When it comes to credit card disputes, Avianca Lifemiles plays hardball in the most egregious of ways…yet another reason to boycott the Avianca LifeMiles program.
Avianca Canceled His Flight And Then Threatened To Ban Him Over A Credit Card Dispute
One Mile At A Time shares of a reader who ran into quite a dilemma with Avianca LifeMiles:
- He redeemed Lifemiles for a round-trip Avianca ticket and completed the outbound leg successfully
- On the return, Avianca rebooked him on a flight that conflicted with his onward connection, offering no suitable alternatives
- After eight hours of trying to resolve the issue, Avianca refused to refund miles or the approximately $45 in taxes for the unused segment
- The reader filed a credit card dispute specifically for the taxes paid
- Avianca responded with an ultimatum: cancel the dispute within 12 hours or be banned from the Lifemiles program and lose access to his account
- The reader, concerned about losing a large balance of miles, canceled the dispute and submitted proof to Avianca
- His account access was restored two days later after Avianca received the screenshot confirming dispute cancellation
This incident highlights how airlines can retaliate against customers who pursue chargebacks, even when customer service has failed. It’s pure extortion to refuse to help, back a customer into a corner, and only respond (with a horrific threat) when he takes the only viable route he has to make him whole.
Earlier this year, I called for a boycott of Avianca Lifemiles. In defending my “boycott,” I explained:
With whatever (small) voice I have in this points and miles space, I would like to make an example of Lifemiles…to send a message that loyalty programs are a two-way street and that folks do have choice when it comes to buying miles, credit card spending, and choosing which program to send transferable points currency…
My advice: stay away from this program. Do not do business with a program that shows you no respect and offers no strong network or other compelling reason to justify staying loyal.
I realize some of you may be more pragmatic than I in this matter (you’ll still use Avianca Lifemiles for redemptions that work for you), and I certainly do not begrudge you for that, but I stand by that assessment.
The egregious example only adds to the reasons to boycott this program.
What kind of program cancels your flight and then refuses to make it right?
I feel very sorry for this traveler and see it as a blinking, flashing warning sign about Lifemiles.
CONCLUSION
Imagine finding out your flight is canceled and the airline refuses to rebook you or issue you a refund. It’s mind-bloggingly bad. Perhaps a US Department of Transportation complaint would have ultimately been more effective than the chargeback, but I cannot blame anyone for disputing a charge for a service that was not delivered as promised.
Avianca Lifemiles: caveat emptor.
Are they a Hertz partner?
I wouldn’t be surprised to read that the likes of TK and EK engage in similar practices.
Unfortunately, dodgy approaches aren’t exclusive to specific airlines/countries. BA call centres have been known to systematically lie to their customers about their 261 rights, Aegean always refuse to observe the duty of care provisions for anyone on an award ticket suffering a schedule change/cancellation, AF have gone back on their promise to cover my hotel costs for an overnight at CDG after a KLM cancellation, Finnair refused to switch my mum’s destination from DUS to MUC when they screwed up her onward connection by cancelling the lunchtime service from HEL etc…and that’s why I’m not convinced that any sort of boycotting works – I think that, as long as you have access to a reasonable small claims procedure, suing them is more effective, even if the amounts involved aren’t very big. It’s a relatively easy way to make the poor behaviour visible, initially to senior management and subsequently to the wider world.
This is a good illustration of why I am careful flying Avianca. They’re big at my home airport and are often the only reasonable carrier for where I go, so I cannot avoid them entirely. I book only nonrefundable fares and only when the amount in question is something I can walk away from without regret, because their so-called refundable fares are a lie. I have my miles credited not to LifeMiles but to a Star Alliance partner so Avianca can’t claw them back or otherwise hold me hostage.
What’s funny is that (last time I checked, anyway) their cheapest nonrefundable fares don’t earn SkyMiles, but they do earn miles with Star Alliance partners.
I will say that the large majority of my interaction with Avianca employees has been positive. Just don’t expect the company to do anything other than try to cheat you.
No surprise there. Every call to Avianca Lifemiles support is a dumpster fire full of system errors, unknown policies and therefore an inability to do anything to support the customer.
Someone who works at Ground Staff (for another airline) in El Dorado reported to me having to go to the Avianca counter with a stranded passenger as they wouldn’t do anything although it was Avianca’s fault (they were operating the next leg of the flight)…until they were reminded that it was there DUTY to rebook the passenger.
Avianca does have some good experience points, but I would NEVER fly with them on a connecting flight. Furthermore, I only book Avianca through other travel agents such as Expedia to ensure they honor their refundable ticket policy as I have also not gotten a refund before.