My turn for a rant...

[Monky]

So.. you went with a discount carrier and are shocked that they lack the availability to cover mishaps quickly? I give it a 1/10.. just for expecting 40 acres and a mule when you went with a low cost carrier.

You get what you pay for in life.

[Aloha_Shooter]

The airline is supposed to cover costs incurred when the delay is their fault, including lodging and meal vouchers. They are not responsible for weather delays.

I'm confused though. Spirit offered to get you back tomorrow night but you're spending $1800 to come back tonight on a different airline? Wouldn't it have been cheaper to make the airline cover the hotel for two nights and just take an extra day off, explaining to your boss that the airline messed up your return? or is that not an option (I realize it often isn't)?

[RCCrawler]

I'm confused though. Spirit offered to get you back tomorrow night but you're spending $1800 to come back tonight on a different airline? Wouldn't it have been cheaper to make the airline cover the hotel for two nights and just take an extra day off, explaining to your boss that the airline messed up your return? or is that not an option (I realize it often isn't)?

At first Spirit offered to get us home Wednesday night with a 9 hour layover in Vegas, but no guarantee they could get the 5 of us all on the same flights. I called Avis, reserved a minivan and explained to them that I only had a debit card, they said no issue. We grabbed our shit and went to Avis, then the story changed. We then tried every other rental company and realized that wasn't going to work so we went back to see what spirit could do. By then she said the soonest she could get us home was late Saturday night.

I asked for hotel vouchers, she said they couldn't do anything, but suggested I ask local hotels for a "distressed passenger rate"

As there were over 200 other pissed off people all trying to figure out how to get back to Denver filling every ticketing counter in the place I jumped onto Expedia and bought what I could.

Spirit blamed weather, therefore all they gave me was my original money back. I've honestly been disconnected from the world for the last 7 days so I have no idea if there were weather issues anywhere or not.

[funkymonkey1111]

Easy to Monday morning quarterback this thing--but wonder if you could've just rented a car for two days, then just turned it in in Denver. Oops!

[RCCrawler]

Easy to Monday morning quarterback this thing--but wonder if you could've just rented a car for two days, then just turned it in in Denver. Oops!

I totally thought about doing that, but figured I'd probably get hit with some crazy outrageous fees. My uncle is a merchant marine and one time they were on shore on the east coast, he rented a car for what was supposed to be a couple days, then they found out the ship needed repairs and told him to just be in Seattle in a month to get on another ship. He just kept the rental car and toured the country. He didn't have a cell and no one cod get ahold of him. My grandpa had access to his bank account so my dad and grandpa hunted him down watching where his purchases were.

Anyway when hen he turned the car in in Seattle he had to pay a shit load. They charged him the normal rental, plus a fee for an unscheduled rental, plus a fee for returning it in a different location, plus a fee for shipping it back across the country.

1 thing that pisses me off about the system is that if I was a lowlife that had 10 maxed out credit cards, didn't pay my bills and had in the past filed bankruptcy they'd have rented me a car because I could have handed them a card. Since I choose to not live a life of debit, pay for what I purchase with money I have on hand and held the same job for 20years I get screwed.

The system is fucked. If you go to college max out student loans for degree in a career field that doesn't pay well we'll forgive those loans. If instead you choose to skip college and go straight to work and bust your ass from the bottom and make it to the top we'll just take money from your check to help pay for everyone else.

Everyday they make it easier for people to just sit on the couch and smoke weed, and harder for those of us who bust our asses.

[HoneyBadger]

1 thing that pisses me off about the system is that if I was a lowlife that had 10 maxed out credit cards, didn't pay my bills and had in the past filed bankruptcy they'd have rented me a car because I could have handed them a card. Since I choose to not live a life of debit, pay for what I purchase with money I have on hand and held the same job for 20years I get screwed.

The system is fucked. If you go to college max out student loans for degree in a career field that doesn't pay well we'll forgive those loans. If instead you choose to skip college and go straight to work and bust your ass from the bottom and make it to the top we'll just take money from your check to help pay for everyone else.

Everyday they make it easier for people to just sit on the couch and smoke weed, and harder for those of us who bust our asses.

Nailed it.

[Dave_L]

Back to the OP, this is one of the reasons why I hate flying. Driving may take longer but at least I'm in control of my schedule. I know that driving isn't always feasible but what a headache.

[TheGrey]

What a wretched way to end what would otherwise be a perfectly good vacation!

Shop around for credit cards- there are CCs that won't charge you a yearly fee for the privilege of having a card, and you can rack up points that offer a discount on purchases.

Be aware that most credit card companies are bloodsucking weasels. That way, you won't be surprised.

[Great-Kazoo]

What a wretched way to end what would otherwise be a perfectly good vacation!

Shop around for credit cards- there are CCs that won't charge you a yearly fee for the privilege of having a card, and you can rack up points that offer a discount on purchases.

Be aware that most credit card companies are bloodsucking weasels. That way, you won't be surprised.

I have my CC through our bank. Use it to buy tax stamps and occasional vehicle service.

IMO the rental places don't crack off with one way rentals , especially in large airport hubs.

[CHA-LEE]

I don't get it. Why go into "PANIC MODE" in that situation and spend a shit ton of extra money to get home a day earlier than what the original airline proposed as a solution? You and your family could have simply extended your vacation and enjoyed what the town had to offer, then fly out the next day. Sure, this might cost you an extra day of hotel or local rental, but that sure as hell wouldn't be $1800.

Lastly, we ALL know that the travel economy pretty much runs on credit cards. There would be no way that I would try to travel without a credit card. What cash you have in hand, in your bank account or what your credit score is doesn't matter when their requirement is the use of a Credit Card to secure a transaction.

Two lessons should have been learned here. First, Don't fly on "Cheap-O" airlines and expect "compensation" when they screw up. You do get what you pay for. Second, ALWAYS have a credit card available to leverage when traveling.