All airlines that enable points/miles payment option require payfields to be able to read and write necessary data, otherwise they would be unable to access accounting data that is required during PNR retrieval and post booking processes. 

Currently in Digital Connect, Host payfields can store limited data only. 

The payfields contain payment data that are not available in ticketed documents, i.e. Virtual Coupon Record (VCR) and Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD). The payfields enable finer data granularity storage, which allows the airline to retrieve and reconcile payment data for various purposes, e.g. refunds. 

Digital Connect offers an alternate option to current Host payfields, by using Get/Update Reservation to store more data applicable to specific Loyalty transactions. New Open System Payfields supports all loyalty/redemption combined with non-redemption payment data (payment transaction fully paid in points, or payment transaction partially paid with points and partially cash), so that airlines can read and add payment data, as well as store and track history of the payment transactions. 

The new Payfields data structure is designed to improve support for all the data associated with redemption transactions that are not available in any other system. Payfields for fixed rewards “look up model” is stored on an Itinerary part basis, payfields for dynamic rewards are stored on a Fare Component basis. 

Ancillaries (dependent on ancillary filling) and Seats are added on a segment/Itinerary part level. 

This functionality applies to the following paths: 

• Redemption Flow (RBE)
• Manage Your Booking – Modify Trip Options Flow (MYB: MTO)
• Upgrade Flow (MYB: FFU, MYB: FQTU)
• Points in the Revenue Flow (B2C)
• Pay at Agent
• Cancel and Exchange paths: 
  • Legacy redemption Cancel 
  • Enhanced Redemption: Cancel 
  • Legacy redemption Exchange 
  • Enhanced Redemption: Exchange

Prerequisites 

• Open System Payfields are not activated by default. To activate, please contact helpdesk or delivery.  
• No URL and ID to access 3rd party service is needed.   

Limitations 

• Solution is not available for V12 customers (Digital Connect only). 
• Enabling Open System Payfields for the combination of Itinerary with mixed award and Pay at Agent is not supported at this point. 
• If a user has Host payfields in the booking and goes through Enhanced Redemption exchange, then end user needs to contact the call center to make a cancellation or exchanges to his booking. 

Highlights 

Host payfields could store only limited data. Get/Update Reservation is used to extend the OpenSystem Payfields storage capabilities. 

API Modifications 

The calls and sequence of JSON calls do not change as this is a backend feature. Get/Update Reservation is used to store the Open System Payfields.