth it or not.

There are some really informative site on dealing with Priceline. You might want to run a search.

I am curious... what is the bait and switch?

Did they misrepresent themselves in the fine print? or did you not read it?

Seems harsh to be blaming Travelocity for this problem.

William

dnadir:

What is a "value priced" ticet. How is Travelocity posting the disclaimers on this ticket. Lately, I have been using sidestep and I am very happy with it.

Great replies above!

But, dnadir, this topic should have been posted in the General TravelTalk forum.

Just for future reference.

Apparently, a "value priced" ticket is a ticket that Travelocity buys in bulk. They negotiate with the airlines, and then sell a ticket that isn't subject to the rules of a non "bulk" ticket. In this case, no frequent flyer miles, no upgrades, no airline change even for cancellation or delay... Some of this they document, and some they don't. The airline claims that Travelocity can even negotiate that you don't get a meal, or that you cannot bring *any* carry-on baggage onto the flight! Buyer beware!!

Ditto for Priceline.com tickets too - be careful!

DNADIR,

Again, what was the fine print at Travelocity?

What did they disclose or not disclose?

Still not sure where they are wrong.

Help me understand.

William

Maybe posting the thread in that Forum will have someone else with the same experience add to the story?

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~ Glen ~