Another enhancement: Optional Payment Charge when paying with cc
#31
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,166
I don't get it... how are we meant to pay then?? Cash? Not an option other than at airports, i.e. in 99.9999999% of cases. Cheque? Takes ages. Bank transfer? Takes ages, and is more expensive for LH. "Euroscheckkarte"? Only the Germans have that thing (=their way to show disapproval of the common currency. As a retaliation for losing their own currency they now have their own plastic card that noone wants and noone else has ). Not an option.
Stick you EC Karte. Just take every card. Don't get me started on German McDonalds not taking card payments. Way to not harmogonise the customer experience.
#32
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: England
Posts: 411
Don't get me started on German McDonalds not taking card payments. Way to not harmogonise the customer experience.
#33
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,125
#34
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 199
Countries are just different...
#36
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,859
I couldn't pay with a card last month in a McD. Not to mention various other outlets, including restaurants and other touristy outlets.
I realize it's an additional cost, but the margin in such businesses should be enough to cover for it...
I realize it's an additional cost, but the margin in such businesses should be enough to cover for it...
#37
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: FRA
Posts: 582
LH is really crazy at the moment. Even more crazy that they will not refund this charge even with a fullflex ticket...
They earn money with their DKB credit card, they earn money with their tickets and the TSC, and now they want to earn even more money with this...
Franz has changed a lot, and I feel he has no idea about his company and things like "responsibility", etc.. And he can do this because he knows that the big companys dont care about this.
Mayrhuber would never have done some changes as nowadays happen...
Its really getting worse and there will be an alternative to LH soon. Then the customers will really go.
But Franz can go then as well because he has earned enough money by then. I just read an article for how many companies in Switzerland he is currently working as well... He does not really seem to care for LH at all, he just signs the presentation prepared by some consultants in order not to lose time for his other companies.
SAD!
They earn money with their DKB credit card, they earn money with their tickets and the TSC, and now they want to earn even more money with this...
Franz has changed a lot, and I feel he has no idea about his company and things like "responsibility", etc.. And he can do this because he knows that the big companys dont care about this.
Mayrhuber would never have done some changes as nowadays happen...
Its really getting worse and there will be an alternative to LH soon. Then the customers will really go.
But Franz can go then as well because he has earned enough money by then. I just read an article for how many companies in Switzerland he is currently working as well... He does not really seem to care for LH at all, he just signs the presentation prepared by some consultants in order not to lose time for his other companies.
SAD!
#38
Moderator: Asiana & Qantas Frequent Flyer
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: STR/SYD/SMF
Programs: QF Lifetime SG, LH HON, OZ Lifetime Diamond +, HH Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 14,367
This means you are paying the OPC if the point of origin and point of ticket issue is in those countries and from November you will pay the charge for this point of origin but no matter where the ticket is being issued.
#40
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Munich, Germany
Programs: LH HON, DL FO/MM, Marriott Lifetime Platinum, Accor Lifetime Platinum, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 6,174
For once, even though this change is certainly not welcome (I see it as yet another increase of cost/fares), it is something that's done the right way, with the OPC charge being implemented consistently across all sales channels.
Depending on the ticket price, good travel agents will be able to save you money as compared to a booking directly with LH.
Example:
Long-haul ticket ex DE purchased on lufthansa.com:
15 EUR TSC + 18 EUR OPC = 33 EUR total in fees
Long-haul ticket ex DE purchased through a good travel agent:
15 EUR TSC + OPC depending on the ticket price (for example 2%, with a cap at 18 EUR) = 27 EUR total in fees for a 600 EUR ticket, 33 EUR total max
Hence, this is a great opportunity for good travel agents out there who treat their clients fairly with a sensible TSC to actually sell below the fees that LH is charging...
Depending on the ticket price, good travel agents will be able to save you money as compared to a booking directly with LH.
Example:
Long-haul ticket ex DE purchased on lufthansa.com:
15 EUR TSC + 18 EUR OPC = 33 EUR total in fees
Long-haul ticket ex DE purchased through a good travel agent:
15 EUR TSC + OPC depending on the ticket price (for example 2%, with a cap at 18 EUR) = 27 EUR total in fees for a 600 EUR ticket, 33 EUR total max
Hence, this is a great opportunity for good travel agents out there who treat their clients fairly with a sensible TSC to actually sell below the fees that LH is charging...
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Point Place, Wisconsin
Programs: LH HON, BA Gold, EK Gold
Posts: 14,505
LH seems to think they can profit from a booming ecomony.
The only flaw I see is that we seem to headed for a downturn (or even meltdown) right now !
The only flaw I see is that we seem to headed for a downturn (or even meltdown) right now !
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,912
Not ex-DE, though (right?).
PayPal never works for me anyway, but it is 10EUR for debit/PayPal and 15EUR for credit card currently ex-Germany. Thank goodness for the discount vouchers.
I'm a bit confused now. Is the new fee going to be on top of what they already charge, or just standardised and levied in places where fees are not already charged (like if I don't ahve a voucher, I currently book through LX to save the booking fee)?
#43
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: MNL, GRQ, NYC
Programs: LH SEN; CX DM; DL PM; Hyatt GL
Posts: 156
I think we should all be happy that until now we never had to contribute to part of their operational cost!
#44
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,832
Beside the fact that I do not appreciate their fee, this statement is simple incorrect (and I was tempted to write BS). We do not only "now" have our own plastic card but had this secure and cheap payment system for ages - the "Euroscheckkarte" as it was called in the past guaranteed a cheque for the amount or the equivalent of up to 400 DM.
Secure? Yes, but not more secure than VISA or Mastercard. Especially since the ec-cards use the same infrastructure as VISA and Mastercard.
Cheap? Artificial priicing. For some reason transactions with that card are priced lower than those with VISA and MAstercard for the merchant. However, in other countries that have only VISA and Mastercard the merchant fees are as low or lower as in Germany for ec-cards.
Indeed the ec-Karte has been around since ages. The problem is not that only German customers have them. The problem is that many shops in Germany do not accept VISA or Mastercard, and - this is what I alluded to - the only way to pay other than cash is with a ec-card issued in Germany.! It is no good having a Maestro card issued for instance in the UK or Switzerland. Beent there, done it. That is wonderful when you come from a foreign country, you are used to use your plastic about everywhere in the world (including Antarctica), but then you sit in an upscale restaurant in a "global" city like Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt and you find that your only way to pay is cash (why would I carry more than 80 EUR in my pocket?) or with a card that you only get if you have a bank account in Germany (80M people in Germany, several billion outside). The good news is that they have moved on from exchanging stones. The bad news is that they haven't arrived in the era of electronic payments yet.
It is a fact that in terms of payments Germany is FAAAAR behind most other European countries (at least all the ones I know). Isolated payment system, over-reliance on cash (the joke goes "bills of EUR 100 and larger are printed only for Germans and drug dealers". Or witness the signs along French motorways that show EUR 100 and EUR 200 bills crossed out, and then written below, only in German, "nicht für Autobahngebühr". Shows that only Germans have the idea to carry such bills with them), card payments are clumsy (signature rather than PIN, merchants often disappear with your card rather than using mobile terminals).
Sorry for the off-topic, but there is some substance to what I wrote. Good you didn't write "BS"
#45
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
Programs: LH SEN** HH Diamond
Posts: 29,510
I'm also confused. If the OPC is in additin to the TSC, is there a still way to avoid paying the TSC? It's a long time since I bought a ticket on lufthansa.com (all my revenue flights recently have been on LX and my LH flights have been awards ) but in the UK at least the TSC of £4 used to be waived if you paid by PayPal.