Qantas raising credit card booking fees

[kamchatsky]

A few days ago I booked Sydney - Cairns on Qantas online when it was (and still is) on sale.

I noticed that the price of paying via credit card was $4.40 per pessenger per booking. So I decided to pay via BPAY instead.

Today I had a look at the Qantas website again the charge for credit card has risen to $6.60 per pessenger per booking. That is a 50% increase in fees!

Look I understand inflation but surely this is a secret money grab from Qantas?! Yes it is actually not that much I know, but surely in principle they have no justification to raise this fee at all? Afterall we are paying all these "taxes and surcharges" already?!

 

[oz_mark]

A few days ago I booked Sydney - Cairns on Qantas online when it was (and still is) on sale.

I noticed that the price of paying via credit card was $4.40 per pessenger per booking. So I decided to pay via BPAY instead.

Today I had a look at the Qantas website again the charge for credit card has risen to $6.60 per pessenger per booking. That is a 50% increase in fees!

Look I understand inflation but surely this is a secret money grab from Qantas?! Yes it is actually not that much I know, but surely in principle they have no justification to raise this fee at all? Afterall we are paying all these "taxes and surcharges" already?!

The fees rose a few days ago. QF say they were (and still will be) underrecovering their CC fees.

 

[Mal]

$6.60 per passenger for domestic (and trans-tasman) itineraries.
$18 per passenger for all other international journeys.

I believe this is a huge con job from Qantas. Yes, I realise that B-Pay is still free, but B-Pay cannot be used for short time to departure bookings (ie under 7 days) and you miss out on protection (both purchase and travel insurance) from your Credit Card company when B-Paying.

 

[straitman]

I believe this is a huge con job from Qantas.

More than a con job it's just another 'ripoff' similar to the 'fuel fines'.

Not happy Jeff :!:

 

[tuapekastar]

I just paid for a HKG trip using CC, $18 for the privilege. Welcome to "gougers 'r' us". :evil:

At the end of the day, it's just the price of a pleasant bottle of red, but still irks that they do it.

 

[dajop]

you miss out on protection (both purchase and travel insurance) from your Credit Card company when B-Paying.

Think you've hit the nail on the head here, as to why they can get away with it.

Warning - rant ahead. 6.60 is quite a hefty charge on the smaller fares (1 way MEL-SYD it represents 5.2% of purchase price). I don't buy the BS that they're underrecovering the credit card fees - TOUGH - it is a cost of doing business. Can you imagine if all those last minute purchases that couldn't be made by BPAY had to paid for by cash or cheque - I am sure the cost of managing all this would far outweigh the cost of credit card merchant fees. The other thing I bet QF get a much better rate than most businesses do due to the sheer volume of credit card transactions.

 

[Dave Noble]

I believe this is a huge con job from Qantas. Yes, I realise that B-Pay is still free, but B-Pay cannot be used for short time to departure bookings (ie under 7 days) and you miss out on protection (both purchase and travel insurance) from your Credit Card company when B-Paying.

As far as protection of the purchase goes, I don't feel that there is a huge risk of QF going out of business in the near future, so the risk of losing the ticket value is not one Im concerned with

Dave

 

[simongr]

Would the protection extend to travel insurance linked to the CC? I believe that with my Gold Amex I get travel insurance if I pay for the travel on my Amex card.

 

[Dave Noble]

Would the protection extend to travel insurance linked to the CC? I believe that with my Gold Amex I get travel insurance if I pay for the travel on my Amex card.

Then ya need to decide whether the level of insurance is worth the extra $6.60 for a domestic trip. Personally, I have an annual travel insurance policy with is nothing to do with debt cards

Dave

 

[serfty]

Would the protection extend to travel insurance linked to the CC? I believe that with my Gold Amex I get travel insurance if I pay for the travel on my Amex card.

Me too, but as not all my travel is paid for using my Gold Amex I have an annual policy that provides adequate cover - I do not have to worry about using a Specific CC to get that cover.

 

[simongr]

Then ya need to decide whether the level of insurance is worth the extra $6.60 for a domestic trip. Personally, I have an annual travel insurance policy with is nothing to do with debt cards

Dave

Travel insurance is something I just didnt think about as so much of my travel has been Company travel. When I paid for my Euro DONE4 in July I used my boss's credit card and wish now that I hadnt - the baggage claim is going through him now and it is a painful process.

I am unsure what my travel insurance cover when I pay for things on my Corporate Green Amex but if I incur any costs they will be passed back to teh company.

 

[Dave Noble]

Travel insurance is something I just didnt think about as so much of my travel has been Company travel. When I paid for my Euro DONE4 in July I used my boss's credit card and wish now that I hadnt - the baggage claim is going through him now and it is a painful process..

Thats where decent Travel Insurance comes in nicely. I had 2 claims this year on travel insurances ( one personal, one business ) and both were fully dealt with within a week

Dave

 

[JohnK]

The fees rose a few days ago. QF say they were (and still will be) underrecovering their CC fees.

If it is a cost of doing business then this should be reflected in the price of the airfare! Qantas is a huge corporation and I would be surprised if they are charged more than 1% in credit card merchant fees. With the majority of return domestic airfares ~$300 then Qantas is more than making up for the credit card fees.

Australia has some of the most expensive airfares in the world and it is no surprise that Qantas is one of the most profitable airlines. It is time the consumer received some protection from all these surcharges including the fuel surcharges.

 

[Dave Noble]

If it is a cost of doing business then this should be reflected in the price of the airfare! Qantas is a huge corporation and I would be surprised if they are charged more than 1% in credit card merchant fees. With the majority of return domestic airfares ~$300 then Qantas is more than making up for the credit card fees.

Australia has some of the most expensive airfares in the world and it is no surprise that Qantas is one of the most profitable airlines. It is time the consumer received some protection from all these surcharges including the fuel surcharges.

Domestic Australia fares are pretty decently priced with no advance purchase requirements nor need to purchase return tickets to get a decent price.

Anyway, the RBA has said that Debt Cards can be surcharged to take into account the additional fees, so it is reasonable to do so unlike fees such as fuel fines which cannot be avoided when purchasing from QF

Dace

 

[Standby]

Domestic Australia fares are pretty decently priced with no advance purchase requirements nor need to purchase return tickets to get a decent price.

Anyway, the RBA has said that Debt Cards can be surcharged to take into account the additional fees, so it is reasonable to do so unlike fees such as fuel fines which cannot be avoided when purchasing from QF

Dace

I get pretty jacked off at hidden prices but QF isnt the only one .
There arent too many business that dont pass on fees. I get slugged by my council to pay rates among others.
As home lending has slowed CC usuage continues to skyrocket.....hmm how do we as banks maintain our profits and self fund/make profit centres of our own CC loyalty schemes...put up the rates to mercants....free airfares and offers of tens of thousands of FF points to sign up arent done for free they just get recovered in other ways
As for CC insurance I havent tried I have a year round policy which I claim back on tax as all my travel is for business

 

[Dave Noble]

hmm how do we as banks maintain our profits and self fund/make profit centres of our own CC loyalty schemes

Ah, well I like being a cost centre for my bank; no bank fees and no income from Debt Cards from me

Dave

 

[drron]

The fees rose a few days ago. QF say they were (and still will be) underrecovering their CC fees.

Well when working I did not charge a CC surcharge.I got charged 1.25% by my bank with a turnover just a tad smaller than QF.I was only accepting Visa and MC and it was done through my professional organisation.If they were being charged more than 1% by their banks I would be surprised.At 1% a $6.60 fee equates to a fare of $660.I would suggest that most of their domestic sales are below this so the story of not covering their credit card costs seems a little hollow.Then again they may have paid the deposit on the A380 by CC?

 

[straitman]

Then again they may have paid the deposit on the A380 by CC?

Think of all the points they would get.

 

[Kendall Roy]

Think of all the points they would get.

If they used the Airbus AMEX 2.5 points per dollar plus free travel insurance

 

[oz_mark]

If they used the Airbus AMEX 2.5 points per dollar plus free travel insurance

They may have lost a few points after the delay when the chargeback was processed.