ArcaMax

Q: My wife and I booked tickets earlier this year to fly from Boston to Budapest, Hungary, on American Airlines and British Airways, an American Airlines' partner. We made the reservations through our travel agent. British Airways charged us for the tickets, but a few days later, we were charged again for the same tickets by American Airlines. We asked our travel agent what was going on, but she seemed to be as confused as we were.

I contacted American Airlines who agreed to refund the second set of tickets, but it has only refunded one of them. I disputed the charge for the second ticket through Citi, my credit card. We received correspondence from Citi last week indicating that they had not received enough information to support our claim. "The transaction will not be removed from your account," they said.

I am confused as to what I could possibly send them that would indicate the ticket was not purchased. I don't have a receipt to show what I didn't buy. Between customer service and the resolution department at Citi and American Airlines, I have been on the phone for close to 25 hours. I need your help. -- Glenn Ward, Whitman, Massachusetts

A: You should have only received one charge for your tickets, of course. And if you got a double charge, then your agent should have fixed it with American Airlines' help. You shouldn't have needed to file a credit card dispute, which usually allows you to claw back the money.

But while we're on the subject, let me say this: You should carry a credit card that carefully considers every chargeback you file. It looks like your bank did not thoroughly review your request, which is too bad. You might consider finding another card that will take better care of you.

Your case was half-solved by the time you reached out to me. American had refunded your wife's ticket but not yours, so it still owed you $1,666.

Why did American charge you for a second set of tickets? Your travel advisor doesn't know. I asked the airline, and it doesn't know either. But everyone could agree -- everyone except your bank, that is -- that you deserved a refund for those American tickets.

In a situation like this, you need to keep a complete paper trail of correspondence between you and the airline (which you did). And you need to escalate your problem to the right executive at the airline (which you didn't). I publish the names, numbers and emails of the American Airlines customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

One thing you should not do is call the airline to get this fixed. Spending 25 hours on the phone with American was a waste of your time. I'm guessing you had to tell your story to many agents, none of whom could authorize a refund. Many consumers believe they can fix a billing problem with a quick phone call, but this almost never works. You have to put everything in writing.

By the way, your travel advisor should have also been able to help you. They have special contacts at the airlines and should be able to fix a problem like this quickly. It's not clear why your travel advisor could not help you.

I contacted American on your behalf. A representative said it had reviewed your case and refunded your second ticket.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2025 Christopher Elliott

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