What to be aware of when picking up E-tickets -- think ahead if the tickets are bought with someone else's credit card.

Ever notice the fine print on your airline ticket which reads (in the case of American Airlines): "If you purchased an electronic ticket, the credit card used will be required at check-in."?

FTF member Tom Turley did, when he took his son to San Diego over Spring Break to join his wife who was there on business. He wondered what he would do at the airport, since his wife had purchased all the tickets with her credit card, then faxed him the e-ticket itineraries.

What happened?

Lucky for the Turley family, nothing.  Luckily, Mr. Turley had the confirmation number of his itinerary with him and used that to access teh borading passes he needed to print out for the family trip.

When FTF questioned American about its policy, a spokesperson told us the policy was 100% enforced and e-ticket holders without the purchasing credit card would not be boarded. "I don't think it's 100% enforced," says Nancy McKinley, Manager of Consumer and Industry Affairs at the International Airlines Passengers Association in Washington, DC.

"E-tickets are just another form of prepaid tickets, so the rule is there to stop credit card fraud. But if an airline wants to enforce it," she confirmed, "they can." 

Ms. McKinley suggests that families concerned about this regulation ask the ticket agent making the reservation to "note in the record" that someone other than the ticket purchaser will be picking up the tickets. If there's a problem at the airport, she suggests families "ask the agent to read through the record."

This isn't possible with Internet purchases, unless you call the website's customer service; nor at the e-ticket kiosks used by many airlines to speed passenger check-in, because they require passengers to check in with a credit card issued in the ticket holder's name, rather than the purchaser's!