Using a credit card to purchase airline tickets can sometimes mean a steep surcharge, but there’s a way to avoid extra payment fees completely – if you know how…
We’ve all experienced it. You’ve spent hours looking for an affordable flight, and after pages of frustratingly fruitless searching, you’ve finally hit upon an option that appears to be perfect. Sweet relief! You click the booking button, take a deep breath, and start to dream of your upcoming holiday, only to be hit by a slew of credit card fees that totally ruin your plans.
We here at KAYAK feel your pain, and we’re here to help. That’s why we’ve come up with an array of tools that can spare you the torment of stressful travel planning. With the right tools on KAYAK.co.uk, you’ll soon be on your way to finding the cheapest flight options, without worrying about those pesky payment fees. Here’s how:
The Fee Calculator
When you click on our fee calculator, you’re opening a whole new world of precision. Everything’s in your hands, and it’s all so simple. Take a look:
1. Go to KAYAK.co.uk/flights.
2. Enter your home airport, your destination of choice, and your preferred dates of travel.
3. Click on ‘Search’.
4. On the left side of the search results, just below the Price Forecast graph, you’ll find our Fee Calculator. Simply use the drop-down menu to select your preferred method of payment (e.g. Visa Credit, Debit or Paypal).
The KAYAK fee calculator uses formulas for all the available payment methods to calculate any associated payment surcharges.
5. Now click ‘Update prices’ to view the updated search results, including any fees for your preferred payment method(s). Fees are shown separately for each result.
Free from fees: Unfettered is better
If you want to give yourself the best chance of avoiding extra costs, (and let’s face it, that’s something we can all get behind), add a few different payment methods to your search. KAYAK always searches for, and displays, the lowest ticket price for your query, including fees. And more often than not, we’ll be able to find you a price without a single penny of added-on fees.
To note: as Visa credit, Visa debit and MasterCard credit cards are the most widely used payment methods in the UK, these are automatically selected as defaults when conducting your search. There are usually no added charges when using one of these payment methods. Of course, if you’d like to choose another payment method, all you have to do is select a different option in the Fee Calculator.
One last thing: If you’re feeling like an expert, you can also use the KAYAK Fee Calculator to automatically display any fees you may incur when checking extra baggage. But that’s a story for another day…
An overview of airlines and their fees can be found here.
