Hi, I havent seen any current results when searching this question online so I want to tap in here for most recent info available.

Looking to purchase flights for Italy in September and here are options: Preference to fly envoy RT , nonstop US Air out of Philly (special bday trip) but would need to split cost on a debit card and balance of credit card. I dont have one card with available balance to cover whole thing but have cash/check card plus credit card. Can this be done?

Other idea to save some money, I thought, was fly envoy out and coach back but I would need purchase an extra seat for comfort on the coach return leg. The ticket agent I spoke with seemed confused and I didnt trust her that neither of these situations could be done so want to check here for advice.

I sometimes fly business over and coach back. I really only need the lie flat beds on the overnight flight. The flight back is all the same day so the beds would be nice but not essential. If you get an aisle and/or exit row seat you shouldn't need to book two seats.

That type of payment is called Split Tender. The system must be setup to accept Split Tender and the agent must be trained to handle that kind of transaction. When I receive a gift card, I end up having to do a Split Tender and inevitably the sales person need to call the manager to complete the transaction. If the online payment system is setup to do this, they come in different flavors. Sometimes they give you multiple boxes to enter card info from the beginning. Sometimes they would let you specify how much you want to charge to the first card and another boxes to enter the second card show up.

Coming back to your credit card, is this an issue with insufficient remaining credit? If the bank account backing your debit card has enough balance, why would you not use that balance to pay off your credit card to increase the available credit?

You w ll have to keep dealing with an agent since as far as I know there is no way you can book two classes on the same itinerary using the USAirways website. Ask for a supervisor whenever you get an agent "who seems confused."

Thank you. Greg, I have a few cards but none of them have the credit limit to cover the whole cost of the trip even when paid in full which they are currently.

Janisj, for my size, I need an extra seat for my comfort and others. And buying ahead is preferable to having an embarrassing situation when boarding.

The other thing I thought was buying a usair gift card with the cash/check card and then use the giftcard and credit card to make flight purchase. Thoughts?

USair no longer issues gift cards. Only the American Airlines issue them after the merger. The AA gift card can be used on US air in rather convoluted way. Too many t&c for my taste. The easiest way for this might be to pay commission and use a travel agent They can take all kinds of payments at a price. The booking engines, eg Orbitz, Expedia, etc. might be more flexible.

>>as far as I know there is no way you can book two classes on the same itinerary using the USAirways website.<<

You can on AA (which also included USA flights). You start out by booking Business. Then after selecting a business class flight , The return flights are displayed w/ choices from coach (which displays the reduced cost), business, and first (w/ the increased cost).

I've done it on line twice - no TA or phone call required.

Thanks, Janisj as I was not aware of that possibility.

Just an FYI, you can also do it on United flights. We're doing business over and premium economy coming home.

I think I'd be confused too if I was an airline agent and I had someone wanting mixed classes plus an extra seat purchase for comfort (buy two seats in coach on the return leg saves money?) and multiple forms of payment due to not having enough funds on one credit card.