Not all merchants impose a surcharge. And it's not just the big merchants like supermarkets and service stations that don't. My local coffee shop doesn't. On the opposite end of the scale, there are some big businesses who thieve.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the government body that manages the regulations around surcharges, has some good information on its website, including guides as what would be considered an approximate or appropriate surcharge for businesses of various sizes. For businesses processing between one and $100 million in card transactions a year, the range for credit cards is 0.75% to 1.5%. From memory, this hotel imposes at least 1.5%.

The guide also provides information on how prices must be displayed when surcharges are imposed. Importantly, while merchants are free to impose a surcharge, the stated, advertised price must be payable by at least one method without a surcharge. That's usually cash. I'm very interested in how the new Caption Sydney handles payments, given it's a cash-free property.

At a Hilton property in Australia earlier this year, the surcharge was a ridiculous 2%. I paid for my stay with a bag of one and two dollar coins.