Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=Da Kine Kid;1114728]I know with Avianca, you cannot get those same prices outside of Colombia. I even called them to ask why the prices differed depending on which country you're from (when it asks you at the initial entry to the site) and why I couldn't purchase one at the Colombian price online using my US credit card, and the representative explained to me that it goes on a sliding scale depending which country you're from.[/QUOTE]This statement is partially wrong and misleading (as some others I read about this issue).
On Avianca.com you CAN specify what country you are in.
(BTW, why this damn new forum software automatically "corrects" my text and writes "Avianca. Com"?)

It is probably true that, if you are going to use a USA credit card, then you MUST specify that your country is USA and then you are offered the higher price. I never tried this, so I do not argue or contradict this statement.

However, the same does NOT hold for all countries. I live in a European country. When I buy tickets from avianca. Com:
- I specify "Colombia" as my country.
- I make my choice and buy tickets, at the Colombian regular price.
- I pay with my "European-country" credit card.
- booking is immediately confirmed, while the e-ticket is issued a couple of days later (they need to do some thorough check on the bank network).

I add that the Avianca web site is one of the best ones. Very efficient and informative. It presents all fares and flights in a very readable table. It also allows you to contact the call center by real time CHAT. That's very convenient. The people at the call center is kind, courteous, and efficient.

My suggestion to USA customers is to check the Colombia price (set Colombia as your country on the web site) and then try to buy the ticket from the call center by telephone or chat.

PS: I know what you are thinking. I am NOT affiliated with Avianca, neither they pay me to advertise.

I have been able to buy tickets recently at Avianca. Com with a USA credit card and get COP prices if I use Colombia as my base, not USA. This is either a new policy (good) or the website is making an exception. I a platinum with Avianca but that means nothing. In the past I would but a tx in Colombia and then use it for a flight later by calling and reissuing the tx, lots of work to save but it works. Check this wbsite for airports and who flys there, then use a little spanish to book. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Airports_in_Colombia[/url]

Guys,

All the air fare and flight info should be sent via PM or on a separate topic.

Can we get back on track and talk about banging hot young chicks?

[QUOTE=Slamcity7777; 1114894]Guys,

All the air fare and flight info should be sent via PM or on a separate topic.

Can we get back on track and talk about banging hot young chicks? [/QUOTE]I agree, but I beg everyone to promise to refrain from advertising his own premises, like those were the only places where to meet girls in Medellin. There are specific threads also for that. At least, these posts on Avianca allow people to come to MDE saving some money. That's useful!

Now, let us all promise to talk ONLY about the (hard) core topic of the thread?

[QUOTE=Da Kine Kid;1114728]I know with Avianca, you cannot get those same prices outside of Colombia. I even called them to ask why the prices differed depending on which country you're from (when it asks you at the initial entry to the site) and why I couldn't purchase one at the Colombian price online using my US credit card, and the representative explained to me that it goes on a sliding scale depending which country you're from.[/QUOTE]I know this off of the topic, 'Banging Hot Chicas' And yes, I like banging hot chicas too, but this little conversion about Avianca is a hot spot with me. Last year I wrote Avianca this email:

Hello, Ms. Cabrera:

In July your company stopped accepting USA credit cards for purchases on line in Pesos.

What you are doing is implementing a two tier pricing system. One in dollars and one in pesos. Since the dollar pricing is a lot higher, you are trying to stop foreigners from buying in pesos by prohibiting the use of international credit cards on peso purchases. It is a clear and obvious scheme to charge foreigners more for the same service.

This trick to prohibit the use of international credit cards is just another ruse to cheat or abuse us, the consumer and specifically foreigners out of a little extra $$$$

I have seen a lot of postings on various web sites about your new policy of charging foreigners more for the same flight. None of them are complementary. Until this practice is stopped, I will not be flying Avianca. There are many choices available, Spirit Air, Copa, Jet Blue and several more.

For national flights there is Aires, Aero Republica, Easy Fly, ADA and several others. By the way, Aires has no problem processing USA credit cards on line for national flights priced in Pesos.

Thank you for your time reading this and please let the people in charge of this un fair policy know.

This was their response:

We have received your comments and appreciate your loyalty to Avianca. We constantly strive to improve our services based on feedback from our customers.

As you are aware, we recently modified our policy for tickets purchased through our Internet website,

[url]www.avianca.com.[/url]

Customers must now complete purchases made over the website using a credit card issued in the same country in which they make their purchase. Therefore, the country where the customer's credit card was issued must correspond to the country that the customer selects when initially logging on to our website.

This measure was taken in response to a troubling pattern of credit card fraud involving purchases made with cards issued in countries outside of the country where the purchase originates. Avianca took this step to protect its customers and will continue to closely monitor transactions to detect and address fraud.

As you may also be aware, the fares available to customers making purchases in one country may differ from fares available to customers making purchases in other countries. This fare differential is a reflection of numerous factors, including local tariff rules, currency exchanges, and pricing strategies in response to competitive forces.

Our goal is to provide our customers with excellent service and an exclusive and distinctive experience aboard our flights. We are committed to working hard to improve our service and welcome future comments and suggestions.

Very truly yours,

Gina Lazaro.

Customer Relationship Department

[QUOTE=El Vagabundo; 1115001]This was their response:

We have received your comments and appreciate your loyalty to Avianca. We constantly strive to improve our services based on feedback from our customers.

As you are aware, we recently modified our policy for tickets purchased through our Internet website,

[url]www.avianca.com.[/url]

Customers must now complete purchases made over the website using a credit card issued in the same country in which they make their purchase. Therefore, the country where the customer's credit card was issued must correspond to the country that the customer selects when initially logging on to our website.

This measure was taken in response to a troubling pattern of credit card fraud involving purchases made with cards issued in countries outside of the country where the purchase originates. Avianca took this step to protect its customers and will continue to closely monitor transactions to detect and address fraud.

As you may also be aware, the fares available to customers making purchases in one country may differ from fares available to customers making purchases in other countries. This fare differential is a reflection of numerous factors, including local tariff rules, currency exchanges, and pricing strategies in response to competitive forces.

Our goal is to provide our customers with excellent service and an exclusive and distinctive experience aboard our flights. We are committed to working hard to improve our service and welcome future comments and suggestions.

Very truly yours,

Gina Lazaro.

Customer Relationship Department[/QUOTE]Wow that's a bullshit response If I ever heard one! How the fuck does overcharging foreign transactions prevent fraud? And currency exchange? Local tariff rules? Pricing strategies in response to competitive forces? LMFAO! Fuck you very much Avianca. You can shove your pricing strategies up your ass sideways! Cocksuckers

[QUOTE=Napalm;1115170]Wow that's a bullshit response If I ever heard one! How the fuck does overcharging foreign transactions prevent fraud? And currency exchange? Local tariff rules? Pricing strategies in response to competitive forces? LMFAO! Fuck you very much Avianca. You can shove your pricing strategies up your ass sideways! Cocksuckers[/QUOTE]Simple, find a Colombian person you can "trust" and have them buy the ticket for you and you pay them back. Which is what I do if I'm not in the country myself where I can walk into an Avianca store. This price gouging has been going on for a few years now.

Folks,

Sorry to repeat, but people might be scared off and not use Avianca just because of last posts. The problem reported must exist only with USA people (I do not argue). [b]All others[/b] Can happily buy Avianca tickets at Colombian prices with no hassle. I repeat:

I live in a European country. [b]I bought tickets from Avianca.com at Colombian COP price last DECEMBER 2010[/b]. This is the procedure to follow:
- I specify "Colombia" as my country.
- I make my choice and buy tickets, at the Colombian regular price.
- I pay with my "European-country" credit card.
- booking is immediately confirmed, while the e-ticket is issued a couple of days later (they need to do some thorough check on the bank network).

[QUOTE=Napalm;1115170]Wow that's a bullshit response If I ever heard one! How the fuck does overcharging foreign transactions prevent fraud? And currency exchange? Local tariff rules? Pricing strategies in response to competitive forces? LMFAO! Fuck you very much Avianca. You can shove your pricing strategies up your ass sideways! Cocksuckers[/QUOTE]I still travel on Avianca all the time. They have all the routes and run pretty well. They are the best airline here in Colombia and are on par with most of the US and airlines. It is their sales and customer service end that is the problem. I have no loyalty to them as they are a bunch of gonifs. Last month I used my miles to purchase a ticket and the taxes were $30. 00 They charged my credit card 2 times. I called them and they see where they charged me twice. They said it will be 60 to 90 days to request a refund. Yeah, right. By then I am out of the period my credit card company allows me to dispute an item. I will dispute both charges as I have no way of knowing which one is the right one. I am sure my credit card company will remove both of the charges. Fuck'them. I could care less how it ends up just as long as I get my $30 back.

I just wanted to point out something I noticed about fare differences in COP and USD. This past November, I was helping a buddy research online airfares for his wife and infant child to go to Cali around the Christmas season. I tried every possible way I can think of to search for fares on the Avianca site. I did notice the USD fare was higher than the one in COP for exactly the same itinerary, but the difference was not a huge one. It seems that you can't pay for the e-ticket anymore directly in COP if you have a US credit card, but from what I've seen, the difference is almost always less than $40 and sometimes just around $10-20.

I'm not totally crazy about this, but I think it's legal. I wouldn't rule out Avianca just on this issue alone. I would say use Avianca if their flight schedule works well for you; I wouldn't call them a great airline but they're okay and have improved slightly in recent years. There's always AA of course if you don't mind connecting through MIA (I try to avoid all the bozo TSA guys & the cuban mafia there, LOL!). Spirit is okay and FLL is not as giant a hub as MIA so things tend to run a bit smoother there. Just realize it's pretty no-frills and you can get hit badly with the luggage fees if you don't plan in advance.

I have hundreds of thousands of FF miles I need to start using so it's not a major issue for me and I believe Avianca is joining Star Alliance so keep that in mind if you have FF miles in a Star-affiliated airline and the Avianca fares are pissing you off. Avianca fares tend to be pricey compared to the other airlines and while the "dollar surcharge" is annoying, it only adds a bit and is not the main source of the price difference when comparing with Spirit or AA.

Since I live in NYC and speak Spanish, I think next time I might check with local travel agencies in Astoria, Queens or certain Colombian neighborhoods out in Jersey for fare quotes. I've always wondered about these local agencies that cater to the immigrants; if anyone has tried this way, let me know if you've found a better deal through a neighborhood agency. (There's a shipping service in Queens I use that's MUCH cheaper than FedEx when I need to send something down there although it can take awhile)

Now back to your regularly scheduled monger program.

I have been on a 3 month trip through South America and it is the same problem everwhere. It is abasolutely f#cking insane and absolutely mindblowingly anoying and frustrating. Its like the airlines have done verything possible to stop anyone buying a ticket! It is absolutely f#cked.

First you have to pay the hugely inflated gringo price. Ok so once you acept this and try and buy the ticket it won't let you unless you have a credit card from that country. Its not just Columbia, its every country is the same. The only exception seems to be Taca airlines (which is why their 5:40am flight from Lima to Cuzco is always full 'because its about the only company who sells online in a normal way).

Compared to all Asian and European Airlines the Airlines of the Americas are a total farce. If the whole world ran their airlines the same way no one could get anywhere. Note that European and Asian airlines are the only airlines that evr turn a profit.

It helps to make sales if you can acually buy a what the company is selling. It is so absurd that its beyond belief. I have had to change plans and make so many diversions during this trip because I couldn't buy tickets for otherwise empty flights (in 3 months the only full or even close to full flight I have ben on was Taca from Lima to Cusco).

I do searches to include Avianca, Copa and AA to get the best price. The most convienent of the three is Copa, them AA, lastly Avianca because of the flight arrival and departure times in Colombia. All three have at times been the cheapest and all three I have amassed free trips to Colombia. As for the Avianca credit card policy, I do not see it be that much of a difference in price between booking from the different companies other than you are not paying the same taxes (which a Colombian citizen or resident will still need to pay at the airports). I have logged in on Avianca and paid with my US credit card even though the policy does not allow. The computer (at that time) did not know my card was a foreign account. Try doing it from the Colombia sight and ignore the warning but look around you might find a better price and not have to stress about revelutionizing the companies policies.

[QUOTE=Bowerboy;1115258]I have been on a 3 month trip through South America and it is the same problem everwhere. It is abasolutely f#cking insane and absolutely mindblowingly anoying and frustrating. Its like the airlines have done verything possible to stop anyone buying a ticket! It is absolutely f#cked.[/QUOTE]Not sure if things have changed in recent years due to credit card fraud but a friend of mine who traveled throughout Colombia for several months had no problem flying around inside the country and even changing his ticket without any special fees or hassles. He always just went up to the counter at the airport and asked what was available. At least for regional flights WITHIN Colombia, I believe this is still the best way to go unless you are tied to a specific schedule and need to be absolutely sure you will be on a specific flight.

I can't speak though for other countries and international flights will obviously be more complicated. The Lima-Cuzco leg is an obvious exception because of the Machu Picchu tourism.

[QUOTE=MiamiHeatLuver;1115186]Simple, find a Colombian person you can "trust..."[/QUOTE]Yeah, right."Simply" find one. Coudln't help laughing. Still looking for a Colombian I can trust.

Enjoy the life!

PaisaLover.

[url=http://www.girlfriend4aweek.com]Colombian Girlfriends without the Strings Attached[/url]

[QUOTE=Paisalover; 1115283]Yeah, right."Simply" find one. Coudln't help laughing. Still looking for a Colombian I can trust.

Enjoy the life!

PaisaLover.

[url=http://www.girlfriend4aweek.com]Colombian Girlfriends without the Strings Attached[/url][/QUOTE]Sure its a daunting task, but it can be done. Of the 100's of Colombians I know, I can count the ones I would trust with any amount of money on one hand and that's INCLUDING my girl's family LOL. Never loan a Colombian money unless you can afford to not see it again. That's a golden Colombian rule to live by.