American Airlines NBC 5 Responds helps American Airlines customer recover lost travel credit Customer says American Airlines admitted the credit was used by someone else by mistake, but still denied a refund until NBC 5 Responds stepped in to help. By Kristi Nelson • Published April 24, 2026 • Updated on May 1, 2026 at 3:33 pm BOOKMARKER NBC Universal, Inc. A North Texas man says American Airlines refused to return more than $1,100 in travel credits even after he says the airline acknowledged a customer service agent applied the credit to the wrong customer. NBC 5’s Kristi Nelson has the story. A North Texas man says American Airlines refused to return more than $1,100 in travel credits -- even after, he says, the airline acknowledged the money was used by someone else by mistake. Charles Mersky, a retired attorney, reached out to NBC 5 Responds for help resolving the dispute. He said he and his wife have long been loyal customers, but this experience tested that loyalty. Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are WATCH HERE Last year, American Airlines issued Mersky a travel credit worth $1,188.90 after he and his wife had to change departure cities during a trip to Norway. “We were on a vacation to Norway, and our travel plans changed, so we had to depart from a different city. We had to depart from Oslo instead of Bergen,” Mersky said. Create a free account with NBC 5 DFW to save articles and videos. LEARN MORE “So in that situation, what they did was they were able to change us departing from a different city. And they gave both my wife and I a credit.” Months later, Mersky attempted to use his credit to book a flight to Atlanta for a family wedding. When he entered the credit number online, he said he got an unexpected message. “And when I entered that, then it gave a response that that trip credit was used. And, you know, when you get old, you're always not positive about your memory. Well, my memory was pretty clear that I had not used it. So I knew there was a mix-up, a screw-up,” he said. Local The latest news from around North Texas. North Texas Food Bank 1 hour ago ‘Hunger really is the villain': Canstruction Dallas returns to NorthPark UT Arlington 3 hours ago UT Arlington President Jennifer Cowley steps down After multiple emails and hours on the phone, Mersky said a representative dug deeper into the issue and uncovered the cause. “So she researched it a lot more thoroughly. And she determined that my trip credit was one digit off from the trip credit of a person that was trying to book a flight for themselves internationally, unrelated to me, of course,” he said. Mersky said he was told a customer service agent likely entered the wrong number by accident, using his credit instead of another customer’s. According to him, the two credit numbers differed by just one digit. Despite that explanation, Mersky said the airline refused to restore the credit. In an email response, the company said credits must be applied correctly at the time of booking, adding: “Once a credit has been used, we're unable to retroactively reassign or refund it due to input errors.” Mersky filed a complaint, but said the outcome didn’t change. He compared the situation to a banking mistake: “And a good analogy I have is, you have money in your bank account, and your bank accidentally lets someone else withdraw it. And they say, well, yeah, we're sorry, but once money's withdrawn, we can't restore it. I mean, that's a pretty good analogy for what they did, right?” Mersky contacted NBC 5 Responds. The company thanked the team for flagging the issue, but did not directly address his allegations. However, Mersky said he was ultimately issued a new travel credit for the full amount, valid for one year. “Fortunately, I had a paper trail," he said. "So, you know, lesson learned is always save either hard copies or electronic copies of communications,” he said. This article tagged under: American Airlines on now 6:30PM: NBC 5 News Trending Stories Trump administration Mapquest declines to adopt Trump's ‘Lake America' order: ‘We're not changing it' Texas Gulf Coast Texas, Louisiana warned tropical storm expected to strengthen Monday; Landfall Tuesday Flooding Granbury man killed in Grand Canyon flash flood, search continues for his two friends Cedar Hill Bank customer fatally shoots armed robber demanding money Forecast NBC 5 Forecast: Watching a tropical system in the Gulf Weather Forecast
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.nbcdfw.com