Avoid Ryanair's credit card fee by paying with Electropay

Anyone who has ever booked flights with Ryanair knows the frustration of the added fees that will increase the price substantially. I wrote a blog post about how to avoid Ryanairs credit card fees here and have now tried it. Even if it isn’t a completely free way of getting around the credit card fee, it is a highly recommended approach. The satisfaction of not paying the Euro 5 per passenger, per flight is extraordinary.

To avoid paying the hefty credit card fee that Ryanair imposes, you need to do the following.

Step 1 : Go to Entropays website, click here.

Step 2 : Sign up for Entropay by filling out a simple form. Please note, choose GBP as the account currency. This is the only way if you want Ryanair to recognise this virtual credit card as VISA Electron.

Step 3 : Give them the details of your standard credit card that you want to use to pay Electropay with.

Step 4: load your new virtual credit card with an amount, at least 10 GBP. The best way is to load the card with the exact amount that the flight cost.

You are now set to go. The signing-up only takes a few minutes. And once done, you can use it as many times as you want.

This is not a completely free service. They will charge you 4.95% of the amount you load the card with. For example, if you load Entropay with 10GBP, they will charge you 0.45 GBP. So of course, there is going to be a point where it will cost the same with Entropay as with Ryanair. This will be when you book a single journey for 1 passenger for EUR 101.01. So, if the fare is less than this, it will be cheaper with Entropay. How much cheaper will be depends on the price of the flight. The cheaper the flight, the higher the benefits of using Entropay.

When you book your flight on the Ryanair website, choose the VISA Electron option for paying. This is currently the only option there that is free. Of course, if you live in a country that offers a VISA Electron, you might opt for that one instead of the virtual way.

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Ryanair's 250% increase in luggage fees

Image via Wikipedia

The low-cost carrier has done it again. They have made it to the headline with yet another incredulous announcement. The fees for checked-in luggage will rise steeply, in some cases up towards the 250% mark.

In an attempt to make passengers travel with hand-luggage only, Ryanair is raising all their fees for checked-in baggage. If you only carry hand-luggage, weighing less than 10 kilo, you will not notice any differences. However, if you want to check-in your bags, the following will now apply;

Checking in 1 bag online: will rise from €10 to €15 per flight from next month, a 50% increase.

Checking in 1 bag at the airport: will rise from €20 to €30 per flight from next month, a 50% increase.

In an attempt to profit further, Ryanair is doubling the checked-in baggage allowance for each passenger. From having allowed each passenger a weight allowance of only 15 kg, you can now bring with you 30 kilos, as long as no single bag weighs more than 15 kilos. A strange turnaround from an airline that says that they want to get rid of checked-in baggage.

Checking in 2^nd bag online: will rise from €20 to €35 per flight from next month, a 75% increase.

Checking in 2^nd bag at the airport: will rise from €20 to €70 per flight from next month, a 250% increase.

If you bag weighs too much, you will now have to pay even more for the extra kilos as the excess bag fee is being increased from €15 to €20 per kilo. So, do note that if you have more than 1 kilo too much, you are better off paying the 2^nd bag charge online.

If you are travelling with checked-in luggage, the other airlines start to look like a more appealing offer, and possibly even a cheaper one.

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Top things to do in Seattle

Image via Wikipedia

Seattle makes for an interesting destination with plenty to see and do. As a metropolis in the north-western corner of America in the state of Washington, Seattle has something to offer most tourists. Whether you come here to enjoy the surrounding scenery of Puget Sound and the Olympic peninsula or you are bypassing the city to get to Canada, Seattle is well worth a stop-over.

Here are some of the highlights of Seattle;

The Space Needle – this famous landmark and symbol of Seattle can’t be missed. Built in 1962 for the World’s fair, it hovers 605 feet above the city. You can purchase tickets to go up in the elevator to the observation deck, 520 feet above the ground. The observation deck is rotating slowly and you will be treated to terrific views of the city and surrounding areas. There is a restaurant too if you feel like a romantic dinner.

Pike's Place Market – another highlight of Seattle is this open market. It opened already in 1907, making it one of the oldest operated public farmers' markets in the United States. There are plenty of different small stalls and shops, ranging from books, antiques, food and hand crafts but the highlights have to be the fish markets. Go and see them throwing fish around, it’s a lot more fun than it sounds.

Pacific Science Center – another major tourist destination, especially if you have children, is this hands-on museum. Like the Space Needle, it was built for the World’s fair and has wide range of hands on science exhibits, animal exhibitions and two IMAX movie theaters.

Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame – this is a fairly recently opened museum, 2000 and 2004, that pays tribute to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction. As you enter you are met by an impressive collection of hundreds of guitars hanging together, in all different shapes and colours. There is a separate area dedicated to Seattle music, including a lot of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia.

Seattle Waterfront & Seattle Aquarium – don’t miss the seafront of Seattle. It lies a bit away from the other attractions, but it makes for a nice stroll. There are amusement arcades, shops and restaurants here and the aquarium is one of the best ones in America.

Bruce Lee’s grave – fans of Bruce Lee are in for a treat in Seattle. The famous martial-art actor is buried here at Lakeview Cemetery, beside his son Brandon Lee. Many fans make a pilgrimage to Seattle to pay tribute to their idol, please go here for directions.

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