a row of seats with monitors on them
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We’re not telling you to do this, we’re just saying mistakes happen…

Is there anything more infuriating than finding the perfect flights, preparing to shell out (a lot) of money, only to find that a fee is being added on just to pay for the tickets?! Couldn’t they just hide the fee somewhere in the price of the ticket, to spare us this grief? Since honest mistakes are a part of life, we’ve got a great little trick to spare yourself some grief, while also saving a few bucks- by accident of course. That’s right- it’s easy to bypass the British Airways credit card surcharge charge for UK residents…

a room with a table and chairsPeople Make Mistakes When Entering Billing Details, It Happens…

We’re talking about an honest mistake here. You find flights, you select seats, you go to pay, and you accidentally hit Ukraine for “Billing Country”, instead of “United Kingdom” on the payment page. Common mistake! Magically, the credit card fee disappears from your booking. You just assume you’re seeing things. Unsuspectingly, you just enter your billing address as closely as possible to your actual UK address, making sure things like post code are correct. Anything to help with the taxes on 2 for 1 bookings, right?

a pool with chairs and umbrellasBut Even With The Truly Accidental Mistake, Your Payment (Should) Go Through Without Issue…

So your finger slipped and you hit UKraine, instead of UK. Oh well. As long as the lines of your address were filled in accurately, and post code matches, the payment should have no problem going through. You (accidentally) dodge the ridiculous credit card surcharge, saving yourself money and frustration. That’s a fantastic combo.Who knew a mistake could be so useful? No one would ever do this intentionally, of course, but as tired -weary travelers, mistakes happen. Sometimes they just happen to save money.

a man standing next to a chairWhat If It Doesn’t Work? Is there Any Downside?

You already know the answer to this question – it should work, and if it doesn’t, you lose nothing. If for some reason your payment isn’t accepted due to billing address errors you’ll just go back and pay as you would’ve before. Generally, this works every time. There’s certainly no penalty for trying, and the upside is meaningful. Hey, it’s just a hack that people swear by. Enjoy.

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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9 Comments

    1. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m surrounded in life by many. I fail to see how me mentioning that something may or may not occur, accidentally could land me in legal jeopardy.

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