Qantas Airlines, one of the largest airline carriers in Australia denies claim regarding the company's supposed credit card scam.

Accusation against Qantas

The accusation came from the consumer advocacy group Choice which accuses Qantas of charging AU$100 million due to excess credit card fees every year with the pretense of covering processing costs. Qantas is charging AU$7.70 for credit card payment on domestic bookings while international bookings are charged four times the said rate. The group estimated that Qantas earned more than AU$204 million in revenue from the said surcharges since last year and half of the revenue went to the company. Matt Levey, the head of campaigns for Choice released a statement explaining their accusation towards Qantas. Here is an excerpt from the released statement:

"Qantas was one of the first major Australian businesses to impose credit card surcharges following the Reserve Bank of Australia's move to allow such charges from 1 January 2003. At the time, Qantas indicated it was 'absorbing credit card merchant fees', and would continue to do so even after adding a 1 per cent levy to credit card purchases. However, we estimate Qantas is now collecting more than $204 million in surcharges every year, while potentially paying less than half of that to their bank to process the transactions.

The group also commented about the alternative payment methods by Qantas. The group released the following statement over the matter:

"It's about having another option that is convenient. So for example, there are limitations on how far in advance you can pay for your ticket if you're using direct funds transfer. There's one payment option, Mastercard debit, which enables you to get around the surcharge. But saying that everyone should either be booking their tickets well in advance or getting a Mastercard debit card we don't think represents a convenient payment alternative."

Qantas Fires Back

On the other hand, Qantas is denying the allegations against them. A spokesperson from the company fired back against the allegation through releasing this official response:

"Qantas does not collect more in surcharges that it costs us to offer credit cards as a payment option. We also provide customers with alternatives to using credit cards."

Card surcharges are considered as one of the biggest sources of complaints received by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as well as in Australia's state-based consumer affairs department.

Protect Yourself

Phishing scams are more common during the holiday season as it is appears more in travel websites and email lists. This is the reason why people should always be alert and must know how to protect themselves from these cyber threats.

According to Tourism Research Australia, more Australians are taking advantage of online specials as well as other online travel features that would lessen the need for a travel agency. Michael McKinnon, the security advisor for AVG explained the growing demand for this market stating "It makes perfect sense - finding your holidays online can be significantly cheaper, you aren't locked in to any given provider, and you can do it at the click of a mouse button or swipe of the touch-screen. But as you also hand over name, credit card and sometimes date of birth details the dangers are obvious."

In line with this, AVG Pty Ltd. released some safe online holiday booking tips that people could take note of when booking their holidays online. Here are the tips for safe online holiday booking:

1. Be wary of pop ups and unsolicited emails. Once you begin searching you could be distracted by pop up deals and start to receive emails from bogus sources. Don't click and don't open unless the messages are from a trusted source.

2. Use reputable travel organisations that have industry credentials such as AFTA.

3. If you haven't used the site before, do a Google search on the company to check its bona fides.

4. Check on small private operators by giving them a call before you place an online deposit.

5. Read the terms and conditions covering refunds, booking changes, deposits and balance due. And if it is an international booking, check which currency you will be making the payment in.

6. Any time you are entering personal or financial details, look for the security signs: a padlock symbol in your browser or payment pages that begin with 'https://'. The 's' denotes security.