Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings has adjusted its payment terms and will now charge fees for transactions made with specific types of credit cards. This new policy primarily affects corporate credit cards and cards issued by institutions outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Personal credit cards issued within the EEA remain unaffected and can continue to be used for bookings without additional charges. The airline is thus following an industry trend towards a more differentiated approach to passing on payment transaction costs to users.
The airline justifies this move by citing the EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2). This directive allows merchants to charge fees for certain payment methods if these demonstrably incur higher transaction costs for the company than standard payment methods. Industry analyses show that corporate cards and non-European card models, in particular, result in significantly higher interbank fees and processing charges. By passing these costs on to the respective users, Eurowings intends to maintain the overall price structure of its flight tickets and reduce its internal burden of financial transactions.
The amount of the new fee depends on the card brand and ranges from 1,3 percent to 2,95 percent of the total booking amount. To limit the financial burden for customers making high-priced bookings, the airline has capped the maximum fee at €25 per transaction. As a fee-free alternative for customers who wish to avoid these additional costs, the airline continues to offer SEPA direct debit. Experts point out that such fee structures are already established at other European airlines, as margins in the low-cost segment leave little room for absorbing high credit card fees.
Additional market observations reveal that this move by Eurowings is also a reaction to the changing economic conditions in air travel. While the Lufthansa Group is harmonizing its payment methods across the group, low-cost carriers are increasingly focusing on monetizing services related to the flight itself. The introduction of the credit card fee is therefore part of a broader strategy to optimize revenue streams. For international travelers from the USA or Asia, as well as for business travelers with company accounts, this means a noticeable increase in booking costs if no alternative payment method is chosen.