Paying for flights above the 3V limit of €300?

PJTierney

Hi guys.

I'm planning on flying to New York towards the end of April, and a quick check of the costs (ie: I filled out the forms on the Aer Lingus site till I came to the payment screen) showed that the total cost is about €480.

That's all well and good sicne I have that kind of money in my bank (of Ireland) account.

The problem is however that I don't have a credit card to pay for this.
I've used 3V before for flights (to UK/Europe) but there is a limit of €350 per voucher, and these flights exceed that.

Will I have to get a credit card just to do this or is there any other option?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

BuffyBot

Yup you'll have to get a card (or borrow someone elses, and give them the cash).

PJTierney

Hmm.

Do Aer Lingus have an office in Limerick where I can order offline? I may travel out to Shannon and pay for the tickets in cash if that's possible.

enzo7

You can transfer funds on your 3v card up to a limit of 500euro if thats any good.

undo

You could buy several Aer Lingus gift vouchers, paying for each one separately, and then use those to purchase the flight.

enzo7

The vouchers is a good idea also but you are only aloud to use 1 voutcher per booking. The highest amount is 500euro same as 3v.

undo

enzo7 wrote: »

The vouchers is a good idea also but you are only aloud to use 1 voutcher per booking. The highest amount is 500euro same as 3v.

So a single €500 voucher should cover a €480 booking then? Or a €300 voucher plus €180 on your 3v. Or any combination thereof...

enzo7

Ya but with the 3v there is a 2.50 euro transfer charge , so for a 480 flight you would need to have 350 + say 190 euro voutchur because it would actually need 482.50 worth of 3v if you know what i mean. If the flight is over 500euro neither are any good.

Plus 5 euro fee for each 3v voutchur so total would be 500 euro (doe you have 7.50 balance on ur 3v voutchers).
Do aer lin charge for gift voutchers?? Either work out much the same really.

undo

Yes, you will end up paying all sorts of fees. But at least you can still make your booking. Another option would be to buy one of the gift cards that doubles as a MasterCard Prepaid card. These can be loaded up to €1000 on purchase in some stores. Or you could get a Neteller MasterCard Prepaid and transfer funds to that from your bank account. Or just get a credit card from your bank. You have many options - sticking with the 3v vouchers you already know is probably easiest for you but also dearest.

PJTierney

Just to make sure, are there any additional charges after you input the credit card details on the Aer Lingus site? If so, it might push things up to like €510 or whatever.

Another option could be for me to go into a travel agent and order the flights there. I was in one this morning (up near Pery's Hotel, I think it's Falcon Travel on Catherine Street) and they said they'd charge an extra €40 on top of the flight fees.

I think that's a solid option since it cuts out a lot of hassle.



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I also went to the bank and got info on a credit card. There's an annual government charge of €30 if you use the card at least once in a given year, plus all the paperwork and potential interest etc.

It's looking like the travel agent's for me

undo

For a once-off booking, the travel agent may be the least hassle. But if you find yourself flying more often, it will pay off to get your own card. The best would be a virtual Visa Electron (no CC fees with Aer Lingus) plus a virtual MasterCard Prepaid (no CC fees with Ryanair). Both are offered by foreign companies and so do not immediately attract Irish stamp duty. But you are probably supposed to report to Revenue you have them and pay €30 for each annually.

BuffyBot

Or you could obtain a Visa debit card from Halifax or Ulster Bank: less government stamp duty, and you can only spend what you've put into the attached account. Much more convenient that Laser, as it's accepted in many, many more places online.

PJTierney

This should be a one-off type of trip though, as any and all trips I've taken to Europe have been less than €350 in flights.