[Jose Garrido]

I had a terrible experience with Qatar Airways. Purchased 2 tickets Madrid/Bangkok and return on the internet with my credit card. When we were about to embark they asked for the original credit card - which I did not have on me, and forced me to purchase 2 new tickets. Over 1 month is gone now and they are seating on my cash - because of course both credit cards/banks paid them in full. Now they claim they are still analysing the situation because of some 'security' issues and are postponing the refund of the extra ticket. Stay away from them, there are other cheap alternatives out there and unless you are prepared to pay business/first there is nothing special about their service and their hub terminal is a basic old fashioned facility.

[mars6423]

while it is a pain and frustrating that some airlines ask for the same card to be used and checked, there are a few reasons behind it, such as security...........its one of those things where you either love it or hate it

people who have had their identity stolen, cards stolen or anything like that will feel a little safer, and those who are adamant about security

but its frustrating when you dont bring the same card with you, there should be other methods in place to ensure that you can use the tickets you brought

[stonecold_1981]

Originally Posted by mars6423

while it is a pain and frustrating that some airlines ask for the same card to be used and checked, there are a few reasons behind it, such as security...........its one of those things where you either love it or hate it

people who have had their identity stolen, cards stolen or anything like that will feel a little safer, and those who are adamant about security

but its frustrating when you dont bring the same card with you, there should be other methods in place to ensure that you can use the tickets you brought

I do not agree with this. If it really is about security, then why is the amount debited on the credit card statement the moment you buy a ticket? For instance, if someone used my credit card to buy a ticket. The amount is immediately debited to my account. Now if no one uses the ticket (i.e. no validation at the airport), will the airline refund the money? So how does this help detect fraud?
On the other hand, if the airline only collected the credit card info and didnt charge the customer till they fly, I can understand the security issue of re-checking the credit card.

[Jose Garrido]

Hi! I agree with mars6432 regarding security 'you either love it or hate it' and I won't discuss it here. Now, If Qatar Airways is good faith why are they, 6 weeks after the purchase/flight (!) still refusing to refund one of the payments?! Now they have suggested, no commitment, just a suggestion, that I should bring the original credit card to their nearest office which is 300km from my hometown. Mind you this was a putchase on the internet AND they have been seating on my cash for over a month.

[mars6423]

stonecold.........its a case if your card is stolen and used without authority (online charge for example) and an attempt to get out of the country (as i have heard) and if you dont show the card used then they dont issue the boarding pass.......the majority do bring the same card but there are cases that they dont


jose.............i would go to small court if thats an option for you

[Jose Garrido]

2 weeks more gone by and Qatar Airways is still holding on to my money. Meanwhile forced me to travel 300km to show my credit card (show your credit card for a purchase made on the web in 2011!!!). Do business with these guys at your own risk!

[karach123]

Originally Posted by Jose Garrido

I had a terrible experience with Qatar Airways. Purchased 2 tickets Madrid/Bangkok and return on the internet with my credit card. When we were about to embark they asked for the original credit card - which I did not have on me, and forced me to purchase 2 new tickets. Over 1 month is gone now and they are seating on my cash - because of course both credit cards/banks paid them in full. Now they claim they are still analysing the situation because of some 'security' issues and are postponing the refund of the extra ticket. Stay away from them, there are other cheap alternatives out there and unless you are prepared to pay business/first there is nothing special about their service and their hub terminal is a basic old fashioned facility.

Please note, not long ago, I had a similar experience with Qatar Airways, where they disallowed me a seat from Karachi to London. They asked me to produce my credit card and in fact I did show them all my credit cards, but the boarding agent on the gate told me that my credit card did not match what is in their system. As a result, I could not board the flight and had to purchase on the spot ticket which was very expensive and Qatar Airways would not reimburse me for my damages. I think you should complain about this airlines to Department of transportation as well as to the Federal trade commission. They probably would not investigate your case individually, but both the authorities told me that if this does become a recurring theme with this airline, they would investigate. Moreover, you could consider bringing your matter to small claims court. You can do it yourself without any money.

I think it would be very helpful if you do go to Federal trade commission website and file a complaint. Having two similar complaints in a short period of time would get their attention.

Karch

[karach123]

you may consider complaining to Better Business Bureau. I agree that it is a bad practise to make passengers show their credit cards, when money has already been paid. It does not make any sense. And for you to travel 300 KM is very damaging.

[mishafirer]

Purchased two tickets Moscow-Jakarta online with a debit card HSBC bank. I lost that card and consequently the bank closed its operations in Russia. In the airport they asked me for my card. The man at the counter agreed that if I procure the card's number he'll let me onboard. The two Qatar employees overrode him and said that it's impossible, I need to show them the card I purchased my tickets with. But wait, how can I show it if it was lost? Doesn't matter to them (this is how 5-star airline operates). So they had me buy the tickets again with another card. Interestingly, on this trip I flew AirAsia and some other airlines, which I also booked online and nobody asked me for the card. In fact, this is the only airline that makes such a big deal out of it. Thankfully I got my money back upon return. What I learned from the incident: never ever buy flight tickets online with Qatar Airlines. And just to be on the safe side, ANY tickets with Qatar Airlines.

[Jose Garrido]

Hi. Indeed they seem to live in another era. More than one decade after amazon and ebay became popular this company still has issues with credit cards assuming that they are right and their (unfortunate) clients are all attempting fraud.
Eventually I got my refund.
After they forced me to travel to a city 300km away from my home to show the credit card I had used at the time of purchasing my tickets in their website, they refunded the OTHER credit card - the one I had used at the last minute to be allowed on board....!...!...
Meaning they only wanted to prove their point, kind of, even if it involved nonsense travelling, time and money wasted for the client.
You are absolutely right. I purchase tickets online a few times of month (including the likes of Airasia, Ryanair, Easyjet...) and this was the first time that showing my credit card was an issue.
It was my first time AND also the last. There are plenty of alternatives
JG

[karach123]

It certainly does not make any sense to check the credit card used to purchase the ticket. I see that three of us have had problems with Qatar Airways. I suggest that we go and complain to federal trade commision. if there is a theme from a company that is bothering consumers, Federal Trade commission would investigate, thanks