Keep spirits high and ticket prices low this summer by being in the know on airline credit card practices
As airlines suffer a backlash from the Office of Fair Trading on the rising cost of booking by credit card, budget-conscious consumers fear sticking to low-cost travel could be a struggle.
Cheapflights.co.uk, the UK’s leading website for price search and comparison, breaks down the credit cards charges of ten top airlines to help keep travellers in the know on where to find the best deals.
“While it’s difficult to avoid being charged altogether, it is possible to keep charges to a minimum depending on the type of card used and the airline you’re booking with,” says Nadine Hallak, Travel Expert for Cheapflights.co.uk.
“Travellers should keep in mind that budget airlines may not always carry the lowest overall ticket price once all the ‘extras’ have been added, so it’s worth shopping around and doing the math as travelling with a flagship carrier could work out to be more cost effective,” adds Hallak.
The below list shows ten top airlines and the fees they carry per type of credit card:
Iceland Express: 1 per cent of total ticket cost on all cards.
Air Europa: £0 on Visa Debit, Mastercard Debit, Visa Credit, Mastercard Credit. NB: American Express is not accepted and there are no baggage fees when flying this airline.
British Airways: £0 on Visa Debit/Electron, Switch/Maestro, and Mastercard Debit. BA charges £4.50 on Visa Credit, Mastercard Credit, and American Express.
Virgin: £0 on all debit cards and £5.68 on all credit cards.
Monarch: £0 on Visa Electron, £3.90 on all other Debit cards, and £5.57 on Credit/Mastercard.
Jet2: £5.56 booking fee and credit card fee of £5.76 on all credit cards. £5.56 booking fee on Debit Cards. £0 on Electron. £5.56 booking fee if using Paypal plus £2.47 Paypal fee on top.
bmibaby: £9 on American Express, Mastercard, and Visa Credit. £6 on Visa Debit, Switch/Maestro, and Solo. £0 on Electron.
Flybe: £9 transaction fee plus £1 on top for Visa, American Express, and Mastercard. £9 transaction fee on Visa Debit, Switch/Maestro, and Solo cards. £0 on Electron.
Ryanair: £6 each way (on most debit or credit cards). There’s no charge for Mastercard Prepaid cards.
easyJet: £12.95 on American Express, Visa and Mastercard. £8 on Visa Debit and Mastercard Debit. £0 on Visa Electron. Note: while some airlines charge a card fee per person per booking, easyJet charges one card fee for each booking regardless of the number of flights purchased in one transaction.
Commenting on the hike in charges imposed by most airlines, Iceland Express’ CEO Matthias Imsland says, “Iceland Express is a low cost airline that strives to remain low cost. We are keen to keep our credit card charges to a minimum so as not to impact heavily on the overall cost of the flight. We include all taxes and surcharges from the outset and like our customers to see the cost of the flight upfront and be reassured that the price will not keep rising at every stage of the booking.”
Read the guide on Cheapflights.co.uk and for more information on these or any other airline, visit www.cheapflights.co.uk
To shop around and compare flight prices, make cheapflights.co.uk your first port of call.
For further information please contact:
Rooster PR: Kate Eglinton
tel: +44 (0) 20 7953 8781
email: kate.eglinton@rooster.co.uk
About Cheapflights Media
Cheapflights Media is an international media network providing users with different ways to find low cost travel. Since 1996, Cheapflights Media has been helping consumers research, compare and save on domestic and international travel. Our flagship brand, Cheapflights, is one of thelargest flight deals publishers, delivering over 4 million deals daily.With brand-name deals on airline tickets from more than 300 partners and 600 airlines and a team of travel experts hand picking the best offerings, Cheapflights offers visitors a mix of deals they can’t find anywhere else. There are currently Cheapflights sites for the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. For more information, visit www.cheapflights.co.uk.
(Image: MoneyBlogNewz)
