Paris Apartment Credit Card Fee

Seriously , thats outrageous, what company are they using. I just had to send a check for a few hundred euros in my own funds as a deposit ( post dated too) and then paid in cash when I arrived. Simple and easy. No extra fees. All companies have different requirements for what you have to pay up front, and what the cancellation policies are, personally I spent alot of time reviewing apartment rental agencies before I chose the company I wanted to deal with, I have read too many "bad experience" type posts over the years on forums( not just this forum but tripadvisor.com and fodars too) There is no standard practice, but some practices are more common then others. Remember its almost impossible to get refunds back IF you get screwed, you would have to go to France to file a lawsuit etc.. I hope they/you are using a reputable company , there ARE many, but the bad apples ,, well they can be very very bad.

Thanks, Pat. We found the apartment through VRBO and it received excellent reviews from TripAdvisor. We will keep looking.

Kathy check out cross pollinate. I felt really good about Steve and how they rent apartments.

Also try www.vacationinparis.com - it's received great reviews. They are based in the U.S. and often times send you the key to the apartment before you leave.

Well, don't be so quick to call this a scam. It could be that the owners are simply showing what fees they pay in cc processing, and letting you decide if you will pay by cc or cash. A fee of 66 euros is about 4% on a 1500 euro apartment. Someone's gotta pay the fee. The owners can absorb it and charge a higher overall rate, or show you what it costs. If you like the apartment, and everything seems legit, make your decision based on that.

Again, thank you for your replies. After reading the rental agreement and the cancellation policy we are re-thinking that a hotel maybe in our best interest. This particular owner required full payment 45 days before arrival and a forfeit of the deposit if we cancelled. If we cancelled 30 days or less they would keep our funds of over $2200. They also required a 500 Euro cleaning deposit. As a foreign consumer we do not have much recourse. This was our first time considering an apartment and we were not aware of the conditions and expenses. But, we will keep persuing the rental sites mentioned and hopefully we will find an excellent apartment to rent.

Kathy , look at Parisbestlodge. I only had to send a smallish check, in my own funds, postdated , as a deposit. Then we paid cash on arrival. Check was then destroyed. Apartment rentals typically have horrible cancellation policies, so if renting one its smart to get cancellation travel insurance privately. I have always stayed in hotels, which ( in the cases of the ones I select) have great cancellation policies, usually like 48-72 hours , some even less.. for full refund, or minus a small booking fee( only time I paid it was 5 euros). I never get cancellation insurance, but this summer regretted it immensely.. since I had rented an apartment and not a hotel, and about 10 days before trip dd had a sudden freak health incident.. almost had to cancel and would have lost deposit and weeks rental fee.. but to be fair, if you cancel an apartment on short notice its a lot harder for them to rerent on short notice, a hotel gets walk ins, apartment rentals do not...so its not that apartment rentals are unfair..
What I really hate is this paying full amount ,, often months and months up front.

I agree with Pat, if you rent an apartment depending on the cost, you might consider travel insurance. We, too, had to cancel our trip one week before departure this year because my husband got injured. (He's OK now.) I under insured and did not include the cost of the apartment, only the cost of the tour. Luckily, I used Vacation in Paris who are great to work with. They were able to rent out 7 of the 10 days. The key deposit and rent minus a cancellation fee were credit back to my credit card. I was very happy with the outcome.