Frequent Flyer Surcharge?

[vvsonikvv]

I recently had a nice vacation in Tampa this past weekend. It was very nice - warm and sunny - compared to the cold and wet up here in the Northeast. I got to check out Clearwater Beach, downtown Tampa a little, and also the Florida Carriage Museum and Resort up in Weirsdale, FL.

Nice little trip. One odd thing I noticed when returning my rental car was that they charged me $3 to get Frequent Flyer rewards. I earned 200 miles on my 4 day rental. I don't earn that many rewards and probably will never accrue enough to be able to use it. If i had known, I wouldn't have entered my FF number and saved the $3 for an ice cream sundae.

Has anyone else been hit with this charge? That was the only "weird" charge I got that seemed stupid. The other ones are kinda stupid too $9.92 Florida Surcharge, $12.28 concession fee recovery, $1.03 energy surcharge (this one i can maybe understand). but the others are kinda silly to me as well.

Just saw this on CNN
Tire fee? Beware of new car rental surcharges - CNN.com

 

[bank5]

Thanks for the heads up. Some of the fees are complete BS.

It seems like more and more companies are trying to nickle and dime us these days. They can blame it on the economy but it's still bush league.

 

[samclem]

Has anyone else been hit with this charge?

Yes, Avis has been doing this for years, maybe the other companies do it too. The FF miles aren't worth it to me, so I don't give them my FF number.

FF miles on the whole are getting to be less of a good deal. More blackout dates, fewer seats available, higher charges to even use the miles, etc. I don't consider them to be a significant bonus anymore. On the other hand, some of the hotel loyalty programs are worth the trouble. I consider Marriott's program to be superb.

 

[ziggy29]

Not many businesses have the guts to quote the "full fare" up front. They tease you with low-ball rates and when all taxes and fees are added, the price doubles. Utter crap, IMO.