Travel Troubleshooter: Help! Iberia Airlines suspends a $4,005 ticket credit

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I canceled a recent flight on Iberia Airlines, and the airline offered me a $4,005 ticket credit, which was valid until Nov. 4. But when I tried to book a new flight, Iberia rejected the ticket voucher code. After several calls with their customer service department, I received an email saying the voucher was suspended “due to security issues.”

Iberia instructed me to file a complaint on the website, which I did. I received an email saying I’d hear back in seven days, which did not happen. I’ve made over 11 calls to Iberia since then. Representatives have repeatedly promised me a replacement voucher, but they have never sent me one. Meanwhile, I paid $3,952 for a new ticket.

I want Iberia to pay me the full value of the voucher or reimburse me for the new flight and issue a voucher for the balance.

— Thomas Kush, Boston

ANSWER: Iberia wasn’t wrong to suspend your ticket credit, but it should have quickly restored it.

Why do I support the airline’s decision to freeze your ticket credit? Because there are a lot of shenanigans that happen with ticket vouchers, gift cards and loyalty programs, and airlines are correct to be cautious. But when they penalize the wrong guy — as they did with you — they need to do a quick about-face and apologize. And this didn’t happen.

What did happen was months and months of waiting, even though Iberia had assured you that it would restore your credit. The promises ranged from “in a few hours” to “next week” to “in a few days.”

Making matters worse, you had canceled your flights for medical treatment. Some airlines will allow a full refund when you can show a doctor’s note, so Iberia really should have refunded your tickets, which were in business class.

By the way, you should never accept an airline ticket voucher unless there is no other alternative. As you discovered, ticket credits can expire or be revoked, which means that the airline gets to keep your money without giving you anything. It’s a great deal for an airline like Iberia, but not for you.