Marriott Australia - Deceptive and misleading 'total price' advertising
Jun 2, 2019, 3:37 pm
#46
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
if Marriott wants to add a surcharge to their gift cards in Australia (would anyone be stupid enough to buy it?), go and get a prepaid MasterCard for $100 from a supermarket instead
Jun 2, 2019, 3:54 pm
#47
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
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I was talking about gift cards more generically, which generally don’t have a surcharge added
if Marriott wants to add a surcharge to their gift cards in Australia (would anyone be stupid enough to buy it?), go and get a prepaid MasterCard for $100 from a supermarket instead
Jun 2, 2019, 3:55 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Sweden
Programs: Marriott Platinum - LT Gold
Posts: 688
the question i’m asking is when you spend that gift card, are you still getting $100 worth of goods, or are you getting $97.08 worth of goods which has been repriced to $100 to accomodate the credit card surcharge?
nb you’d almost certainly pay $100 not $103 for the gift card in Australia as well...
One question. Do people walk around in au with enough cash to cover Hotel bills and restaurants?
I'm amazed how everything in Australia is so different and weird.
How about buy the gift card from anywhere else in the rest of the world? Same? Makes no sense to add a credit card fee if someone is paying with a gift card lol.
Last edited by joakgarp; Jun 2, 2019 at 4:01 pm
Jun 2, 2019, 4:06 pm
#49
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Buying a gift card from Marriott.com (no card fee of course) would by pass the credit card fee from hotels in au so that's a pretty good advice for future au trip if looking to save some money.
One question. Do people walk around in au with enough cash to cover Hotel bills and restaurants?
One question. Do people walk around in au with enough cash to cover Hotel bills and restaurants?
On this trip, I did not use cash at all. I paid for everything with credit cards, which is why I know that very few merchants add a credit card fee. Heck, I even paid for $1 postcard with my credit card (no added fee)! The only place that wouldn't take credit cards on my trip last month, was at the Chinese massage spa, but their prices were pretty good.
Jun 2, 2019, 4:06 pm
#50
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
Buying a gift card from Marriott.com (no card fee of course) would/should by pass the credit card fee from hotels in au so that's a pretty good advice for future au trip if looking to save some money. Haven't double checked this. Just using common sense.
One question. Do people walk around in au with enough cash to cover Hotel bills and restaurants?
I'm amazed how everything in Australia is so different and weird.
How about buy the gift card from anywhere else in the rest of the world? Same? Makes no sense to add a credit card fee if someone is paying with a gift card lol.
One question. Do people walk around in au with enough cash to cover Hotel bills and restaurants?
I'm amazed how everything in Australia is so different and weird.
How about buy the gift card from anywhere else in the rest of the world? Same? Makes no sense to add a credit card fee if someone is paying with a gift card lol.
i didn’t think the conversation was about being charged a fee for PAYING with a gift card, so much as being charged a surcharge for BUYING a gift card anyway
no one is walking around with enough cash to cover hotel bills. They are either shopping at places that don’t charge a fee, absorbing the fee and not worrying about it (it’s 1% and if it bothers people that much it can be avoided), or in some instances you can pay with EFTPOS or a debit card which avoids the fee
on a scale of how much the average Australian worries about things, this would rank close to the bottom. Some would say “different and weird”, others would say “better” 😉
Jun 2, 2019, 4:08 pm
#51
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I don't know about the rest of the world, but I bought my gift cards from Marriott Waikiki. No added fees of course.
Jun 2, 2019, 4:14 pm
#52
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Actually, prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards usually have an activation fee and some even have a monthly fee if you don't spend the amount quickly enough! They're terrible and I would never buy those.
Jun 2, 2019, 4:21 pm
#53
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
Jun 3, 2019, 3:26 pm
#54
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: BNE
Programs: QF Gold, VA Gold, IHG Spire, Accor Plat, Marriot Plat, Hilton Diamond
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AU permits credit card surcharges and hotels seem to prominently display that. But ... my recollection is that I haven't actually been charged the surcharges.
And OP -- did you write to Marriott Australia on this?
Here's the LinkedIn page for the Marriott AVP over ANZ. He's in Sydney so will certainly understand the issue.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-hun...alSubdomain=au
I'd drop him a quick note, keep it short and focused, and ask him to address the issue. Seems to me like an issue Marriott can quickly fix and allow the regulators to focus on more important issues.
Please share his response ... we'll be happy to hear how they address it!
And OP -- did you write to Marriott Australia on this?
Here's the LinkedIn page for the Marriott AVP over ANZ. He's in Sydney so will certainly understand the issue.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-hun...alSubdomain=au
I'd drop him a quick note, keep it short and focused, and ask him to address the issue. Seems to me like an issue Marriott can quickly fix and allow the regulators to focus on more important issues.
Please share his response ... we'll be happy to hear how they address it!
Jun 3, 2019, 3:31 pm
#55
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: BNE
Programs: QF Gold, VA Gold, IHG Spire, Accor Plat, Marriot Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,281
I have yet to report it to the authorities, like all good dispute resolution techniques, it’s best to give the other party a chance to rectify it themselves before escalation to authorities and the risk of significant action. Why post it on flyertalk, well for a start such forums are monitored by the other party, and it doesn’t hurt to make fellow travellers aware of what is an illegal practice by a provider.
Jun 4, 2019, 2:34 am
#56
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Platinum
Posts: 1,689
It’s not always 1.5%. Melbourne Marriott charges 2%. And if I’m not mistaken, Sheraton Grand Mirage Port Douglas wanted to charge me 2% for Visa/MC and 3.5% for Amex a couple of years ago. Rather ironic since the SPG branded card was an Amex!
I think a case could be made for collusion amongst the hotels for these credit card surcharges. They all charge it, yet most small merchants don’t, including the small shop in Chinatown that replaced the glass on my iPhone. One FDA tried to tell me that merchants who don’t charge it build it into the price. She couldn’t explain however why I was able to buy $300 gift cards from Marriott hotels in the US for $300.
And that’s how I was able to avoid paying the cc surcharges in Australia!
I think a case could be made for collusion amongst the hotels for these credit card surcharges. They all charge it, yet most small merchants don’t, including the small shop in Chinatown that replaced the glass on my iPhone. One FDA tried to tell me that merchants who don’t charge it build it into the price. She couldn’t explain however why I was able to buy $300 gift cards from Marriott hotels in the US for $300.
And that’s how I was able to avoid paying the cc surcharges in Australia!
Jun 4, 2019, 5:55 am
#57
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Jun 4, 2019, 4:40 pm
#58
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Houston
Programs: DL Platinum, UA Silver
Posts: 37
Can’t you avoid the fee by just paying with a bank debit card? Don’t the Aussie airlines also charge a CC fee?
I’d find it hard to believe that the big chains would be willfully violating the rules in a regulation-happy country like Australia.
I’d find it hard to believe that the big chains would be willfully violating the rules in a regulation-happy country like Australia.
Jun 4, 2019, 9:28 pm
#59
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Platinum
Posts: 1,689
Excellent - does purchase of Marriott GC qualify for bonus points on the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex?
Yes but the airlines offer you the option to pay via BPay or Polipay for free.
Yes but the airlines offer you the option to pay via BPay or Polipay for free.
Jun 4, 2019, 9:50 pm
#60
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