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BA Introduce New Credit Card Payment Fee From 19th April 2011, British Airways is introducing a payment fee structure for BA tickets purchased with a credit card or charge card through a travel agent. The new Payment Fee, applicable to Economy Fare tickets only, is non-refundable and charged by British Airways, not the travel agent. According to the airline, this will offer customers in the UK a consistent policy when purchasing tickets.As part of this change, a £4.50 payment fee will be charged for non-premium British Airways tickets purchased. This charge is currently in place for tickets purchased on www.ba.com and so has been designed to bring payment fee charges into line across both booking formats. The payment fee is applicable to any ticket issued on a BA 125 ticket validation where the form of payment is a credit or charge card and where the fare for the segment is an Economy Cabin Fare; Debit Cards issued by Mastercard or Visa badged as "Visa Debit", including Electron, of "Mastercard Debit" will be free of charge. The payment fee only applies to transactions made using the British Airways card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements). The payment fee is applied by fare code. Notes on application of the new fee: 1. The payment fee applies to transactions made using British Airways card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements). 2. The payment fee does not apply to sectors with a premium fare designation. This means that travel wholly in premium cabins is exempt (First, Club World, Club Europe and World Traveller Plus). 3. Flights which combine premium designated fares and Economy designated fares on the same ticket will incur the charge. 4. Certain domestic services on British Airways are sold using fare codes which start with J or C and where these codes are used the payment fee will not apply. 5. Flights which involve travel on an interline or codeshare journey with an eligible Economy designated fare will incur the payment fee. 6. The charge applies to prime ticket issue only and not to any subsequent reissue or revalidation. 7. The payment fee is non-refundable. 8. Payment Fee Rate: GB£4.50 per ticket. Q&A: Q: Does the fee apply to booking made through all travel agents? A: Yes, the Payment Fee will apply to bookings made in the UK through any agent (including online agents). Q: If a customer pays by cash or cheque does the Payment Fee apply? A: No, the fee only applies to customers who pay using eligible cards and to transactions made using BA's card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements). Q: Does the Payment Fee apply to any class of travel? A: No, primarily only to Economy Fares. Q: If a customer booked to travel after 1st March 2011 will the Payment Fee apply? A: The fee only applies to tickets issued on or after 1st March 2011. News Date: 18-02-2011 |
