i’m an escapist. in the past, whenever i’m under stress, i get sleepy. it’s probably my way of shutting out the stuff that troubles me. unfortunately, these days, i have no control on when i get to sleep, and for how long. but it doesn’t matter; i’ve found a new way to de-stress: surf the web for flight deals and cheap hotels. i get to escape, if just virtually, by being an armchair traveler.
so imagine my excitement when i chanced upon cebu pacific’s latest zero-fares promo (still ongoing as of writing). i immediately concurred with hubby and we decided i’d fly to manila with mia. click, click, click, type, type, type. input credit card details, and where i expected to see a confirmation page, there was another step asking me if i want my cc to be charged in euros instead. fine, proceed. and then….. payment declined!
huh? a gretchen barreto moment? well, i’ve been trying the last 2 days to book flights, and the system still rejecting my credit card. or is it perhaps my dsl connection? in the meantime, almost all promo fares are being snapped up. finally, i called the local booking office today and apparently, the system’s been that way for over a month now. ahhhh, so it’s not me, not my pc, and definitely not my visa. they proceed to tell me that the only way to book flights is thru them, but i need to pay additional S$30 service charge. plus my cab fare as i need to go to their office in person for them to make the booking. hello?!?
S$30 for something i could have done myself if their website was functional. what kind of crap is that?! to launch promo fares exactly at a time when your website does not permit travelers to make the booking themselves online?
stupid? or sneaky?