Excessive fees by Airlines

[JohnK]

Has anyone had experience in other countries of CC (sur)charges on the scale of those applied by CabCharge, airlines, entertainment booking agencies and even some merchants in Australia.

Never. The most I have ever paid is 3.5% to Thai travel agent for using Amex.

The one I love the most is SYD tax and duty free. I know it is only 1% but I have not seen this anywhere in the world.

 

[bPeteb]

Will anything come out of this?

It's not just credit card fees. I object to service charges just as much. We continue to pay service charges for self-service. We do more and more for ourselves and pay more and more for the pleasure of doing it.

I booked some movie tickets earlier this week and paid $1.50 each for using my internet connection, my printer and my paper to make the booking. The only service provided was being handed two tiny slips of paper (our tickets) by the guy at the counter.

The thing that really kills me about credit card and service charges is the per person thing. No doubt others have raised this in the pages between one and seven but I aint got time to read 'em all. At no time has any airline made four plus individual charges on my credit card and yet I get charged per person per sector. I'm fine with a single charge per transaction (I'm not really, but I know that's the best we'll ever get down to). I just hate, really hate, being charged four times for something I have just done once and the provider of the service not at all.

Argh!!!

 

[Mr_Orange]

I booked some movie tickets earlier this week and paid $1.50 each for using my internet connection, my printer and my paper to make the booking. The only service provided was being handed two tiny slips of paper (our tickets) by the guy at the counter.

The thing that really kills me about credit card and service charges is the per person thing. No doubt others have raised this in the pages between one and seven but I aint got time to read 'em all. At no time has any airline made four plus individual charges on my credit card and yet I get charged per person per sector. I'm fine with a single charge per transaction (I'm not really, but I know that's the best we'll ever get down to). I just hate, really hate, being charged four times for something I have just done once and the provider of the service not at all.

Argh!!!

Could not agree more with this. It coughs me too, the cinema deal especially as actually you are paying for nothing since the dude who gives you your ticket would have to do that anyway if you bought the ticket at the counter where you would not pay extra.

 

[travelislife]

The thing is we didn't have to have I this way. It was only 5 years or so ago that the reserve bank (I think or could be another body) allowed charging for credit card use in the name of 'competition'. Pretty sure before that business weren't allowed to charge extra to use a credit card. If I am wrong here it would be great if someone else could explain the changes that definitely happened a few years back which brought a spike in this activity.

 

[TomVexille]

Surely if the CC fee is abolished, fares will just rise by a few dollars or a % or two to make up for it?

 

[knasty]

I took up the Bankwest transaction account offer for the 10k QFF but the knock-on benefit was bring able to pay Tiger (shudder) with the accompanying MC debit card and avoid $40 in fees. Makes the thought of flying Tiger slightly more bearable. Would this be a commercial arrangement between Tiger and MC?

 

[JohnK]

Surely if the CC fee is abolished, fares will just rise by a few dollars or a % or two to make up for it?

That is fine.

At the moment the QF credit card surcharge is $30 for international flights and is the same for a $10,000 airfare or a $500 airfare. Seems a little unfair. So including the credit card surcharge in the base airfare as a %age of the base airfare would be a better solution for most.

 

[TomVexille]

That is fine.

At the moment the QF credit card surcharge is $30 for international flights and is the same for a $10,000 airfare or a $500 airfare. Seems a little unfair. So including the credit card surcharge in the base airfare as a %age of the base airfare would be a better solution for most.

I don't disagree, IF the airlines charge the actual %age they are charged by the CC companies. However they are more likely to just up fares by $10 domestically and $35 internationally, which isn't good for anyone.

 

[dajop]

I don't disagree, IF the airlines charge the actual %age they are charged by the CC companies. However they are more likely to just up fares by $10 domestically and $35 internationally, which isn't good for anyone.

If they did that it would be almost impossible (for the consumer) to tell, fares (at least the lower ones) move around by more than that magnitude quite regularly....

 

[JohnK]

I don't disagree, IF the airlines charge the actual %age they are charged by the CC companies. However they are more likely to just up fares by $10 domestically and $35 internationally, which isn't good for anyone.

I hate component pricing. Is that what it is called?

Base fare $5
Add on seat $20
Add on food $10
Add on fuel cost $45
Add on credit card surcharge $7.70
Add on genuine taxes $15

For an airfare of $102.70

I would rather see $102.70 up front and couldn't care less how the airline breaks that airfare down.

 

[TomVexille]

For an airfare of $102.70

I would rather see $102.70 up front and couldn't care less how the airline breaks that airfare down.

Isn't that what they are supposed to do anyway though?

I totally agree. The price shown up front should be the price.