By Rita R. Robison
The holidays are coming so I worked this week on getting a
ticket to visit my daughter in Sacramento.
My best consumer experience: Learning about one-way tickets
I couldn’t get a free, round-trip ticket through the
rewards program of either of my credit unions. See below for the details of the struggle.
So, I look into buying a one-way ticket
to get home.
I learned, much to my surprise, that one-way tickets are
half the price of a round-trip ticket. I always assumed that you received a
bonus price when you booked round-trip.
My worst consumer experience: Frustration with my credit
card rewards programs
I belong to two credit unions. Both offer a rewards program.
For one credit union, I pay $25 a year for the “privilege”
of being in the rewards program.
When I called to arrange a ticket at that credit union, I
was told I was about 500 points short. That didn't seem right. I'd been told by a credit union employee that the points never expires. The reservations clerk told me that after three years points expire. And, she added, there was
no way I could get the needed 500 points for a round-trip ticket for this ticket. I was furious.
When I called the credit union about the mistake, a credit
union supervisor told me she was sorry for the error. But, due to an agreement
with the credit card company, the credit union couldn’t give me any more
points.
She said she’d remind employees about how the points expire
so they wouldn’t give incorrect information any more.
The rewards program for my other credit union didn't work either. I was way short for a round-trip ticket. And, I knew from calling before, that I couldn't add the points together from the two programs, even though the same company manages the accounts.
So, I decided to book a one-way ticket through the rewards
program to get to Sacramento on Southwest Airlines, and buy a one-way ticket on
Alaska Airlines to get home.
