just got back from a hectic trip in the US....had the pleasure of meeting yaatri & babu while i was there....its always good to catch up with a fellow flyertalker....

The pleasure was all mine, Keyser.

It would be good to meet most of you from here. Suggest we organize a FT India do?

i agree....schedule permitting i'm up for it....either delhi or mumbai would be ideal....

Delhi would be ideal for me.

So yesterday I booked a domestic US flight on expedia.co.in.

I got two auto mailers from Citi stating that my card was charged the (correct) INR 27k fare under the name "United Airlines", and another Rs 100 under "expedia.co.in".

Today I get another auto-email from citi stating a charge of INR 27k under the name "expedia.co.in". Just logged in to my credit card a/c, and it seems 54k has been blocked out of my credit limit, even though the ticket was 27k...

Not sure whether I should be contacting Citi or Expedia at this stage! And I am currently in the US, so it will be an expensive phone call anyways!

Suggestions?

Do you see two reservations in your name on UA.com ? (using the PNR generated by expedia).

I think you should inform Citi first that you are being double charged. So they can block / reverse the extra 27K.

Then, call Expedia and tell them about it.

Why dont you get a phone card / Skype to call India?
Phone cards are prevalent everywhere in the US.

Hmmm, I see only one reservation (and it is ticketed). Anyways, will follow your suggestion.

Sounds good, but presumably I will need to dial the 1800 access number from a landline?

Also, any idea where I could pick up such a phone card. (I am currently in a small town in rural Arkansas!!)

Its good you see only one reservation online.

Buy the card online...generates a pin online.
i have used:
www.callingcard.com
In that website....pick "World" Card.

It will come out as an option, when you search for "Calling USA to India" (using their find the best card feature).

If you are in a hotel, you do have to dial a 1800 number. Sometimes, it gives local phone number for major US Cities. But, unlikely for this village in Arkansas.

The above mentioned World Card, can also be used from different countries using local access numbers. This is the reason i got those cards.

Hey Keyser, did your iphone work in the US?

In any case, I was perusing Expedia.co.in last night and they advertise on their site, claiming that they have zero (0) booking fees, etc....

So there shouldn't be any additional fees aside from the fare.

Maybe the Rs. 100/- was just a test charge by them.

In any case, make sure you only pay the amount for the ticket and nothing else.

You can also e-mail indiaservice (at) citi.com for assistance - at least for the Jet-Citi cc.

As annoying as that is there is nothing you can do without making multiple phone calls to the stage where you would rather bang your head against a wall then talk to a another agent.

This happens with me all the time with BMI bookings as they hold one amount then they split it into how ever many reservations there are and charge the credit card again. Which blocks quite a bit of my limit.

You got two options -

- Let it drop out automatically which takes 21-28 days
- Call up Citi and stress that you need your credit limit to make another purchase and ask to speak to a manager then they drop the charge.

A simple call to say that AA has charged me twice will only result in them telling you that its only a authorization and will get cancelled automatically if unclaimed.

i've used these guys for years....very cheap & reliable....

http://www.uniontelecard.com/

yes it did....i've posted on the thread below:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-new-york.html