Beat Budget Airline Charges Article Discussion

HardSpend

if you've never deposited money how can they (Net teller) charge you £10 for never using your account for 22 months?:/ I signed up thinking it was free to deposit with visa/debit but it's 1.75%

Bob_the_Saver

Duchess55 wrote: »

We have purchased the cabin baggage trolley cases within the size allowed by Ryanair. Has anyone had to pay extra at the gate using the cases? as it seems to me Ryanair will get money from you using any tactic or loophole they can!

Read the T&C, stick to them and you'll have no problems - simple.

7ten

Guys, I got a Neteller card and can totally vouch for it.
Signing up was easy, I put in £100 and got charged £1.60
But that is nothing compared to the savings on Ryanair.

Hassle free experience with Neteller =]

ace111

Martin recommends Fairfx for paying for Ryanair flights. However, if your total payment is more than £100 Caxtonfx is cheaper.

Fairfx has slightly better exchange rates and charges 1.5% of the transaction. Caxtonfx charges a flat £1.50, so if you are a family, making a booking which comes to, let's say, £300, Fairfx would cost you £4.50 and Caxtonfx would charge £1.50. The difference in exchange rates is more than made up for. Obviously the larger the transaction, the greater the saving.

bd14

i do not understand how some airlines get away with charging a fee for online checkin, and a larger fee for checkin at airport.

you have to check in to board. there are only two options as to how you can checkin.

surely only one option can carry an additional fee. in the current system where you must pay extra even for online check-in, it means that the advertised price can never be available. is this not a false invitation to trade , and therefore illegal ??

do you know if any passengers, consumer groups or regulators have taken the airlines to task on this point, and with what result ?

vinrouge

I need to book some Flybe flights, so need a Visa Electron card. Following the advice on the Budget flight fee-fighting article I first tried the Post Office Travel Money Card, but no joy, that currently says: "The Post Office® Travel Money card is currently unavailable to new customers". I then tried for a Halifax Easycash account. I was able to apply OK online, it confirms they will issue a Visa Electron card, but warns: "We are currently experiencing very high volumes of the Easycash application both online and via post. This means that it may take longer than 7 days for us to begin the review of your application." So it looks like too many people are reading MSE and ways of getting a Visa Electron card for flight booking are disappearing fast!

vinrouge

Further to my previous posting about getting a Visa Electron card, even if you can get one it's no good for Ryanair, for that you need a prepaid Mastercard. I've just come across one which I don't think has been mentioned here, myTravelCash do one. Check out mytravelcash.com and follow the link to "Avoid Ryanair booking fees" on the right hand side. The T's and C's look OK, no annual fees etc, has anyone any experience using one?

bigpat

Slightly confused by the FairFx website. I want to get £200 to spend on Ryanair. So do I select "Pounds Sterling (Anywhere card)" using "Pounds Sterling"? That's what I *think* I want to do, but at the next screen it says "Purchase a new FairFX Currency Card" and talks about locking in the rate. Am I getting the right card? Very new at all this and don't want to make an expensive mistake or get rejected by Ryanair!! Thanks for advice!

The_Groat_Counter

bigpat - yes, you're doing the right thing, and yes I agree it's a bit confusing. Basically the FairFX website system uses the same wording as if you were buying a foreign currency (US Dollar or Euro denominated) card, because I assume they process orders for all three cards using the exact same system - but you'll get an 'Anywhere' card in £££ pounds sterling if you proceed with the order.

bigpat

Thanks Groat Counter. I thought as much, but I've learned to be ultra cautious with stuff like this!