Payment Not By Credit Card

[tali1]

I am booking flight tickets and the agent says payment should be made directly by bank transfer and not credit card
Is this okay ? as i wanted to use credit card for protection.
The travel agent is a atol member though

[jno]

Odd. Atol is for tour operators, not travel agents.

Maybe they charge commission to use a credit card?

Or maybe (worst case scenario) the credit card companies won't deal with him because they know something about him.

It's unusual and it might be worth googling him. I would be suspicious too.

[jno]

PS ABTA are the travel agents' organisation.

[Buenchico]

If the tickets are for a scheduled flight (rather than for a charter flight) you'll almost certainly find them at the same price (or cheaper) on the website of the relevant airline, where you can pay by debit or credit card.

Unless you've got particularly unusual travel plans (such as wanting to get to an obscure city in China, using half a dozen different airlines across Asia) there should never been any reason to book flights through an agent. Booking directly with the airline makes far more sense.

[tali1]

airbridge travel ( yes they have poor ratings - but i can't base judgements on only 3 reviews) - dealing by phone they have have been good
Going by via emirates to India
Buenchico - yes scheduled flight My extensive searches show airline website are at least twice as expensive- i guess for long haul agents/operators are better
I will try to pay deposit via credit card and rest through bank (this will give me full card protection)

[jno]

try a price comparison with other sites, eg Trailfinders, just in case.

[jno]

they are on Atol, however

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=490&pagetype=65&appid=2&mode=detailnosummary&atolNbr=10592&mbrId=

[SlackAlice]

Go to Emirates direct. Their prices are competitive.

[tali1]

Can't do cards -2.5% hit there.Tried now with Debit Card BUT since i am paying and NOT travelling i would need send copy of passport /driving licence in - unusual- but shows a certain level of security/diligence on their part?
Should point out that there was no attempt to sales push the flights to me.
Also they are only ones so far whose website prices match the phones ones- all the others agent/operators "bucket shop sites" jump £100 -200 over the phone- despite claiming "phone for cheaper prices"

[wildwood]

I am confused. A charge for creditcard payment is quite usual for travel arrangements. Also, why do you not feel safe with a direct bank transfer? Surely it is just a safe and a lot easier to sort out in case of dispute! Creditcard companies are notorious for procrastination when it comes to refunds.

[FredPuli43]

Because, Wildwood, by interbank transfer , once the money is gone it's gone with no redress except suing through the courts. A firm that hasn't even got a credit or debit card arrangement doe not exactly yell "We are so well off that we are worth suing". Expedia,for example, I would trust as being good for the money.

[237SJ]

You don`t need to go to such lengths Methyl. Scheduled airlines have a travel agent sales department within their corporate sales department. The airline negotiates with the agents as to the prices that they will sell the seats on the aircraft. For example, large companies (within the corporate sales department) can obtain as much as 65% discount on tickets. It depends how much money they bring in. Likewise, travel agents can negotiate discounts on tickets so if a customer wants to travel to India, they can get a better price on the airline ticket via the agent than going direct via the airline`s website. The customer would have to buy something over and obove the ticket such as a night`s hotel accommodation or car hire and of course, it depends how much of the discount the travel agent wants to pass of the the customer. It is not true that the cheapest tickets are always via the airline websites though.

[boxtops]

I wouldn't tali - I'd use a reputable travel agent with good feedback if I were going to use one, but we always either book direct with the airlines or use a site such as Holiday Extras to book.

[jeanijay]

Similar thing happened to my O.H when he booked flights to the States from a bucket shop in London some years ago when they refused credit cards, he ignored my doubts and went ahead,next day the shop was empty and he ended up at the Old Bailey as a witness with many others when the con men were caught up with. you are not talking pennies here are you

[EDDIE51]

Too many warning signs , don't do it , find somewhere that will take a credit card (not a debit card that has no protection)