Originally Posted by
i_fly_AA
In Europe, credit card surchages are not all that uncommon, given that the company accepting payment has to pay a fee to the credit card company. As such, it wouldn't surprise me all that much if AA, or any other company, started a credit card surcharge for people with European credit cards. As for the US, I'm pretty sure that credit card companies prohibit this practice here. In fact, you'll occasionally see places offering discount for cash payment (as opposed to surcharges for credit card payments).
Indeed, many companies ask surcharges for using credit cards. I have an AmEx card and it's stipulated in the T&C of the card that companies that accept AmEx mustn't surcharge when you pay with AmEx and must accept the card for all amounts (not only above a certain amount). However I have had several times that companies still try to surcharge you or suddenly have technical problems when you want to pay with a credit card.
Very sad...
IMHO it's much more safe, for the customer and the company, to use plastic money. However, maybe because it's not yet so common in Europe, companies have to pay high fees to the credit card companies. (I have been told AmEx up to 7pct)