Ryanair and Electron Cards

MarkyMarkD

What about this comment, then?

LesD wrote: »

Did you not see this link when you booked?

"If the currency of this transaction is different to the currency of the card statement please 'click here' to view the actual billing amount."

NFH

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

What about this comment, then?

If you "click here", the amount stays in the original currency of the booking, so no dynamic currency conversion is apparent. Try it. From what other people say, it's only when you get your credit card statement that you discover that they've charged you the wrong currency and wrong amount.

fifeken

NFH wrote: »

If you "click here", the amount stays in the original currency of the booking, so no dynamic currency conversion is apparent. Try it. From what other people say, it's only when you get your credit card statement that you discover that they've charged you the wrong currency and wrong amount.

When I "Click Here" it comes up with the original amount (in Euros in my case) and a box to select the currency of your card (GBP). Push the calculate box and it came up with what whould be charged. In my example the DDC would have "robbed" me of just over £13 compared to today's Visa rate.

NFH

fifeken wrote: »

When I "Click Here" it comes up with the original amount (in Euros in my case) and a box to select the currency of your card (GBP). Push the calculate box and it came up with what whould be charged. In my example the DDC would have "robbed" me of just over £13 compared to today's Visa rate.

I was using Firefox, and the link had no effect. However, if I try it in Internet Explorer, I get the pop-up window and see exactly what you mean.

I don't think it's possible for Ryanair or any other merchant to detect the billing currency of a card, only the issuing country. The reason I believe this is because I have a UK-issued EUR-denominated Visa card, which is often targetted for dynamic currency conversion to GBP when spending EUR. If I booked a flight with Ryanair with a EUR fare, I have no doubt they would debit my EUR-denominated Visa card in GBP.

MarkyMarkD

In which case, they would be breaking their terms & conditions.

To be honest, I think they are breaking their terms & conditions in all DCC cases because the terms & conditions are silent on the matter - so it's reasonable to assume that the price you will be charged is the price you agree to when you purchase your ticket.

melb

I'm probably getting the wrong end of the stick (as usual) but was just thinking of asking my bank, Barclays, if they do Electron cards to try and cut down on extra fees when buying Ryanair tickets. Will this possible saving be negated by the dynamic currency conversion type thing referred to above?

benjus

melb wrote: »

I'm probably getting the wrong end of the stick (as usual) but was just thinking of asking my bank, Barclays, if they do Electron cards to try and cut down on extra fees when buying Ryanair tickets. Will this possible saving be negated by the dynamic currency conversion type thing referred to above?

There's a thread on this around somewhere, but I think the upshot was that Barclays don't issue Electron cards any more. You can open a new basic account (Halifax Easycash and Co-op Cashminder are popular options).

If your card is issued in a different currency to the currency used to price the flights, you will be hit by the DCC "charge". If you don't have an Electron card you will be hit by the card charge. So a non-Electron card in a different currency to the flights will be hit with both charges.

If you are comparing an Electron card in GBP with a non-Electron card in GBP, it will certainly be cheaper to use the Electron card. OTOH, if you are comparing a non-Electron card in the same currency as the flights with an Electron card in GBP, it's not so obvious which will be cheaper.

melb

Just to let anyone who's interested know, you can get an Electron card through barclays. Wish I'd checked it out myself now. They did seem reluctant over the phone however and said I'd have to enquire at a branch.

shirlsky

Ryanair would not recognise my Barclays Electron giftcard as an electron but happily took the same details if I selected Visa option - along with the booking fees! What a waste of money that was. The PO travel card looks like it will be acepted by the RyanAir website but you would need to buy a sterling version to avoid the 'foreign transactions' fees.

melb

thanks for that Shirlsky you've saved my spending my lunchtime queueing at a Barlcays tomorrow. I just don't know if I can face all the hassle of opening an account just to get an Electron card. Mind you saving £32 each time I book a Ryanair flight might make up for it. Where does anyone think will be the easiest and quickest to get one - I have a good credit history. thanks