Credit Card Fees (again)

I know its been done before but I really dont like having to pay GBP 50 for paying for my flights on my VS amex...

Grrrrrrrrr

[mitchja]

I suggest you let VS know as the more people that do so, the better the chances of them actually doing something about this.

VS tell me they blame MBNA/Amex for this but BMI now also use MBNA Amex so there's absolutley no resons why VS can't waive the CC fee as well.

Regards

I keep being offered the VS card but won't take it up until they change this policy. I just return the application form with my views attached to it.

The cynic in me would say it's just another way to make money. BA charge a flat £3.50 and nothing for debit cards. £50 seems just a little bit excesive.

I agree that as it is 'their' airline sponsored card, that they might reduce the fees if you use that instead of any other card (similar to that mentioned for BMI above). When I mentioned it when booking before, the agent pointed out 'you do get extra miles', which will make up for the extra money that you get charged. A slight trade off I suppose, but still rather cheeky in my book!

Agree entirely with David's comment above. It is an unnecesary charge, and the miles don't add up to all that big a compensation IMO.
BW
Raj

Well £50 for 12,000 miles isn't bad but thats not the point.

Originally posted by jimbob247
Well £50 for 12,000 miles isn't bad but thats not the point.

That may be true if you have a Black VA Amex (although 50GBP for 10,000 miles seems more correct). However I recenty 'paid' 6.50GBP for 650 miles and if they had had the audacity to suggest that 650 miles was compensation I would probably have had something to say.

FM

Originally posted by FamilyMan
That may be true if you have a Black VA Amex (although 50GBP for 10,000 miles seems more correct)

Er why? - isn't the number of miles dependant on how much the tickets cost not the £50 fee...

i.e. 'paying' £50 allows you to earn 4x miles. Therefore for a £3000 ticket 12,000 miles (+an extra 200 miles for the £50 itself).

Fully agree with the principle though - it is outrageous to be charged extra to use the VS branded card!

Originally posted by oxmatt

Originally posted by FamilyMan
That may be true if you have a Black VA Amex (although 50GBP for 10,000 miles seems more correct)

Er why? - isn't the number of miles dependant on how much the tickets cost not the £50 fee...

Correct but the fee is dependant on the cost of the ticket - 1.3%. So a £50 fee represents about £3800 spend which you would normally get 7200 miles (Black Amex) or 3600 miles (White Amex) - double this for VA offer so an extra 7200 (3600). Gingerflyer said that the agent was suggesting that the fee was compensated by the extra miles so the £50 fee was compensated by 7200 miles (or 3200 if using white) - at a cost of about .7(1.4)p per mile.

FM

Originally posted by FamilyMan
Gingerflyer said that the agent was suggesting that the fee was compensated by the extra miles so the £50 fee was compensated by 7200 miles (or 3200 if using white) - at a cost of about .7(1.4)p per mile.

FM

Unless the VS agent was referring to the extra miles over and above the normal miles flown accrual not the credit card miles(i.e. regardless of how it is paid).[;)]

Either way pretty unreasonable in my book. Perhaps the card should be advertised as 4 miles per pound spend on VS less £50 admin fee.

I just made dummy bookings on the VS website and Expedia for the same flights in UC to JFK. VS surcharge £19.25 , Expedia surcharge £0.00 . Unless I'm missing something(?), I know where I'm booking my next VS flight.

Although, to be fair, there would be no charge for a debit card on the VS site.

To be, even more, fair SQ charged me zip for using my BA AMEX to book flghts with them!

On the balance of things, I think I'll remain a cynic - for now!

Sorry to drag this topic up again, but I need to do some serious spleen venting: I've just booked some flights to BGI next spring - had to do two seperate bookings, one for the parents, one for the Family mdvipond. Total charge for using my VS Amex? Best part of 130 quid! Very wrong. Very wrong indeed...

Originally posted by mdvipond
Sorry to drag this topic up again, but I need to do some serious spleen venting: I've just booked some flights to BGI next spring - had to do two seperate bookings, one for the parents, one for the Family mdvipond. Total charge for using my VS Amex? Best part of 130 quid! Very wrong. Very wrong indeed...

All fees are outrageous. Full stop[V]. No consolation I know ,but you'll earn a few miles.

Originally posted by DragonLady

Originally posted by mdvipond
Sorry to drag this topic up again, but I need to do some serious spleen venting: I've just booked some flights to BGI next spring - had to do two seperate bookings, one for the parents, one for the Family mdvipond. Total charge for using my VS Amex? Best part of 130 quid! Very wrong. Very wrong indeed...

All fees are outrageous. Full stop[V]. No consolation I know ,but you'll earn a few miles.

True. A shade over 40K of the blighters if I'm not mistaken. Still, when I already pay a (not inconsiderable) annual charge on the card, then £10K on flights, it feels like a something akin to a kick in the nuts to have to pay an extra 130 quid.

Just keep thinking of the lovely, lovely miles, mdvipond, channel your rage into planning another trip...

You will find that VS does charge you for using your c/c, and it's standard these days. The c/card companies have gotten rather shirty lately, especially MBNA (they've changed my c/card T&C's four times this year already). I wouldn't be surprised if MBNA is the one demanding more from VS and VS not having covered that eventuality.

MBNA is known to be a shark.

S.

Originally posted by VAFFPAX
You will find that VS does charge you for using your c/c, and it's standard these days. The c/card companies have gotten rather shirty lately, especially MBNA (they've changed my c/card T&C's four times this year already). I wouldn't be surprised if MBNA is the one demanding more from VS and VS not having covered that eventuality.

MBNA is known to be a shark.

S.

This whole fee situation is pants

- three weeks ago I booked a one way ticket SFO-LHR on my CC by phoning Virgin direct - no fee

- yesterday I booked another return to the US next week, phoning Virgin direct, same CC - 1.3% fee

So, same person, same CC, same home country - different country of origination for journey, ah that's it, we're being ripped off.

Originally posted by VAFFPAX
You will find that VS does charge you for using your c/c, and it's standard these days. The c/card companies have gotten rather shirty lately, especially MBNA (they've changed my c/card T&C's four times this year already). I wouldn't be surprised if MBNA is the one demanding more from VS and VS not having covered that eventuality.

MBNA is known to be a shark.

S.

It's not just MBNA. A fee is imposed for using any credit card, regardless of issuer. And not all airlines levy the same kind of fee. Also - as has already been pointed out - it's dependent on what country your card's issued in.

So I'm with slinky - it's a rip off. And yet, we keep going back for more, don't we chaps...?


[:?]

Thats why I use a debit card (I have never been able to use miles so not bothered about collecting them)