Paypal query

[KathyG]

I've just accepted a booking for 2 weeks next August but they would prefer to pay by American Express to get the Air Miles for a trip to Australia

I've got a half-set-up Paypal account which I could complete for them to pay through that, however the charges seem outrageous - if I've got it right? They're due to pay £975 deposit now which incurs £33.35 @ 3.4% + 20p and then £2925 balance, incurring a charge of £126.88 @ 2.9% + 20p.

Have I got this right?? He said he's happy to pay the commission charges that Amex receivers would charge......

[vrooje]

They're due to pay £975 deposit now which incurs £33.35 @ 3.4% + 20p and then £2925 balance, incurring a charge of £126.88 @ 2.9% + 20p.

I get:
£975 * 0.034 + 0.20 = £33.35
£2925 * 0.029 + 0.20 = £85.03

Total charge £118.38

Those percentages seem correct to me...

[greenfrog]

yep, the percentages are around 3 per cent. Varies slightly depending on whether or not they're verified buyers.

Now that you're setting up that paypal account you may wish to take the costs into account when you fix prices for next year... I find the payment system simplifies bookings no end but I did put rental prices up after I introduced it, because of the high charges.

[Mountain Goat]

That's a better rate than we pay dealing direct with Amex, plus we have to suffer a 2 week wait to get our money.

MG

[KathyG]

Total charge £118.38

Those percentages seem correct to me...

Sorry you're right Vrooje, forgot to say I'd added the £300 security deposit too so overall fee is £126.88.

Thanks all of you, I wasn't sure I'd worked it out properly, couldn't believe charges would be so high!! Wonder if £126.88 is worth it to get his Air Miles

MG - Maybe you should try Paypal, if this all works out i'll let you know how it goes....

[Mountain Goat]

Kathy, I do, for small fiddly payments.

Just out of interest, and I know it's been discussed before, but can't find the answer; does the punter have to be a PayPal member to pay us by credit card? There's also a top limit problem, I think.

MG

[vrooje]

If you are planning to use the refund tool to return the security deposit, the charges for it will be refunded too, so you don't need to ask him to pay for that.

MG, there is an upper limit to the payment you can make without a PayPal account... but I don't know what it is. It used to be around $1000, but I believe they've increased it.

[Mountain Goat]

Thanks, Brooke, I'll find out, as I'm going to need it soon.

MG

[e-richard]

You're better off donating Amex points to him - or giving him the equivalent in "cash-back" !

In very rough terms, his expenditure of around £4000 will get him 4000 AMEX points. These points have a redemption value of approximately 0.5p, so the total value of this booking towards a free flight is approximately £20.00 worth of flight ticket.

Sobering isn't it

[KathyG]

In very rough terms, his expenditure of around £4000 will get him 4000 AMEX points. These points have a redemption value of approximately 0.5p, so the total value of this booking towards a free flight is approximately £20.00 worth of flight ticket.

Sobering isn't it

Bit of a con then! However in his case if he spends enough with Amex this year, it gets him a Buy one Get one free for his Aussie tickets, not bad then, he's discussing it with his wife now........

Thanks Brooke for refund info, I'll let him know.

[greenfrog]

A clarification re the refund feature on PayPal - the charges are refunded along with the original fees (for the portion refunded) ONLY if the refund is within 60 days of the original payment.

After that, you have to make a payment to the guest, and then they get hit by charges at their end, AND they can only accept payments if they're signed-up members. (Part of the reason I take my damage deposit via paypal and a week before arrival is that it then costs neither of us a penny.)

Anyone can make payments up to a certain limit (sorry, I don't know it either) before having to sign up for an account. This can be got around by having them make two payments.

[KathyG]

Right, he's decided to pay the deposit by Paypal but I've just realised that he'll have to pay me £975 + the £33.35 charge and then Paypal will put their fees on the whole of that, if you see what I mean. That means there'll be a further charge of £34.48 Am I doing this right?

Maybe I should ask him to pay me the 33.35 by cheque.........

[Mountain Goat]

Re max. payments etc.

On a UK premier (Goats are posh) account:

To help protect the integrity of PayPal's payments network, the maximum dollar amount allowed for any single transaction is $10,000.00 USD for a PayPal member.

If you do not have a PayPal account, you may send a maximum of $4,000.00 USD for a one-off single transaction. Note: If the amount of your payment is greater than $4,000.00 USD, you will need to sign up for a PayPal account to complete your payment.

contradicted by asking the limit of maximum amount I can receive on PayPal:

There is no limit to the amount of money you may receive with PayPal's Business or Premier accounts. However, if you have a Personal account, you can only receive a limited number of credit- or debit card-funded payments per year. Personal accounts are charged a transaction fee for accepting credit or debit card payments. See our fee schedule. To view your Personal account limit, log in to your account and click the View Limits link.

MG

[greenfrog]

Right, he's decided to pay the deposit by Paypal but I've just realised that he'll have to pay me £975 + the £33.35 charge and then Paypal will put their fees on the whole of that, if you see what I mean. That means there'll be a further charge of £34.48 Am I doing this right?

Maybe I should ask him to pay me the 33.35 by cheque.........

No, if you reckon the charge on 975 as 33.35, then you bill for 1008.35, which will incur a charge to you (which he's just paid in the 33.35 bit of it...). However, as the total is higher, the charge will be a little higher - it's then up to you if you want to calculate and charge him more like 1010.

If you're going to use paypal regularly, I would advise you to up your rental rates by 3 per cent and just accept the charges at your end. It gets messy otherwise and I'm with the many others on this forum who are not fond of extra charges for bits and pieces. People can be astonishing and are perfectly capable of saying yes to 1,200 euro/whatever booking then cancelling because of a 30 euro bank fee - just as I've had more guests than I can count who pay for transatlantic flights for four people, a nice apartment in Montmartre for a week and then won't fork out 45 euros for a taxi, despite the fact that it's only 10 euros dearer than a metro....

[KathyG]

Thanks Greenfrog, thought I was doing it wrong. The difference is £1.13 then, think I can live with that on the most expensive weeks of the year!