Getting a refund or transferring reservations success anyone?

[TimeforMe]

OK, here's the saga.....for dd's hs graduation, her present was to use our DVC at Boardwalk for a week this summer. Well, the girl that she asked to go (mistake #1) has since gotten a boyfriend and they really haven't seen each other much at all. She also left dd's grad party early (bf was not invited) which hurt dd greatly. When I made our airline reservation several months ago, I paid for friend's ticket on my credit card (mistake #2). I told her mom she could pay me after the bill came in (mistake #3) since I know she's a single mom and may not have had the $. Fast forward to now....of course mom has not paid me. I call Delta to see if I have any recourse such as a refund or transferring the reservation. They tell me no. It's a $50 cancellation charge and only the person whose name the reservation is in, will get the travel credit. I call the mom today and let her know that my bill has already come and gone and tell her the amount she owes me on her voice mail.

DD REALLY does not want to go with her now and I think friend REALLY does not want to go now. My question is....has anyone had any success in transferring a reservation? TIA.

ETA I forgot to mention the airline is Delta.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Unfortunately, you cannot transfer an airline ticket to another person's name on any airline.

I don't know if this is possible, but I would try and get the credit in your name, since you paid for the ticket using your credit card. If it is not, you may have to just eat the cost.

 

[CarolA]

Only onn SW you can transfer the credit. However, on DL you are just out of luck, you can't get the credit transferred.

Good luck

 

[ducklite]

Maybe the mom could pay you for the ticket then use it for her daughter for another trip?

Anne

 

[TimeforMe]

Maybe the mom could pay you for the ticket then use it for her daughter for another trip?

Anne

That would be ideal, but that's where the problem lies right now. She hasn't paid me yet. We made the reservation several months ago and I haven't heard from her. I did call yesterday and leave a message so we'll see what happens.

I tried to call Delta again and they're not budging. Plus, they charge $50 to cancel the reservation! They will not give the credit to me even though I paid. If the mom doesn't pay me, I will just eat the fare and not cancel the reservation. Otherwise, I will be out the fare $, the $50 fee and SHE will have the credit.

Hopefully, I'm jumping the gun here and it'll work out. We're only a few weeks away from going though.

 

[safetymom]

That is the problem with non refundable tickets. Most airlines have a policy like Delta does.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

If the mom doesn't pay me, I will just eat the fare and not cancel the reservation. Otherwise, I will be out the fare $, the $50 fee and SHE will have the credit.

The $50 fee is not in addition to the fare, it is subtracted from the fare. So, if the fare was $150, then they would give the friend a credit of $100 if you cancel.
If you are comfortable eating the $50 change fee, I would suggest talking with the friend's Mom. Suggest that you work together so that her daughter can get the credit and then use it for a portion of a new ticket for new friend who is now going to go with your daughter. You can do this because while the credit must be in original passenger's name, that person can use that credit to buy a ticket in some else's name.
If friends' Mom is not willing to help coordinate this, then tell her you have to insist on full payment for the ticket as promised. My guess is that she will be happy to help to avoid paying the cost of the ticket.
Bes tof luck -- Suzanne

 

[TimeforMe]

Suzanne--Thank you so much--that was very helpful I didn't realize that they could use the credit to purchase a ticket in someone else's name. That's a possibility. Still have not heard from her yet, though

 

[Janet-TX]

I travel alot, but am not familar with Delta. However, won't the credit (less the $50) go onto the same credit card account that paid for the ticket, regardless of the name of the credit card holder????

 

[chipscinderelly]

I travel alot, but am not familar with Delta. However, won't the credit (less the $50) go onto the same credit card account that paid for the ticket, regardless of the name of the credit card holder????

No - the airline does not actually send you $ for the credit but instead will lower the amount of the available funds to rebook a different ticket.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I travel alot, but am not familar with Delta. However, won't the credit (less the $50) go onto the same credit card account that paid for the ticket, regardless of the name of the credit card holder????

The very definition of a nonrefundable ticket is that it can't be credited to anybody's credit card. Only a refundable ticket can be credited back to someone's credit card.

 

[CarolA]

The $50 fee is not in addition to the fare, it is subtracted from the fare. So, if the fare was $150, then they would give the friend a credit of $100 if you cancel.
If you are comfortable eating the $50 change fee, I would suggest talking with the friend's Mom. Suggest that you work together so that her daughter can get the credit and then use it for a portion of a new ticket for new friend who is now going to go with your daughter. You can do this because while the credit must be in original passenger's name, that person can use that credit to buy a ticket in some else's name.
If friends' Mom is not willing to help coordinate this, then tell her you have to insist on full payment for the ticket as promised. My guess is that she will be happy to help to avoid paying the cost of the ticket.
Bes tof luck -- Suzanne

I don't think this is going to work. The original ticket was in Friend A's name. On Delta that is the only person who can then book a ticket. I don't think DL will let you use the credit to buy Friend B a ticket. That works on SW and maybe JetBlue, but otherwise.....

 

[Poorman]

You can hope Delta changes the flight, you can then cancel with no penalty. An they have been changing flights left and right. I would check to see if your flight ha been changed.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I don't think this is going to work. The original ticket was in Friend A's name. On Delta that is the only person who can then book a ticket. I don't think DL will let you use the credit to buy Friend B a ticket. That works on SW and maybe JetBlue, but otherwise.....

I know you fly Delta a lot, so you are probably right. This would work on American (which of course doesn't help the OP). My husband and I both received vouchers last year when we cancelled and rebooked on American when the fare went down. We used those 2 credit vouchers to book 1 ticket in my husband's name so that we only had to pay the "talk to a human" fee once. So I know it can be done on American, but it has probably been more than 5 years since I have flown Delta.

It would be a different story, even on American, if the ticket was partially used. Then, I think any value can only be applied against a ticket for the original passenger.

Well, if Delta is tougher than American in allowing the use of credits from changes/cancellations, then that's just another reason that I will continue to fly American.

To the OP: Best of luck and sorry I may have gotten your hopes up. -- Suzanne

 

[TimeforMe]

OK--a little update for those of you who may be interested (I know you ALL are waiting with baited breath to hear)....Friend's mom stopped by today, checkbook in hand, and before I could say one word, she stated that friend was no longer interested in going -- Phew! That made things alot easier for me. She also said that she is willing to pay the fare to me and will make sure I am not out any money. At the time, I thought there was a possibility of friend getting the credit and then buying a ticket in someone else's name which would mean she would have only been out the $50 charge. Now I'm finding out that is probably not the case. I will call Delta directly tomorrow to find out for sure.

The good news: we're not out any money. The bad news: not sure if dd can get another friend on such short notice especially since fare is doubled now. The other possibility would be to postpone our trip. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for your help everyone. I guess Delta is not know for their customer service, huh?

 

[safetymom]

Delta and the other airlines sell fully refundable tickets. The cost is much more so most people don't buy them. You agree to their policies when you buy the ticket.

 

[CarolA]

Personally I find DLs customer service fine. It beats AA any day in my book (but then AA hates me LOL!)

The problem is that we all want "cheap" airfare and then when the plans change we want the airline to change this "just this one time" The lack of flexibility is the price we pay for cheap airfares. And if you look at airfare on an inflation adjusted basis, it's one of the best deals out there. You can fly to Orlando now cheaper in most cases then you could 10 years ago....

 

[Brian Noble]

I guess Delta is not know for their customer service, huh?

if you look at airfare on an inflation adjusted basis, it's one of the best deals out there.

Absolutely. This is one of those situations in which we get what we pay for.

 

[TimeforMe]

oh brother. I knew that would bring those comments. I KNOW the ticket is non-refundable, etc. So are a lot on other airlines, but they aren't as stringent on their policies. I would think that the person doing the actual buying of the ticket would have some recourse, but apparently not.

And I agree about airfares being so low. I don't know how they stay in business, but lucky for us they do.

 

[janets]

I'm glad you appear to have some resolution of the cost issue here but it's sad that dd's friendship with this girl is apparently over. I know that friendships at 18 are often transient but it's always unfortunate when they have to end over something as silly as a boyfriend whose name in most cases will not even be remembered in a year or 2.

We're hoping to take a trip for older ds's bar mitzvah to WDW and book a grand villa and take along perhaps 3 of his friends for a long weekend instead of doing the traditional big party thing. We have some time but since you get the date 3 years in advance it's going to be hard to do that since at 11-13 "best friends" often change by the day. Not sure how we'll manage to book for his choices and not end up in the same boat as you when one of the friends backs out or decides he doesn't like ds enough to go on the trip.

Just have to hope we can narrow it to the friends who have been there for a while.

Congrats to dd on her graduation.