When a company makes a mistake, you expect them to admit it. However, if that mistake costs them money they might not make good on the offer. For example, an airline might accidentally sell a $2,000 ticket for $20 because of a typing error. In the past, airlines might honor that ticket. However, you’re more likely to get a notice that the price was wrong and your reservation has been canceled.
Things got so bad that the government had to step in. While they didn’t force airlines to honor the mistake fare, they are responsible for paying for any non-refundable bookings you make because you had a confirmed reservation.
When it comes to banks, there are additional rules in place. Banks can’t simply write something and then take it back and say, “Oops!” When a bank makes a mistake, they have a responsibility to honor it.
That’s what recently happened with our JetBlue Plus account from Barclays.
I wouldn’t have known about the mistake without an email from the bank alerting me of their error and what they were doing to resolve the problem. Here’s the critical part of their message:
Monthly billing statements dated from March 3 to April 13 contained incorrect information about rewards, stating “Earn 2X points at restaurants and eligible office supply stores” instead of “Earn 2X points at restaurants and eligible grocery stores.” We apologize.
I didn’t see this because I don’t get statements from Barclays in the mail. I switched to electronic statements during one of their Earth Day promotions. Even when I received paper statements, I didn’t read the whole thing every month.
I went online and sure enough, there was a mistake on my March statement.
Here’s the corrected section from the next month’s statement.
I do not doubt that someone saw this mistake and started using their JetBlue Plus card at office supply stores. When the bonus points didn’t post, they contacted the bank about what was in their statement.
To Barclays’ credit, they are honoring the mistake and are extending the offer.
As a result of this error, we will honor the 2X rewards on office supply store purchases through July 15. As always, you will continue to earn the 2X rewards on restaurant and eligible grocery store purchases. We have also ensured subsequent statements reflect the correct information.
I’m not sure if this offer is for everyone or only if you received a statement with incorrect information. I’d check first to see if you missed the email from Barclays. You can also check your statement online to see if you have the office supply store language. It was on the last page of the March statement.
I’m glad to see a bank doing more than the absolute minimum to fix a problem. It won’t cost them many miles and they get to look like they’re doing something nice.
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