jchacko2

Alright - I just submitted the below to customer service. Basically, i went through a 5 hour marathon with United on the weekend trying to use my travel bank funds. In the end - Totally unable to use it. - See my letter below.

Would love some thoughts!! or what you think they may actually do....

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Hi,
I currently have a travel bank with united.. This past weekend, I was trying to book a flight to Tokyo. This issue , the travel bank can only be used on united.com USA (since its in USD$) site. The credit cannot be applied being because my credit card and billing address are in Canada where I live. - The credit initially works - Then when i try to pay the remaining balance on my canadian credit card it kicks the credit out and re-pricing back to the full CAD$ amount.

So i figured at this point i would give united a call to do this manually over the phone.

Initially, i was transferred to another department and waited 1 hour on hold with no response at which point in hung up.

I called back and this time was transferred to united.com helpdesk.
This agent was quite friendly and spent two hours trying to make the reservation. No one could understand why they could not apply the credit.

I was then transferred to united mileage plus.
This agent's solution was to for me to temporarily move my address to the united states - How is this a solution? Following this i would have to submit legel documentation to move my account back to Canada - I'm not making this up!!! Then i inquired about my credit card still being Canadian, at which point he realized that would not work either...

He then transferred me to web support and hung up on me...

Web support was even more unhelpful - Their suggestions included having a US credit card with a US address - Once again, an impossible solution for me.

In the end I spent over 5 hours on the phone with united and ended up buying the flight myself from united.com with no use of the credit.

Obviously, this was not an ideal result.

I have an UN-useable credit apparently.

I'am looking for a solution here - Either a credit issued in Canadian dollars, a cheque written to me for the amount of the credit, or a refund on the flight I bought in the amount of the credit (this would be ideal). In addition, i spent 5 hours of time. Some compensation for this would be appreciated.

I look forward to your response.
Appreciate your help.

channa

Do you know someone with a U.S. credit card that you could use and pay back? Or could you file a refund request with UA for a partial refund equal to the credit amount?

I always say that since the merger, United's systems are really optimized for people flying IAH-AUS, and that's about it. This seems to be one of those situations where you're clearly well outside the realm of what UA's systems were intended to do.

sammyindc

According to the united.com club terms and conditions: "united.com Club is open to MileagePlus members with a primary mailing address in the United States (including American Samoa, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam)."

So technically you do not qualify to receive any credit to your travel bank with a Canadian address. Only thing I see UA doing is refunding you the $25 sign up fee.

jchacko2

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I was trying to avoid calling a friend due to the hastle involved lol - but i bet it would have taken less than 5 hours of my time...

This second issue was my mileage plus account itself is registered in Canada...

Any idea how long united will take for a response... is 7-10 business days legit?

Full disclosure - It was a the gift registry

Coskigirl

There is nothing in the TravelBank terms and conditions that restrict to the US. https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...ravelbank.aspx

N1120A

What club? This is in reference to a stored ETC for a cancelled flight, I'm assuming.

emcampbe

United.com club has nothing to do with a stored ETC. It's a service you can buy - for $25 a year. With that, every time you buy a ticket on United.com, it will deposit $5 per ticket into your travel bank - so 5 tickets a year and you make up the fee. You need to have a US address to use it.

jchacko2

This is united gift registry... think platinum amex airline fee reimbursement

slivrflyr

Can you top up the travel bank with a CAD credit card? That way when you go and use the credit you won't have to split pay with the credit card.

MSPeconomist

So you mean you've set it up to allow guests to contribute money for a honeymoon through this as part of a wedding gift registry or something similar?

PVDtoDEL

The Gift Registry FAQ on the UA website clearly states that you can only use it from US point of sale.

Just have a friend buy the ticket and pay them back. I don't see a better option for you.

WineCountryUA

yep
Although the restriction is missing from the T&Cs

jsloan

Here is the FAQ: Gift Registry. Click on the FAQs tab, and it's the second bullet point.

OP: It's frustrating that they would allow you to set up a registry, given that they know you're outside the US. I hope they're willing to accommodate you. Good luck!

Chukiechz

oh man, i totally forgot about the reimbursement for this year. Thanks for the reminder!!!

jchacko2

Thanks - I'll post resolution in 7-10 business days