Airline booking for nephew with my credit card
 

OK, after too many years, my nephew is graduating from college. For his gift, I'm giving him an "anywhere in the world" round-trip ticket (coach, of course.) I've told him to select the date and desitnation and I'd book it and send him the confirmation. But now, many airlines are requiring that you show the credit card used to book the ticket - and I'm not giving him my card. How does this work? My husband is travelling on a business-booked ticket - is this going to become impossible also. How do I do this???

I can't recall the last time an airline request to see my CC when I check-in, maybe never! I don't know which airline you're talking about.

Sometimes when doing kiosk check-in, one option is to use a CC to ID a pax. But it's not the only option.

My 13 year old is flying on BA on a flight booked with his aunt's credit card. They assure us that having the flight info will be sufficient and that no one will ask for the credit card.

In your case, I might be tempted to get the info, book it using his credit card and give him a cheque to cover the costs.

I agree that we've never been asked for the card, although I have heard of it being done. If you're concerned, just write a letter (preferably notarized) explaining what you've done so it can be presented at checkin if necessary.

I've booked at least 3 RT flights (all within the US) with my cc for my solo-traveling brother within the past year, and have never had a problem. For that matter, I book my annual trips out of the country and have never had to produce the cc, doing everything over the phone. I will agree that if you check in at a kiosk for American Airlines flights, you can ID yourself with the cc #, but you can also use the flight identifier #. As an aside, your nephew should have a cc in his own name in case something should happen (emergency!) and he needs to change his ticket or needs extra funds.

The credit card you can use to check in does not have to be the one used to purchase the card. I fly frequently on tickets bought by my company-direct billed throught a travel agency. A credit card with my name on it pulls up the ticket-totally unrelated to purchase.

I've never been asked to produce the CC that was used to book the ticket. In fact, it would not be possible for me to do that when traveling on business. I have used my personal CC (which is different than the one used to buy the ticket) in order to change a flight.

It's a pretty nice graduation gift though.

It really depends on the airline, but a lot of foreign airlines do have the requirement that you carry the credit card (Cathay Pacific, for example), but they also usually have some alternative for people who don't. If you want to buy an around-the-world ticket, I'd suggest you book it through a specialized travel agent who will know the rules. Either STA or some specialist travel agency would be a good resource to use. I would NOT try to book an around-the-world itinerary by myself; you can usually save hassles and money by using a travel agency, though it is certainly possible to do so on the One World or Star Alliance sites.