Card fees were once common in travel. Now a travel business cannot add a fee for paying with a personal credit, debit or prepaid card, or for paying by e-money such as PayPal. The ban depends on the payment method, not the customer, so a business customer paying with a personal card is covered too.

The rules

• The ban. No fee can be charged for payment by a consumer card or a comparable consumer payment method.

• The cost cap. Where a fee is still allowed, it must not be more than your own cost of accepting that payment method.

• Commercial cards. Cards issued to businesses for business expenses can be surcharged, up to cost. ABTA members that charge for corporate cards must say so clearly.

• Overseas payment providers. The outright ban applies where both the customer’s card issuer and your payment provider are in the UK. Where only one of them is, for example a card issued abroad, only the cost cap applies. ABTA’s guidance treats all personal card charges as banned, so take advice before relying on this.

• Consequences. A banned surcharge, or the part of a permitted fee above cost, cannot be enforced and must be refunded.

Booking fees are different

A booking or service fee that every customer pays, whatever the payment method, is not a surcharge. But under the drip pricing rules, it must still be included in the headline price.

Example: a business travel agency can add a fee, no higher than its cost, when a company pays with a corporate card, but cannot add any fee when a holidaymaker pays with a personal debit or credit card.