How to purchase plane ticket

[dreamwarrior 0]

How do I purchase a plane ticket in my wife's vietnamese name? She has the typical name of Nguyen Thi A B. Do I buy it in the name of B Thi A Nguyen? Or A B Thi Nguyen?

Also, will I have to show my credit card (we're flying China airlines) when checking in? My father in the US is the one who's going to be using my credit card to purchase the flight since he just received my new card in the mail and activated it for me, making my card here useless. Can I just show them my old card? I don't think they actually scan the card, only look at it for proof, right? Or can I explain that it's my old card and that my father in the US used my new card to make the purchase?

[dreamwarrior 0]

So I figured out the name issue. It's not really that important as long as all the names are there and spelled correctly. But now the credit card issue. Most international airlines will not accept my Discovercard, even through an online agent since they're billed separately. So my dad has to use his own card, but if he does that, he needs to send in a copy of his card and an authorization form...unless we use priceline, which is $100 more for the 3 of us. That's just too much trouble! Now the last option is to go to a travel agent and pay the bill there. Hopefully they will be able to book a Vietnam airlines flight.

[otxu 0]

Welcome to vietnam. visit vietnamairlines.com

[JRF 117]

A word of caution - I've flown back and forth on the China Airlines/VN Airlines roundtrip between LAX and SGN now four (soon five) times, along with a number of VN airlines flights in country. VN airlines often asks to see the credit card I used to purchase the flight. I don't recall it happening on the international trips but I had a nasty surprise last summer with VN airlines. I didn't have the card I used to purchase the ticket (three months prior) and they forced me to purchase new tickets. Oddly enough (although this is VN so odd is a relative term) they then gave us money to pass the time (a 7 hour wait for next flight). I got my refund (on the original ticket) within a week - surprised me how quickly it was processed. The whole thing felt like someone deciding to check a box - it doesn't happen all the time and it also doesn't seem to matter how far in advance I purchased the ticket (sometimes it's 6 months, sometimes 2 weeks).

I don't have any specific advice to offer other than to make sure you understand VN airlines rules on how to validate the CC used to purchase the ticket in advance. China Airlines may not give you a hassle but VN airlines might. Completely unrelated - I like using the CA/VN route because it is normally the cheapest and always the fastest (especially returning to the US) but China Airlines has a well-earned reputation for lousy cabin service that only scotch seems to correct. For me..not them.