Australian Airline Credit Card Fees

[encryptededdy]

Not really a big deal but I found it interesting that Qantas and Virgin Australia have very different fees for Visa/Mastercard

	Mastercard Credit	Mastercard Debit	Visa Credit	Visa Debit	Amex	Paypal
Qantas	0.64%	0.25%	1.03%	0.49%	0.64%	0.69%
Virgin Australia	1.27%	0.61%	0.98%	0.53%	0.98%	0.98%

So it looks like Qantas is cheaper in general, unless you use Visa Credit. VA is higher for MC but QF is higher for Visa. However in both cases you can use Paypal to avoid the higher fees of Visa/MC credit, but this carries its own issues.

In my experience with Qantas, there's a chance the PayPal payment messes up and then you'll have to endure the call center to fix it, and on Virgin you cannot pay for award flights using PayPal (at least in my experience)

Also interesting that VA has a fixed 0.98% fee for Apple Pay - this is strange since Apple Pay isn't a payment processor per se, it still outputs (tokenised) card details for VA to run through their own processor. Maybe because they don't know what card you're using before it opens the Apple Pay UI, which requires them to submit an amount?

 

[SYD]

One workaround with QF is to use a gift certificate. It’s been a while but I believe they still wave the fee paying with or partly with a GC (you only pay the % on the original GV amount).

Also, doesn’t PayPal stuff up earning bonus points on QF/VA FF earning cards?

 

[AIRwin]

(you only pay the % on the original GC amount)

Even the gift voucher purchase itself is fee free

 

[SYD]

Even the gift voucher purchase itself is fee free

I wasn‘t sure if that was still the case but handy to know.

But isn’t there also a downside that you have to go in through a GV portal - potentially with less functionality? It’s been ages since I bought/used one.

 

[RealtimeY]

Yes, card surcharges go out the window when GVs are involved.

The redemption rules online are conflicting. It mentions only being able to be used for one way and round trips, but also mentions calling the call centre to book a multi city. I was able to do a multi city recently by calling up.

 

[elanshin]

I wasn‘t sure if that was still the case but handy to know.

But isn’t there also a downside that you have to go in through a GV portal - potentially with less functionality? It’s been ages since I bought/used one.

Yes, card surcharges go out the window when GVs are involved.

The redemption rules online are conflicting. It mentions only being able to be used for one way and round trips, but also mentions calling the call centre to book a multi city. I was able to do a multi city recently by calling up.

No surcharge using GV. The portal is less slick looking and more "old school".

It's limited to one way or return using relatively simple booking however I did manage to call and book a SYD - HND - SIN (codeshare) - SYD flight.

Also can't do multi class but I got a workaround bu booking a flex economy on the leg i wanted to change to cash J and then chaning online to make the change immediately.

 

[tdimdad]

Yes to all of the above on GV's. The online portal is limited to simple point-to-point one-way or return bookings (including connections, e.g. OOL-MEL-CHC and back). However, it sometimes shows higher prices than the cash fare booking page.

I've managed to get my simple A <-> B redemptions done online but anything above that needs a call centre. No CC fees on purchase and redemption of the GV's. It's a good way to avoid CC fees on QF if you have a bit of spare patience to deal with the quirks of the system or the call centre.

 

[AIRwin]

But isn’t there also a downside that you have to go in through a GV portal - potentially with less functionality?

And only for departures from Australia

 

[CaptJCool]

The GV portal looks like the Flight Credit portal
But then there’s the public website
And is the Business Rewards flight bookings done through a separate entry portal too ?

I recently booked a couple of one way flights via GV to get rid of 2/3 outstanding vouchers and the price was the same for the main website and the GV portal

PS Would note July last year, In using up the last of the Flight Credits, the J flights there were $200 LESS than the public price offering
(Even though one must book a fare of equal to higher value in that particular portal)

 

[SYD]

And is the Business Rewards flight bookings done through a separate entry portal too ?

Yes, but mainly so you can get access to the relevant QBR Level discounts. But if you’re buying a public fare or using a GV/Credit, you can always just add your ABN after you book.

I noticed the other day that a FC from a cancelled DSC booking is showing in my QBR portal as well as my personal FF dashboard. I’m assuming both will take me through to the FC portal.

From memory, you don’t pay CC/DC fees again using a FC. Handy if the replacement flight is much more than the original booking.