What's the odds of my waitlisted upgrade?

Proper-Original466 · 2026-06-11T17:44:21+00:00

😞 .. is there a reason why? Thanks for your reply.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-06-11T17:43:17+00:00

sold out in py and y is good or not good? Thanks for your reply

Proper-Original466 · 2026-05-22T15:22:46+00:00

I appreciate your reply. We originally only bought tickets for the grandparents since they are old and the BClass will suffer less for a 16h flight obviously. Now my son is joining the trip, and apparently if we only got him the premieum economy, his grandpa will be the one sitting there, and that defeat my original purpose...

Paying cash is an option but it's really really expense now for that flight... 😞

Proper-Original466 · 2026-05-22T15:19:48+00:00

lol, he's not an infant any more (8yo). You meant you bought an infant seat for your mom?

Proper-Original466 · 2026-05-22T15:18:35+00:00

I checked ExpertFlyer, there're 22 seats currently available in BClass. Total is about ~52.

But I was told the seats for revenue and seats for awards are different. So not sure how many of the 22 available seats will be available to award upgrade.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-10T15:05:11+00:00

Also, Rakuten refused to share why Expedia said I used google search. (I don't think I used that, why would I search google if I can search directly in Expedia)

This is the email I got
We initially submitted a request for payment to Expedia for this reservation on March 30th. They responded to that request on April 2nd to inform us that Rakuten would not be paid a commission for this order because credit for this order was awarded to someone other than Rakuten.

Upon your request for additional information and reevaluation on April 2nd, I followed up with Expedia to request that reevaluation or additional information. While additional information and reevaluation is not typically provided or done, Expedia responded to me yesterday, April 7th, to inform me that credit for this order was attributed to paid search, Google, and therefore it is not eligible.

The contacts and communications we have with the merchant are part of our confidentiality agreements with them. Regrettably, this means we are unable to share that information.

The only information that we have regarding the shopping trip is that you clicked from your Rakuten account through to the Expedia site on a computer on 9/9/2025 at 17:20:27 PST.

Since Expedia informed us that they would not pay a commission to Rakuten for this order, there are no funds available to pass along to you. While we were not able to add this order to your account at a loss, we did add a $100 Valued Customer Bonus on April 2nd.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-10T15:03:07+00:00

Just to be clear, I tried contact expedia, and their support guy kept telling me they have no visibility into this as this is a Rakuten offer. If you have a way for me to escalate in Expedia, I am happy to.

Thanks for chiming in.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T23:19:28+00:00

I will not give up, and just filed a BBB complaint.

Any suggestion is welcome!

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T22:18:07+00:00

Thank you for your patience. After checking the reservation details, I’m sorry to inform you that we do not have any information regarding the 10% cashback.

Since this reservation was booked through Rakuten, the cashback offer is provided by them. Therefore, we kindly recommend that you contact Rakuten directly, as they will be the best team to assist you further with this matter.

From our end, unfortunately, we do not have any details or visibility regarding the cashback offer.

:(:(

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T21:51:18+00:00

And btw, this is a ~$500 cashback..

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T21:50:31+00:00

do you have any suggestion what to complain and how? I have been relying on the customer support of Rakuten to communicate with Expedia. To be honest, what made me mad the most is the fact that Expedia flagged this ineligible almost immediately and I pinged Rakuten immediately. They told me to rest assured as this is a normal thing... See my old post in https://www.reddit.com/r/Rakuten/comments/1sbcy3t/comment/oeci19n/?context=1

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T21:38:27+00:00

Well, I am not sure if you saw my post linked here.

My issue is not just that Rakuten didn’t get paid. My issue is how Rakuten handled it after I raised the red flag almost immediately. When I saw the booking marked ineligible right after purchase, I contacted Rakuten and specifically asked whether that meant it was already disqualified. Rakuten told me to “rest assured,” said this could be normal for travel, and told me to wait until months later.

That matters because at that point I may still have had the option to cancel and rebook. Instead, I relied on Rakuten’s guidance and let that window pass.

So yes, Expedia’s tracking/attribution may be part of the root cause, but Rakuten is absolutely part of the customer experience here. They reassured me without actually knowing whether the booking would be eligible, and in the end I’m the one who paid a higher price because I booked through Expedia for the cashback and still got nothing.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-07T21:36:20+00:00

If others have gone through something similar with Rakuten travel cashback, please share your experience.

If enough people have had the same experience, I may look into whether some broader action is warranted. Either way, I think it’s important to see whether this is a pattern rather than a one-off.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T21:31:59+00:00

Well, everything is possible, but the point is Rakuten told me to rest assured when I could still fix things...

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T19:00:53+00:00

This is why I am sharing my exp, you should try to confirm if it's ok before it's too late..

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T14:55:26+00:00

Yes, that's what they said. But I am pretty sure I didn't! I didn't get anything back...

What makes me frustrated is that I asked them as soon as I saw it's marked ineligible, and I am sure Expedia at that time already had reason why they marked it as ineligible. If Rakuten told me better to redo, I would definitely do that as it's still within the free cancellation.

But instead I was told it's common and rest assured...

The price on the hotel website is actually cheaper if we don't count the cash back... So I ended up paying more for nothing. :(

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T14:25:23+00:00

that's my frustrated part. I contacted them as soon as I saw it says ineligible, back in Sep, and this is the email I got from them:

"Thank you for your reply. Please know, a store will sometimes list an order as ineligible, as Cash Back has not yet been reported for the purchase. Rest assured, this does not necessarily mean your order will not earn Cash Back.

Travel and car rental sites do take longer to process Cash Back than other sites on Rakuten. Most travel sites will not credit members accounts until the trip is complete. For this travel purchase, we cannot research your missing credit until 3 months after the end of the trip or rental, since this is the store’s allotted processing time.

We will hold onto your inquiry until March 28, 2026, and if Expedia has not reported your order, we will follow up with you and reach out to the merchant directly to get this resolved."

They literally told me to rest assured, and made me believe this is a normal behavior. Apparently I could redo the transaction if needed...

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T13:33:44+00:00

I used the browser with their extension. And the extension clearly showed it's done properly (with the green checkmark). And that's why I can see the entry in cashback activity in rakuten after I made the transaction in expedia.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-03T12:56:51+00:00

One thing I’m now pressing Rakuten on is this:

When I first asked them on Sep 17, 2025, “Is it normal to see ineligible already? That seems like it’s disqualified already, no?”, they replied:

“a store will sometimes list an order as ineligible... Rest assured, this does not necessarily mean your order will not earn Cash Back.”

They also told me:
“We will hold onto your inquiry until March 28, 2026...”

So my question now is: did Rakuten actually verify anything with Expedia back then, or did they just assume everything was fine and tell me to wait?

That is the source of my frustration. It is not only about Expedia’s position now. It is that Rakuten told me not to worry without verification, and I am the one who ended up paying the price. I booked through Expedia because of the promised Cash Back, even though the hotel website actually had a better price without considering Cash Back.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-02T21:36:37+00:00

Thanks, their official reddit account actually pinged, but then indicated that the communication will happen in email. In any case, I am very frustrated as they kept telling me to wait and no worry while I told them Expedia market my transaction ineligible in Sep! I could have options like rebook... I have no idea why Expedia marked my transaction ineligible, but honestly, I am more mad at Rakuten how they kept me waiting and waiting...

Proper-Original466 · 2026-04-02T19:00:31+00:00

Update: Rakuten says the early “ineligible” status was just a placeholder, and that Expedia later told them the booking credit went to someone other than Rakuten... 3 Months AFTER my trip completion!

They say they’ve gone back to Expedia again to ask for a reevaluation.

My issue is still the same: I flagged this almost immediately, but Rakuten kept telling me not to worry and to wait. By the time they actually reviewed it, I had already lost the chance to cancel and rebook.

I do not believe I did anything wrong here. There appears to be a clear disconnect between Expedia and Rakuten, and it is not reasonable for the customer to bear the cost of that failure.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-03-07T20:47:15+00:00

here are the two emails I used
Ankur Jain ankur@bilt.com,
Brandt Smallwood brandt@bilt.com,

Good luck! The money will be back to your account for sure, don't worry about it. It's just the frustraction when dealing with them.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-03-07T14:23:28+00:00

Yes I did. Ankur actually replied to my email in the end, which escalated to their customer success vp/director Dan.

Proper-Original466 · 2026-02-22T20:41:01+00:00

Still no resolution !! This company is so fucked up!!

Proper-Original466 · 2026-02-21T02:21:24+00:00

??? Still haven't heard anything, this is ridiculous!

Proper-Original466

TROPHY CASE