Seniors on the Go /By Ed Perkins
Here’s an update on new fees and unexpected charges
A few weeks ago I reported on some of the many new fees and unexpected surprises you face as a traveler — and that you’ll likely face even more in the future. I heard from quite a few readers who had experiences such as I described, as well as some new wrinkles. Here are some of the more important updates and recent developments in the fast-changing field of unhappy surprises.
On PINS and chips: In my earlier report, I noted that several of you reported being asked for a PIN when you tried to use a credit card overseas. True, reported others, with some additional twists:
• As I noted then, you may be asked for a PIN in Europe, but when some of you called your issuing bank for a PIN, your bank representatives had never heard of the requirement. Moreover, banks that agreed to issue PINs insisted that the number be sent by snail mail, not given over the phone or by e-mail. For some, that delay meant not getting the PIN in time for their trips. If you’re heading overseas, ask for your PIN early enough to get a response by mail. And if the first bank rep you encounter doesn’t know about the deal, ask to speak to supervisors up the line until you reach someone who does.
• When you have a PIN for your credit card and use it overseas, some banks treat the transaction just as they would an ordinary charge, but others treat it as a cash advance — with the attendant extra fees and interest costs. There’s no consistency among various banks, so you have to ask the one that issues your card. And, as with the PIN, you may have to push to find someone who knows the answer.
• Last year, I noted that some foreign banks now issue MasterCard and Visa cards with a built-in “smart” chip — something hardly any U. S. banks now do. A few of you report refusals by merchants to honor a chip-less card.
MasterCard and Visa spokespersons say that their international rules require participating merchants to accept any valid card issued in the United States, including those with neither PINs nor chips. But that assurance hardly helps when you’re standing at the hotel’s checkout counter and the clerk says, “sorry.” When that happens, you’re supposed to “insist” that the merchant accept the card with just the number and your signature, but that may or may not work.
Let ’em know. Several of you reiterated the longstanding suggestion that you notify your charge card issuer(s) when you intend to travel overseas. If you don’t, security procedures might suddenly cause your card to be temporarily closed.
• Fly with plastic. Alaska Airlines recently announced “cashless” cabins: Travelers will have to use plastic for such in-flight purchases as drinks and snacks. Several foreign airlines have already adopted this policy. So far as I know, Alaska is the first big U. S. line to go cashless onboard, but look for others to follow. The idea is to speed up the process and avoid fusses about “the right change.” The idea may be laudable, but don’t let it catch you unaware.
• Frequent flyer fees. In my previous report, I bemoaned the fact that some foreign lines were assessing cash “fuel surcharges” on supposedly “free” frequent flyer tickets. I had hardly hit the “send” button on my copy when Delta announced fuel surcharges on award travel. Delta recently began assessing $25 for an award trip within the United States and Canada and $50 for all other award trips. To prove, again, that in the airline business, no really bad idea remains uncopied, Northwest immediately followed with surcharges up to $100. Given how money-hungry the U. S. airlines have become, I expect other big lines to adopt fees of this sort fairly quickly — and I also wouldn’t be surprised to see fees growing even higher.
