<p>K, so my D is flying out tonight. Several months ago, I had to change the flight by phone (long complicated story) </p>
<p>Because I had to change reservation via phone, for some reason, she has to bring the Credit Card I used to the airport to check in, something we have never ever had to do</p>
<p>Imagine if she was on the other coast and she had to do that!!!</p>
<p>There was a tiny tiny line on the email confirmation at the end saying to do that, but did I check all the small print- No, and did the person on the phone tell me that- No</p>
<p>So now, we have to go to the airport , actually park, and I have to go in with her…yuck</p>
<p>I have used my mom’s card to buy lots of tickets, and if I had to bring her with me to the airport or take her card on my trip-egad</p>
<p>So read that tiny print, and if you make any kind of change to a ticket, don’t assume you can do everything on line</p>
<p>she can’t even print out her boarding pass</p>
<p>and yes, the same card was used at all times for this trip tickets</p>
<p>Oh brother. My kid IS on the opposite coast. We have had trouble with boarding passes, but she was able to deal with it at the gate. I sure hope she makes it home ok. Would you mind sharing which airline this is so I NEVER book with them.</p>
<p>I believe this is to protect you against credit card fraud. Most of my experience is with Singapore airlines. If you buy e-tickets, the holder of the credit card needs to be traveling in the same party, or at least the credit card needs to be presented at the time of check in. Singaire has a waiver form that can be filled out and signed by the credit card holder at one of their offices. Perhaps that is an option for U.S. airlines.</p>
<p>My H and S2 have the same name. It has been a godsend when booking flights from Germany for S2. We have just one credit card that we put him on, and use it mainly for his expenses. But he has been asked for the credit card, too. </p>
<p>If you have a kid away from home that you book for, get them their own credit card, and keep the numbers (and security code) somewhere at home, to use when booking a flight online.</p>
<p>The thing is, I have made changes to tickets before, for my D, and never once have we had to use the actual card att he airport</p>
<p>so imagine if we had to change the flight and she was coming from the other coast…and we HAD to use my card, how in the world would she be able to fly?</p>
<p>So, for those parents with kids with different last names, etc…double check whenever you make a reservation</p>
<p>Say, my mom wanted to buy a ticket for my D to fly from one east coast city to another? what, we have to get waivers, etc? or my D has to have grandma’s credit card?</p>
<p>so yup, guess she is getting a credit card, we have been able to get away with a visa/atm card for this long</p>
<p>Yes, when my mom came to Germany to visit, she had no clue how to book a flight. She gave my H all her credit card info over the phone, and he booked it for her. But her card had to match.</p>
<p>We haven’t been asked as often recently, but it seems like there for awhile we were asked all the time for the credit card.</p>
<p>My mother read this once, but she called the airline (I forget which), and they said that it wasn’t needed and they had changed the policy. There was no problem at the airport.</p>
<p>What I found so interesting last year when I was making internal flights in the US was I needed my credit card to check in. I had an e-ticket for the first time and I was faced with a bank of machines at the check-in counter. There was a guy behind me in line and I had never had to do this. I didn’t know what to do. He said, “Just get your credit card.” “But I didn’t buy the tickets with this credit card.” “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Well, get your passport,” he said. That didn’t work since it was issued overseas. So I tried my US credit card. Lo and behold, like a miracle, I slipped my credit card into the slot and up comes my name, my reservation, my seat number! “Wow,” I thought! It scared the pants off me at what a big brother state of a world we live in and I hadn’t even realised it until then: using any credit card would locate my flight reservations. I guess I am over it. I told a lady who works with me to make sure she had a credit card before she travelled to her son’s graduation near Chicago this past week. Any credit card as long as it is in your name will do.</p>
<p>At least with American you don’t have that problem, you could go to the machines and type your confirmation number to check in (or just check your bags if you did it online), my S did that a few times when the credit card he bought the tickets was stolen and the replacement came home.</p>
<p>This happene4d to us when I purchased a ticket within 5 days of flying for my daughter. I was told it was a security issue rather than a credit issue(?)I realized the requirement immediately after purchasing so they allowed me to cancel and rebook with her card so she would have it on her. It was a pain.</p>
<p>It’s amazing-- kids actually need their own credit cards at such a young age just because they travel. The ad is right on target when it says: "don’t leave home without it "</p>
<p>Our kids all got a card in their name, on our account, as soon as they were driving. Once they went away to college, they got their own credit card accounts. The credit limits start out small but with small purchases and regular timely payments in full, the limit will be increased gradually so that they would have access to funds, if necessary, for travel, emergencies, etc. We felt that it was not only a good idea for them to have one once at college, we saw it as a necessity as well, if only for our peace of mind. We have never faced the flight issue because we almost always use rewards/points/frequent flyer miles but it’s one more reason to do it! :)</p>
<p>We got D. a checking account at our local bank with a debit Mastercard. This lets her do almost everything, and we can add money to her account online or in person anytime we want. I have her book all her own tickets on her own card, because she’ll use the frequent flier miles and I won’t. Plus, it’s one less chore for mom :).</p>
<p>I also had her open a small savings account at her college credit union. This was important to us because it doubles her chances of access to money after a disaster. If the bank servers here get destroyed, she can use her account there, and vice versa. This was based on experience, unfortunately.</p>