It’s the type of travel that nightmares are made out of. You think you have everything all planned out so nothing will go wrong. And then karma— or, as in this case, the airline—says, “Nope, I’m going to ruin your day.”
Herb Weisbaum and his wife had reportedly spent a lovely week in London, visiting some of Herb’s relatives. But when they were ready to go back across the pond on the way home, they couldn’t get their boarding passes.
“Went to the kiosk where you get your boarding pass, and it said the only way we could identify ourselves and start the process was with the credit card we had purchased the ticket with,” said Weisbaum.
So they spoke to a Delta representative, who said they needed to show that specific credit card.
There was only one problem – that particular card was at home.
“Like many people, I don’t travel with all my credit cards; I leave some of them home,” Weisbaum explained. He continued that he hadn’t thought to bring the card he had initially used when he bought the plane tickets three months prior.
Weisbaum said he tried offering everything – passport, driver’s license, confirmation code, you name it – they apparently weren’t going to get their boarding passes unless they could show the credit card that was used to purchase the tickets.
Weisbaum says they were given three options: they could buy two new, last-minute one-way tickets home (for the low, low price of just $3K EACH), not leave London (EVER? I don’t think that one was really an option), or have someone send a photo of the missing credit card.
He chose the third one.
“So, at 3 a.m. Seattle time, I called my neighbor Sam and talked him through turning off the burglar alarm and getting into the house via the keypad on the garage door,” (they later gave Sam a box of chocolate from Harrods for his efforts).
Weisbaum continued that Sam texted them pictures of the front and back of the credit card. That was enough for Delta to allow him to print out their boarding passes.
And THEN, according to WCPO in Cincy, they were able to fly home.
Not a new problem
This is an issue that has been ongoing for years; airlines claim it’s a form of “security.” And it’s not just a “Delta” thing. Triptipedia listed the respective policies regarding requiring a credit card for dozens of airlines a few years ago.
A Delta agent whom Weisbaum spoke with suggested that his was not an isolated incident.
“Families send their kids over — the kid doesn’t have the credit card. Business people travel”
Apparently, this issue occurs more frequently with international flights. But even then, even celebrities can get stuck with this stumbling block.
What can you do?
If you want to ensure you’ll be able to get your boarding pass, make sure to bring the card you used to buy the ticket(s) with you, because you never know when the airline might ask you for it.
It’s a pain to remember to do. But I promise it’ll be more of a pain if they don’t let you onto your flight.
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