While carrying around a credit card can often be easier than cash, it can be expensive when people add a surcharge on top of the payment price.

While the Reserve Bank of Australia has said it is reconsidering the effectiveness of surcharges in some cases, there are still many times when you may end up paying more than the price tag when you swipe your card.

Surcharge and Credit Debt

A few dollars here and there may not seem like much, but if you use your card a lot it can easily add up.

Say you make 10 purchases in a month, with a surcharge of $2.50 each – that is $25 more than you should have to pay. If you did that every month it would be $300 for the year, which is more than most credit card annual fees.

So what businesses will tack surcharges onto credit card payments? While there is no definitive list of vendors, these facts and tips will help you to predict where you may be surcharged and stop it affecting credit card balances.

Merchant Surcharge Numbers

The latest report from CHOICE has seen that number jump to 20% for smaller merchants and 40% for bigger ones in the last two years.

The most common surcharges appear to be from airlines, which can be difficult to avoid if you are paying online. In cases like that, make sure you budget for the surcharge when shopping around for flights.

Credit Card Surcharge Amounts

While surcharges are normally included as a percentage of the transaction amount, and will generally be charged at the same time as the purchase, CHOICE reported that the highest were more than 10% of the transaction.

Flat rate surcharge fees are also a possibility, and CHOICE found that they are often employed by airlines, with the highest rate at $25 per person for a booking with Qantas international bookings at the time the report was released.

The Fine Print For Credit Card Surcharges

All merchants who have a credit card surcharge policy have to inform customers of the fee before any transaction occurs.

Often you will see signs by the register in stores, or an additional line on an invoice before online transactions are processed. This gives you the chance to use another payment form that will not be surcharged, like cash or even debit cards in some cases.

Another benefit of this requirement is that you can compare surcharges. While that may be a bit extreme at during a day of shopping, it could save you lots of money when booking airfares and other tickets, either online or in person.

At this stage surcharges are a part of the business with credit cards, but knowing more about them will help you avoid them and get the best deal with your credit card every time.