After TPG reader Jeanette Kronquist booked a flight from Nashville Worldwide Airport (BNA) to Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) by way of Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW), the American Airways web site supplied her rental automotive choices. She clicked on the suggestions and was stunned she might pay for her four-day rental completely with AAdvantage miles.
Scrolling by way of her decisions, she observed Europcar supplied the very best rental fee. For 25,400 AAdvantage miles (roughly $404 by TPG’s April 2025 factors valuation), Kronquist reserved a premium car for her go to to the Emerald Metropolis. Her reservation affirmation stated she’d obtain a Dodge Charger or comparable car.
So, naturally, when she landed in Seattle, she anticipated a Dodge Charger or comparable rental automotive to be ready. However to her shock, there wasn’t. A Fox Lease A Automobile (a subsidiary of Europcar) worker knowledgeable Kronquist that he was about to shut for the evening and had no autos accessible for her.
Kronquist referred to as a good friend to choose her up and determined she did not want a rental automotive in spite of everything.
However that unusual flip of occasions wasn’t the worst a part of her automotive rental mishap in Seattle. After her journey, American Airways refused to refund her miles for the aborted rental automotive reservation and steered her in a unique course.
Abruptly, she started a digital journey by way of a seemingly infinite loop of unhelpful customer support brokers at a number of firms. American Airways instructed Kronquist to pursue Fox Lease A Automobile for her refund. Fox instructed her to ship her request to Europcar, its dad or mum firm. Europcar pointed her to CarTrawler (the corporate that owns and operates AAdvantage Vehicles). After which she was frustratingly again the place she began.
Kronquist was shocked by all the varied firms concerned. She thought she’d made a easy rental automotive reservation with American Airways — an organization she knew and trusted. She additionally thought her downside can be easy to resolve, nevertheless it had grow to be an advanced maze she discovered unattainable to navigate.
Then Kronquist obtained an thought: Possibly TPG might assist untangle this mess and get her AAdvantage miles again.
A late arrival to Seattle because of an American Airways flight delay
Hours earlier than Kronquist’s journey was set to start, she acquired a message from American Airways. Her flight from Nashville to Dallas was delayed, and he or she would not make her connection to Seattle. The airline mechanically switched her to a later flight, however she instantly thought of her automotive rental reservation.
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“The reservation stated that I wanted to choose it up by 9:45 p.m., and if I did not, I may very well be thought of a no-show,” Kronquist defined. “So I emailed AAdvantage Vehicles Concierge, instructed them concerning the delay, and confirmed that the rental would nonetheless be accessible at 11:30 p.m.”
Kronquist shared the e-mail trade with me, which exhibits that an AAdvantage Vehicles Concierge agent shortly assured her {that a} message had been despatched to Fox Lease A Automobile about her late arrival. The agent cautioned that the placement closed for the evening at 12:30 a.m.
Relieved that her rental automotive reservation can be honored, Kronquist boarded her flight to Dallas. She simply made her new connection there, touchdown in Seattle simply earlier than midnight. Then, she shortly made her solution to Fox.
Fox: ‘Sorry, now we have no rental automotive for you’
When Kronquist reached the Fox Lease A Automobile counter, it was 12:15 a.m. — quarter-hour earlier than the placement closed for the evening. She breathed a sigh of aid. That’s till the worker behind the counter shook his head and instructed her he had no rental automobiles accessible for her.
Drained and confused, Kronquist stated she did not spend a lot time discussing something with the Fox consultant.
“He stated he did not have a rental automotive for me, in order that was that,” Kronquist recalled. “It did not matter to me why. I referred to as my good friend, and he or she got here to get me.”
Sadly, Kronquist’s failure to get the worker’s identify and the precise motive why a automotive was not accessible can be a giant downside later.
Asking for a refund for the lacking rental automotive
Kronquist loved her go to to Seattle sans rental automotive and flew residence just a few days later.
She assumed American Airways would mechanically return the 24,500 miles to her AAdvantage account.
A number of weeks later she observed that hadn’t occurred, so she contacted the AAdvantage Vehicles Concierge to ask about her lacking refund.
Kronquist was stunned to study that AAdvantage Vehicles had no file of Fox not honoring her rental automotive reservation. Her refund was not on the way in which in spite of everything. In her paper path, which I reviewed, varied anonymous brokers instructed Kronquist to acquire proof from the Fox location concerning the unavailable rental automotive.
Subsequent, Kronquist emailed Fox, which was significantly unhelpful. Fox refused to verify that no automobiles have been accessible for her that evening.
“Now we have no bill in your rental as a result of the automotive was not picked up. You might want to return to the unique supply of your reserving for a refund,” Fox Lease A Automobile wrote her.
Kronquist took that to imply Europcar, so she despatched a message to its company workplace. That effort additionally turned futile, and Europcar referred her again to CarTrawler.
After one final try with AAdvantage Vehicles went the identical method, Kronquist gave up on fixing this downside on her personal. That is when she despatched her request for assist to TPG.
Asking TPG to come back to this traveler’s rescue
After I reviewed Kronquist’s try to trace her miles and get them again into her AAdvantage account, I observed that she had executed some issues to jeopardize her refund.
She did not obtain any documentation from Fox about it not honoring her reservation due to an absence of autos, and he or she did not take the identify of the worker who gave her that data. Plus, she didn’t inform AAdvantage Vehicles of the issue till weeks later. Fox’s data confirmed that it had marked her as a no-show when she did not seem on the scheduled time on her reservation.
Time and again in her paper path, a number of AAdvantage Vehicles brokers reminded Kronquist of the nonrefundable nature of her reservation. These messages glossed over her repeated reminders that she had tried to gather the rental automotive, however Fox had turned her away. Every agent requested her to show what had occurred on the Fox counter; nevertheless, she could not accomplish that since that firm refused to supply that affirmation, and he or she had did not get any documentation on the counter.
Kronquist had made her finest try and resolve her downside on her personal. It was time to ask our at all times useful American Airways government contact what may very well be executed.
Asking American Airways to refund the miles
CarTrawler powers American Airways’ AAdvantage Vehicles reservation system. Its phrases and situations warn clients that in the event that they fail to point out up on the time of their reservation, they could be thought of a no-show (even when they do present up later). No-shows will not be entitled to any refunds of their prepayments.
Though Kronquist had not proven up on the time on her reservation, she had referred to as the AAdvantage Vehicles Concierge to maneuver the reservation by just a few hours. It’s not clear why that didn’t occur. Nonetheless, the one motive she hadn’t been on the Fox counter on time was an American Airways flight delay. It appeared solely truthful that American Airways refund the mileage as a result of, if not for her American Airways flight disruption, she would have been there on time to choose up her rental.
Our American Airways government agreed with my reasoning, and after chasing her refund for months, Kronquist lastly obtained her miles again. She additionally discovered a lesson about reserving by way of a third-party website: It is simple sufficient so as to add a automotive rental to the tip of an airline reservation, but when one thing goes fallacious, coping with a number of firms — each pointing on the different to repair the issue — is a irritating maze that she would not wish to ever expertise once more.
She stated she’ll simply e-book her rental automobiles instantly sooner or later.
“Thanks for all of your assist,” she wrote to me. “I couldn’t have fastened this downside alone. I had no thought how difficult a easy automotive rental reservation might grow to be.”
What to bear in mind about third-party reserving websites
Vacationers ought to at all times take into account the precarious nature of reserving nonrefundable reservations by way of a third-party agent. Everyone knows that air journey might be unpredictable. You may be out of luck in case you miss a reservation due to a delayed or canceled flight and have a nonrefundable reservation.
Here is what you want to know earlier than reserving a rental automotive, resort or flight by way of a third-party website.
Learn the phrases of the reservation rigorously earlier than reserving
Third-party websites usually promote their companies as easy, handy methods to e-book and lower your expenses. Nonetheless, the financial savings could not outweigh the chance if one thing goes fallacious, and resolving issues will not be easy.
Earlier than confirming a reserving, at all times learn the phrases rigorously. Make sure you perceive the cancellation coverage and different reservation parameters (like when you’ll forfeit your reservation in case you arrive late).
If you use a third-party reserving website, you would possibly must familiarize your self with the phrases and situations of a number of firms as a substitute of 1. Usually, you want to filter your criticism by way of the reserving agent as a substitute of instantly with the journey supplier. On this case, after Kronquist’s flight was delayed, she was required to name AAdvantage Vehicles (the reserving agent) as a substitute of Fox Lease a Automobile instantly (the journey supplier). It is unclear whether or not or not the AAdvantage Vehicles Concierge ever really reached Fox Lease a Automobile on the evening Kronquist referred to as, however the written communication to her says he did. Sadly, the data from Fox do not mirror that message from AAdvantage Vehicles.
This extra layer of communication — or, as on this case, miscommunication — usually complicates the problem-solving course of, which might be greater than a bit of irritating to vacationers.
Get names and report reservation issues ASAP
Initially, Kronquist was assured that Fox would report the unavailable rental automotive on to American Airways, and her refund would quickly observe. When she realized that may not occur, she discovered it unattainable to get the proof she wanted to get her miles again. In case you have a reservation with a third-party website and one thing goes fallacious, you have to report the issue instantly to the reserving agent (the place you made your reservation). The longer you wait to report the issue, the tougher will probably be to resolve.
Name the journey supplier instantly
In case you have booked a third-party nonrefundable reservation and it turns into clear that you’re going to miss the window of alternative to make use of it, name the journey supplier instantly. Talking to an actual individual on the automotive rental firm or resort will provide you with the very best probability of overriding the cutoff level.
At all times get the identify of the individual you’re talking to on the firm and write it down. Be cordial and humanize your self to that worker. Doing so will make it rather more tough for the corporate to put in writing off your request, as you may not be only a identify on a reservation that failed to point out up on time.
Get journey insurance coverage that covers sudden delays and cancellations
Bear in mind, it is not simply flight delays and cancellations that may throw a wrench in your plans.
One solution to shield your self from the monetary repercussions of adjusting plans is to make sure you have bought journey insurance coverage in your journey’s nonrefundable parts.
Backside line
If you happen to prefer to hunt for good offers and revel in planning your personal journey, then you definitely would possibly recurrently use third-party reserving websites. If the whole lot goes easily, you will not have an issue. Nonetheless, vacationers ought to at all times ask themselves the “what if” questions and put together for the sudden earlier than plunking down nonrefundable trip {dollars}.
In Kronquist’s case, she had no thought what number of firms have been concerned in her reservation. She additionally didn’t know what might occur if she failed to point out up on time for her nonrefundable automotive rental reservation. She stated she wouldn’t be caught unaware once more.
Finally, American Airways refunded her factors as a result of the airline’s personal flight delay triggered its buyer to overlook out on her rental automotive. However vacationers can’t depend on comparable goodwill gestures.
Earlier than reserving any nonrefundable plans as a part of your subsequent journey with a 3rd occasion, weigh the dangers and advantages. Solely make that reservation along with your eyes extensive open.
And remember, if you end up in an unfair battle with a automotive rental company, airline, cruise line, resort or bank card firm, TPG can assist. Ship your request to ombudsman@thepointsguy.com, and I will likely be glad to attempt that will help you, too.
