Redeeming your travel rewards? Some add-on costs can come as surprise to you

Redeeming your travel rewards? Some add-on costs can come as surprise to you

Dubai: If you’ve ever tried to redeem your travel rewards, be it the number of points or miles you have accumulated, chances are you’ve seen variations in the fees you have to pay when you do. “Any frequent traveller would agree that travel rewards make it possible to stretch his or her travel budget as far as it can go and book trips that couldn't be afforded otherwise,” said Dubai-based travel agent and itinerary consultant Richa Dev. “But what’s often overlooked are the add-on costs. “While it only makes sense in theory that you shouldn’t have to pay extra when you’re redeeming points, often times you will realise that it still doesn’t justify paying high surcharges and fees. So it pays to keep your out-of-pocket costs as low as possible.” Fuel surcharges are fees assessed by a carrier – be it in road, sea or air travel – to account for regional or seasonal variations in fuel costs. Technically levied as ‘carrier-imposed surcharges’, these are add-on fees that airlines charge in addition to the base airfare. Fuel surcharge is an arbitrary fee fixed by each airline worldwide and generally depends on the route. These surges don’t directly affect those paying