BA foreign transaction fee

[daffodiliaz]

I was surprised to learn that BA tickets purchased in the USA in USD on BA.com can still be subject to foreign transaction fees (see links below). We do have the option of purchasing on a Capital One Visa card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. If we were to purchase in USD through an online travel agent, could we avoid the transaction fee if using a different Visa card?

 

Anyone have any experience with this? It's hard for me to believe they can do this. I can't find it in any of the fine print on BA.com.

 

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review732155.html

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/features/articles/2010/02/04/20100204travelqa0207.html

 

(If we use an online agent, will we still be able to pay for an advanced seat assignment on BA?)

 

TIA.

[Globaliser]

It's hard for me to believe they can do this. I can't find it in any of the fine print on BA.com.

As the second article makes clear, this is not of BA's doing. BA charges the credit card exactly what it says it will charge.

 

It's the credit card company that's trying to make more money out of this transaction. If you use a credit card from a company that adopts this practice, then you may well be better off using the Capital One card if you're confident that Capital One will not add any fees.

(If we use an online agent, will we still be able to pay for an advanced seat assignment on BA?)

Yes, you should be able to if you want to pay for seat pre-allocation. Remember that if you can check-in online at exactly 24 hours before departure, it's likely that there will still be a very wide choice of seats to choose from, for no fee.

 

Paying for seat pre-allocation may be more worthwhile if your travel plans are such that you know you will get nowhere near a computer to check-in before arriving at the airport, and there isn't anyone else you trust to do it for you.