gnaget

They already charge a ticketing fee if you buy on sas.se, etc. but if you buy on flysas.com US website there is no fee. I wonder if they will do it on the US site. This is completely unacceptable in the US as a business practice, so I think they realize that they won't get away with it in the US market. There is nothing stopping you from using the US website, but if your CC give a crappy exchange to USD then there is no point. I have USD denominated CCs so it's the best option for me anyway.

In Denmark they even do it at upscale restaurants. It's pathetic.

ksu

A number of negative comments on the SAS Facebook page, but the only comment from the flunky "responding" is: SAS Hej N.N. Tack för dina synpunkter. Vi önskar dig en fortsatt bra dag. /AP

(Hello! Thanks for your comments. We wish you a nice day)

Co-branded cards, especially AmEx, have been heavily marketed here in Norway. Several people have asked about the situation concerning co-branded credit cards, but the person "answering" on SAS' behalf on Facebook has not deigned to give an answer to that question...

DeErEtYn

What's the purpose of Danish issued Diners Club SAS cards then?
Maybe they'll waive the fee for these co-branded cards?

jfidler

So what form of payment do they take where there is no fee? Do they want people to walk into their sales offices and hand over cash?

gnaget

Turkish airlines in Japan only takes cash if you book through their local office. But you can do a cash bank transfer. It wouldn't surprise if the local SK office is the same. Never tried to deal with them, although I recall a hefty fee like 5000 yen if you use them.

WGTN

They'll probably use some sort of direct bank transfer, I have seen it on other websites but never used it and hopefully never will.

Not quite sure what is worse, the ridiculous flat fees that LH uses or 2.2% which I think is very much on the high side.

ksu

They claim that debit cards can be used without incurring the fee.

WGTN

Yes, probably a debit card issued exclusively by certain banks in Greenland for residents of Tajikistan and then claim they offer payment methods that don't incur fees...

ksu

Hehe, no. Debit Cards are very common in Norway. Actually that has been a problem for foreigners shopping at supermarkets here, because many card terminals only take BankAxept (a domestic debit card) not VISA/ MC etc. AFAIK the situation is similar in Denmark (Dankort) and Germany (EC-Karte), which "everyone" possesses, and thus no need to offer CC-alternatives.

Many (most?) debit cards issued here are combined BankAxept/ VISA (rarer: MC), so many Norwegians believe that they are payng with their VISA Card, when in reality they are paying with their debit cards (the comments on general Norwegian newssites make this clear).

I have no doubt that SAS will make payment with debit cards easy, and they have stated today that they will attempt to introduce a electronic banking solution.

oliver2002

If its a true OPC, then they will abolish the 'service fee' and have to offer atleast one 'free' payment option, ie something like giropay, postgirot, bankgirot, egiro etc.

In the US, there is no legal framework to offer giropay systems yet, so most airlines still offer CC payment as the only option, hence no way to introduce the 'optional' payment charge (yet!).

Tango Alpha

Confirmed by SAS to Danish media: From October there will (for customers in Denmark (cards issued in Denmark??)) be a credit card fee of 1,8 %. No fee on debit cards (Dankort) or bank transfers.

SAS says, that these fees cost the company 200-300 mio. DKK a year.

jfidler

That seems like a poor justification. In my opinion, it's a cost of doing business. They also spend money on soap for the lavs. Should they start charging a surcharge to customers who want to wash their hands?

I guess this won't affect me anyway, as I don't see them getting away with this in the US where all carriers take credit cards without a surcharge (to my knowledge).

nacho

+1. SAS gives their pax free tea and coffee and now they charge people for using CC

magoo

Surprising initiative from SAS when it is illegal in Sweden to charge extra for credit card payments since August 1, 2010.
Quite negative impression when customers in specific countries are discriminated with extra charges.
(Swedish Consumer Agency describing the law, sorry Swedish only.)

SusanDK

Can you buy a ticket on the flysas.com US website with a US-based CC if your flight originates in Scandinavia? If so, that would be the solution for me, but I've often run into issues where the price is quoted and charged in DKK even when I'm booking on a US airline's website (eg. UA or CO in the past) with my US-based card, using a US billing address, just because the outbound flight is from Denmark.

Susan