9355 Ryanair again

Who do they think we are?. Last week I booked a return flight London to Ancona which i paid for as usual on my Maestro card.Today i have been trying to book a single flight from Ancona to London BUT the drop down menu listing the cards you can pay with didn't include Maestro though it did include Visa which i could use if i wanted to give Ryanair another £12. So I tried clicking on Visa debit/Delta which is the nearest but it rejected it and I cannot now make the booking with my debit card. It will cost me more to contact Ryanair one way or another so should I pay the £12 or is there some way round this?

Category
Travel & Holiday Advice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 01:26

Hmmmm, I assume that if you call them direct to book, then you end up paying £1/min in call charges instead?!?!

I found some useful tips [url=http://anmblog.typepad.com/this_is_money_blog/2007/05/now_ryanair_cha.html]here[/url]:

[quote]
1) Baggage charges: You won't be given an option to take no bags for free without searching high and low. Otherwise a check in bag will cost you £10 and no bags will cost you £4 for a return flight.
2) Insurance: You will automatically be charged for travel insurance. Make sure select the option of 'No travel insurance' in the drop down menu. If you do need insurance you can find a cheaper policy here.
3) Payment method: Don't use your credit card, and ensure you specify that you are using a Visa debit rather than credit card. Then check your final print out to ensure you have been charged for it anyway. Or you'll be charged £3.50.
4) Check where you're flying to: If you fly with Ryanair to "Barcelona" you will actually find yourself in Girona, an hour and half away. That's an expensive taxi ride to add to your budget holiday. Unfortunately it's the norm rather than the exception so research your airport first.
5) Passenger duty: As my colleague Ed Monk revealed last month, Ryanair does not refund passenger if you cancel your flight. So make sure you don't pay it up front.
[/quote]

.....nothing actually new, but a useful summary.

One final point, credit card payment provides protection.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 02:48

How do you avoid paying Paaenger duty up front?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 02:48

I don't think there is anyway round this but I would certainly be very happy if someone did come up with something :yes: I always book my flights from Italy to the UK so the price is in euros and have never been able to pay with my UK Maestro card.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 05:45

When have booked flight from Italy to Uk in euros have always been able to pay using my debit card (not Maestro, don't know quite what that is). However, I am booking from a UK PC so not sure if that makes a difference (how do they know?)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 10:37

Thanks for the replies.
FP-I was using a UK laptop. What debit card will it accept?
Nicola-I sent Ryanair a fax this morning. No reply of course and don't expect one given that after googling this subject it's clear its nothing new and Ryanair are not going to change their policy for my benefit. So though it goes against the grain I've taken out a Ryanair credit card which will reduce the booking fee.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 11:43

[quote=Robert;87872]So though it goes against the grain I've taken out a Ryanair credit card which will reduce the booking fee.[/quote]
Clear the balance every month and bask in the satisfied glow of knowing you're costing them more than they're making off you. :yes:

...At least until they cancel the card because you're not playing the proper mug's role.

Al

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 12:37

The card I used was a standard Lloyds bank debit card.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 14:26

AllanM-I quite agree and that's what I'll do

FP-interesting. I happen to bank with natwest and they gave me the Maestro debit card. Perhaps there's another debit card not called Maestro that i can get.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 18:34

[quote=Robert;87896]AllanM-I quite agree and that's what I'll do

FP-interesting. I happen to bank with natwest and they gave me the Maestro debit card. Perhaps there's another debit card not called Maestro that i can get.[/quote]
Well the Ryanair site says it still takes Switch.
[FONT="Arial Narrow"][SIZE="2"]"Ryanair accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards and the following debit cards Switch, Visa Connect, Visa Debit Electron & Visa Delta for payment of your flights."
[/SIZE][/FONT]
Switch was taken over by Maestro and no longer exists according to my bank (First Direct). There is a Visa debit card available from some banks, Nationwide amongst them. I presume this is the card Ryanair are charging least for, now they are no longer accepting my Maetsro card.

[FONT="Arial Black"]Credit Card/ELV Fee - Per passenger/ Per One Way Flight £3.00 €4.00
Debit Card Fee - Per passenger/ Per One Way Flight £1.00 €1.50[/FONT]

I haven't tried it yet as last week my Maestro card still worked. Do any of you use your (for example) Nationwide Flex debit card?

Incidentally I thought that Ryanair still charges visa c/c fees when you used it's own card. :winki: Anybody got one?

Pip pip

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 02:52

Our Lloyds debit card is a VISA - you still get charged, but the lower fee rather than the full wack for credit card.