[KGarciaNYC]

Last night my family received a call that my aunt had a sudden heart attack in the Dominican Republic and while lying in her deathbed, she asked to see her daughter before she dies. My cousin, her daughter who lives in Orlando, Florida, can not afford to pay for the tickets. Understanding the urgency of the situation, I logged on to the JetBlue website and purchased 3 tickets with my American Express Gold card for my cousin and her two children. A few minutes later, I received JetBlue’s email confirming the 3 tickets for the 6:02 am flight (this morning)
When my cousin arrives at the counter we are told that the tickets were canceled because there was not enough money on my credit card. It makes no sense to me, and so I explained to the agent that the American Express (AMEX) Gold card is unlimited, and that I had received a confirmation from JetBlue which only happens once the card has covered the cost of the tickets, and that I felt that they were not giving us a valid reason. However, the JetBlue agent tells us that in order to get in that flight we must pay cash the total of USD$1,978.78; otherwise we are not getting on the plane. At this point, I am puzzled by the unexpected turn of events and the invalid excuses. At that point I also wondered if I am the only person who does not carry around $1,978.78 in their pockets. I offered a Credit/Debit card so they can charge this amount. They refused to accept any other cards for us because we were deemed as fraudulent. And now I feel like I’m in a bad dream. So I quickly contact American Express and the representative immediately argues JetBlue’s claim for two reasons: (1) Amex provided immediate payment for the three tickets when JetBlue processed the purchase and they provided the approval # given to JetBlue, and (2) because the card is unlimited. So I go ahead an waste another 35 minutes arguing the points and trying to make sense of this madness, to no avail. JetBlue staff said that the tickets are no longer valid and the 3 passengers are not getting on the plane and there was nothing else they can do. I called JetBlue three times in an attempt to get someone who would finally make sense. The last representative I reached at JetBlue made a decent attempt to be honest and offered me the honest response: “I don’t know why the tickets got cancelled, but they deemed the purchase a fraud”. So I asked why, if this was the case and JetBlue is concerned about my charges I was never contacted by JetBlue either via email, cell phone, smoke signal, SOMETHING! I also volunteered the information AMEX provided to me and I asked if Amex covered or did not cover the cost of the three tickets, to which she responded, yes they did. So I asked, so what is the problem? The JB lady simply responded 'I am not sure madam!, but there is nothing I can do about it. I said, can you use Amex payment and put it towards the three tickets so my cousin can get to her mom ASAP? But the JetBlue representative said she had no options to offer me. What am I at this point, one of America’s most wanted? I own the card, I authorized the purchase, I want to use the tickets? What is the problem? The representative simply tried to get me off the phone so she can move on with her life. I asked if I am being refunded since I got nothing from them. She said that I would receive an email at some point letting me know about the cancellation and about the refund. This was a bad dream on top of a bad personal situation. In a time of an emergency, my family is stranded at the Airport without an option. We have been JetBlue travelers since their inception; yet, my family was unfairly left hanging to dry at the airport while my aunt waits to die. The day has gone by and JetBlue has not had the decency to email me a valid reason as to why they canceled our tickets or why my purchase was deemed as fraudulent or when I am being refunded. Why would JetBlue receive AMEX payment if they felt that this purchase, unlike any other, was a fraud and why would they not contact me to let me know? My theory is simple; JetBlue overbooked the flight and canceled the last tickets sold which may have included my three tickets. And if this was the case they should have just given an explanation and offered an option. You want to improve JetBlue? OFFER AN OPTION! You screw the customers, then you should offer an option! Do not leave them stranded at airports without an explanation that makes sense. You have no clue the cross each person is carrying. We had to call every airline and run around the terminals to find an airline that would offer an option to the predicament JetBlue put us in. Luckily, American Airlines offered us an option. I have not flown American Airlines in over 13 years. I gave up on it because I wanted the ‘hip’ down to earth airline. Yet, to my surprise, American Airlines offered us not only an option, but a cheaper option. We paid USD$1,320.00, with a credit card, for three tickets to Santo Domingo. It's past 2:30 Eastern time and I am yet to hear from JetBlue about the incident, the cancelation, and my refund. It even seems a bit arrogant that JetBlue staff behaves this way. It is a shame that while JetBlue has increased their number of flights and has quickly spread across the nation over the years, it has left behind the importance and quality of customer service. The JetBlue slogan: 'It's about you' is inaccurate because it is not about us, the customers. It is about JetBlue’s bottom line. JetBlue seems to have forgotten that its customers are not ignorant people who travel on donkeys. They should know that we, the customers, have the ability to see through their nonsense; we’re also able to understand a valid explanation as to why they cancel tickets at the last minute, even after getting payment, and without notifying the customer.
The JetBlue slogan should be: It’s all about us! Buy our tickets and when we fill up the plane, you are on your own! Keep in mind that we do not care if you get to your destination or not!

[A320FAN]

When it comes to credit card purchases, Amex may have seen the purchase as something that is not normal for you, and therefore working to make sure that jetBlue and Amex were not being defrauded (American Express and JetBlue are business partners). I have seen this time and time again. There is an entire team dedicated to tracking down credit card fraud with both companies. When it comes to transactions, there is usually a note sent to the station stating that for what ever reason Amex sees in this charge , it may not be valid. There are then note placed in the reservation stating that the ONLY Form Of Payment that can be excepted in cash.
I have had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with some of these passengers. I have evern had to call the police to assist in obtaining the payment as well. I am siding the both JetBlue and Amex on this one. Credit card fraud is to rampant these days, and If I was working at American Express, I might have considered giving you a call to ask if this charge is/was vaild before turning over any monies to jetBlue. I do not need fraudto haunt me. I am sorry for your loss, but the JetBlue staff @ MCO airport were correct.

[KGarciaNYC]

A320FAN - Thanks for your unbiased response. I am not concerned about the JetBlue counter agents' behavior as I am sure they do not have the authority to overide an already paid purchase.
As for Amex- I am used to purchasing multiple plane tickets and vacation packages, at least twice a year with my Amex card and they are quick to contact me if they feel that there is something off in my purchases. In this case, the Amex representative was surprised with JetBlue's decision to cancel my tickets since Amex had paid for it. The Rep indicated that when they received JetBlue's invoice they paid it right away and there was nothing odd about their dealings with JetBlue that would justify JetBlue's decision. The Amex Rep was surprised that JetBlue felt there was fraud involved since they did not make it obvious to them.
As for JetBlue was so concerned that there was fraud that they still had not bothered to email me about the event or my refund.
I am glad you are a pleased JetBlue customer satisfied with their decision to cancel tickets at the last minute without a valid reason, or notification or a demostration of 'fraud concerns'.
One long customer less might not seem to matter now, but as with any other company, only time we will tell. Thanks again for your input.

[KGarciaNYC]

A320FAN - Thanks for your unbiased response. I am not concerned about the JetBlue counter agents' behavior as I am sure they do not have the authority to overide an already paid purchase.
As for Amex- I am used to purchasing multiple plane tickets and vacation packages, at least twice a year with my Amex card and they are quick to contact me if they feel that there is something off in my purchases. In this case, the Amex representative was surprised with JetBlue's decision to cancel my tickets since Amex had paid for it. The Rep indicated that when they received JetBlue's invoice they paid it right away and there was nothing odd about their dealings with JetBlue that would justify JetBlue's decision. The Amex Rep was surprised that JetBlue felt there was fraud involved since they did not make it obvious to them.
As for JetBlue was so concerned that there was fraud that they still had not bothered to email me about the event or my refund.
I am glad you are a pleased JetBlue customer satisfied with their decision to cancel tickets at the last minute without a valid reason, or notification or a demostration of 'fraud concerns'.
One long customer less might not seem to matter now, but as with any other company, only time we will tell. Thanks again for your input.

[jimworcs]

I too had credit card companies question transactions and I am glad they did. However, this is NOT what happened here. Amex deny any action was taken. Most companies have triggers for fraud, and you may have had some of them. For example, last minute purchase, purchaser is not travelling or present, destination is a high risk market. However, jetBlue's failure to help resolve the problem and give you an opportunity to prove the transaction was legitimate, or to even talk to Amex is disgraceful.

[KGarciaNYC]

To jimworcs - I'm glad you understand my point. I too appreciate it when the credit card companies contact me to ensure the legitimacy of a purchase. I also appreciate it when an airline takes responsibility and admits that they messed up. Afterall, JetBlue is not the only airline that overbooks, but it is not one to admit it. They are holding on to the the slogan I gave them: It's all about us!. See, a whole day's gone by and Jetblue is yet to notify me of the ticket cancelation and about my refund.
It makes me wonder if JB thinks that I have not noticed that my tickets were canceled and that they still need to refund my credit card despite the multiple phone calls. Their dismissal for a customer's concern and their blunt self-righteousness is really what angers me.