WHY YOU SHOULD GO PRO
Stuck with a problem a company won’t fix? Bring it to Backchannel.
Every week, readers bring their impossible consumer cases to Backchannel, and our advocacy team tells them how to fix it. Last week, a United passenger had to choose between a $1,000 certificate and 600 euros in cash after a canceled flight. This week, a Vrbo host is fighting a $1,415 penalty.
PRO members get their own private room on Backchannel. You can exchange information with other informed consumers — and get the help you need 24/7. My team and I are there to help you with any consumer problem, too.
We’re also working on a stealth project that will help you become a smarter consumer. We can’t talk about it yet, but PRO members will see it first.
Half a million miles, and nobody has to tell him why they’re gone. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
✈ What’s “debanking” — and why should you care about it? The U.S. government opened an inquiry into debanking this month. But no one is asking the same questions about your loyalty programs. They should. Airlines routinely debank their own customers. Why does your airline get a pass?
Over on Backchannel, Bella Asiri-Opiyo is fighting a $1,415 Vrbo host penalty on a booking Vrbo’s own system had already flagged.
In Confidentially, Michigan’s attorney general says the state’s biggest health insurer built an illegal monopoly. Marketplace enrollment opens Nov. 1, which gives you a narrow window to do something about it. What can you do when your insurer has no competition?
Yesterday I mentioned the beautiful fall colors in Spokane, Washington. Here’s a photo taken from our driveway.
— Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
“Debanked” by your frequent flier program? You should have rights
Ari and Shanna Nachison collected more than 550,000 AAdvantage miles apiece before American shut their accounts and pointed to “the general AAdvantage program conditions.” A rabbi who contacted customer service too often lost his status, sued and watched the Supreme Court rule against him 9-0. Airlines write the rules, change them whenever it suits them and enforce them without showing their work. What would a fair loyalty program owe you?
OUR UNDERWRITER
Yonder Travel Insurance is an online travel insurance comparison site offering 5-star customer service from friendly humans, guiding you from quotes to claims. Our experts have pored over hundreds of policies from the top travel insurance providers in the US to provide the best travel insurance recommendations for the type of trip you take. Compare travel insurance options at Yonder Travel Insurance.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
In Germany’s Black Forest, winter isn’t a sure thing anymore
Achim Laber has been a ranger at Feldberg Nature Reserve for 36 years, and the mountain has now gone four straight Christmas holidays without snow on slopes that used to hold it from November through April. Its lift operator is expanding snowmaking to buy more seasons, while a resort at similar elevation across the French border has already set a date to stop skiing altogether.
Is there a way out of this Amazon account recovery black hole?
Henry Dickson’s iPad was bricked during an update, and when he reinstalled the Amazon app, the login asked him to approve a notification on the device he couldn’t reach. Amazon’s identity recovery page required him to sign in before uploading a driver’s license, a dozen representatives sent him the same broken link, and he lost access to his Prime benefits and his entire Kindle library.
Help! A three-hour delay returning my rental car cost me $650!
George Meyer paid $670 for a 27-day Europcar rental in France on a voucher that promised unlimited mileage, then hit traffic on the way back to Charles de Gaulle and reached the counter three hours late. The delay pushed the rental to 28 days, which under EU rules puts it in a different category with a 3,750-kilometer cap, and Europcar billed him $650 for the extra distance.
An arson attack in France doubled her car rental bill. Does she have to pay?
Marianne Piepenburg booked a five-day car from National at the Avignon TGV station for $434, and arsonists attacked the French rail lines on the morning she was due to pick it up. She reached the counter a day late to find her reservation canceled and a comparable vehicle priced at $837 for four days, with National pointing at Enterprise, Enterprise pointing at a local franchise in Avignon and the franchise answering neither its phone nor its email.
The reverse packing list: What should you leave at home?
A first checked bag now costs $45 on most major U.S. airlines, and American charges basic economy passengers $55. Travel advisors who live out of a carry-on have cut themselves down to one pair of versatile shoes and a merino layer that handles a 40-degree morning without the bulk, and one of them nominates the full-size travel umbrella as the most useless item in anybody’s bag.
Only 3 airline seats left? Prove it.
Joshua Clouette’s airline website said only three business class seats were left. A supervisor told him the site might not reflect what was available. Regulators in Britain and Hungary have gone after scarcity claims, but no U.S. agency has brought a case against a travel company over one.
OUR UNDERWRITER
AirHelp helps travelers secure up to $650 compensation for flight delays and cancellations under international regulations. Check your flight for free to see if you qualify — and join over 3 million passengers who’ve already received compensation with AirHelp. Visit airhelp.com.
💬 What you’re asking on Backchannel
Do I really have to pay this penalty from Vrbo?
Bella Asiri-Opiyo canceled an instant Vrbo booking within an hour of getting it, because her current guests had extended their stay into the same dates. Vrbo charged her a C$1,415.16 host penalty, even though its own system had flagged that reservation for a possible policy violation, and a representative first blamed a price mismatch before switching the explanation to her calendar. Can she get the penalty waived? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Allianz Travel Insurance has built its reputation on partnering with agents all around the world to provide valuable travel insurance for their clients. Contact Allianz Travel Insurance for a valuable list of coverage.
CONFIDENTIALLY
Information and insights for Elliott Confidential PRO subscribers
Is your health insurance a monopoly?
Your health insurer is a monopoly. Now what?
A Michigan antitrust case shows how little leverage you have. Here are the five moves that still work.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued Blue Cross of Michigan in federal court earlier this month, accusing it of building an illegal monopoly through agreements with other Blue Cross companies to carve up customers and territories.
The rest of this exclusive report is for members only.
Behind this line: what Blue Cross of Michigan controls of the state’s market, and why the setup isn’t unique to Michigan. Plus, the five moves that still work when the insurer you have is the insurer you’re stuck with, starting with one you can make on Nov. 1.
A Members Only story like this runs in every issue, along with Backchannel and the vault.