Traveler's Aide: Credit card policy complicates last-minute hotel booking

— -- Question: My complaint is perhaps petty but it happened to my 17-year-old granddaughter and you know how grandmas are. In March, my granddaughter Allison flew with US Airways from Indianapolis to Ft. Myers, Fla., to visit a college. When she stopped in Philadelphia, the airline said her connecting flight was canceled, and she couldn't fly until the following day because of weather. A fellow passenger advised her to get a room at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott.

She called her mother (my daughter), who then called the hotel and reserved a room for her using the family's credit card. When my granddaughter arrived at the hotel, she was asked for the credit card, and of course she didn't have it. The counter clerk told her there was nothing she could do. Eventually, someone suggested that my daughter book the same room with Hotels.com. She did, and the Hotels.com agent was most helpful and kind. However, the original room rate quoted by Marriott was $206, but $307 through Hotels.com.

I would think the Marriott would have had some compassion for my granddaughter traveling by herself and stuck in a strange city. Is there any recourse?

— Catherine Warwick, Herald, Calif.

Answer:Young adults such as Warwick's granddaughter can fly alone on domestic flights on most airlines without any special procedures. But they can run into trouble if their flights are canceled, and are too young to have their own credit cards or enough cash to pay for a last-minute hotel room.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) doesn't have any regulations for so-called "unaccompanied minors," so airline procedures vary. Most carriers allow kids as young as five to go it alone. Airlines charge a fee, typically $100, and will assist them in case of flight problems.

US Airways policy restricts unaccompanied minors who purchase assistance to nonstop flights only, which wasn't an option for Warwick's granddaughter's route. Families of traveling teens 15-18 who don't require assistance can skip the fee, but these young adults are treated as regular passengers—with no extra help if they get stranded.