Boarding without credit card

[zlodnick]

Im the op and would like to clear something up.

 

Ive always had a credit card and never travel without it. The other day, when I tried to book a flight with Expedia, my card was declined. When I called my cc company, they said the card was cancelled. My wife and I each have a card on the same account. About six months ago, our bank notified us that my wife would need to show proof of identity because of the Patriot act.

 My wife's US passport expired years ago and it would take time to get a new one. The bank said thier hands were tied and the account would be frozen in a week or so. The only thing we could do is take her name off the account. They said after she gets a new passport, we could put her name back on the account. 

 I didnt realize till the other day that they cancelled my card as well. Not sure why they did that. The account has been working fine for online transfers, so I never realized there was a problem.

 When my card was denied by Expedia, I called my sister in the US and she let me use her card and I transfered the amount online to her bank. I really didnt see where it would be a problem. Everyone has been paid.

 My bank said they will send me a new card this week, but showing up at the airport with my sisters card is not an option.

 

[stevenl]

OP is flying Thai Airways. so Thai Airways says this:

Consent Form regulations

New Regulations for passengers who are not Credit Card or Visa/MasterCard debit card owners:

You can sponsor an electronic ticket to anyone upon payment, following the below instructions, which is strictly recommended.

1.  Credit Card or Visa / MasterCard debit card owners must contact any THAI city ticketing offices only during office hour at their nearest locality in person and present the following documents;

     •  Credit Cards or Visa / MasterCard debit card used in the purchase
     •  ID or passport matching that of the owner of the credit card
     •  Completed and signed Consent Form.

2.  After the  documents have been verified and approved, THAI shall provide you booking reference.

3.  THAI reserves the right to deny boarding to the travelling passengers, if the above mentioned procedures and regulations have not been complied with.

* Your credit card or Visa/MasterCard debit card/ID information will be strictly confidential, and will be destroyed once the payment process has been completed.

 

 

 

[ChangMaiSausage]

All of my international flights have requested the credit card that the reservation was made under (Qatar Airways / Emirates / Gulf / Ethiad / Thai etc....) Bangkok and Air Asia never asked.

 

In fact most of the airlines when booking online directly ask if you are one of the passengers.

[CNXBKKMAN]

4 hours ago, zlodnick said:

Im the op and would like to clear something up.

 

Ive always had a credit card and never travel without it. The other day, when I tried to book a flight with Expedia, my card was declined. When I called my cc company, they said the card was cancelled. My wife and I each have a card on the same account. About six months ago, our bank notified us that my wife would need to show proof of identity because of the Patriot act.

 My wife's US passport expired years ago and it would take time to get a new one. The bank said thier hands were tied and the account would be frozen in a week or so. The only thing we could do is take her name off the account. They said after she gets a new passport, we could put her name back on the account. 

 I didnt realize till the other day that they cancelled my card as well. Not sure why they did that. The account has been working fine for online transfers, so I never realized there was a problem.

 When my card was denied by Expedia, I called my sister in the US and she let me use her card and I transfered the amount online to her bank. I really didnt see where it would be a problem. Everyone has been paid.

 My bank said they will send me a new card this week, but showing up at the airport with my sisters card is not an option.

 

 

This showing your credit card at check-in and airlines being cautious about third parties(your sister) paying for someone else's ticket is all about fraud. Imagine you travel halfway round the world on a ticket paid on your sisters card. A few days later your sister notices a $2000 payment to Thai Airways. She disputes it with the card company and gets it refunded. She didn't book anything! Somebody(you)has used the card fraudulently and is now long gone having completed the travel. The credit card company reclaims the payment . The airline gets nothing and has been scammed. 

          I know you are not scamming anyone but that's what the airline worries about, not getting paid and the passenger long gone. If you want to travel in a few days with a third party credit card payment the airline might not even accept your booking.  If you book with someone else's card for travel in 6 months they may be more relaxed because there is plenty of time for a fraudulent payment to be noticed by the cardholder and disputed. If that happened they would cancel the ticket and resell the seat with no loss to airline. 

    As many people have stated if you pay through an agent or online agent the airline isn't bothered because the agent has to pay the airline. In this case the agent would get scammed if the payment turns out to be fraudulent not the airline.

[zlodnick]

Tomorrow, I'll go see Thai Airways directly.

The flight isn't for 2 months, so I hope I can sort it out by then.

If I have buy another ticket, it's only $400. An expensive lesson, but not the end of the world.

[Ricardo]

9 hours ago, smotherb said:

 

If your answer is I can't get a credit card; then, I guess I would stay home until I cleared my credit and was able to get a card.

 

 

In the case of a student, it may be some years before they can obtain a card, how can they pay for airline-tickets until then ? 

 

It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem  ...

...  can't get a card until you have a regular job/income

...  can't get a job until you graduate

...  can't study without flying to the country where the university is

...  can't fly without charging the ticket to a credit-card

...  so Bank of Mum & Dad pay for airline tickets, but don't travel with the child

 

Believe me, I will be only too happy, when the day comes that my son doesn't need to use my card !

[Carib]

5 hours ago, zlodnick said:

Tomorrow, I'll go see Thai Airways directly.

The flight isn't for 2 months, so I hope I can sort it out by then.

If I have buy another ticket, it's only $400. An expensive lesson, but not the end of the world.

 

Ask for proof of anything they tell you. Staff working at the airport is a different kind of airline employee than the ones you will see tomorrow.

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, Ricardo said:

 

In the case of a student, it may be some years before they can obtain a card, how can they pay for airline-tickets until then ? 

 

It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem  ...

...  can't get a card until you have a regular job/income

...  can't get a job until you graduate

...  can't study without flying to the country where the university is

...  can't fly without charging the ticket to a credit-card

...  so Bank of Mum & Dad pay for airline tickets, but don't travel with the child

 

Believe me, I will be only too happy, when the day comes that my son doesn't need to use my card !

I had a credit card in college, so did my son.  It did not take a full-time job, all it took was good credit to get a card. Buy something on credit and pay it back--it may take you backing him until he establishes credit, but once he has established credit it is easy; too easy for most.

[Pdavies99]

On Saturday, January 07, 2017 at 8:26 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

A friend of mine bought his Thai Airways flight with his credit card a couple of months in advance of travel. He received his replacement Credit Card upon expiry of his previous card before his flight.

Upon check in when asked to provide his Credit Card, he provided the new one, he was not permitted travel and had to purchase a new ticket and claim a refund on the previous ticket (the new ticket was more expensive of course)... My friend was extremely angry about this.

 

So... as I understand it, if you are unable to provide the card with which you purchased the flights you may be preventing from travelling.

This is quite concerning - I lost my card just before flying a few weeks ago, fortunately it was just an ATM card.

 

I really don't understand why airlines do this... Surely proof of ID is sufficient.

The reason they sometimes check III

Edited January 9, 2017 by Pdavies99
wrong

[Pdavies99]

The reason they check is usually because stolen credit card details are used to buy a ticket and used. Then you receive a statement from your card issuer and you dispute the charge and it is hopefully refunded, meaning the airline lose out! It is a very common practice!