We recently booked some flights to Tokyo with Qantas. Their fares were the cheapest and they were the only airline with a direct flight from Sydney to Tokyo. However, when we came to pay for the flights, we were given 2 options - to use a debit card, for which we would be charged $10 owe ticket, or a credit card, for which we would be charged $30 per ticket. Despite opting for a debit card, and entering the number of this card, we were still charged $30 per ticket. It seems a bit rich to charge this amount when we were using a debit card.
Hi @noverton8, that sounds a bit steep.
Have you reported it on our excessive surcharge reporting tool? We’re going to be submitting all the complaints to the ACCC when the new surcharging laws come in to effect (for large businesses) on September 1 so we’d love you to submit your experience on our page. You can check it out at www.choice.com.au/shonkysurcharges
There’s some more info available on that page about the changes, but the good news is that excessive surcharging is on its way out.
Tilly - Travel policy and campaigns advisor
Doesn’t sound like too much as a % of the ticket price. Think of those extra frequent flyer points.
Hi @Leptobrama - thought you might like to check out this article by one of our journos. It’s a must read if you’re a frequent flyer points user.
I think we might have to get a travel thread going as we have a lot of great content up on the website that people will find interesting and useful!
Thanks,
Tilly
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The Visa/MC branded bank debit cards are tantamount to a scam because in many cases they clear like charge cards with charge card fees attached. A prime example is waving a debit card whereby it is processed as a charge, versus inserting it in the machine, selecting SAV or CHQ, and entering your pin. There should have been something on the QF web for you to select debit or credit processing however it was probably not made obvious.
They tout by using credit processing you get all the Visa/MC protections you would not get by an EFTPOS clearing. They rarely add you also get the related fees.
In each case, whether the debit card is processed by EFTPOS or the credit system, your account is immediately debited.
