Why travel agents may start refusing your credit card — and what it means for your points and perks

The surcharge ban has a strange side effect the headlines are only half-covering. Much of the coverage has focused on shrinking credit-card perks — fewer points, less lounge access, complimentary travel insurance under threat. But underneath that consumer story is a merchant one: for travel agents working on razor-thin commissions, a credit-card payment can now cost more than the sale earns them. Some are considering refusing credit cards altogether. Here's how the two halves connect — and why it matters whichever side of the counter you're on.

The merchant side: when a sale loses money

Airline commissions on airfares commonly run between 0 and 1 per cent. Put an $8,000 airfare on a credit card at a typical ~1.5% acceptance cost and the agent pays ~$120 to earn as little as $0–$80. Before 1 October they could surcharge and pass that cost on. After 1 October, on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, they can't.

Travel agents told the Sydney Morning Herald in late July they're weighing up refusing credit cards, steering customers to bank transfer, or going debit-only — one estimating the cost of absorbing card fees at roughly a travel agent's annual salary (Elias Visontay, SMH, 26 July 2026). For a thin-margin agency, that's not dramatics; it's arithmetic.

The consumer side: the perk that was never free

The same reform is reshaping credit-card rewards. Banks are scaling back points, lounge access and complimentary insurance, because the interchange and surcharge revenue that quietly funded those perks is being cut — the RBA's changes are expected to reduce bank card revenue by around $660 million a year (SMH, 26 July 2026).

The two stories meet at a specific, common situation: travellers who put a big holiday booking on a credit card specifically to hit the minimum spend that activates complimentary travel insurance — often around $500 on a holiday-related purchase. If an agent stops accepting credit cards for high-value bookings, that activation path can quietly close.

It's worth being clear-eyed about what's being lost, though. As many consumers themselves have pointed out, "complimentary" card insurance was never truly free — its cost was baked into card fees and merchant costs all along — and the cover is often thinner than a standalone policy: capped payouts, patchy medical cover, and exclusions (especially pre-existing conditions) that bite exactly when a traveller needs cover most. The end of a hidden subsidy is not the same as a straightforward loss.

What this means for you as a merchant

If you run any high-ticket, thin-margin business — not just travel — the travel agents are simply the first to hit the wall the rest of the segment is walking toward. The levers are the same: check least-cost routing is on, offer account-to-account payment for large sums, and make sure your pricing model isn't quietly handing your provider the October interchange savings. We've set those out in full in our guide for thin-margin businesses.

The one thing not to do is discover the problem on your first October statement. If your average sale is large and your margin is thin, model it now.

Work out your real cost — compare the major providers we track at your turnover and card mix, including online gateways for card-not-present sales. Compare now →

Read the full playbook: When "just absorb it" doesn't work — card fees for thin-margin businesses →

Travel-agent figures, the complimentary-insurance detail and the $660m interchange-revenue estimate were reported by the Sydney Morning Herald (Elias Visontay, 26 July 2026); consumer observations reflect public commentary on that report. Compayr's analysis of the merchant options is our own. Provider rates are indicative, last verified as shown on each listing — confirm directly with the provider. General information, not financial advice.