Well after a great deal of research and many false starts with providers that didn’t offer what we needed, I’m pleased to say we can now offer payment by credit card as a viable alternative to paying by bank transfer, cheque or Paypal.
Provided by Wave and powered by Stripe, we can now accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. The fee is 1.4% which we pass on to keep our prices down, but to give you the choice of paying for your holiday in the way that suits you. Compared to Paypal, this is a bargain, as Paypal charges 3.4%. We still accept payment by bank transfer, which remains our preferred method of payment for speed, cheque, Paypal, Paym and Pingit.
When filling out the booking form, simply make your choice as to your preferred method of payment. If it’s by credit card then I will generate an invoice, sent separately by email, which takes you straight to a secure page. I take no details from you, so all your credit card data remains secure.
If you have a card issued outside Europe, the fee is slightly higher at 2.9%, but still lower than using Paypal.
As an aside, do you prefer to pay for your UK break by credit card or are you happy to pay by bank transfer? The big listing sites have now all moved over to encouraging online booking and payments, but at a high price. Owners Direct have become the latest site to bring in service fees this month (June 2016), so that if you wish to pay by credit card through their site, you will pay up to an extra 8% plus VAT, direct to the site, not to the owner. The lower the holiday cost, the higher percentage you pay. To put that into context, on a week in Beachscape or Tides at Summer 2016 rates, that would mean a fee of approx £45 to Owners Direct, for the privilege of booking online through their site. I wrote a blog that gives more detail on these fees previously, which you can read here.
Book direct with an owner, avoiding all booking portals; you will save yourself money and have more to spend on the actual holiday!
Do comment below to tell me what you think.
Would much rather pay by bacs, certainly would pay a fee though
BACS will always remain an option Sheila,when booking direct with me, credit card is just another option for those that want it. 🙂