Here's a way that this scenario could be made even worse:

If Mr. Weisbam had instead decided to purchase return tickets for his family on an alternative airline (surely a reasonable reaction given Delta's unreasonable policies), Delta's computers could have flagged his round trip tickets as used fraudulently (so-called "throwaway ticketing") and imposed further sanctions, including denying a refund or even billing Mr. Weisbaum in those instances where a discounted round trip fare is less than a one-way ticket, depending on Delta's detailed contracts of carriage.

It is hard not to imagine that Delta's antiquated and unreasonable credit card surprise requirements have been left in place at least in part because they can serve as a profit opportunity for the airline.

At least some consumers have been warned/