BA splitting transactions on credit card statement

[ma0nps]

Hi!

I booked flights for the family from BOD -LGW… the cost being in Euro.

When they posted to my account, instead of, say, one €400 txn (which is what I’d approved online) it was posted as 4 x €100 txn.

Any idea why they do this and if it’s allowed??? If I had used a card with a fixed-fee FX usage charge (I didn’t) it would have cost me a lot more… so they could be disadvantaging some customers by doing this.

I’m struggling to see how they have the right to charge different txn amounts to that which I approved, even if they add up to the same total

Thanks!

[JDB]

BA has always done this. Most fixed fees relating to cards are borne by the merchant rather than the cardholder. A fixed FX fee would be unsatisfactory for spend at many merchants, not just BA.

[Stu_N]

All legacy carriers do this – they pass ticket info to the card provider which will appear on your statement, I guess it’s the only way that can work. (I’ve booked BA and Alaskan flights in the last month and both have done this.)

I really can’t see what your issue is, you’ve been charged the amount they said they would charge you haven’t they? I’d imagine there’s something in the T&Cs that cover this and any charges levied by your card provider isn’t BA’s problem.

[ma0nps]

I don’t think you can say that fees levied by the card provider aren’t BA’s problem when they’re not doing what they said…

E.g some Lloyds debit cards charge 2.99% fx fee + 50p per payment.

Making one payment of 400 euros (which is what you consent to at the point of purchase) would therefore attract a fee of c. £10.50, using a simple exchange rate

Doing it at 4 x 100 Euro txns (which is not what you consented to) would attract c. £12 in fees

Just seems very odd that they’re allowed to do it under payment regulations. They’ve arbitrarily split the total in 4 as well, so it’s not like they’ve tailored it so it’s the per-ticket price for each traveller (which varies a little because we’re 2 adults & 2 kids)

Strikes me as an odd way of working

[Lady London]

As a matter of interest, had you paid on a UK credit card would taking it below £100 for each transaction make it ineligible for s75 protection?

I’ve got an idea s75 still applies in this case even if the airline does this, as it was booked in 1 transaction 1 click, so far as the user is concerned. IIRC this answer was on MSE a few years back.

[Richard Peters]

BA tickets are always split. Get yourself a Halifax Clarity card and there will be no FX charges or open a Starling account #simples

[ma0nps]

@Lady London- i had the same thought, but I think you’re right that s75 would still apply

@Richard – yes, of course (personally I like my Revolut account) but it seems to me that it’s not really ok that a savvy buyer knows how to deal with it if they’re routinely taking an approach that could disadvantage less savvy consumers

[Richard Peters]

It’s a big world out there and tons of advice even from Martin Lewis and it’s not up to BA to babysit your finances imho

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

If the cost of the individual flights were less than £ 100 each then s75 would not apply even if the total was more than that

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act-aZCUb9i8Kwfa

“However, if you bought two items that together cost more than £100, but each cost less than £100, Section 75 would not apply and the card company wouldn’t usually be liable.”

[Stu_N]

Richard Peters wrote:

It’s a big world out there and tons of advice even from Martin Lewis and it’s not up to BA to babysit your finances imho

This, precisely.

We don’t even know if it is treated as a single transaction but presented multiple lines on the statement! I’d suggest the OP focuses on things that have or might actually affect them and stop worrying about small things that may theoretically affect someone else (but then again, may not).

It’s a step towards a much happier life.

[aseftel]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

If the cost of the individual flights were less than £ 100 each then s75 would not apply even if the total was more than that

Tickets, rather than flights, I’d say but fundamentally you’re quite right that it’s the cost of the item that’s relevant, not how (or how much) it’s charged to the card.

[JohnTh]

Annoying side effect for the Amex BA spend offer, I paid more cash on avios booking to hopefully get 2 bonus avios amounts but no joy! No doubt helped those who spent less per person but enough in total to trigger the offer.