Credit cards still roil outbound travel agents
In this age and time, travel agents rarely use credit cards, preferring bank transfers instead for bulk booking and ticketing. gets to the bottom of this anachronism.
TEENA BARUAH Guldeep
Singh Sahni, president, Outbound Tour Operators Association of
Most airlines, with their low profit margins, discourage payments with credit cards
India, says, “If you look at how our business is conducted internationally, you will notice that most of the countries work with credit cards only. However, in India, we issue credit cards to everybody, but when it comes to using it we are still orthodox.
Every year, the customer is finding newer ways to avail better packages directly from supplier
“Most airlines, with their low profit margins, discourage payments with credit card as they want to save on the 2-3 per cent charge they have to pay to the credit card companies. So they charge travel agents the extra amount.”
Credit card business is one of the most lucrative businesses for the bank and it’s very easy for them to charge a heavy transaction fee. Enquire about the foreign transaction charges and cash withdrawal fees before applying for the card. You might find a difference of 1-2% in the offers of credit cards from various banks. Choose the one that charges you the minimum. According to Himanshu Patil, Director, Kesari Travels, “It is critical to read the offer document of the credit card provider. At least scan your offer document. The details of all the charges will be clearly detailed in it.” You might not find the exact