Military wife says she was overcharged thousands by airline, TikTok came to her rescue

An Orange County mom took to TikTok to express her frustration after she said American Airlines accidentally charged $3,600 when she called to add a lap infant to her reservation. Despite the error, she states the airline initially refused to refund the money.

A military wife took her case to TikTok

American Airlines allegedly charged a military wife in error

The mom, who goes by @wellnessby.katie on TikTok, recorded a video detailing the situation. It all started with planning a trip to visit her husband at his military base in Japan. Flights were expensive, but Katie is experienced with making the most of points and miles. She said she eventually purchased her return ticket for 60,000 miles and $50 in fees. Since it was an international flight, there was an extra 10% charge to add her infant as a lap child.

The total cost to add her baby was $386. In the video, Katie says she provided her credit card number and authorized the purchase over the phone. Upon receiving her receipt, she described noticing a whopping $3674 charge for an additional ticket under her name, all under the same confirmation code.

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In the video, Katie said the confirmation code listed two tickets. One was purchased with miles, while the other had been accidentally charged to her credit card. She called American Airlines immediately to report the problem.

The airline promised a refund

According to Katie, an American Airlines representative apologized profusely and promised to reverse the charges. The mom was told she would have the money back in her account within 5-7 business days.

Katie also wrote a letter to American Airlines customer service to cover her bases. The military wife says she received a response the next day admitting fault and confirming the charges would be reversed.

The refund didn’t appear

She says she waited weeks for her refund ahead of the trip

The refund didn’t arrive in the promised time window, so Katie called the airline yet again. She says they told her, “I just needed to wait a little bit longer and I’d get my refund.”

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In addition, she says she sent another message through the customer service portal, but never received a response.

The young mother continued to contact the airline over several weeks, but despite her efforts, the refund wasn’t processed.

She took the flight as scheduled

Finally, the day of the flight rolled around. She says that due to the language barrier, the partner airline checked her in under the cash ticket at the airport instead of the ticket she’d booked with miles as requested. Katie and her baby took the flight and called American Airlines the following day to inquire about the status of her refund.

The situation got even trickier

The representative informed Katie that because she’d been checked in under the wrong ticket, the refund would take even longer. When she informed the agent that the refund was due a month ago, she says they told her, “American Airlines is a really big company with a lot of customers, so we can’t get to everybody immediately.” At that point, she said the person hung up the phone.

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The mom continued to call and send messages. Finally, she was told she didn’t qualify for a refund since she’d been checked in under the wrong flight.

She ended the video by saying she was posting to social media as a last-ditch effort, and hoping, “TikTok can help do its thing so I can get my money back.”

The video went viral

The video received millions of views and thousands of comments criticizing American Airlines, prompting Katie to post a series of videos dedicated to the situation.

Apparently, American Airlines was among Katie’s many viewers. After the videos went viral, she posted a video saying the airline had finally reversed the charge.

American Airlines broke its silence

In a statement to The New York Post, American Airlines said, “Our team has been in touch with this customer and offered her an apology, refunded her in full, and offered her a gesture of goodwill.”

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Katie herself spoke to the Daily Mail and said, "It's funny - just days earlier, their 'hands were tied,' but a little bad PR and suddenly they weren't tied any more."

It sounds like TikTok did its thing.

Yahoo CreatorTamara GaneTamara Gane is based in Reno/Lake Tahoe. She takes dozens of trips a year and shares the best destinations, accommodations, experiences, and travel gear with her readers. FollowFollow