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Delta & American Express Companion Tickets

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Diane of Kennwick WA (4/17/03):
My husband and I are going with another couple on a vacation. Four of us are flying and I had decided to use our companion tickets that we got and we get yearly from AmEx for allowing them to charge us $135 in yearly fees for this special privilege of having their Platinum card.

The one good thing is we always get two companion tickets. Greg has an Am Ex and so do I. So we get two companion tickets, so we thought the $135 yearly was worth it. I have used them before but this time I thought I'll just call and see how much it would be to fly from Pasco to NYC and get the fare as if I didn't have a companion ticket.

The price was $301. But you can't book at that phone number you HAVE to call their ***special*** number to book if you're going to use your companion ticket so I did. The exact same flight's price, when I called this number, was almost double sans $6.00. I called Delta's customer care and spoke to a lady. She agreed that I would only save $6.00 on the fare but the other people traveling for free would have to pay a $50 per person charge.

So I asked her why then do they call it a companion ticket. EVERYONE thinks that means someone gets to fly for free and that Delta is being deceptive. I told her they should call it, "Someone might get to save $6 on the airfare but pay an extra $50 certificate." It turns out in essence the four of us would have paid more by using the companion tickets. I plan to turn them into the BBB and I am looking for an attorney about a class action lawsuit.

I am canceling my AmEx cards and demanding my $135 for me and the $135 for Greg back because I always thought it was worth it due to this so-called companion ticket deal. I will also start flying on United Airlines after I’ve used up my FF miles and I will refrain from ever getting a credit card affiliated with an airline company, as I’m pretty sure they all work the same way.

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