Credit card booking fee

[LeisureFlyer]

To my astonishment I discovered that SIA charges a service fee for online booking by credit card via their website. This applies to a number of countries, such as Netherlands and Australia.
This was not the case last year when I made a couple of bookings with SIA, departing from Amsterdam.
However, now there is the possibility to pay via iDeal when you make an online booking departing from Amsterdam, without additional costs.

I am afraid that SIA will follow many other airlines with cost cutting measures and charging for services which are included in the fare nowadays (think about charging for advance seat allocation of standard seats).

In my opinion SIA should differentiate itself not by offering the cheapest fares in the market but to stand out as a premium carrier. I think it will pay off eventually, especially when economy is getting better.

[Doraemon]

The credit card fee is not specific to SQ only. They are pretty transparent about it and list down the countries and the amount that will be charged.
Take a look at the KLM website (https://www.klm.com/travel/nl_en/pla...t/index.htm#p2). They just say "In some countries, you will be charged a service fee when paying by credit card.", but never give any details. FYI, AF/KLM has introduced the credit card fee since 28 Jan 2016 for the Netherlands.

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg...-service-fees/

Credit Card Service Fee

Depending on where you will be flying out of, a non-refundable credit card service fee will be added to all bookings made with a credit card. Refer to the table below for more details:

For flights departing from - Credit card service fee (per ticket)
Australia - 1.35% of the total amount, capped at AUD70
Belgium / Netherlands - 1.65% of the total amount, capped at EUR20
New Zealand - 1.70% of the total amount, capped at NZD70
United Kingdom - 1.00% of the total amount, capped at GBP20

You will not be charged a credit card service fee for redemption bookings, or if you choose to fully pay for your booking with KrisFlyer miles

[SQ228]

The credit card fee is not specific to SQ only. They are pretty transparent about it and list down the countries and the amount that will be charged.
Take a look at the KLM website (https://www.klm.com/travel/nl_en/pla...t/index.htm#p2). They just say "In some countries, you will be charged a service fee when paying by credit card.", but never give any details. FYI, AF/KLM has introduced the credit card fee since 28 Jan 2016 for the Netherlands.

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg...-service-fees/



Credit Card Service Fee

Depending on where you will be flying out of, a non-refundable credit card service fee will be added to all bookings made with a credit card. Refer to the table below for more details:

For flights departing from - Credit card service fee (per ticket)
Australia - 1.35% of the total amount, capped at AUD70
Belgium / Netherlands - 1.65% of the total amount, capped at EUR20
New Zealand - 1.70% of the total amount, capped at NZD70
United Kingdom - 1.00% of the total amount, capped at GBP20

You will not be charged a credit card service fee for redemption bookings, or if you choose to fully pay for your booking with KrisFlyer miles

Ouch! This is very new.

For many years they charged a flat 25 AUD for credit card bookings on the website. Maybe around 4 years ago, that disappeared.

While most of my bookings will still only be around the same amount, I'm afraid I find 70.00 AUD most excessive. I understand restaurants and stores charging that because then I have the option of handing over cash. How am I supposed to give an overseas airline cash? If they can work out a direct banking transfer facility in Australia (one of their biggest markets), that would be a good compromise. Australian airlines often offer it and hold your fare provided you transfer a.s.a.p. They then issue the e-ticket upon fund clearance.

[SQ002]

Wah this is new to me!! What's up with this credit card fee? Can someone tell me if this will be applied on any SQ websites in USA or Hong Kong?

[zilchster]

Not sure if this credit card fee is applied to bookings ex-SIN.

But they are applied to bookings from London and Australia. I just use Paypal to avoid paying those fees.

I won't be surprised if SQ will charge pax to select seats in advance of check-in. EK does so on its cheapest fares.

Can anyone confirm that SQ has changed its advance seat selection policies? It seems those booked on the cheapest fares will usually see most of the seats blocked...

[SQ228]

Not sure if this credit card fee is applied to bookings ex-SIN.

But they are applied to bookings from London and Australia. I just use Paypal to avoid paying those fees.

I won't be surprised if SQ will charge pax to select seats in advance of check-in. EK does so on its cheapest fares.

Can anyone confirm that SQ has changed its advance seat selection policies? It seems those booked on the cheapest fares will usually see most of the seats blocked...

I never book on the cheapest fares and I'm KFEG and I frequently get few available seats even 6 months prior. SQ just don't release many seats for early selection.

[FSJZ]

I never book on the cheapest fares and I'm KFEG and I frequently get few available seats even 6 months prior. SQ just don't release many seats for early selection.

Can testify to this. I would normally re-select seats at 48 hours prior to the flight, when the blocked seats become available.

[CarbonMan]

I never book on the cheapest fares and I'm KFEG and I frequently get few available seats even 6 months prior. SQ just don't release many seats for early selection.

Even a TPP don't get a free roam of the cabin. The first two rows of the Y cabin is usually blocked and so are the centre rows in the rear cabin (which I suspect are usually blocked off for tour groups).

[SQ228]

I see now in the FAQs that the credit card service fee only commenced for Australia in November 2016 and I haven't made any bookings since then. I will be interested to see if it interprets my Visa card as debit or credit, as it is a debit card with a line of credit attached.