I tried calling expedia and the airline and due to weather issues, both companies are basically not taking non-urgent calls right now, so I'm hoping one of you has been through this.
My husband and I are flying to DC on Sunday and he booked our flights. For some idiotic, unfathomable reason he put my ticket under my unmarried name. I have legally used his last name for the 11+ years that we have been married. My license has my married name on it.
I do have our marriage certificate, and an expired passport that's in my maiden name. Do you think that will be enough to get me through security? These were rather pricey tickets for a short trip so I'd rather not pay $100 or more in rebooking fees to change this.
Related question...is this the dumbest spouse move ever?? Good God...
Thanks everyone! Susan I checked out that TSA link and sent them an e-mail. There was a FAQ section on their site that talked about alternate forms of ID so hopefully with my birth certificate, expired passport, marriage certificate, current driver's license, and social security card (which lists both last names because I made my maiden name part of my middle name), that will be enough to establish my identity. Fingers crossed that I'll get a helpful response!
ETA: surprisingly, the response from the TSA makes them sound more flexible than they have the reputation for being, so I printed it out and will bring it with me. Still haven't been able to get through to the airline though so they may be the problem. I posted on FB and three friends said that they had no issues getting through with mis-matched names along with additional documentation (birth certificate, social security card, marriage certificate, and photo IDs that showed both names, which I have with the old passport and current license).
Fanged Bunny Boston to DC via Acela is 7 hours and almost $300. I was shocked at how long and how much! It actually takes longer to get from Boston to NY than it does NY to DC. We must have the slower part of the route up here. I remember thinking that it would be so fast and cheap to take all of the kids on the train and go down for some sightseeing at one point and once I saw the time and cost, understood why just about everyone here flies down.
I book my tickets in my maiden name since my passport is still in this name. However, my ID is in my marriage name. I travel a lot and have my marriage certificate always with me. They want to see it. I never had an issue. I travel national and overaeas.
My twin sister listed my maiden name on her wedding program. I had been married for 5 years. Huh? Feeling your pain!
I would definitely go to the airport and get it straightened out ahead of time! Frankly, I think it is all in who you get to help you!
I book a lot of tickets and they are picky when you finalize the deal that the name on the ticket is exactly as the name on the ID.
Years ago I got away with it when I had hubby's nickname in the ticket and given name on the credit card.
Now, I'm not so sure. We have passes to go through TSA faster because we fly a lot and they are sticklers on exact names.
Forget about Expedia at this point. He went through a discounter ( unfortunately) and that limits your customer service. Now its your business to deal with the airlines specifically.
When was the ticket purchased? If within 3 days on a credit card you still should have buyers remorse and then able to go redo it but it could be at a higher airfare and change fee.
If at first you get negative answers from the airline, don't give up. Call back. Many times it depends on the rep you happen to speak with at customer service!!
Good luck!!
You might want to ask your question to the TSA. At the bottom of their blog there is a place to click on if you have to ask an impending travel question. It is http://blog.tsa.gov Each airline may have a different policy, but you might be able to talk your way through the airline and then not be able to get through security. So I would ask them. And if they say yes, get the name and employee number of the person that responds to your request (and the case number if they assign a number) and print out a copy and take it with you and keep it for both of your flights. It has been my experience that the TSA people are not always consistent in what they require at the security checkpoints.
Airline tickets must be identical to the ID you are using. I had to pay a huge fee because they got my first name wrong and I didn't catch it.
So my passport is and will be in my maiden name for the next 5 years so if I travel overseas I must use my maiden name.
Okay I feel I should add, I was married four years ago. Of course I wanted to put my married name on the tickets. Even with my marriage licence they would not have allowed me to fly. Even now if I have to use my passport they don't give a rip if I have a marriage license, even my drivers license, showing I am married. I can assure everyone, international your ticket must match your passport, domestic, it must match your license or your passport. You doubt? What is your marriage certificate? It is a piece of paper that can be easily forged.
They are paranoid, if it is paper, they are not going to take it
You will have to call ahead and have it changed, sorry. Your name on the ticket and your ID must match exactly. TSA won't let you through otherwise. I think your best bet is to call the airline's customer service during their normal business hours and tell them that your husband did this dumb thing... maybe you'll get a nice customer service person who will fix it for you without charging you. But you'll probably have to pay their fee. :(
Names must match.
It's very strange your hubby would do that....but men are totally weird!!!!!
Your marriage license is a legal document so I don't think they would turn that away, plus it doesn't expire like your passport (bring it anyway).
Consider it a husband brain fart. LOL
Names must match. Expired passport won't cut it sorry. Get it straightened out beforehand don't assume it will be ok.
Do you have time to go to the airport? This happened to me when we were at the airport getting on a flight! Ticket counter lady was so nice. I always think I wish I had her name. She rebooked it for me. In terms of security, I think it's luck. I've had issues and sometimes they let me through but I wouldn't count on it.
Google "how to change name on airline ticket".
https://faq.ebookers.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17293/~/...
How old is your Hubby and is he having early onset Alzheimer's?
Booking a ticket for you under a name that no longer exists is just not right.
With security and everything they do to make sure you are who you really say you are, I'm not sure you're going to be able to use this ticket.
You might have to re-book a ticket under your correct name and then cancel this one.
JB-
Not an authority re: TSA and name requirements. Not going to weigh in on the dumbest spouse move ever, because all husbands have a few gems, yours more than many. My question to you is why, oh why would you fly to DC from Boston when you can Accela? With the time you have to give to getting to and through the airport on both ends, you don't really come out ahead.
Best, and good luck for a safe trip.
F. B.
A coworker went with her mom to visit someone a few weeks before Christmas. The ticket was put in her mom's last name instead of her own. Airline error but she had to buy a new ticket and just recently got a letter saying they will refund. The original ticket==but she had to pay more for the second one.
I think you will be ok if you bring your marriage license and passport with you. I think you should keep trying the airline to be sure though; hopefully they will start taking non-urgent calls soon (or, by Saturday, maybe you can convince them that you are urgent too). don't bother with expedia, since it's the airline that matters.
I travel frequently with large groups of students. The name on the ticket must match the name on the ID. Exactly. I have seen students turned away when the middle names did not match.
