travelocity Crooks
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1
travelocity Crooks
I booked a flight had to cancel. Got a 513.00 dollar credit. Called customer service and tried to use my flight credit. Almost non-speaking english representative. I did make out a few words here and there. Booked my flight with my credit. Rep explained the 200.00 dollar charge for the airline. Flight was 194.00. Total 394.00 right? Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.Said airline policy charged them 200.00. So I had a 513.00 credit. Called them another none fluent english speaking person told me that was their policy. So 194.00 flight just cost me 713.00. NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN. How can they do this? I wish United would stop doing business with these criminals.
Last edited by barzondo; Mar 1, 2019 at 5:34 pm Reason: Adding text
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,993
barzondo Welcome to FT. Hope you stay for more than 1 post
It was your choice to use an on-line travel agent OTA.
Many airlines have a change fee and fare booking class price change. The OTA may have an additional fee.
If you are going to change a flight do not use an OTA
Be assured 10 of thousand's of people will continue to use Travelocity & their parent Expedia OTA.
I booked a flight had to cancel. Got a 513.00 dollar credit. Called customer service and tried to use my flight credit. Almost non-speaking english representative. I did make out a few words here and there. Booked my flight with my credit. Rep explained the 200.00 dollar charge for the airline. Flight was 194.00. Total 394.00 right?
Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.Said airline policy charged them 200.00. So I had a 513.00 credit. Called them another none fluent english speaking person told me that was their policy. So 194.00 flight just cost me 713.00.
NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN. How can they do this? I wish United would stop doing business with these criminals.
Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.Said airline policy charged them 200.00. So I had a 513.00 credit. Called them another none fluent english speaking person told me that was their policy. So 194.00 flight just cost me 713.00.
NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN. How can they do this? I wish United would stop doing business with these criminals.
Many airlines have a change fee and fare booking class price change. The OTA may have an additional fee.
If you are going to change a flight do not use an OTA
Be assured 10 of thousand's of people will continue to use Travelocity & their parent Expedia OTA.
#6
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, UA Gold, Marriott LTT, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,539
I don't understand the appeal of an OTA. I can see the value in a flight search aggregator. Google flights at least redirects you to the soonest website (most of the time)
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,370
I booked a flight had to cancel. Got a 513.00 dollar credit. Called customer service and tried to use my flight credit. Almost non-speaking english representative. I did make out a few words here and there. Booked my flight with my credit. Rep explained the 200.00 dollar charge for the airline. Flight was 194.00. Total 394.00 right? Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.Said airline policy charged them 200.00. So I had a 513.00 credit. Called them another none fluent english speaking person told me that was their policy. So 194.00 flight just cost me 713.00. NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN. How can they do this? I wish United would stop doing business with these criminals.
If I've pieced through the details properly, you had a $513 credit from a cancellation on a non-refundable United flight. You called and paid a $200 change fee to move to a new flight, which cost $194.
I think you expected the $200 to be deducted from your credit, but that isn't the way United works. United change fees must be paid in "new money," and then the entire amount of the original charge is made available as a credit. For most fares, the residual value is provided to the traveler for future use with no additional fees required. Barring something to the contrary in your fare rules, your original flight should have a
In theory, your travel agent is supposed to let you know about this and provide you with a way to access the credit. If you're not able to find someone at Travelocity who can help, try calling United. Provide them your original confirmation number and ask if there is still flight credit attached to the reservation.
Good luck!
Last edited by jsloan; Mar 2, 2019 at 2:40 am Reason: corrected the amount
#8
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,508
OTA are good when purchasing error fares. For non-US airlines, OTA allows 24h free cancellation. They can also at least have some say for you before the airline decides to unilaterally cancels tickets. Even if tickets get canceled, some OTA will offer other alternatives or throw in some goodwill (certs, vouchers, etc.).
#9
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Diego
Programs: IHG Spire Amb, HH Diamond, DL Diamond and 1MM
Posts: 3,610
I think jsloan's answer is really close. For United or most any airline, the $200 comes from "new money" to paid. The OP's $513 residual value should have ideally been used on a ticket costing $513 or more. For a $513 new ticket, the OP pays $200 out of pocket + the residual value.
OP bought a new $194 ticket out of the residual and paid an additional $200 change fee! OP is right to feel cheated. I think an airline agent would have told him or her, "Honey, you are better off just buying a new ticket." The OTA appears to have followed the ticket change rules, but was too stupid to tell the OP not to go that route.
OP bought a new $194 ticket out of the residual and paid an additional $200 change fee! OP is right to feel cheated. I think an airline agent would have told him or her, "Honey, you are better off just buying a new ticket." The OTA appears to have followed the ticket change rules, but was too stupid to tell the OP not to go that route.
#10
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Programs: UA 1K, AA Lifetime Platinum, DL Platinum, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 7,969
I booked a flight had to cancel. Got a 513.00 dollar credit. Called customer service and tried to use my flight credit. Almost non-speaking english representative. I did make out a few words here and there. Booked my flight with my credit. Rep explained the 200.00 dollar charge for the airline. Flight was 194.00. Total 394.00 right? Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.
#11
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
#12
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
- Sometimes their fares are cheaper than booking direct with the airline
- The cost of airfare can vary greatly depending on which edition of the site you purchase from. However, UA and others block people using a different site other than their "home" country - OTAs are a way around that restriction
- Certain promotions require booking through an OTA (i.e. AmEx travels quarterly travel credit deals in Canada)
- You can get free E+ seating in Economy Basic on UA as a Premier due to the lag between booking and ticketing
- You get the expertise of a human agent who knows the ins and outs of international travel and can provide assistance when things go sideways
Safe Travels,
James
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,370
Even if things had gone the way you expected them to go, why would you pay a $200 change fee to use a residual credit for a $194 flight? Even if you had kept the residual credit, why not pay $194 now for the $194 flight, instead of $200 now, and keep the entire $513 for some other flight? What you did makes no sense even before you ran into the Travelocity residual credit problem.
The change fee was going to have to be paid anyway in order to unlock any of the value. The OP's next $513 worth of flights was going to cost $200, no matter how the pieces are broken up. The extra $6 paid isn't lost -- it's reflected in the amount of the travel credit the should still be attached to the original ticket.
This is a different situation than paying the change fee when the original ticket cost less than fee. That never makes sense. This, on the other hand, is perfectly reasonable. Maybe OP doesn't have that much more UA travel to do before the expiration of the ticket.
#14
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM
Posts: 6,335
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 41,991
I booked a flight had to cancel. Got a 513.00 dollar credit. Called customer service and tried to use my flight credit. Almost non-speaking english representative. I did make out a few words here and there. Booked my flight with my credit. Rep explained the 200.00 dollar charge for the airline. Flight was 194.00. Total 394.00 right? Wrong Travelocity charged 200.00 to my credit card and wiped out my travel credit.Said airline policy charged them 200.00. So I had a 513.00 credit. Called them another none fluent english speaking person told me that was their policy. So 194.00 flight just cost me 713.00. NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN. How can they do this? I wish United would stop doing business with these criminals.
I realize there is a bias against OTAs on FT, but I almost always book my intra-China flights via ctrip because they help me out when things go wrong.