Really hungry at Philadelphia airport, but no cash...
February 23, 2010 1:54 PM Subscribe
Really hungry at Philadelphia airport, but no cash...
A dear friend of mine is stuck at Philly airport for a few hours (flight got delayed). He's really hungry but has no cash. I'm in California and have a bunch of credit cards and a Paypal account. How can I get something to him?
A dear friend of mine is stuck at Philly airport for a few hours (flight got delayed). He's really hungry but has no cash. I'm in California and have a bunch of credit cards and a Paypal account. How can I get something to him?
you can try contacting one of the restaurants/food outlets in the airport and see if they'll let you pay with a credit card, over the phone.
posted by gursky at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by gursky at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
I don't see why any restaurant in the airport wouldn't take a paid-for in advance phone order that could be picked up. If you call in an order and pay over the phone he can go pick it up.
posted by iconomy at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by iconomy at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
I have seen people very successful at obtaining a meal voucher from an airline customer service agent by telling them that their flight was delayed/missed their flight and don't have any cash or cards to get a meal.
posted by muddgirl at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by muddgirl at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2010
If he has an unregistered empty Starbuck's card, you could ask him for the info, register it under your name, and put money on it online.
posted by beyond_pink at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by beyond_pink at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2010
(here is a directory of the terminals, and here is a list of phone numbers.)
posted by gursky at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by gursky at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2010
you could paypal me cab fare and then send him to my house. I could pay the cabbie in cash and feed him.
posted by 256 at 2:04 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by 256 at 2:04 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, it's worth checking if the airline's meal vouchers just reimburse you for what you spend. If that's the case, they're obviously not going to help much. I like the idea of asking for a day pass into the airline's executive lounge.
posted by craven_morhead at 2:18 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by craven_morhead at 2:18 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Update: The flight was delayed 3.5 hours, and US Airways apparently only give out vouchers for delays >4.5hours.
We're trying the credit card over the phone thing...
posted by metaseeker at 2:19 PM on February 23, 2010
We're trying the credit card over the phone thing...
posted by metaseeker at 2:19 PM on February 23, 2010
Response by poster: The credit card thing isn't working -- they want a PIN number, and I don't use that enough to have or know it.
Now trying the wiring thing...
posted by metaseeker at 2:57 PM on February 23, 2010
Now trying the wiring thing...
posted by metaseeker at 2:57 PM on February 23, 2010
Response by poster: Update - sent $100 via Western Union (+$12 fee). Went through in minutes.
posted by metaseeker at 3:00 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by metaseeker at 3:00 PM on February 23, 2010
Are you sure it was your friend? This is a common phishing technique. It's important in cases like this to verify their idenity.
posted by scalefree at 3:05 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 3:05 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Hey, that's good you got it sorted but I really hope it's not one of these.
posted by circular at 3:16 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by circular at 3:16 PM on February 23, 2010
Is it safe to assume your friend lacks a credit card? If not, what's the problem? I've used a credit card to buy a newspaper in an airport.
posted by justcorbly at 3:54 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by justcorbly at 3:54 PM on February 23, 2010
Does sound a little sketchy. Nobody should need your PIN to process a credit card transaction. Notice that you don't give your PIN to any other vendor when using the card?
posted by jon1270 at 4:08 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by jon1270 at 4:08 PM on February 23, 2010
Does sound a little sketchy. Nobody should need your PIN to process a credit card transaction. Notice that you don't give your PIN to any other vendor when using the card?
Probably a debit card.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 4:49 PM on February 23, 2010
I don't need to supply my PIN for telephone debit card transactions.
posted by flabdablet at 6:46 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by flabdablet at 6:46 PM on February 23, 2010
Probably a debit card.
Most machines can run a debit card as a credit card - heck, they don't even know the difference. However, it's possible that the employees won't do that over the phone, given the possibility it could be a stolen card?
posted by muddgirl at 6:57 PM on February 23, 2010
Most machines can run a debit card as a credit card - heck, they don't even know the difference. However, it's possible that the employees won't do that over the phone, given the possibility it could be a stolen card?
posted by muddgirl at 6:57 PM on February 23, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the info on phishing. Yikes!
In this case, we talked on the phone about 10 times, and several times in the preceding week.
.
The flight ended up being cancelled due to visibility. Oy.
posted by metaseeker at 8:41 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
In this case, we talked on the phone about 10 times, and several times in the preceding week.
.
The flight ended up being cancelled due to visibility. Oy.
posted by metaseeker at 8:41 PM on February 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggesions. I ended up using Western Union. Thanks also for the heads up on getting scammed-- I hadn't thought of that, and it helped me remember to set up boundaries.
posted by metaseeker at 2:44 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by metaseeker at 2:44 PM on April 27, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by whatzit at 1:55 PM on February 23, 2010