A COUPLE was nearly left stranded abroad thanks to a little-known credit card rule at Delta Airlines.
The couple was trying to check into their flight from London to Seattle when they were told they might be stranded in the foreign city.
An American couple was left stranded in London[/caption]
The couple was told they couldn’t check into their flight due to a credit card issue[/caption]
Experts argue that the rule doesn’t make sense for an airline to enforce[/caption]
Herb Weisbaum, a contributor for Consumers’ Checkbook, wrote about his and his wife’s wild experience trying to return home from visiting his cousins abroad.
Weisbaum wrote that when it was his turn to check in at the Delta kiosks in Heathrow Airport, he was instructed to swipe the credit card he used to purchase his tickets.
However, Weisbaum didn’t have the credit card used to purchase the tickets, nor did his wife.
The credit card was in their Seattle home.
“The kiosk gave me no other option to start the check-in process,” Weisbaum wrote.
“It wouldn’t let me enter our trip’s confirmation code, as I had done in Seattle before boarding our flight to London, or put in a ticket number.”
The couple caught the attention of a Delta supervisor, who informed them that they would need to use the credit card used to purchase the tickets; otherwise, they wouldn’t be allowed to check in.
The supervisor said the policy was meant to protect passengers from identity fraud.
Despite having a passport and a license to prove their identities, Weisbaum and his wife were still told they needed the card used for the tickets.
Their options were to stay in London until the issue was resolved, rebook their tickets, which would cost nearly $6,000, or have a picture of the card sent to them.
“So, at 3 a.m. Seattle time, I called my neighbor Sam and talked him through turning off the burglar alarm and getting into the house via the keypad on the garage door,” Weisbaum said.
“Sam texted pictures of the front and back of the card, and Delta finally printed our boarding passes.”
In return for the favor, Weisbaum bought Sam a “lovely box of Harrod’s chocolates.”
“The Delta agent, who was very nice and only following company policy, informed us that this was a recurring issue, especially for children traveling from London on tickets purchased by their parents,” he continued.
Delta’s credit card policy
To safeguard against credit/debit card fraud, the purchaser may have to show us the credit/debit card along with a valid photo ID. The time varies based on the billing address of the credit/debit card or the country of travel. If the purchaser is not traveling, they can show us their credit/debit card and ID at an airport ticket counter or another ticket office location, whichever is most convenient.
Weisbaum said he was “blindsided” by the rule as no one had informed them of it on their way to London.
“I’m really puzzled by this,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com.
“Fraud would be the bank’s problem, not the airline’s.
“And I don’t see how this protected you, since consumer protection comes from the card issuer, not the airline or merchant. You were covered by bank and card network fraud protections.”
Delta does have the policy listed on its Booking a Flight webpage.
“To safeguard against credit/debit card fraud, the purchaser may have to show us the credit/debit card along with a valid photo ID. The time varies based on the billing address of the credit/debit card or the country of travel,” the statement said.
“If the purchaser is not traveling, they can show us their credit/debit card and ID at an airport ticket counter or another ticket office location, whichever is most convenient.”
