Air China Cancelled by Ticket # But Refused to Rebook # MasterCard World Elite got my Back.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

It was April 11th 2024, when I was staying at the Aloft Beijing Haidian District, and as soon as I woke up and checked my phone I have received a rather disturbing email from 中国国航 . On the day of departure, just a few hours prior the intended take-off-time, I was told that flight CA1533 has been cancelled.

Rather than rebooking me, and I believe me, I did call their local number in Beijing, they just told me that they are going to refund but won't rebook it, "I shall just book another flight", and when I checked such, the fares tripled, and were up to the roof.

Luckily I still had enough hotel points on my Marriott Bonvoy just to book another room, for another night and to depart the following day instead.

Usually, on other airline carriers such as United Airlines or 汉莎航空 / within the Star Alliance network, they will rebook you straight away, or rather let you do so in their mobile app. 中国国航 has such ridiculous website, mobile application that must have definitely been developed in the 1990s, just when the Internet came out. It is rather impossible to even book round trip tickets on Air China and I won't even fly with such "stone-age-carrier", because once you are about to book or even fly with them it actually feels like time-traveling instead.

Luckily, I got one of the 萬事達卡 World Elite Credit Cards, they always got my back:

Just recently I got my Marriott Bonvoy World Elite 萬事達卡 upgraded, and instead of just US$ 300 for trip delays / missed connections, it has been increased to a stunning US$ 500, more information as follows:

So here is what I did, I simply gathered the required documentation for MasterCard and logged onto the "MC Peace of Mind" Site, to file a claim, just within a couple of days it has been approved, and the amount of US$ 500 has been transferred to my Emirates NBD USD account straight away.

The claim has been submitted on the 19th, and has been approved on the 21st July 2024, which even has been done and completed over a weekend actually.

Flying with Chinese carriers will and always have been a burden, and the boarding procedures are always such a "real mess", especially at "Air China" they are not even boarding in groups, and just and only have two lanes at Beijing Capital Airport. (1) Economy Class and (2) Business Class and as far as I recall, all Star Alliance carriers are supposed to have a Corporate Identification when it comes to the airport and boarding experience within all the same group.

In the end, I had to book my own ticket and went for Business Class in fact, given that the Economy Class fares were sky rocketing, it did not make much of a difference anyways. While holding a World Elite MasterCard you will have lounge access anyways, and especially while holding Emirates NBD Premium Cards the airport pick-up and drop-off is complimentary anyways.

Usually on any business class seat, it is not just about the seat itself on the aircraft, but also the experience, it all starts when entering the airport, the check-in counters and all the way, through the lounges, to the gate and that you are entering an aircraft with ease, and even when you are landing and are about to leave the airport, you should remember this experience and believe that it was all worth it.

However, having the cabin grew running around, asking around who want to share a bottle of wine with another passenger, otherwise they won't even open it, this is very random. I don't mind having a beer, at least I can have one tin all for myself.

Just to conclude, and to sum it up real quick:

(1) Get a decent credit card

(2) don't even think about paying with a debit card

(3) never underestimate the unexpected, even and the most delays, cancellations are happening on short haul, and not even long-haul routes.

(4) keep your receipts, boarding passes, hotel bookings, flight bookings and ask the aircraft carrier to provide a letter for the reason for cancellation or delay, otherwise the 美亚保险 萬事達卡 insurance may refuse to cover your out of pocket expenses.

Happy travels!