I am trying to book a 4D classical tour for my September trip with a local tour agency, and was told to pay additional 2% as their expense for withdrawing payment from credit card account. Is this the standard practice in Greece?
I was not asked to pay such expense when booking room directly with a hotel in Greece.
Thanks for sharing.
As you may (or may not) know, bank credit cards charge businesses a % on every payment that uses their cards. All businesses -- CVS, Shop-Rite, hotels all over the world. Some businesses absorb this as a cost of doing business, and build it into their rates -- as do those hotels you mention. The tour agency may have decided to split out that % in order to quote a lower rate. If you will look at your monthly bills at home, you may see the same procedure. My telephone & electric bills state the basic total for that month's usage -- and then in a separate category, lists all the various taxes that add to that cost.
Just in Germany, for example, many hotels give a "discount" for cash. Another way of looking at it is that they charge more for settlement by credit card. The Bayreuther Festspiel charges a 5% fee for paying for tickets by credit card.
Even RS has a discount/surcharge for cash/credit payment for the tours.
Nothing that unusual about your situation
Yes, many European businesses have a surcharge for using a credit card. I encountered it with Premier Hotels in the UK. In that case, there would not have a surcharge for using a debit card.
