Frequent Parking Program at KCI Airport Delayed for Months. When Will It Launch?

Frequent travelers were promised a revamped parking rewards program was “coming soon” when the new single terminal opened at Kansas City International Airport.

More than six months later, the program hasn’t yet launched and it could be weeks, maybe months, before it takes flight.

A reader and frequent traveler asked The Kansas City Star to check into when the KCI Rewards frequent parking program was returning in response to The Star’s request for our readers to tell us what they think we should cover.

“We believe it will before the holidays, but are cautiously hoping for mid-October,” said Joe McBride, an airport spokesman said.

There have been technical difficulties in integrating the new software programs, he said. There is a glitch preventing two software programs from communicating.

“We and the contractors have worked though them to make the program better for our users,” McBride said. “We are in the testing phase now and hoping to launch soon. We will send out a notification to members once we have a solid date.”

The airport, whose airport code is MCI, apologized for the inconvenience, he said.

Travelers enrolled in the frequent parking program were notified that as of March 1, their KCI Rewards automated pass were temporarily disabled.

An improved program was in the works as the airport upgraded entry and exit equipment. The program would match the “amenities and convenience” offered by the new terminal and parking garage and provide “an enhanced KC Rewards website and expanded parking options,” the notice, which is still available on the website, said.

In the meantime, program members were required to start pulling tickets and paying in person through a cashier or credit card lane.

They could still receive points, but they needed to send a copy of their receipts to the airport at [email protected] or by fax to 440-542-1810, along with their name and automated pass number.

That is still the case, McBride said.

The reader who asked The Star to check into the program also expressed concerns that the longer they’re kept waiting, the more they wonder about the ability to manage and retain the receipts and receive their points when the program launches.

When asked if the delays would makeit less likely the receipts would be counted, McBride said that’s not the case.

“We take care of any receipt that customers email us,” he said. “That is not changing.”

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