How can I get back my stolen American Airlines credit?

02.05.2024 - 14:48 / thepointsguy.com

Andrea Maglidt got a terrible surprise when she attempted to redeem a $422 American Airlines travel credit she'd been saving.

According to the airline, someone had already taken a flight weeks earlier using her credit. Stunned, Maglidt told the agent that whoever had taken that trip had stolen her travel credit and American Airlines should restore it.

Then she got the second shock of the day.

An agent and a subsequent supervisor informed Maglidt that she was ultimately responsible for the theft herself. They explained to their confused customer that she had exposed her account to bad guys by sharing her personal details with a third party. As a result, American Airlines would not replace her stolen travel credit.

But Maglidt says that's unfair because she's the victim of a fake airline call center. Her account was compromised when she dialed a number that appeared at the top of a Google search for American Airlines. The person who answered that number told her he had been hired by the airline to provide "concierge flight service."

That wasn't true. He actually worked for a company called Boketo — a third-party booking agent with no affiliation with American Airlines. Unfortunately, Maglidt didn't know that and willingly provided him with several pieces of personal information so he could "help" her reschedule an upcoming flight. Those details included her credit card number, ticket number and American Airlines account information.

It wasn't until weeks after that ill-fated phone call that Maglidt realized she had been scammed. Not only had Boketo charged her a $233 service fee, but its employee also changed the primary contact in Maglidt's American Airlines AAdvantage account to his personal email address.

Soon after, a complete stranger enjoyed a free flight on American Airlines using a travel credit stolen from Maglidt's account.

Not knowing how or if she could recover her missing $422 travel credit, Maglidt turned to TPG. She hoped we could unravel this complicated situation, expose the fake call center and get her money back.

Here's where our efforts took us.

Last summer, Maglidt planned a trip to Ecuador. However, weeks after booking her journey, she received a message from American Airlines. Her original itinerary had significantly changed, and she had been automatically moved to alternative flights.

The new itinerary didn't appeal to Maglidt, so she decided to reject the replacement flight. But instead of calling the phone number visible on the alert from American Airlines, she sat down at her computer to do a little research first.

She checked with Expedia and some other online agents to see if there might be a better option. To her surprise, there appeared to be a flight on American Airlines