Booking an airline ticket online for the holidays? Read this first

stockholmHere’s a cautionary tale for anyone buying an airline ticket for the holidays, and a little advice: Pay attention your bank account balance. And be patient.

Kelly Lukanen, can I hear an “amen”?

Lukanen recently tried to book a ticket from Minneapolis to Stockholm on Orbitz. Not only did the initial purchase fail, but she found $835 of her hard-earned money tied up in a mysterious transaction.

When I clicked the purchase button, my purchase did not go all the way through and I received a note to contact the airline directly.

I had never had this happen before. In any event, I proceeded and went to NWA.com and found a similar airfare and booked through them directly. Shortly after, I went to look at my bank account statement, and much to my surprise both transactions were listed as pending.

The Orbitz.com charge put me into the negative and I am currently at a negative balance.

Because I certainly cannot wait one to three days to have money in my possession, I called the bank to resolve this as soon as possible. I was told that they cannot help me and that the charge should drop off in one to three business days, but until then I do not have any funds available to me.

Here’s the thing: If Orbitz said the transaction didn’t go through, then it shouldn’t have gone through. But I’ve spoken with enough experts on reservations systems to know that’s not always how it works. Some systems continue to try to run the purchase even after kicking back a denial. Which is apparently what happened to Lukanen.

I was told that once the charge is dropped off, I will have to contact the bank directly to dispute any overdraft charges (unnecessary time to be spent by me). They stated the merchant can call directly to state the charge is not a valid charge. Wells Fargo provided me with their Merchant Assistance Authorization Removal number of 1.866.477.5518.

I called Orbitz and it took me several pushes of a button to finally receive a live operator. Once I finally received the operator, it was a man by the name of Rahid who answered the phone and did not have any interest in servicing the customer. What good is Customer Service if you cannot service the customer?

The gentleman took my credit card number down, and told me it was not a final charge and there was nothing he could do. I told him I understood it was not a final charge, but that it was pending and therefore putting my account into the negative.

He proceeded to tell me to call the bank, and there was nothing he could do.

Look at me. My eyes are rolling.

I asked to be transferred to corporate headquarters because the language barrier seemed to be a problem. This was not able to happen. The supervisor, however, did make an attempt at assisting me, but nearly two hours later, and me diligently trying to work through this and get my bank account back into a positive balance, I still do not have anything resolved and a negative bank balance.

I contacted Orbitz on Lukanen’s behalf, and a representative called her right away and ensured the first transaction was credited back to her.

But could this have been avoided?

I think so. The trick is to make sure you don’t use a debit card that’s near the credit limit, as Lukanen apparently did. That’ll ensure an accidental double-billing — they do happen — won’t put you in your bank’s bad graces.

She could have also waited a few hours before buying a ticket through NWA.com, just to be on the safe side.

I’m reluctant to blame Orbitz for this problem. Could it have managed Lukanen’s grievance better? Sure. But could it have prevented the double-billing? I’m not so sure. From what I can tell, this was one of those reservation system redundancy issues that just couldn’t have been predicted.

So, to all of you holiday travelers, here’s the takeaway from Lukanen’s cautionary tale: Mind your card and don’t be in such a rush to buy your ticket online when a transaction doesn’t go through.

(Photo: Claudio.Ar/Flickr Creative Commons)

Update: I’ve revised this post to reflect that Lukanen was apparently using a debit card, not a credit card. So to those of you confused by the initial comments, that’s why.

  • scott L

    I always book all of my plane tickets using American Express. I have a MC company that has a great reward system for plant tickets. However it takes an act of god to get them to initiate and type of disputes and then they don’t investigate them.

    The issues some times is the type of CC company you have and how agressive they will be in disputes,

  • http://aol barbie45

    Why do people insist on going through one of these big three; also looks like orbitz is outsourcing; that is even worse;Ihave had many horrible experiences dealing with these outsources who do not understand colloquial English; also good idea not to use your debit card.

  • Aimee

    Hang on a minute. Didn’t it say she used her debit card, which is why it was taken directly from her bank account? As there is no “credit limit” I’m not sure how that applies other than to make sure you have a lot of money in your checking account.
    I realize that there are plenty of people reading this that find an extra $835 charge an inconvenience and frustrating, but not devastating. However, there are plenty of people, myself included, that find that rule crippling. That is an entire month of rent or mortgage payment for many people. I fail to see why it’s reasonable to expect everyone to anticipate a double booking, and budget accordingly. That’s ridiculous. Even people who are in tight financial situations are allowed to travel, after all, especially during the holidays.

  • Salem Omar

    I always book directly with the airlines either by online or telephone calls to avoid this problem.

  • rich

    @Barbie- ‘looks like Orbitz is outsourcing’. Go to their Chicago HQ. There’s no receptionist, just a phone on the wall in the lobby with a list of names and numbers taped next to it. And all of the names are Indian, as indeed are the employees when you go up there! You couldn’t get any more cut to the bone or outsourced than Orbitz.

  • Annette

    I’m thinking that she used one of those Visa/Mastercard branded debit cards, that can be used like a credit card but the money comes directly from your bank account. Otherwise if she was using just a regular credit card then it doesn’t make any sense at all. She’s talking about having “I am currently at a negative balance.” and I certainly cannot wait one to three days to have money in my possession” – that sounds like it’s come straight from her bank account.

  • http://www.ffocus.org Bruce InCharlotte

    The finger pointing is unacceptable and not properly addressed. They took the money immediately, they need to hand it back immediately. Terrible customer service. Absolutely terrible.

  • John R. Strohm

    @Chris, she used the term “credit card number” once. Everything else in her description (“bank statement”, “money in her possession”, “overdraft charges”) seems to me to add up to “debit card”.

    More important: Orbitz was totally UNWILLING to assist her until you got involved. Note well: “unwilling”, not “unable”. They were NOT “unable” to help her, despite their claims, as evidenced by the fact that they DID fix the problem the moment Chris Elliott called them out on it.

    This is the real problem here.

  • Christopher Elliott

    @Annette, @Bruce and @John — point taken. Kelly is being a little vague about it.

    Let me amend to say: If you’re using a debit card, be extra sure you have enough money in your account to cover the purchase, and then some.

    @Bruce, you’re correct. If money was taken, it should have been returned immediately.

    Serves me right for writing these posts at 5 a.m. ;-)

  • Ginger

    I avoid the problem altogether. I look up prices on Orbitz, Travelocity and other third party sites to see what airlines, hotels, etc. and prices are available where and when I’m going. I then look at the airline or hotel site directly and more often than not, the price is the same as Orbitz, etc. I then book directly through the airline or hotel’s website. Leaves no middleman for me to have to go through and wait on. Find this extra helpful if flights are canceled at the airport and I need to reroute somehow. Keep a list of airline & hotel phone numbers, along with my customer loyalty numbers on a small card in my wallet. So much easier to call the airline itself and make them do the legwork to get me where I’m going.

  • DeVon

    Chris,
    I think Aimee was right. It sounded as if her debit card was used. She said a few things that stuck out for me. She said she went to her bank account statement online and saw the charges pending. She couldn’t wait the 1-3 days to have her money in her possession. She would have to spend time to dispute any overdraft charges which would be relevant to a checking account versus over limit fee for a credit card. I did agree with your assessment though.

    I have worked for Marriott and Hilton properties. It’s not a common occurrence, but occasionally weird transactions like double authorizing on a customers card have happened. You see the authorization one time on your end, but on the back end somehow the system did it twice. I have always been willing to call a guest’s bank directly to have it removed if they requested. That’s just good customer service.

  • Stewart Sheinfeld

    The money was not taken Rather it was “put on hold” (authorized) pending completion of the sale or in this case the non completion of the sale at which point the funds would be released back to the account. I understand this does not help the person who does not have access to the money but it is the system that can protect both customer and merchant

  • NJ Steve

    I’ve booked a flight to Hawaii on Orbitz — I’ve had no issues (luckily) but I think the only real person at Orbitz is the dude on TV in the flying hoovercraft (luckily, it’s blue and not silver…)

    Oh, and their Price Assurance is a scam…. to get $$$ back, someone else has to book the exact same flight # for the exact same day and time from the same departure city. Since I flew on a Thursday afternoon from SFO to Maui, nobody else booked that on Orbitz.

  • Patricia

    May I inquire as to why anyone ever uses a debit card for any credit card purchase? If she had used a real credit card, this would have all been resolved before the bill even showed up, since the charge would have dropped off in 3 days. Why on earth would you allow even a temporary hold to be put on your personal bank account? Not to mention the fact that if you travel with that thing, you risk your bank account being depleted if someone steals your credit card number. If it is a real credit card, you pay nothing. You just report the fraud.

    For those of you who will now say that you prefer a debit card because it prevents you from overspending, I’ve got a news flash for you: If you charge something that puts your bank account in the red, the bank will just pay the merchant and then charge you overdraft fees. The bank is delighted to have you overspend with your debit card, and so expecting your bank to act ‘in loco parentis’ for you will cost even more than going over the credit limit with a regular credit card.

    Please don’t tell me that people can’t get a real credit card! If the woman who wrote in could afford an $800 air ticket, then I would be willing to bet that a credit card is within her reach. Everyone knows that the credit card companies will send an offer to anyone who is breathing, whether they have good credit or not. (Were not talking a home mortgage here–just a credit card!)

  • Dave

    Clear lessons here:

    1) Don’t deal with a middle man like Orbitz, especially if they outsource their “customer service” to people who barely speak English. There’s no reason to deal with Orbitz instead of going directly to the airline. If you go directly to the airline you know who any dispute is with, but if you go through a middle man they may well ping-pong you.

    2) Never use a debit card for such a purchase! For toothpaste at Target and some extra cash, OK. For airline tickets, NO! The difference: In case of a dispute, with a debit card they keep the money while you fight. With a credit card you keep the money while you fight, and you also have rather more rights in the first place.

  • http://aol barbie45

    Dave; you are so right; do not use a debit card on a major purchase; if you are put through to a foreign worker probablyfrom India or some other Asian country try to insist on speaking to an American worker or if you are from theUK an English speaking worker; not only can they barely speak English; they are taking American jobs away;juat what we need.

  • Jennifer (the other one)

    How are her reasons for using a debit card relevant to anything? Most people know to use credit cards for things like this if they’re able, so she probably had her reasons for not doing so. Maybe she wasn’t eligible for a credit card – depending on one’s circumstances, it’s not always easy to get one with a limit over $1000, nor should it be. Maybe she was near the limit for that month already (and no, it doesn’t matter why). Maybe she was trying to pay off the balance completely, which basically means not using it for a month. Maybe she was applying for a loan or mortgage, and didn’t want the extra charge that month to affect her credit score. Maybe she has religious objections to the way interest is calculated by credit card companies (several religions do). Who cares?

    While this is a good illustration of why it’s best to use credit cards for purchases that have the potential to be problematic, it’s not the customer’s ‘fault’ for not using one when the company does something dishonest.

  • Les

    I wanted to fly from Oakland to Houston for a funeral. They don’t schedule those 21 days in advance and since most carriers’ “compassionate” fare discounts are a cruel joke – 10% is typical – I would be stuck with last minute fares. The funeral was north of Houston so Southwest Airlines was out – they only fly to Hobby at the far southeast end of the city.

    I needed a connection to IAH which is a Continental hub.

    Continental’s web site offered a convenient $300 round trip! Good! I could do it. I went to get my credit card and when I went back to book the flights the fare had jumped to $800 – in ten minutes.

    In some desperation I tried Orbitz – which still had that flight pair at $300. It worked and the trip went off as planned. Sometimes there’s a reason to use one of these online agencies. Even 500 reasons.

  • Amy

    She used a debit card, not a credit card, and the representative was right — it IS up to the bank to release a pending authorization.

    I’ve dealt with this exact situation so many times I’ve lost count. A good merchant POS system will automatically send a message to the bank to release an authorization when a charge is cancelled or finalized. If a pending auth is inconveniencing a customer, than a good customer service rep will call a bank to confirm that there is no pending charge in an effort to speed up the release of the authorization (but that would require the rep to have the merchant ID number, which might not be available). But even with all that, it truly is up to the bank when it comes to releasing authorizations. It is out of the merchant’s hands.

    This is nothing new, either. Banks have been operating this way for at least a decade, because that’s when I recall our company putting up signs warning people that using a debit card could result in extra funds being held by their bank for up to two weeks.

  • Patricia

    To Jennifer (the other one):

    It would have been nice if Orbitz would have helped her get the hold taken off her account sooner, but a 3-day hold is not at all uncommon for air tickets, rental cars and hotels. That’s precisely why you use a credit card–so the hold isn’t on ‘real’ funds.

    And so with that in mind, she as a grown-up needs to take responsibility for choosing to use a make-pretend credit card rather than a real one. Yes she has some ‘fault’ here, although I do not believe she should lose any money over it, because her bank should not have allowed the second charge to begin with if she didn’t have funds to cover it. (Of course they do that all the time, but it isn’t right. The bank is more ‘wrong’ than the merchant here.)

    She needs to take this up with her bank manager and take the bank to task for allowing any purchase that would put her in the red and generate overdraft fees. She should ask the manager to refund the fees, since the point of the debit card is to avoid spending money she doesn’t have. There is no other point to a debit card.

  • Bob

    @Barbie, @Rich and @Dave, You should also know that the ticketing websites of all major airlines are also developed by Indians. Why don’t you stop flying altogether ???

  • Rich

    @Bob – I’m well aware of that and personally could not care less. I’m just pointing out that Orbitz is no different.

  • Carver Farrow

    @Patricia

    Please explain. How is it the the OP is not taking responsibility? She has every right to use a debit card, check, cash, whatever. Like Jennifer(the other one) stated so well, her reasons for using a debit card are her own. She should not be criticized for paying with her debit card. As long as she had sufficient available funds at the time of purchase she’s golden.

    Accordingly, I have to strongly disagree with the statement that the OP has fault here.

  • Joe Farrell

    I think there should be required disclosure from ANY business that provides follow-up customer service if that service is provided by script readers from the subcontinent. I would avoid ANY business that had its call center on the Indian subcontinent and there was no way to reach someone trained in something other than entering key words into a search engine to get the right script to read back to the customer.

    It could simple: “This business subcontracts out its customer service operation to a third party company.”

    That would be enough to keep me looking for other places to buy that product. I had a problem with Travelocity – I called them the day of the flight – they told me inthat sing song subcontinent British accent they could do nothing to help me despite the 24 hour free look on the ticket – so I asked them to cancel it anyway. They did – I was not charged. End of problem.

    We seriously need a disclosure of subcontracted customer service . . . its my money – let me decide how to spend it.

  • http://aol barbie45

    Jennifer Carver; of course you can use a debit card; it is your money; most experts in the finacial area recommend using a regular credit card. now if it were so called religious reasons just pay the total back at end of billing cycle; no interest ; the fact that she chose to use a debit card was the main source of her problem; does not matter if orbitz was wrong or her bank thatsthe way it is; Dont use debit credit cards for an expensive item, even common sense tells you that.

  • David Z

    @Les – lucky you. :)

  • Kevin M

    Here’s the point so many of you “Don’t use debit cards for …” seem to be overlooking.

    Using a debit card in these situations may be problematic, but it’s not because of the debit card’s inherent difference from a credit card (the source of the funds being your bank account instead of a credit line). The problem stems from the bank and vendors having designed a system that allows things like this to happen. No vendor should be able to place a hold on the funds in your account unless and until it has verified it is capable of delivering what it’s selling.

    Imagine going into a store to buy, say, a pile of clothes and being prepared to pay cash. The clerk quotes you a total of $248.77 and asks you “prove” you can pay the cash before she finishes ringing up the sale. So you take the $250 out of your wallet and hand it to the clerk. Suddenly, she says “Oh, the register won’t take the transaction. Or I can’t read the tag on this item with my scanner. Or this item has been discontinued even though I have one in stock.” Pick one. But you can’t get your cash back for two, three or more days.

    How long would anyone tolerate that? It’s the same exact concept.

  • Patricia

    Carver:

    She is not at fault for the actions of Orbitz or her bank. I made that completely clear. But she certainly needs to take responsibility for her OWN choice, which was to use a debit card to buy a plane ticket. Yes she has every right to pay in whatever way she likes, but in the case of just about anything to do with travel, certain methods of payment such as cash and debit cards are extremely poor choices.

    She is responsible for her poor choice, regardless of whether she had sufficient funds. Her story, and the millions of other stories that have been published about holds and overdrafts on bank accounts due to debit cards, is certainly proof of that.

  • http://www.fearlesswanderer.com @Fearlesstravels

    Orbitz has been doing this for years. Same thing happened to me in 2006 with a ticket purchase to China; I used Orbitz because it was the best price around for a flight from LA to Shanghai at that time.. Except that, I didn’t end up with a ticket, and they put a hold on the funds. Bada Bing.

    Patricia, et. al stating that using debit cards is a bad plan – what is she to do? Debit cards are like Check Cards, and can be run like Credit cards. How would this be any different if she had a low balance credit card she used and had the same issue occur? Credit card companies are in the process of reducing lines of credit available to even the high earning, high credit customers.

    I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using a form of actual cash you have on hand now days, especially considering the way some card companies have been cutting available funds left and right. This is a problem with how the system handles tickets that aren’t actually purchased, not with her form of payment.

  • http://aol barbie45

    both fearless and patricia are right; you are in a no win situation;I do not have Chris savy or expertise, but maybemakingt hese arrangements with a very reputable travel agent would help; it seems these three have outsourced to a group of foreigners who cannot understand colloquial English.; and who are are resentful towards Americans and say screw em

  • Patricia

    To Fearlesstravels:
    You ask ‘what is she to do?’ She could use a credit card instead of a debit card. You ask ‘how would it be different with a low balance credit card?’ It would be very different since the hold would not be on her real money and would therefore not jeopardize her ability to pay her regular bills or cause overdraft fees on her checking account. That is an enormous difference, and I have to say I don’t understand why people cannot seem to comprehend this difference.

    You add that you don’t think there is anything wrong with using cash if you have it on hand. That is your choice, but it is common knowledge that using cash for travel purchases is a very bad idea, as it leaves you with no protection whatsoever if something goes wrong or if a company does not deliver.

  • http://aol barbie45

    patricia ; you are absolutely right; use cash for little things but please no major purchases; a debit card whether it says credit on it or cash still comes out of your guess what checking account; anyone with commom sense would know that; often thwe machine will say cash or credit; if you say credit you just sign instead of putting in your pin number; it comes out of guess what same place your checking account simple;and true banks are are cutting credit limits right and left; try using a card with a low balance.

  • Kelly Lukanen

    From the “horses mouth” herself:

    My primary complaint was the customer service Orbitz was offering, or lack thereof, not so much the money (which was fully returned to me and no fees incurred). The problem was brought to my attention when I looked online at my bank statement and I took immediate steps to resolve the problem. However, I was not able to resolve this without the help of Orbitz and unfortunately the gentleman I spoke with was UNWILLING to assist me. I even tried to take over his job for him and do a conference call with Orbitz, the bank, and myself. The gentleman (I’m being kind here) hung up on me. We all know how frustrating it is to have to jump through hoops to get a live operator (by the way you have to press # 7 times when calling Orbitz to get a live agent), so by the time you get a live agent and tell your story, you are already drained and 20-30 minutes has gone by. Now when they hang up on you, that just adds insult to injury. The experience was very time consuming, and most certainly not how I want to spend my time.

    I will accept full responsibility for the “poor” management of my bank account as some of you have implied or stated, but I choose not to use credit cards. Does this imply I have no common sense? To some, it may, but I beg to differ.

    I travel frequently (try to about once a month) and always am looking for the best fare. At times the airlines are cheaper, but more often than not, it is Orbitz that I found to be the least expensive option. I had never experienced issues with them previously and was disheartened by the service I received when I had a history of booking as many trips as I have with them. This was my reason not going to the airline directly.

    Sometimes in life we face obstacles, we learn. However, I do not think it was necessary for me to be on a phone for over 2 hours to beg somebody to do their job. Orbitz did follow up with me again and they have given me a $200 voucher for the inconvenience. Would they have done this without Christopher’s assistance? Highly doubtful. I am thankful he contacted them on my behalf and in the future, I will take the following into consideration:

    1. Go directly to the airline for future purchases
    2. Use other forms of payment other than a debit card

    I always thought it was common sense that you shouldn’t spend what you don’t have (i.e. credit). However, there is the alternative, purchase with a credit card and immediately transfer the funds. You can be assured this is how I will proceed in the future.

    Thank you again to Christopher for his assistance.

  • Patricia

    Kelly,
    I’m glad you figured out that using credit cards is in no way equivalent to “spending what you don’t have.” In fact, it is with a debit card that you can do that, since with the debit card you were overdrawn. With a credit card you would not have been, because you wouldn’t have owed the money until the due date on the bill. For me, common sense would be to use your credit card for travel purchases, and then just pay the bill when it arrives. You aren’t spending what you don’t have, and you are protected from the shenanigans Orbitz put you through. There are millions of people who use credit cards and don’t go into debt.