Several weeks ago, I wrote about a frustrating situation that an OMAAT reader dealt with when booking a Frontier Airlines flight. Long story short, he used a friend’s credit card to buy a Frontier ticket, since that friend had an Amex Offers deal on it, which offered a discount on the flight (fair enough, that’s smart!).
However, the traveler noticed something wasn’t right when he tried to check-in online. So he contacted Frontier support, and was told to bring copies of the purchaser’s ID and credit card to the airport, which he did. Despite that, he was denied boarding, and was told that the actual credit card holder had to be present at the airport, despite no such requirement in the contract of carriage.
Well, there’s now an interesting update, and it really shows you how frustrating it can be to deal with airlines (even when I intervene and try to help!).
In this post:
Frontier makes absurd claim about credit card rules
When I first wrote about this situation about a month ago, I reached out to Frontier corporate communications to ask them to clarify the policy. They said they were looking into it, and never got back to me with an answer, despite following up.
So the reader filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation (DOT), which is one of the best ways to get an airline to respond to your complaint, since the DOT has to be copied on correspondence. Interestingly, Frontier doubled down on the initial claim, and wrote the following:
As per Frontier Airlines’ policy, when a ticket is purchased using a credit card by someone who is not traveling, the cardholder must be physically present at the airport with the original credit card and a valid government-issued photo ID. This requirement is in place to ensure the security and verification of payment details.
Of course this is completely ridiculous and baseless. Think about this for a second — Frontier really wants to claim that the cardholder has to consistently be physically present if the name of the passenger doesn’t match the name of the cardmember?
So that would mean passengers couldn’t book tickets for their spouse, for a child returning home from college, for an employee or business associate, etc. While different airlines have different policies when it comes to credit card security, there’s not an airline in the world with such a strict policy.
Frontier now clarifies that its claim isn’t actually correct
When the reader shared the latest correspondence with me, I wanted to give the airline one more chance to set the record straight. So I explained I’d be writing a follow-up story, and asked if Frontier’s policy is really that nobody can buy a ticket for anyone else with a credit card, unless they actually are present at the airport.
The airline did finally get back to me to clarify the policy. Not surprisingly, the initial claim wasn’t correct:
To be clear, our policy does not require a cardholder to be physically present at the airport any time they buy a ticket for someone else traveling, and different names between a ticketed passenger and credit card used alone will not flag a reservation for potential fraud. Other possible indicators – such as an abnormal IP address or a history of chargebacks with the credit card, to name a couple – may flag a reservation for potential fraud.
In-person verification at the airport with ID and credit card is only required when a reservation is flagged for potential fraud, as was the case in this instance. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience that followed, and as such issued a full refund to the customer involved. We always strive for a seamless travel experience.
Our Customer Care team is coordinating with agents now to ensure that this information is shared accurately going forward.
Well of course the airline refunded him (that was already done at the time), since they literally denied him boarding. But Frontier still hasn’t actually addressed this passenger’s concerns:
- He followed Frontier’s policies, was never informed in advance of an issue, and when he discovered there was an issue, he did exactly what he was told
- He was then denied check-in and boarding, and ultimately was out of pocket for having to buy a ticket on another airline
- All the while, he was told he was violating the contract of carriage, without anyone actually being able to tell him which part of the contract of carriage covers this
It’s totally reasonable that companies have policies in place to minimize credit card fraud. However, they need to inform passengers of this in advance, and be clear about what passengers can do to address those concerns.
In this case he was told by a representative what to do, he did it, and then at the airport he was told that’s not enough. That’s unprofessional and disorganized at best, and unethical at worst.
Bottom line
As I wrote about some time back, a Frontier Airlines passenger was denied check-in and boarding for booking a ticket with someone else’s credit card, despite nothing in the contract of carriage requiring that. When he contacted the airline, he was told he’d need a copy of the credit card and ID, which he brought, but he was still denied boarding.
He filed a DOT complaint, in which Frontier claimed that the airline doesn’t allow third party payment, unless the cardmember is physically present at the airport. That of course makes no sense, and I followed up with the airline, which confirmed this wasn’t actually the policy.
The airline is framing a refund for the passenger as some sort of courtesy, when that’s the minimum that has to be done if you deny someone boarding with no basis that’s supported in the contract of carriage. The airline is seemingly refusing to do anything else, though, to make things right.
What do you make of this Frontier Airlines credit card saga?
Nothing that can’t be fixed with a small claims court lawsuit. Those things are won by default, as Frontier won’t send anyone.
Nothing that can’t be fixed with a small claims court lawsuit. Those things are won by default, as Frontier won’t send anyone.
I would just type in my name on the card info section when using someone else’s credit card, with someone else’s billing address. I’ve done this a ton of times (with my spouse, sharing same address but not last name) and haven’t had any issue so far.
The claim that 'there's not an airline in the world' that asks for credit card holders to be present at check in is clearly inaccurate.
Turkish Airlines have been notorious for that requirement and I'm certain that it is, or at least used to be, explicitly codified within their online booking system (not conditions of carriage as they wouldn't be able to make sense of any tickets issued by agencies and/or on other airline...
The claim that 'there's not an airline in the world' that asks for credit card holders to be present at check in is clearly inaccurate.
Turkish Airlines have been notorious for that requirement and I'm certain that it is, or at least used to be, explicitly codified within their online booking system (not conditions of carriage as they wouldn't be able to make sense of any tickets issued by agencies and/or on other airline stock). I've also had at least a couple of airlines, including TG, ask to see the credit card used for my booking at check in (I was carrying it with me so I don't know what would have happened had I been unable to produce it).
As another comment says, it's quite likely that these practices are less common than they used to be, but I don't think they've been eliminated just yet.
The easy way to handle it is for the cardholder to sign a waiver or sign to say they agree to purchase the ticket for the other person. Many non-US airlines have this policy. This not only allows the other person to do the purchase but prevents the chargeback
If A flys on a ticket bought by B's cc, B claims fraud, and the airlines get a charge back from the cc company, I see the concern. Isn't there a way to handle this so that a charge back can't happen? If it's flagged, why not let cardholder address the issue through the cc company beforehand?
In recent years, every time I buy an international J (which I do at the airlines website),...
If A flys on a ticket bought by B's cc, B claims fraud, and the airlines get a charge back from the cc company, I see the concern. Isn't there a way to handle this so that a charge back can't happen? If it's flagged, why not let cardholder address the issue through the cc company beforehand?
In recent years, every time I buy an international J (which I do at the airlines website), I have to do a 2FA. I love it, no big inconvenience and no, you have to try again or start over.
Airline customers have practically no recourse if a carrier violates its conditions of carriage (the one-sided "contract" that governs tickets). The Airline Deregulation Act deprived states of almost all jurisdiction, so small claims court is not a viable option. Are you supposed to file a Federal lawsuit over $79.99? Of course not. All that's left is the Federal regulators, who have never been very interested in individual passenger complaints, and under this Administration are less...
Airline customers have practically no recourse if a carrier violates its conditions of carriage (the one-sided "contract" that governs tickets). The Airline Deregulation Act deprived states of almost all jurisdiction, so small claims court is not a viable option. Are you supposed to file a Federal lawsuit over $79.99? Of course not. All that's left is the Federal regulators, who have never been very interested in individual passenger complaints, and under this Administration are less so than ever. So in practical terms you can ask an airline to honor its obligations, but other than trying to embarrass them on social media there's not much you can do about it if they decide not to.
Wrong. U.S. airlines can and are sued in small claims court every day. They have the right to remove the case to Federal court, but it’s rarely worth their while to do so.
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/air-travelers-tell-it-judge
I fly Frontier alot and buy tix with those in my pool and never had a issue. Also use it for biz purchases and no issue. Im all for trying to prevent fruad and have had charges with especially Chase and CO held up in the past but something flagged here but Frontier does need to fix this.
As an aside, Delta is notorious for enforcing this policy on their flights to Africa. Whoever purchased the flight must show the check-in desk their credit card and ID or you'll be denied your boarding pass.
This was airline, as well as merchants' policy for a couple of decades. Gradually, with the advent of online purchases it became less and less common as merchants and credit card companies chose to absorb credit card fraud in the name of keeping things moving.
But airline tickets present a unique opportinity for fraud on a global scale. First, purchases tend to be large-usually hundreds of dollars. It's not like spending $75 at Wayfair. Secondly,...
This was airline, as well as merchants' policy for a couple of decades. Gradually, with the advent of online purchases it became less and less common as merchants and credit card companies chose to absorb credit card fraud in the name of keeping things moving.
But airline tickets present a unique opportinity for fraud on a global scale. First, purchases tend to be large-usually hundreds of dollars. It's not like spending $75 at Wayfair. Secondly, online purchases are tied to a delivery address. If multiple fraudulent purchases are tied to a particular delivery address, then it can be caught.
In the case of airline tickets, a stolen credit card number and billing address could generate thousands of dollars of purchases in minutes if someone in Bulgaria, using a VPN to show they were in the US, bought tickets for several people in someone else's name and then resold them to that passenger at a discount.
United avoids this problem by having a Mileage Plus member add other people to his or her MP profile so buying a ticket for someone when the cardholder isn't also traveling is not a problem.
I suppose Frontier, or their credit card processor, has decided fraud has gotten too high and Frontier doesn't have the money to upgrade their frequent flier system for relatively few passengers.
United got into it ages ago so a business manager could buy tickets for his or her team to travel and pay with a company credit card. Sometimes the card holder would travel with the others and sometimes not.
My hunch is that credit card fraud is a big issue with Frontier (and probably Spirit). Unfortunately, good people get stuck with a policy designed to protect against scammers.
But as one poster put it correctly the airline's days are numbered. Unless it's investors want to dump a ton more of good money after bad.
I say, please do, dear shareholders. Nice to see more competition in the market. Yippie.
@1990 Yep in your world an airline can offer Frontier fares with PanAm Clipper service and stay in business. Were you absent that day in second grade when your math teacher taught that a positive subtracted by a bigger negative would always be a negative? Four example 4-6=-2.
Nah, I think the US market can support a combination of ULCCs and legacy carriers. Besides, you should recall PanAm focused on international routes, while other carriers did domestic. Different era. I don’t expect Frontier to fly TATL or TPAC. Then again, as Southwest proved, Hawaii could be possible.
It's fine, they won't be around too much longer so no point in updating old policies.
Ben ‘tried to help,’ and apparently, no good deed goes unpunished. We really do need better passenger regulations in this country. We need an EU261 equivalent, too. I know this isn’t that exact situation, but can’t hurt repeating that again and again until it happens.
It's absurd in the 2020s, but back in the 1990s when E-tickets were first being rolled out and res were still made over the phone UA had this exact policy. So maybe it's more like F9 is just stuck in the 1990s.
If the ticketed pax was different from the credit card holder, the credit card holder had to go to the airport ticket counter or city ticket office to verify their identity.
I remember those days well.
I was a corporate travel manager in that era and prior to E-Tickets we had a Pre Paid Ticket Advisory which was a hand written "accountable document" that had a ticket number that was called into the airline. This is how people paid for tickets for other people. The traveler would go to the ticket counter and present their ID and the airline would issue the ticket.
I'm glad you advocated for the reader. It seems like the only way to get companies to respond is to keep escalating the issue.
What is a ‘Community Ambassador’ title? Is that above ‘Diamond’?