Credit Card Fee Ban and what that means to holiday makers wallets

Its been a hot top for holiday makers since they were first introduced many moons ago but from Saturday 13th January 2018 credit card fees are no longer allowed to be passed down to consumers. Fantastic you’re thinking right?

That’s what I would think too did I not know the implications of such a ban. These card fees are still going to be charged to companies by the merchants for the processing of payments when their clients pay using a Visa, MasterCard or a shiny Amex and as businesses can no longer pass on that charge, something has to pay for them.

Lets be honest, a business is a business for a reason. It provides a product to make a profit. No surprises there, so if money is being taken from one pot it has to be put back in to another somewhere. So how is the pot going to refill?

We have been watching our competitors closely these last few weeks and some have announced that they are implementing booking fees to cover the costs, some already charged booking fees but have increased them and some have decided that booking fees isnt the way to go and instead are lowering discounts in order to recoup some of the card charges.

So we now have no credit card fees, but instead we pay booking fees (regardless of whether payment is made by debit or credit card) or are paying more for exactly the same trip than we would have been last week (regardless of whether payment is made by debit or credit card). I’m sure there are many of you out there who choose to pay for holidays on a debit card who were never affected by the credit card fees in the first place, how do you feel about now having to pay a booking fee for your next getaway?

I’ll be honest, I think id much prefer to have the choice between paying a charge on a credit card or paying on debit for free – but having no booking fee and still getting the great discounts we have all become used to. Still, the deal is done and we must move on.

Cruise.co.uk has yet to decide how we will go forward so its business as usual. No booking fee, fantastic discounts but no credit card fee so take advantage of this whilst you can.

 


About Me

Hi there, My name is Isabelle, I'm 31 years old and I live in a small village in a lovely part of rural Lincolnshire with my husband Carl who I married on the beautiful island of Rhodes in 2012, our daughter Lexi who is 6 and our son Oliver who is 3. Oh…

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