Change of T&Cs

[mitchja]

Originally posted by Ian

Originally posted by mitchja

Originally posted by Ian
Well done VS for introducing this change. Why should I, as a debit card user, subsidise the cost to VS of credit card users?

VS dont charge a fee for using a debit card anyway. It's only for credit cards.

Regards

I know. And your point is....?

Your not subsidising anybody as a debit card user as the basic fare cost remains the same for any type of payment, therefore, your paying less as a debit card user for the same fare.

Regards

Ah, yes. I understand now that you are agreeing with me. My question about debit card users subsidising credit card users referred to the situation BEFORE the introduction of the 1.3% fee. Now there is no subsidy I am happier.

I asked VS why they don't waive the fee for their own cardholders, and I just received the reply:

We are currently looking into the charge on the Virgin credit card.

So we'll see what they say next. I'll post it when I hear back.

[Nottingham Nick]

That could be good news, locutus, thanks for sharing.

To me it is a no brainer, and an excellent marketing ploy, to waive the fee to VS Amex card holders.

Nick

[mitchja]

OK, finally got a response from customer service to my email I originally sent to customer relations about this back in September and then had to remind them in November, which basically says they will not be waiving the VS Amex credit card fee:

Now that we have introduced this fee, current arrangements with American Express prevent us from waiving this fee specifically to Virgin Atlantic American Express Credit Card holders. American Express do not allow for any distinction between fees on any of their credit cards. We are trying to resolve this issue and will communicate any further news through the Flying Club.

Regards

I would have assumed that other companies just swallow the cost themselves, and just don't pass on this charge to their own card holders?

[mitchja]

Yes I think so.

I've no issues with paying a set CC fee but the way VS are doing this, ie as a percentage of the total paid, I think is way out of line.

Regards

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by mitchja
Yes I think so.

I've no issues with paying a set CC fee but the way VS are doing this, ie as a percentage of the total paid, I think is way out of line.

Regards

Maybe they could stop producing the k-id packs, that would claw back some money. [:?]

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by Ian
The kickback is there to compensate for the miles awarded with card use, so that's another reason to charge for it.

Not at all, Amex pays VS for those miles, they are a profit generating part of Vs and every airline for that matter.

The 1.3% charge is simply there to offset the charges from the CC companies to process the charge and rather than absorbing the charge VS is passing it on to the consumer.

Originally posted by Scrooge

Originally posted by Ian
The kickback is there to compensate for the miles awarded with card use, so that's another reason to charge for it.

Not at all, Amex pays VS for those miles, they are a profit generating part of Vs and every airline for that matter.

The 1.3% charge is simply there to offset the charges from the CC companies to process the charge and rather than absorbing the charge VS is passing it on to the consumer.

I will need some help from you on this one then. Why does it cost 17p to to process a debit card transaction for £1,000 but £13 to process a credit card transaction for the same amount?

Credit card companies give perks - deferred payment costs money.
1% cashback on all purchases if you have the right card - that alone drops the charge to £3

[mitchja]

Booking via Quidco will also get you another 1% cashback (only calculated on the base fare not including tax etc) for direct bookings as well.

Use someone like Expedia via Quidco and you get 1% cashback on the total fare (including tax etc).

I still am going to think twice now about booking direct with VS. Even with their price match promise, you can now get cheaper fares via other online/offline agents (and VS wont match these as they only base the price match on the base fare which is usually the same). There's nothing to gain by booking direct anyway.

Regards

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by mitchja
There's nothing to gain by booking direct anyway.

Other than the triple miles offer with VS Amex until the end of January. [y]

Nick

Originally posted by Ian

I will need some help from you on this one then. Why does it cost 17p to to process a debit card transaction for £1,000 but £13 to process a credit card transaction for the same amount?

Hi Ian

Credit card companies charge retailers 'x' pence per transaction with a debit card, but 'x' percentage per transaction with a credit card.

Don't know why, but its been this way for at least the twenty years. In the past many 'national' companies used to give retailers credit card support ie would give you a percentage of your card charges back, but now, with ever increasing costs etc this has been stopped in the last few years and thats why many retailers now pass on the costs of accepting credit cards onto the purchaser.

David

Thank you for that, Bill S. You confirm exactly what I have always thought. I was asking the question of Scrooge who posted 'The 1.3% charge is simply there to offset the charges from the CC companies to process the charge' in case there was something I was missing.
Deferred payment, 30 day retail purchase warranties, trades description protection, fraud insurance, travel and accident insurance, VS miles - all these perks have to be paid for somehow. So, I agree with VS that credit card payers should be charged, whilst debit card payers should not.
It reminds me of Ryanair's airport wheelchair charge argument.

I just received an update from VS, a cut and paste job, as it matched what James had said on page 2.

BMI manage to waive the fee on their Amex/MBNA card

What's more when you pay for your bmi flights using your card, the credit card booking fee is waived, giving you immediate savings.

So it's possible!

[preiffer]

Ah, that's about their Mastercard product (the current one). It remains to be seen if they can continue to do this with the new Amex product.

Originally posted by preiffer
Ah, that's about their Mastercard product (the current one). It remains to be seen if they can continue to do this with the new Amex product.

It's on the Amex page though!

Link