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 The Airfarewatchdog Blog
That airline voucher could cost you, both in money and inconvenience
Posted by David on Monday, June 30, 2008
Every now and then, airlines do throw passengers a bone. They'll credit you if you cancel before takeoff, refund you if the fare goes down after purchase, make it up to you when you get bumped from a flight, soften the blow if they can't get you home due to a mechanical failure or say they’re sorry for truly execrable service (but it has to be really, really bad, and you usually have to ask for satisfaction). And they often do this in the form of a voucher, good for future travel, usually valid within a year of issue.
However, there's credit, which is what most people expect these days – automatic, easily applied to your credit card account; and there's the voucher. And in some cases, Airfarewatchdog.com has found, redeeming vouchers triggers unexpected fees and involve a good deal of inconvenience.
So much so that, until recently, you'd be justified in calling an airline voucher That Piece of Paper We Give You That's So Hard To Convert To A Ticket, We're Positive You Won't Even Try. That is, at least, what I called the last paper voucher I received, issued by Delta.
I was jazzed to see complimentary travel in my future. However, I quickly learned that it was a lot easier for Delta to hand out vouchers than it was for me to cash mine in. I could find no way to use it online. Turned out that I would have to call the 800 number to redeem. Then, after a long period on hold, and after selecting dates and times, I was informed that the reservation was only tentative. To seal the deal, I had to go to my nearest ticket office, which in your case may be your nearest airport. Whether or not I was being singled out for aggravation will forever go unconfirmed; Delta spokesperson Susan Elliott was understandably keen to focus on how things had changed. Today, Elliott says, paper vouchers are almost a thing of the past – now, travelers receive e-vouchers with reference numbers that, once typed in with your reservation on Delta.com, will be automatically applied to your bill. Still, this is very much an almost – paper vouchers are still around for credit on international travel and remain the currency for some awards-travel related scenarios.
In cases like these, travelers would need to call to redeem, in which case, they're slapped with the $25 phone fee that Delta now charges. A charge for free travel? Yep, pretty much. After all, Delta and American now charge between $25 and $50 to obtain “free” frequent flyer tickets, even if done online.
SAY, WHAT'S A VOUCHER?
You'd think it was as simple as a voucher being a gift, whereas credit is something issued for a purchase previously made. It's not. As mentioned above, if you get bumped, sometimes you get the voucher. If, for instance, the voucher was for international travel on Delta, now you're paying more to rebook. Vouchers, though, are issued for many reasons. Continental, for example, issues them when you find an itinerary booked on Continental.com for more than $10 less, after purchase. The airline, once they are satisfied you meet all requirements, will issue you a $100 chit, formally known as an Electronic Travel Certificate, redeemable for free, online. US Airways has more than a half-dozen different types of vouchers, from a $25 Air Check on upward, mostly handed out in various scenarios involving passenger inconvenience. Luckily, while you need to call the 800 number to apply the voucher to future travel, you won't have to pay a fee (which is otherwise $25 for domestic and $35 for international travel). The airline does say, however, that you will have to make payment at "a valid location" (read: inconvenient) within 24 hours of booking over the phone.
American Airlines has a sort of won't-know-until-you-get-there policy. For example, says spokesperson Tim Wagner, in the event of customer service issues, you might either receive electronic or paper vouchers, depending on the type of issue that arises. If, for instance, bad weather cancels flights, those who are traveling on non-refundable tickets will receive paper vouchers, which means you'll need to call or show up in person to redeem. However, in cases like these, there's no booking fee. United also makes you call to redeem a paper voucher, and that also applies when redeeming an unused ticket from a cancelled trip. We tried to get United to say whether or not either situation results in the $25 call center fee that the airline now charges, but spokesperson Robin Urbanski-Janikowski would only say that it depends on what type of voucher the traveler was trying to redeem. (Read that as a yes, until told no.) Where United is keeping up with the times, though, is the issuance of electronic certificates in situations such as their Low Fare Guarantee program, where you can get $50 plus the difference in fare between what you booked on United.com and a lower price you found elsewhere, refunded to you electronically, and good for purchases online.
IF ONLY IT WERE ALWAYS THIS EASY
All the confusion over the various steps one has to take to redeem your credit appears to be entirely foreign to newer airlines such as JetBlue. Spokesperson Alison Eshelman says that because they are a "paperless" airline, there is no scenario where a credit issued will result in additional fees – unless, of course, you decide that you'd prefer to book with a human being vs. the airline's website. For that, there's a $15 fee. Northwest also issues electronic credit vouchers in cases of "service-related events," for instance, delays and bumps. You can redeem vouchers online not only for future travel, but also for additional charges and extra miles. Flexibility and ease of use – how novel is that.
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I use them all the time, I usually buy them from http://travelbydeals.com/marketplace or http://travel.ebay.com.
Typically I don't have a problem with them, except for when I try to make a change or cancel. Its gets difficult.
by Chris on
Monday, June 30, 2008
I had one such voucher for United. From the very faint, fine print on the back. It gave only the 800 number to call for a reservation. When I called to purchase tickets for my husband and myself, I went all the way through the automated system until purchasing. I figured that since calling the 800 number was the only way to redeem it (besides going to a ticketing office which is at the airport), there would be somewhere I could enter in the code. No such luck. So when it told me my credit card had been charged the full amount, I immediately asked for an operator to find out how to redeem the voucher.
The operator told me I couldn’t use the voucher because I had already purchased the tickets and it could only be used on a new ticket. She would be able to refund the first reservation and then rebook the tickets for me. Now since the voucher had only my name on it, I had to do two different reservations, one for me and one for my husband. My husband’s flight was ticketed right away, but I would have to either mail in the voucher or bring it to the ticket booth at the airport before I would get my ticket.
We were a ways out from the trip so I decided to mail it and it was finally ticketed about 2 weeks after I had booked the trip. After all was said and done, the operator tells me there will be an extra fee for my husband’s ticket because I booked it over the phone. Pointing out that I was forced to call for my ticket, and forced to do two separate reservations because the voucher was only in my name, I was able to convince them to get rid of that fee. Note that I didn’t get charged the fee for booking mine over the phone so it must have been that special kind of voucher that doesn’t require a booking fee. So I finally ended up with what I wanted, but am not sure that the hour I spent on the phone going through the automated system only to have to repeat everything with an operator was worth the voucher credit.
by Kristine on
Monday, June 30, 2008
I have been looking to dump a sizable number of AA miles. As far as I can see as of today (unless I'm not thinking clearly, always a possibility) It's a $5 fee online and a nifty $10 service fee for a total of $25. If I call them then it is $25 bucks + the $10 fee. Do I have that straight? Or am I entertaining too much with Old Granddad, Ernest & Julio, Johnny Walker and the like?
by Jill Gott on
Monday, June 30, 2008
Using my miles with AA I only have been charged $5.
Where are you guys coming p with more?
by frank on
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Thanks to Yapta (my other favorite air service site), I've received over $1,000 in reduced fare vouchers from United in the last year - and have been able to use every single one of them.
I make my initial reservation online, putting the itinerary on a 24-hour hold. I then call United (fortunately, I'm premier executive status, so I don't have long hold times), they note the voucher(s), which I then have 7 days to get to them by mail, and charge my credit card for the remainder. While mailing in is slightly more difficult than applying online, it's not a big deal, and they've never given me any trouble with any of them. Getting the vouchers for the fare reductions has also been easy.
No telephone service fees for booking, either, when doing it this way.
by Amber on
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
I just used $600 worth of vouchers for me and my two kids (two $100 vouchers each given for the same incident last summer) ... an operator in New Delhi said we could only redeem one per passenger. What the? I made a FF reservation, went to the airport and just gave them the vouchers and they applied them without saying a thing.
Deal with a human being in person and you get different results, I guess.
by Scott on
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
I was on an AirTran flight last New Year's day that had mechanical trouble prior to take off. After attempting to fix the problem unsuccessfully, they removed everyone from the plan, and started rebooking. Then they offered everyone a Customer Kit ($25 discount on another flight, and a meal voucher). Shortly after that they announced that everyone would receive a voucher for a future round-trip. Other than a long hold for an operator, I was able to book travel for the 4th of July with a minimum of difficulty.
by arnie on
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Got two vouchers from NWA and after several attempts just gave up trying to use them. WAY too much trouble.
by Scottie Payne on
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
I just redeemed an award ticket on United - for a fee of $85! They have some sort of booking fee of $10, and then since I booked the ticket "7-20 days" prior to the trip, they charged me an extra $75. What a ripoff!!!
by Alyssa on
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Unlike Amber, my experience with UAL has been terrible this year! Last year Yapta got me about $600 in vouchers and I used them for a trip to Vegas. This year I am still waiting for four vouchers and have had no luck writing to the VP of customer relations. I received 2 responses from a Shweta Sharma in customer relations telling me my letter had been forwarded to the Passenger Refund Department. The second time I followed up I got another letter from Sharma including a $100 voucher and again telling me my concern was being forwarded!That was June 3 and I have still not heard a peep from the PRD!
by Lou on
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
How about those 'companion tickets' offered by Amex? I just redeemed one. I get it for renewing my Delta Gold Skymiles card every year. Its a good deal if you find a good fare for the primary ticket, but basically its $25 charge per passenger to use the companion ticket, and theres tax too, so it comes out to over $150 really. We just bought two RT tickets from JFK to SFO and are paying about $280 each--good deal but annoying that there are fees. As for the Delta voucher comments, I have an e-voucher and I believe you can just input the code online, with no extra fees attached (provided to me $50) for losing my baggage in Italy- (after I complained by writing an email to Delta).
by Linda on
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Last summer I got a bonus flight to Italy and it was great!
by bone cancer symptoms on
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Oslo... on a business class ticket. The moral - always be sure your ticket starts or ends in the USA!!!Thanks for sharing it.
Nice article, very helpful. Thanks!
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by Nike shoes ! on
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Got two vouchers from NWA and after several attempts just gave up trying to use them. WAY too much trouble.
by free online games on
Thursday, November 05, 2009
If they have NOT expired we'll be glad to take them off your hands!
Send them along to our Midtown office c/o Jill Gott. I've used my travel agent status in times past to embarrass the airlines with good success.....they'd hate for an unfavorable article to pop up on AP or a blog about them...ouch!
by JGott on
Thursday, November 05, 2009 Post a Comment
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