paying for a family member's plane ticket...

[Ryan76 46]

So...my wife's relatives all got approved for tourist visas. Her brother already visited - paid his own way. Now we are planning for her mother to come. Her mom is going to pay for the ticket home, we want to pay for her ticket to come. (Her mom will buy return tix before flying to the USA.). So can we buy her ticket to arrive here in the usa on Travelocity (or whatever website) and then just email her mom the itinerary and ticket info?

Sorry if this is a dumb question...we just want to be sure we do everything right

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I always buy the tickets for visiting family - whether it's mine or my wife's. Not a problem.

[Ryan76 46]

I always buy the tickets for visiting family - whether it's mine or my wife's. Not a problem.

Cool...so we just buy the plane ticket like normal in her mother's name, then forward her the itinerary / ticket info to print out....easy as that? Then she can purchase her return flight home ticket and have it in hand when she leaves for the USA...no problems?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Cool...so we just buy the plane ticket like normal in her mother's name, then forward her the itinerary / ticket info to print out....easy as that? Then she can purchase her return flight home ticket and have it in hand when she leaves for the USA...no problems?

She should come on a return ticket. But essentially that's right Edited June 27, 2015 by Transborderwife

[Ryan76 46]

She should come on a return ticket. But essentially that's right

Sorry I don't exactly understand. We are going to pay for her ticket to come to the usa. She is going to pay for her return ticket back to Colombia, but she will buy the ticket well in advance and have it with her when she flies to the USA. Make sense? Am I missing something?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Yes that should be fine

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Sorry I don't exactly understand. We are going to pay for her ticket to come to the usa. She is going to pay for her return ticket back to Colombia, but she will buy the ticket well in advance and have it with her when she flies to the USA. Make sense? Am I missing something?

You (as in all parties involved) are likely to end up paying more for those two one-way tickets than what you'd pay for a round trip. I'd consider buying the round trip and then splitting the cost. Everyone wins. Well, everyone except the airlines.

[Boiler 43,434]

You (as in all parties involved) are likely to end up paying more for those two one-way tickets than what you'd pay for a round trip. I'd consider buying the round trip and then splitting the cost. Everyone wins. Well, everyone except the airlines.

Agree

[Unidentified 2,930]

I agree. A one way ticket costs about the double as a two-way ticket.

[Ryan76 46]

Well, just wanted to post an update.

We checked the prices and a round trip vs two one ways were virtually the same in this case (within 75 dollars). Still, we were going to by round trip but, well to make a long story short my sister in law wasn't going to be able to send us her part of the money for several months and she preferred to just buy the ticket. So we bought the return ticket, and she was going to buy the arrival ticket.

But things didn't go according to plan. We bought the return flight just fine. But when my sister in law took her mom to the airport to get her ticket, they would simply not sell her a one way to Miami..had to be a round trip.

Now this part makes no sense to me, but apparently if she had a credit card instead of a debit card she could've just gone online and bought the one way....but she doesn't have a credit card.

So my wife and i ended up buying the other ticket as well, and the sister is just going to send cash with her mother when she comes.

The only thing that worries me now is that we have two one way tickets instead of a round trip, and they made such a big deal at the airport about insisting on round trip that i hope she doesn't get turned away when she tries to depart.

We called american airlines and they said she should be fine at customs as long as she has printed out proof of her return flight. So what do you guys think? It would just kill my wife and mother in law if we spend the next 3 months planning this vacation and getting excited only to have her get denied at the airport.

Please tell me we have nothing to worry about.

[NikLR 13,220]

You have nothing to worry about because she's departing not entering.

what airline were you trying to use?

[Ryan76 46]

It's american airlines and LAN. And maybe i didnt explain well enough, but she has two one-way tickets...arriving and departing. Both already bought and paid for

[NikLR 13,220]

It's fine. When she departs the USA she won't have an issue as she's travelling back to her home country. It's travelling to the USA that generally generates issues.

Perhaps next time avoid the problematic airlines. Sometimes paying more for a better airline is worth it!

[Ryan76 46]

Right, but we're not concerned with the departure..we know that won't be a problem. Just concerned with her leaving Colombia on a one way ricket (even though she will have return flight documentation with her when she leaves). We already ralked to american airlines and she said it's not a problem.. but customs might ask her questions about the ticket, but should be fine if she has the documentation showing she has a return flight.

[NikLR 13,220]

OH! Yeah that should be fine. You never have the other ticket in hand anyhow... just an itinerary showing you've bought one.