Lindsey Mastis

I had one of those nightmare travel experiences during the holidays. Here’s my earlier blog about the disastrous event . Basically, I had to fly to St. Louis early for a family emergency involving my pregnant sister. (No worries now, the baby is perfect and momma is recovering). I couldn’t afford to move my American Airlines ticket ahead of schedule, so I flew a different airline. I planned to take American Airlines back to DC , but I wasn’t aware of their policy.

What I’ve learned and what you should know: If you don’t fly to point A, your ticket to point B will be canceled. That’s unless you call ahead and tell them your situation .

I was out about $400. (The actual ticket price was $188 each way, plus taxes and fees). I was quite upset, so I e-mailed customer service– and they actually responded quite promptly. (No, I didn’t have to call, wait on hold, or plead with a representative.) I just sent a short summary of what happened. They e-mailed me today and the news was good!

Because of the circumstances, they are making a one-time exception. They have exchanged my original ticket for an eVoucher. This means the money I paid will go toward a new ticket with American. This makes me extremely happy, since I enjoy flying American and because it’s the easiest way for me to fly directly to St. Louis from downtown DC. Yey! (Thank you American!)