I made this mistake. I was second in line for re-booking the first class passengers. So, it did not

I was reflecting on another aspect of loyalty programs this week when I was renting a car from Avis. Consumer loyalty va beach oceanfront hotels (and not just at booking). Have you ever had a chance to capitalize on an error at one of your favorite chains and decided not to because you like them so much?
I was flying va beach oceanfront hotels out for Thanksgiving late Tuesday night and realized while I was waiting for my flight that I'd forgotten to book my one way rental from Orlando. Ugh. I was having trouble with the airport wifi so I called them up and in less than 2 minutes I was assured I'd have a car waiting for me at midnight when I landed. Yay!
I finally found my way to the Avis area in the garage and was delighted. With only 3 hours notice, they'd upgraded va beach oceanfront hotels my reservation from an intermediate car to a pretty sleek looking black Infiniti. I'm happy to say this is par for the course, Avis treats their elites quite well. And I in turn, will only rent from Avis, even when other companies va beach oceanfront hotels are much cheaper.
When it came time to return the car the next day, I was feeling quite lazy and didn't want to fight for a space at the pump to get gas. One of the perks of my Avis status is that the fuel service charge is often priced at market rate, so if I don't return the car full, I'll only be charged for what it would cost to have filled up at the gas station.
I checked the rate, and sure enough, I'd only be charged $3.30/gal which was even cheaper than the local gas stations. Ooops, that's va beach oceanfront hotels kind of an unfair advantage. But then I realized that the downside to Infiniti's are that they require Premium unleaded. And because the Avis system is probably not set up to account for that, I was being charged the market rate for regular unleaded. I'd already felt a little bad about Avis eating the difference in fuel cost between Orlando and Gainesville, but I really didn't feel comfortable about them eating $.40+ a gallon.
They'd already been nice enough va beach oceanfront hotels to upgrade my $44 a day rental to a luxury car, so they were making little enough off the rental as it was, without me decreasing the margin any more. I love Avis and I want my elite benefits to go on forever, and thus I find myself treating the cars as nicely as if they were my own and avoiding loopholes even if they'd save me a few bucks.
va beach oceanfront hotels However, I find myself with cognitive dissonance with this realization, because although I also like United and Hyatts and other companies, no amount of loyalty is going to keep me from taking advantage of a mistake fare if they're honoring it
Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something va beach oceanfront hotels frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle  mileage runs, elite status, and of course–the perfect va beach oceanfront hotels travel accessories
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About Us Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle mileage runs, elite status, and of course--the perfect travel accessories.
Keri and Jeanne have been friends for over four years. They both are obsessed va beach oceanfront hotels with travel, though they claimed separate carriers for air travel. Keri chose United and Jeanne chose US Airways. Relieved that their choices are on the same alliance, they are attempting to conquer the skies--in heels. Who knows how many frequent flier miles their heels have racked up from all that first class travel?
I sat in my seat, sipping a pre-departure beverage. Boarding had just completed and the flight attendants were in the process of closing the overhead bins. It was a late night flight, so I started getting cosy in my seat--when, BAM ! The entire plane shook violently and lifted on the left side.
Our plane was just hit! The people on the other side of the plane started exclaiming, "A TRUCK JUST HIT THE ENGINE!" I looked up and down the aisle and everyone was okay. This was the perfect time to get hit by a truck (if getting hit by a truck were already a given ;) ). The overhead bins were already shut. Everyone was seatbelted. And the flight attendants were all standing va beach oceanfront hotels in places were they could brace themselves. Everyone was 100% okay.
My first reaction was to get up and get my bag out of the overhead compartment and sit back down. It was an evening flight and I was pretty sure they could not repair what just happened. Even if they could, since it was after 9pm, I doubt the plane would be fixed in time to fit DCA's take-off window. DCA's runways closes for the night. Sure enough, after sitting for about 20 minutes, we were informed our flight was cancelled and everyone need to be rebooked.
They deplaned the first-class passengers to get them re-booked before deplaning the rest. What do you do in this situation, especially if you are stuck on the plane while first-class re-books? Luckily, there are ways of re-booking yourself while still on the plane--but I will get to that.
If your first-class seated, va beach oceanfront hotels non-stop flight to Vegas got cancelled you probably want a new non-stop flight to Vegas, in first class, as soon as possible. You are probably going to get one of those items. va beach oceanfront hotels Decide what it is before talking to the agent so she can best assist you. In my case, I was most interested in getting to Las Vegas as soon as possible. I was traveling for work, as was my coworker with me.
I told the gate agent: I would like us both to be in Vegas as soon as possible. I value that above connections and you can send us separately if you need to. She was able to snag us the last seats on two different hub routes. While we ended up taking a crazy path, we got to the conference on time.
The club membership desks can help you and won't have the crowds your gate has. And, to put it bluntly, they tend to value customer experience more than those at the gate. I couldn't do this in my case because the US Airways Club closes early on Saturday Nights, but I wish it were an option.
Some of the people on the plane waiting for the first-class passengers to get booked va beach oceanfront hotels called up US Airways va beach oceanfront hotels and were re-booked on flights before most of the first class passengers were re-booked. The customer representatives on the phone have more power than those at the gate.
It is also faster to deal with re-booking on the phone. If there's a grumpy person in front of you, the Gate Agent has to deal with them until they go away. On the phone, you get redirected to the next available va beach oceanfront hotels person when they open up. And the longer you wait, the more flights go to other people trying to rebook.
I made this mistake. I was second in line for re-booking the first class passengers. So, it did not even occur to me to call. But the person in front of me had status and wanted the entire staff at the airport va beach oceanfront hotels to know and wanted an invisible plane to appear and take him to his location. By the time he was done berating the gate agent, all the flight options she was offering him had disappeared (most likely to the passengers on the plane who called up US Airways directly!)
So, by the time I got up there, va beach oceanfront hotels I ended up with 12 hours of travel (in the middle seat the whole time). I am grateful the gate agent was able to quickly get me what I most needed once I made it to the front.
When I called the Platinum va beach oceanfront hotels line right after to see what I could do in regards to the middle seat, I got through immediately . She got me an aisle seat on my flights (and put me on standby for first for all three legs--one cleared) and was able to take the time to work through the system to get this done.
If your flight cancellation strands you, know what you can ask for--food? Hotel? But also hold off on any non-immediate compensation needs until you can send an email later. The Gate Agent isn't equipped to compensate you for your anguish or a lost hotel room. Submit that to the airline directly through email. This creates a paper trail as you work through your claim.
Unfortunately for me, US Airways Carrier Contract specifically lists their compensation va beach oceanfront hotels for cancelled flights as suggested compensation only . It is not guaranteed and is subject to change at any time. But in this case, they would cover a hotel room if you do not live in the area, since this was not an act of God, it was an act of bad driving. I didn't expect much since DC is my home area.
I put this in all-caps because it is very important. If you do not check-in, there's a chance your hotel can cancel your reservation. You would get marked as a no-show and charged a penalty. Once the hotel knows what is going on, they know when to expect you. However, be familiar with the hotel's cancellation/no-show policy. Even though I did not pre-pay for my hotel, va beach oceanfront hotels the cancellation penalty by 9pm that night was 100% of the room cost anyway. But at least they knew I was coming and did not give my room away. It would have added another layer of "ugh" to this situation.
Weather, emergencies and, er, trucks happen. Don't let this ruin your trip. If you are stuck in a random city, take it as an opportunity to see a new place. I've gotten to the point where I look up places near airports where I can get stuck so I have a fun thing I've been looking forward to doing that I can jump right into. (If I am ever stranded in Phoenix, I will eat l ike a king ).
Also remember that the Gate Agents didn't cause whatever happened, and even more so--the flight attendants on your flight aren't getting paid. They are only paid on hours flown, so they may be even more disappointed than you! Please don't take your annoyance va beach oceanfront hotels for the weather, the airlines, or that truck driver that hit you out on the staff.
The man sitting behind me was extremely distraught. He was taking a non-refundable helicopter ride early the next morning. He had paid over $1,000 for this. I really felt bad for him. It seemed like something he really wanted to do and had saved up