Hi Everyone

I just got off the phone with Bangkok Airways since I want to purchase the Discovery Airpass.

The agent suggested that there is a surcharge of 5% for payments made via credit cards - and that is the suggested way of payment, as opposed to a cashiers check.

What do you guys, who have gone through this before suggest? Is it worth the extra 5% and pay via credit card. Or should I pay via a cashiers check?

Thanks
rahul

a cashiers check will cost you quite a bit probably....i sent a regular bank check...

in the usa it is against mastercard/visa rules to charge an additional fee, but what recourse do you have...

i would charge it...its cleaner and you have some recourse if something goes wrong...

it is standard to charge an upcharge in thailand for expensive purchases via credit card....

I don't think the Discovery Air Pass can be purchased inside Thailand.

I bought several at their Wisma Atria office in Singapore and paid cash. The staff there were extremely helpful with organizing the flights. And the best part is they will hold the seats without payment until one week before travel. So if you will be somewhere a week out, where there is a BKK Airways office, you might be able to just pay cash.

you cannot buy it in thailand

I purchased it from Bangkok Airways and paid the 5% surcharge. It's actually more than the credit card companies charge, which is 3-4% I think.

It's against the credit card company's rules to charge a commission to cover their commission, but you'll find in Asia it's quite common. Top-end hotels and high-end stores, the ones that expect people to pay with credit card, already have it built into their costs. All other places will want to charge you 3-4% to use a credit card (lower-end hotels, tour companies, even some airlines, I think Lao Airlines charged me extra).

Anyway, it seemed more of a hassle not to pay it. I think I ended up paying an extra $15 or $20 but didn't have to get a check and send it off or whatever I would've had to do as an alternative.

Another 'fee' I got hit with was a $15 fee for shipping and handling on the tickets.

I did the math to figure out if a bank check or the 5% credit card fee would be cheaper; the fees were both in the same ball park.

I'm in NYC, so just walked down to their offices in the Emprire State Building to pick-up the tickets and save the $15 shipping. The agents in the office were very nice. (As a side note, the same office & agents also handle Kenyan Air and Garuda Indonesia and a few others).