Avoid paying the Ryanair £5 debit and credit card fee by using Visa Electron
Written by Karen BryanUpdate 6 December 2009: From 1 Janaury 2010 the only payment card which will not incur the Ryanair £5 per person per person per flight admin fee is the Mastercard prepaid debit card.
You can use your Visa Electron card until 31 December 2009 to avoid the Ryanair fees. From 01/01/10 payment by Visa Electron will be liable to the £5 per person per flight charge.
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For several years you have been able to avoid the Ryanair payment fees by paying with a Visa Electron card. However Ryanair did always state that this was a linited offer.
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Related posts:
- Get a Visa Electron now to avoid some low cost airlines’ booking and card payment fees
- Ryanair hike their card fee to £5 per person per flight
- Europe a la Carte featured on front page of Money Guardian
- Best Mastercard prepaid debit card to avoid Ryanair admin fees
- Is Ryanair’s £5 per person online check-in fee legal?
[...] to Europe a la Carte. The Saturday Guardian Money picked up on my recent article about how to avoid Ryanair’s tripling of debit card fees by paying fee free with a Visa Electron [...]
[...] from Edinburgh to Alicante with Ryanair costing £52 per person, paying with Visa Electron to avoid card fees of £4 per flight, using online check in and only taking maximum permitted 10 kgs of hand [...]
I have just booked a flight with Ryanair and have been charged a £19 debit card fee. Have they made a mistake or is that the new charge?
Margaret, thanks for alerting me to this, I checked the Ryanair site and the Ryanair card handling fee has now increased from £4 per person per flight to £4.75 per person.
[...] debit or credit card. All the more reason to follow my advice, featured by Guardian Money and get a Visa Electron card meaning that you can, at least for the moment, avoid Ryanair’s card handling [...]
PLEASE CAN YOU SEND ME DETAILS REGARDING THE RYAN AIR VISA ELECTRON CARD WITH NO CHARGES WHEN BOOKING A FLIGHT
P Donaldson – A Visa Electron is avaiable from some banks, you can find links to the Halifax and the Coop in the post. If you use the Electron to pay for flights on Ryanair site there will be no card handling charges.
re Booking ryanair flights with Visa Electron.
Does one get the same cover with Visa Electron as with a Visa Credit Card i.e. if a Company goes out of business does one have the same cover.
Mary, I’m not sure if the protection offered by Visa Electron is the same as with a Visa credit card. I’ve usually paid less than £100 for my Ryanair flights so it’s never been that relevant as credit card coverage is only for purchases over £100.
All,
I was charged a whopping £10, per person (4) for a flight to Cork in May, for use of my debit card. That’s £40!!!!
What’s worse – they did not warn me of this anywhere in the ‘Final Amount to Pay’.
On a dummy-run purchase (so I could try and trace my steps) the only mention is within links towards the end, which only state a few pounds (nothing re the £10)????
Dan – yes you do you to be vigilant to pick upon the fact that you’ll be charged per person per flight rather than a set fee per transaction. I hope that you have a Visa Electron card now if you plan on booking any more Ryanair flights, it will save you quite a bit of money.
Yes ! same things happened to a flight to Paris . We were charged 10 pds handling fee per person = 40 pds !! Only found out when I printed my receipt after the transaction. But this was not showing as a total amount when I accepted to pay. Is this at all legal ?
Veronique, the web page can be confusing. You should also print out your payment acceptance page, to make sure you have a case if you are not charged what you’ve agreed. I can only repeat my advice to pay by Visa Electron to avoid such fees.
i contacted my bank, barclays and asked them if i could apply for an electron card. they asked me straight away if it was to avoid ryanair charges. i told them it was and they advised me that they had had lots of requests from customers but had subsequently found out that the only electron card that can be used to avoid charges is the one issued by the co-op bank. is this true?
i neish – I have a Visa Electron with the
Halifax which I’ve had for a few months and I just checked the link to the Halifax Easy Cash account in the blog post.
As far as I am aware there are no Ryanair chargers when paying with any Visa Electron card, regardless of the issuing bank.
i have just booked with ryanair.. 17/4/09 and was charged £10.00 in card charges..they are now charging £30.00 per person baggage handling which seems to go up every time i book a flight..are the baggage handlers getting a pay rise every couple of months..i dont think so..where does this exessive charge go and why is it so high
doug – thanks for your comment. Why don’t you consider applying for a Visa Electron to at least avoid the card fees? Yes I have noticed that the hold baggage fees are going up steadily and of course you also have to pay airport chieck in fees if you are checking in hold baggage.
It’s always worth checking the total price you’ll pay if there is more than one airline operating on the route on which you wish to travel. I’m flying with BA next week and the standard fare with them includes one small case plus a handbag/briefcase/computer bag to take on board plus a hold bag weighing 23 kgs (it’s only 15 kgs with Ryanair).
Just booked a flight to Bergerac from Liverpool. Now charging £5 per person per flight as booking fees. Total extortion until I realised that if I wanted to take one bag and check in at the airport that would cost another £40!.
How can a booking fee be based on the amount of passengers and flights when it is all done on the same booking?
BMI baby charged me 7 pounds on Sunday to book a flight even though the website said no charge if using a BMIbaby credit card. On telephoning [after a lot of fuss] was told the charge was reinstated on March 15 yet 6 weeks later they are still showing the wrong information. Try to speak to them, practically impossible! Customer services – zero.
NP – thanks for alerting me to the fact that the Ryanair card fee has increased again, I have changed the update.
I agree that the booknig fee should be per transaction but the only way, for the moment, to avoid the card fees is to get a Visa Electron card.
However look at the overall price that you pay and usually it’s still a good deal, I;d rather the advertised fares were higher to avoid all these additional costs as you are just left with an unpleasant feeling of being ripped off by all the additional fees charged by Ryanair.
Ann & Harry – unfortunately more airlines are jumping on bandwagon and charging for extras whenever they can. However if BMI Baby clearly stated there was no charge for paying by BMI Baby it’s ridiculous that they charged you and then you had to pay for phoen call and waste time to get them to correc their own mistake.
I have a Visa Electron card and have been charged by ryanair 3 times for 3 separate flights. All the flights were booked in Feb/ Mar. The charge was only £1.50 per one way flight which is not much compared to the credit card fees but when booking it did state that there would be no charge. I dont know if it is an error on behalf of my bank (which I doubt!!) or if Ryanair have changed their policy
I dont think its worth complaining about the error to them. Their way of business does leave a sour taste in your mouth.
antony – thanks for your comment, I am surpised that you were charged a payment fee when paying for Ryanair flights by Visa Electron card. I checked on the Ryanair site and it still says no fee for payment by Visa Electron. It may be worth checking wiht your bank.= but I assume that fee was charged by Ryanair rather than your bank. I haven’t booked a Ryanair flight since Decemeber 2008.
Just for info, Co-op no longer does the Electron card.
I am applying for a Halifax Easycash account, which does do the Electron card, specifically to avoid the charges from Ryanair and easyJet. I have just checked both websites and this is the only way of paying without being charged extra.
I don’t mind paying for all the other extras (extra bags, quick boarding etc) because I don’t often use them. But the fee-free with Electron is a scam.
soulsurfer – thanks very much for alerting me to the fact that the Co-op Bank no longer offer Visa Electron cards, I’ve amended the post. I phoned the Co-op to ask why and they told me that so many retailers in the UK and abroad don’t accept Visa Electron cards, so the Co-op decided it was better for their customers to be given the more widely accepted Visa Debit card.
I can’t find any other banks apart from the Halifax who offer Visa Electron cards with their current accounts, does anyone know of any other banks?
booked flights for 8 girls to dublin and have been charged £80 debit crad charge by ryanair,this is a joke.
Sarah – £80 is a huge amount to pay in debit card fees for one financial transaction. Are you going to appy for a Halifax acccount with a Visa Electron now to avoid such charges in the future?
[...] time I decided to book a £2 return flight. I’ll only take hand luggage and I paid using Visa Electron to avoid the card payment [...]
The Post Office offers a VISA Electron card called the Travel Money Card.
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump1?catId=19300207&mediaId=26800661
The only snag is you need to load it with a minimum of £50.00 to a maximum of £2500. It can just be ordered and money loaded onto it, the way I understand the write-up on the post office website. There are also charges involved. More details here: http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=26800661&mediaId=53800721
Jon – thanks for the links to the Post Office Travel Money Card.
Personally I’m not keen on it for 2 reasons. The £50 minimum load, I just bought two £2 return flight with Ryanair yesterday. Then there are the fees 1.5% to load the card with sterling,
I prefer having a Visa Electron card with Halifx with no charges and I can top it up by exactly the amount I need to pay for flights
I do not need a visa electron card or other currently advertised accounts and credit cards to avoid Ryanair’s extra credit card charges/fees, if I had the facility to pay for the product I buy by cash or another option without paying extra fees on the credit card. Changing accounts, waiting for approval, passing on all my personal information again, costs money, time and is just tricking me into another deal.
But Ryanair and now more other companies do not offer the cash or other facilities without extra charges anymore. It is negative for the consumer not to have the cash payment option, but it’s not fair, only to be able to buy the product with added extra charges!!!
This is why Ryanair has been taken to court by the German VZBV, where the judge ruled, that the praxis of adding these charges is illegal. The consumer should have the right of buying a product without paying extra/hidden charges. Read more on the website of the
Federation of German Consumer Organisation including public court order:
http://www.vzbv.de/start/index.php?page=themen&bereichs_id=7&themen_id=59&klag_id=604&subthemen_id=&task=klagen
with kindest regards
simple123
simple123 – thanks for taking the time to let us know what is happening in Germany. What is the result of court ruling, will Ryanair be forced to introduce other forms of payment, Can you get Visa Electron card in Germany?
I didn’t find it took much time to open an account with a Visa Electron card and as it saves me £10 per person per return flight in payment fees, I thought it was a wise investment of time.
I thought that Ryanair were able to prussue their current policy on card payment fees excatly because there is one method of payment i.e. Visa Electron, which does not incur any fees so it is therefore possible to purchase flights without compulsory card payment fees.
if you translate the link above (maybe google translate) you can find more information. Ryanair has been allowed revision, but the judge said no to the extra fees, but i will take another year or so to finish this case.
or: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/5796025/Ryanair-loses-handling-charges-case.html
what i am upset about, is the fact, that the consumer now has no way avoiding the extra charges without getting another credicard/account , being tricked into another deal (currently advertised by many media)
We as the consumer should have the right to pay for the product either by cash or otherways without extra fees.
what would ryanair or others say, if their suppliers say, that ryanair is only able to pay them via credit card and there is a surcharge for this transaction? this is not only ryanair, more businesses now picking up on this exploitation of the consumer.
simple123 – thanks for you reply and the link to article in the Telegraph.
I didn’t feel tricked into opening an account with a Visa Electron card, in fact it’s hard to find accounts in the UK which offer a Visa Electron card. There’s no fee or charge for an Electron Card, in fact most accounts which have these cards are very basic accounts that don’t even have overdraft.
I don’t see it as realistic to pay for online purchases by cash. However I do think you should be able to pay by debir card for a small charge per transaction., enough only to cover the bank charge. The Ryanair fee of £5 per person per flight is unjustifable.
When I book flights with ryanair everything is always in EUR. I didn’t see where I could change the currency into GBP for example …
Anyone that can point me the currency change button?
Marc – I live in the UK,if I book a one way flight or a return flight from the UK, the price is displayed in pound sterling. If I book a one way or return flight which originates a country in Europe which uses Euro then the price is displayed in euro. You can’t change the currency, it depends on country of origin of outward or one way flight.
Hello Karen,
you seem correct. I tried it and it is like you said: if depart from Frankfurt then EUR will be used, if depart from London then GBP will be used.
I was trying to find ot where I could force the currency to be used: once I called ryanair customer service and they said it was possible …
I will contact them again with my laptop in front of me and let them “guide” me … because the only thing I saw so far was that at the very end, when you need to specify your CARD type, it says: if your card currency is different from the currency used for your ticket click here and then it displays you a currency conversion (an expensive one!!!
it looks like, that now also the swedish consumer organisation is looking into ryanairs unfair credit card charges and the deal with visa electron:
http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/200908/13/20090813115010_Realtid575/20090813115010_Realtid575.dbp.asp
google translation:
KO should examine Ryanair card charges
In Germany, Ryanair lost in court on the credit card charges that the company may levy. Even Consumer Agency in Sweden will now look at the case.
Daniel de Carvalo, Ryanair’s marketing manager for Europe, do not respond to what the ruling has the effect on Swedish travelers of the higher authority determines that card charges are illegal.
The high card charges with the airlines are becoming more common. Airline including Ryanair serves millions to allow you to pay extra to pay for the trip. The Aftonbladet wrote an article a month ago.
While lost Ryanair litigation in Berlin. The court held that the fees levied by Ryanair at kreditkortsköp are illegal as long as the airline does not offer a free method to pay their tickets.
In Sweden, Ryanair will charge a fee of SEK 55 in the card fee per single journey.
When Realtid.se contact Erik Malm Eats, Ryanair’s marketing manager for the Nordic countries, will return instead of his British colleague who says that the airline has decided to appeal.
- Ryanair’s lawyers have already lodged an appeal to a higher court in Germany and we are confident that the ruling will change, “said Daniel de Carvalho, European marketing manager for Ryanair to Realtid.se.
At the moment, pays 30 percent of the airline’s customers with Visa Electron which is the only debit card which no charges are, “says Daniel de Carvalho.
On the issue of the Swedish travelers will be affected if the ruling does not change, he does not want to answer.
- Ryanair has a long tradition of not commenting on speculation, and your question is linked with a speculative, answers Daniel de Carvalho.
Consumer Agency lawyer Henrik Hoffmeister have read on the ruling in Germany and says that the authority will look at this case. He says that even before the ruling came have been notified and issues related to short charges that Ryanair charge.
- We will first assess whether we will initiate a case and it is not impossible that we do, I can say.
- Ryanair will have to answer for themselves. Are we far from each other, so it may be relevant to the Market Court to decide this, “says Henrik Hoffmeister.
He says that it is not prohibited for companies to levy fees on card payments the cost activities. But then, there must be a basic way to pay on that is not associated with a cost.
In Germany, it was under the ruling of the few that had the Visa Electron card. In Norway, only children under 18 years who have such a short and limited to the group, according to Hoffmeister.
i am not sure, because of translation, does it mean, that it is difficult in norway to get the visa electron card?
With kindest regards
simple123
simple 123 – thanks for letting us know that the Ryanair card payment fee is also under scrutiny in Sweden.
[...] all you cynics out there, it is possible to bag really cheap Ryanair flights as long as you pay by Visa Electron to avoid payment fees and only take one piece of hand [...]
Does the Post office pre paid electron card attract a fee with Ryanair, it’s visa electron but attracts a loading fee.
Dave – I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to your question. I assume that the Post office Visa Electron is just like an standard Visa Electron once loaded. Guess the best way to find it is to see what happens when you enter the card’s details when making a booking on Ryanair site, that would be easier and cheaper than trying to contact Ryanair to ask them.
I recently bought a one-way Ryanair ticket from Dublin to Edinburgh and paid (in Euros) with a Halifax Easycash Visa Electron card. I’ve just had a look at my Easycash statement and I’ve been charged a £1.50 “Debit card service charge” by Halifax (not by Ryanair) on top of the price of the ticket.
It seems that Halifax add a £1.50 charge onto the cost of “foreign” purchases.
Alvador – When we were booking single tickets back to the UK from Spain we had to pay the Halifax card service charge as the flight cost was quoted in euro but at least the Halifax fee is per transaction, unlike the Ryanair payment fee, for any card except Visa Electron, whihc is £5 per person per flight.
I went to the post office and got myself a post office travel money visa electron card. I loaded 120 pounds for a fee of 3 pounds. The card was activated the next day via a free phone number. I went on-line 5 mins later and booked 6 tickets with Ryanair saving 60 pounds, a saving of 57 if you deduct the 3 pound fee. This card will probably save me about 380 pounds a year, as long as Ryanair keep their “special offer to Visa Electron card holders” available.
Dave – thanks for letting us know that the Post Office Electron Visa incurs no Ryanair payment fee. Nice one, £3 investment returning a £57 saving, definately worth the effort.
We have repeatedly tried to use our visa electron card and Payment error comes up, without the time for the card to be verified – we tried for 3 days and finally had to pay 40 euros for 4 passengers,2 of them children too young to have a credit card, how convenient for Ryanair! Why is that my credit card payment goes through easily but not my visa electron payment (on which they they don’t make any money)?
Suzanne – how frustrating for you. I have used a Visa Electron card numerous times on the Ryanair site and never had a problem. Did you successfully use your Visa Electron for any other transactions during that period or even since then?
I have 2 Visa Electron cards, one with a personal account and the other my business account. So I’m hoping if I have problems with one, the other will be OK.
I have just been stung by the Ryanair website. Having lured me in by the prospect of a flight to Dublin for £44 (x2), I ending up paying £94. Could have been more if I selected extra baggage, first on board, text messages. Having assumed I had successfully avoided these additions, I was hit by the £20 debit card charge right at the end! The whole experience of the website made me feel very nervous. This is very poor practice by Ryanair, these companies should publish their charging policy in clear terms up front.
damherst – Ryanair could do more to clearly display their card payment fees. Now that you are aware of the charges will you apply for a Visa Electron card?
I believe the VISA Electron card will not be accepted by Ryan Air from January onward. You now need a Mastercard Debit card, the only place I know where these are available is Bishopstown Credit Union, Cork.
Danny – thanks for your comment. I read about the changes in the fee free payment cards and am trying to establish if any Mastercard prepaid debit card qualifies or only a Ryanair branded card.
I received my Halifax Electron card just before Christmas 2009. What a waste of time that was. Now looking at various Pre-paid Debit Mastedcards but most have their own set of charges! There’s a couple of offers where the application fee is waived but you are still charged for using it.
A big thank you to Bishopstown Credit Union – the only place i can find a card that allows me to book flights without paying the €5 charge. A link to the website might be useful for anyone else thinking about getting one.
http://www.bishopstowncu.ie/content.asp?section=117
I am student and i only use the card online so it is a huge saving for me plus all my friends are getting ones now too.
I am completing my final year project on entrepreneurship and innovation and the credit union in Bishopstown will definitely get a mention.
Stewart – How annoying for you to have just received your Visa Electron and then discover that Ryanair had changed the fee free payment card.
Jennifer – I assume that the Bishoptown Mastercard prepaid debit card is only available to Irish residents? Does it have any fees or charges?
Karen – firstly apologies for not answering earlier.
Unfortunately it is only open to people living, working or studying in the area. I was sceptical at first about the card when they said no charges. The only fee is a €1 annual charge to be a member. After that everything is free. It has saved me and my friends €100s with Ryanair.