Originally Posted by
Happy
I am not sure you want what have happened in Australia. Now the merchants officially can and DO pass on the merchants fees (and padded it big) to customers if the customers choose to pay by credit cards.
Try to purchase a ticket on QF site and you will see, for a $110 ticket the CC fee is almost $8 bucks!
Yes, there may be some issues with the way the Aussies implemented the plan, but, the reasoning is sound. Why should the poor subsidize the well-to-do via the credit card system? No good reason.
I love my many, many miles (that I paid very little or nothing for since I, too, am a "free rider). But, its not hard to see the problems with this--which should be corrected.
Maybe there should be some controls on what the add-on charges for credit cards are? The French have similar controls. And, the EU is moving in that direction (recent cases against Visa and MC brought interchange way down).
Credit cards do provide certain economic efficiencies, but, as everyone should be able to see now, uncontrolled banks are a danger. @:-)