Reader Alex says that U.S. Airways charged him a $25 fee that they can’t explain — and are unwilling to remove. If he doesn’t like the mystery fee, he says, he was told to do a chargeback.

Alex says:

USAirways charged me an extra $25, on top of what the agent said was the amount that “includes all taxes and fees”, when I booked 2 tickets on the same itinerary, one of them discounted using an E-Air Check Plus (which was issued for a previous inconvenience). Now, the EACP cannot be used on line, and therefore USAirways’ policy is to let you book on the phone without a booking fee (I checked this).

When I called back to ask about the mystery charge the agent told me the following two contradictory things—-

1. They probably charged a booking fee because the SECOND (non-discounted) ticket could have been purchased on line.
2. The booking fee for my ticket (international travel) should be $35, not $25, so she wasn’t sure it was a booking fee.

The agent asked her supervisor if I could get a refund, and the response from the supervisor was (not surprisingly) no.

But here is the great advice: the supervisor suggested that I issue a chargeback. Really. I seriously doubt this is official USAirways policy, since chargebacks cost them extra money, but I was very surprised to hear this advice from anyone at their call center, let alone a supervisor.

I’ve contacted Executive Customer Support and requested the dispute paperwork from the Credit Card company. Any advice? If I dispute the mystery charge (which is charged separately from the travel on my cc), can they cancel my tickets?

We have never tried a chargeback for just an airline fee before, so honestly, we have no idea what is going to happen. It really depends on the bank and the airline.

Before you go ahead and follow the supervisor’s advice — try contacting US Airway’s executive office again. You can also try emailing your story to this address.

Has anyone out there tried a chargeback for just a fee? Did it work? Would you recommend it? Help Alex out in the comments.

(Photo:Zonaphoto.com)

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