That sounds like the STPC program, where there is not an immediate connection (within 8 hours) available.
https://www.qatarairways.com/tradeportal/en-au/policies/STPC.html
You're getting hung up on surcharges, and weekend surcharges are a separate matter, and they won't go away.
The goal has been to reduce surcharges,
It's interesting to compare the situation to the UK, where there has been a class action over consumers paying excess prices as the retailers...
Their ultimate goal was to push interchange rates down. Surcharging was viewed as a way of giving price signals to help push it down.
That was years ago, now cards are almost the default payment mechanism.
Even had they not gone down the surcharge path, they would have done something to reduce...
Australian page is here
https://www.choicehotels.com/en-au/choice-privileges/benefits/status-match
The email address is uses is [email protected]
Subject is Choice Privileges Status Match
Citibank used to have this process (maybe still do), that a card would go into 'pending closure' until the next statement period, before it actually closed.
It all takes time......
That's true, although when the made that move in 2003, cash was the main form of payment. That has change in the last 20 years, to the extent that many people don't even carry cash now (and thus can't avoid a surcharge).
While I don't agree with what they did, it seems reasonable to reconsider...
The MO of Scattered Spiders (and people think they were behind it) is to impersonate a software provider of IT person. As per Crowdstrike (SCATTERED SPIDER Escalates Attacks Across Industries | CrowdStrike )
It's a hypothetical scenario that seems to fit in with everything we know about the crash. I'm not sure in a dual failure you'd have many options, especially if there is no handy river nearby.