Changing Reward Airline Tickets…some useful tips

January 31, 2010

Last week I flew to Tucson from Vancouver on a ticket earned on points from Continental Airlines. There were no hitches going down but the same cannot be said for the return. I didn’t reconfirm the return portion of the ticket before going to the airport which I’ll usually do for overseas flights but not for flights within Canada and the US. That was my mistake. Reconfirm. Always. Most of us check in online 24 hours ahead of time now, but I didn’t have that option or I would have known that there was going to be trouble.

4071055679 3aefa43f9e Changing Reward Airline Tickets...some useful tips

The bottom line was that the flight had been changed and I had never received any notification of that change. The flight we should now have been on had left hours ago and no others were scheduled, let alone available for almost 24 hours. In a smaller airport like Tucson you have fewer options but this is what I learned.

  1. Get the ticket agent on your side. You’re going to need an ally. In our case we dealt with a Delta agent who initially gave us a rough time but who in the end saved the day!! This was really a Continental Airlines problem but if you get the right airline agent they’ll get the problem solved. Be patient, friendly and courteous.
  2. Once you have begun your journey, despite all the rhetoric, airlines can and will make changes to the routing, though not the final destination. I was supposed to have returned via Salt Lake City but in the end that was of no consequence whatsoever.
  3. Know the partner airlines of the issuer of the ticket. In this case I knew that Continental was now part of the Star Alliance so routing on those flights was a possibilty.
  4. Be prepared to take matters into your own hands. Check out the departures board and look for all flights on partner airlines heading in the general direction of where you’re going. Then get your ticket agent ally to check connections and availability.
  5. Finally ask the ticket agent to PUSH your ticket to the airline you want to fly on. I checked to make sure that US Airways would accept the ‘pushed’ ticket and once I had the OK from them it was a 2 minute matter of writing up an old fashioned paper ticket, though the Delta agent did need a supervisor to approve the transaction.  (The other word for this type of transaction is a FIM or Flight Interruption Manifest. It is a document issued by an airline as a substitute ticket for passengers experiencing irregularities during travel when the original ticket is not available. A FIM is generally issued at a gate, ticket counter or transit desk by an airline agent and will note their original routing and ticket numbers, as well as those of the new routing, thereby making the FIM the new ticket. A FIM is only valid for a specific flight on a new airline that is not the airline the ticket was originally issued with. For example, a Delta gate agent could produce a FIM for a flight on United and send the data to United. The FIM would then be accepted as a regular ticket on the specified United flight. (source – Wikipedia))

If you’re flying with a regular, purchased ticket versus one bought via points, you’ll find that the ticket agent has alot more leeway in what they can do for you. However, if customer service really is a priority then they’ll still find a way to get you on your way. Delta Airlines was terrific, sympathetic and creative and in my case Continental Airlines was far more concerned with using reward seats than in getting me to my final destination even though I spent just shy of 2 hours on the phone!!

Save yourself some frustration next time you have a flight problem with a ticket purchased on points and remember PUSH and FIM and with luck you won’t be waiting hours on a phone for nothing. Happy flying!

Leigh McAdam

www.hikebiketravel.com

You might also like:

Beat the November Blues
Mexico - to visit or not to visit...
Review & Contest: Iconic Guides - Audio Guides to the Past

Posted by Hike Bike Travel | Filed Under Miscellaneous travel tips 

Comments

One Response to “Changing Reward Airline Tickets…some useful tips”

  1. Fresh From Twitter on March 26th, 2011 4:22 pm

    [...] are 2 v. useful tips for changing #airline tickets (reward & regular) if u run into problems http://bit.ly/fFUN3A #travel u6025u304cu306au304du3083uff01 [...]

Got something to say?





CommentLuv badge

Latest Post

Another Free Guide – Cabot Trail Biking Tour Guide

Palm Springs, a desert resort city of 40,000 plus people, is located 100 miles east of Los Angeles and 130 miles northeast of San Diego. It is one of nine cities that make up the Coachella Valley with mountains surrounding it on all sides.

Inside Cabot Trail Biking Tour Guide you will find the following

1. Fantastic scenery, especially along the western coast of Cape Breton Highlands National Park

2. the climb in the afternoon of North Mountain rewards with excellent scenery too

Top 10 Popular Posts

  • 33 Interesting Facts About Africa33 Interesting Facts About Africa: I love trivia and I hope you enjoy these weird and wonderful tidbits - some of which I learned on my most recent trip to the African continent. 33 Interesting Facts About Africa There are 54 coun...
  • Crossing the Andes: Mendoza to Santiago by BusCrossing the Andes: Mendoza to Santiago by Bus: Crossing the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago by bus, or vice versa, is a superb way to see some stunning countryside. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper than flying. It's only going to cost you $US20-25...
  • 12 of the World’s Top Trekking Destinations12 of the World’s Top Trekking Destinations: Any serious trekker or backpacker is going to have their own version of the world's top trekking destinations. My choices are based on experience, reading, chatting with fellow hikers and what's st...
  • Travel Photo Thursday: Crowfoot Glacier, Banff National ParkTravel Photo Thursday: Crowfoot Glacier, Banff National Park: You'll find Crowfoot Glacier in Banff National Park, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Lake Louise. There's a good spot to photograph it from the highway though if you climb up Cirque Peak t...
  • Weird & Wonderful Facts About VancouverWeird & Wonderful Facts About Vancouver: Learning unusual facts about a city before you visit can really enhance your stay and make it more interesting. With a sharp rise in visitors to Vancouver in the summer coupled with the fact that Vanc...

View more of this category

If you're travelling to Canada, look
here for great Toronto Hotels

GREAT IDEAS FOR:-

UK Short Breaks

UK Family Holidays

UK Activity Holidays

For the many who have tired of sunloungers.
Wales. Home of proper holidays. Phrasebook
optional, sense of adventure
essential, indifference best
left at home.

Embed text goes here.
Travel Insurance
apartments
Short term accommodation WorldWide
Hiking and travelling will wear you out. Barcelona accommodation will offer you a place to rest at best prices. Further south, the broad offer in Seville accommodation will get you ready to conquer the Andalucia Moorish Trails. If you are travelling Portugal, Lisbon accommodation is what you need.
The cheapest way to travel