Anyone use flychina.com?

[jinjin]

Has anyone used www.flychina.com?

My bf just bought a ticket off of it and they asked him to fax them a copy of his drivers license and a copy of his credit card (front AND back).

is this company legit? thanks!

[smalldog]

It might be legitimate but it looks very expensive. I checked the price of a return flight from Beijing to Guangzhou in late May and it quoted $509. The same ticket on China Southern's website is 1240 RMB (about US$165).

[jinjin]

thanks for the reply.

i think flychina is better if your flight originates outside of china. for example, my bf is flying in from NYC and flychina offers a better rate than other places. flychina is also based in Florida, I think.

I normally use a Chinese travel agent if my flight originates in China--much better rate than travelocity, orbitz, etc. but if your flight originates outside of China, travelocity, orbitz, etc. gives better rates. That's how I found flychina.com but i've never had to send in copies of my DL or credit card when I purchase my flights via the web!

[Senzhi]

Never, never, never send copies of credit card (details) to anyone, wherever in the world (and thus not only in China)!

Ever heard of 'identity theft' or 'credit card fraud'?

[smalldog]

Never, never, never send copies of credit card (details) to anyone, wherever in the world (and thus not only in China)!

Er, how is it possible to buy things without giving out your credit card details?

I've had to fax my credit card statement before when buying electronic goods from overseas. It seems pretty standard for high-risk transactions.

[jinjin]

I just contacted a travel agent in LA my friend uses (I guess I should have done that before posting...sorry guys!) and she said that they also require a credit card authorization form, and a copy of the credit card front and back and a copy of drivers license/passport. So, I guess it's pretty standard.

Maybe it is different than travelocity, etc. b/c I usually just pay be credit card and I don't have to fax anything in.

So, I guess I just answered my own question. sorry about the post!

[Senzhi]

Ordering something online, requires a payment online by credit card or debit card. These transactions should be done through a secure server (https://), and will make sure your protected through fraud insurance from you bank or credit card supplier. By doing so the transaction is being verified for fraud and the company also gets electronically informed if the credit card is legitimate. All in a matter of seconds through a secure internet transaction.

You should never send a copy of your credit card, containing your security code and signature out by fax or other unprotected methods.

However, you could send it as a scanned attachment through an encrypted email

If you send these by fax ... how do you know who gets its hands on it? If something goes wrong, your bank or credit card issuer will not protect you, as you will be considered negligible.

Companies may call these 'standard practice' ... I call this rather 'very poor standard practice'.

Personally, I never do business with companies that do not respect my security or privacy. The risk is simply too high.

[jinjin]

What does that mean I will be considered "negligible"? That's not a legal term.

I think that my credit card company would protect me. I also think that fax is more secure than web--you send the fax to a landline. No one can "hack" into that transmission as easily as they can hack into information sent through the web.

how do you think people did business before the internet?

an unauthorized charge is still an unauthorized charge and sending information via fax is not considered gross negligence on a consumer's part to void the credit card fraud protection.

Too bad there are so many criminals out there that we think twice and thrice whenever we are asked our credit card info.

Anyway, that's fine. All I needed to know was whether flychina's biz practice was legit. It seems so.

[badr]

I've done some price checks on their website for international fares.. best deals I found between Beijing and a few other cities in the world.

regarding the CC & ID, it's standard operating procedure for many companies whenever there is a risk of fraud. The issue is not your protection, believe it or not. The company pays a percentage of the transaction to the CC company. In case they have to issue a chargeback, they get charged even more by the CC companies and the bank.

Elong will ask the same of you if you order using an international CC

[Hero Doug]

I bought some stuff from Amazon.com numerous times and never once was I asked to supply any kind of documentation via fax.

They did require my credit card number to charge it, but it was sent via https.

I also bought a ticket from expedia.ca once and again, they just required my credit card number to charge it, not documentation necessary.

I personally wouldn't send that info in and look for another agent. If you do send it in, and something does happen, you have no one to blame but youself.

[Shadowdh]

I have only ever been asked to supply number and security code (3 digits on the back) and never have I been asked to send bank or identity info via unsecured or even secured... sending statements to make purchases sounds a bit suspect... after all unless youre entering into a credit agreement (whereby you pay of some each time period) then why do they need to see credit card/bank statements... DL I might understand for purposes of ID but cc... hmmm I would rather pay a little extra and then be a bit safer...

[mr.stinky]

yes, your fax is delivered via landline. but ever wonder how it gets there? ever notice

all those big towers with transmit/receiving devices? lotsa transmissions get bounced

around quite a bit before finally landing in secure landlines. really doesn't take all that

much equipment or knowhow to pick things out.

not to mention if their office is using a wireless router, they may not have their system

secured. so anyone within range can monitor their internal traffic.

[Senzhi]

Yes, exactly:

Only CC number, name on card and security code are needed to verify a potential fraudulent transaction. These are also the only details you can give out under CC 'fraud protection' agreements.

All other details companies request are simply (marketing) database filling and do form a potential risk for the customer.

Talking about faxing, consider this from my personal experience:

A global company sales workfloor of 1,500 employees ... and each one of them has acess to every single fax machine.

And your CC statement or copy of the card nicely waiting there on a fax machine to be picked up ...

Hopefully your sales rep is very quick in collecting your fax, and all 1,500 employees are happy and honest employees ... else you could be in trouble.

I personally experienced this case with major global player where I was working and where an unhappy sales employee took revenge upon his employer ... and unfortunately , also upon the customer.

Again, my humble advice: never, never, never send out CC details by fax or any other insecure method. Only face-to-face or through secured electronic means (https).

[chineseforum1]

After me and my friend booked travel tickets from FlyChina.com about 1 month ago, me and my friend got email notices from FlyChina.com that they changed the ticket schedules so that I have to stay 4 hours longer on a mid-way transfer airport, and my friend will miss his meeting that original scheduled.

We are going to spend about $1000 more to re-arrange our travel schedules due to the FlyChina.com ticket schedule changes.

They should do it before I pay the ticket, not after.

[frankwall]

We are going to spend about $1000 more to re-arrange our travel schedules due to the FlyChina.com ticket schedule changes.

Hmm, that sounds very unfortunate. Perhaps you could try to file a complaint or get your money returned through legal means? Also, faxing your credit card details should be avoided if at all possible!

[Rochelle]

Hi I'm trying to reserve an air ticket through flychina.com. How reliable are they? I couldn't find many reviews. Plus since their payment gateway isn't secure the bank refused to make online transactions with them. I plan to purchase through paypal. I need some feedback ASAP! Please help

[icebear]

I've used them many times, never any issues.

[Chi2]

I've used them as wel several timesl.  They were recently very helpful in assisting me with rebooking a ticket that I had to change due to a death in the family, great service