Originally Posted by
j2simpso
This one kind of confuses me. How are the airlines expecting passengers to pay for their flights then? Stroll into the airport with cash and book at the ticketing desk? If you did that in Canada you'd be put on a CATSA watch list. That being said, I'll likely do most of my bookings with United with the occasional domestic flight being booked on Avios. Here's to hoping I don't need to look into
fuel dump strategies like in Canada
Bpay or POLi (direct bank credit)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POLi_Payments
I pay most flights with POLi as the surcharge fee vs points earn from credit card not worth it to me.
Originally Posted by
margarita girl
All hotels charge the surcharge. I got around it by buying Marriott gift cards in NA and using them to pay my hotel bills in Australia.
Originally Posted by
j2simpso
So foreign credit cards don't get hit with the surcharge? Interesting, will keep my Canadian no foreign exchange credit card on hand for this purpose!
No. Payment with non Australian credit cards still pay the surcharge. But paying with a gift card does not.
It may be difficult to get an Au cc without a Au financial history. If you can establish a Au bank/credit card account from your Canadian bank/UK bank/Amex that may be easier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_point_check