These service fees apply to bookings made direct through Flight Sale Au Pty Ltd trading as Flight Sale Elite.
Over the past few years, many airlines and other suppliers have dropped their commissions paid out to travel agents. The travel industry has been forced to move to a service fee model, much like accountants, real estate agents, or mechanics.
When quoting airfares or other travel products, we aim to include service fees in our quotations.
This page is for informational purposes. If you have any questions about these, please contact us.
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*Credit card fees are in addition to any quoted price and are non-refundable at any time.*
Here’s why you should book with Flight Sale Elite.
Deposit
Pre-commitment payment
All custom itineraries of more than 2 cities including flights and/or hotels may require a minimum $295 pre-commitment deposit. This is not a fee. This amount comes off the cost of the travel products you book with us such as flights and/or accommodation etc. However it also forms part of the cancellation fees and is non-refundable if you do not book any travel with us.
As you can imagine, creating complex itineraries is time consuming and as a small independent travel agency, we can not work for free, creating complex itineraries where no booking comes out of it. We will work with you to create your dream trip and the more details provided up front, the closer your itinerary will be to your ideal trip. Remember, we’re here to send you travelling.
In the event you do not proceed with any booking, within 30 days from the initial deposit, then the $295 pre-commitment deposit is non-refundable.
Flight itineraries
As a seller of flights, seeing a flight itinerary provides all required information for customers to make a decision, which is why we insist on sending a flight itinerary when quoting airfares, rather than just sending a a bunch of prices.
However, there is a limit on how many itineraries we will send out (we get charged a fee for every flight booked) and how many different options we can hold, before we start getting fined from the airlines for churning (booking and cancelling for the same passengers). We can not hold more than one option for the same airline or within the same airline alliance, e.g One World.
We are happy to hold two flight options whilst you make a decision. After this, we must cancel one itinerary. If you request 3 or more itineraries, we will request a non-refundable pre-commitment deposit of $295.
NOTE: We require a copy of your passport in order to hold flights to ensure all details match which is an airline requirement.
Booking deposits and pre-commitment deposit
Supplier deposits on confirmed travel products will vary depending upon the product and the length of time, prior to departure. All supplier deposit requirements will be advised at the time of booking.
In many cases (e.g. flights) full payment is required within 24 hours of making the booking. You’ll be advised of the ticketing time limit at the time of booking.
In addition to any supplier deposits, Flight Sale Elite will also charge a non-refundable deposit of $295 per booking. This will go towards your final payment, however will also form cancellation fees in the event of cancellation. If a $295 pre-commitment is paid for a custom itinerary, this will form the non-refundable deposit.
Payments – All credit card fees are non-refundable
To make payments, please visit our payments page.
| Payment Options and Applicable Fees | Fee Charged |
| EFT or Bank Transfer EFT Payments take from 24 hours to 7 days to clear. | $0 (unless your bank charges a fee) |
| Credit Card Fees apply to all payments made via credit card (Australian bank credit cards) Credit card payments take 2-3 days to clear. | 1.76% |
| International Bank Credit Cards | 3% (Your bank may also charge fees) Additional 2% conversion fee may also apply |
| Cheques | We do not accept cheques |
| Payment deadlines must be strictly adhered to otherwise your booking may be cancelled. Flight Sale Elite can not be held responsible for any fare changes, or booking cancellations in the event of funds not clearing prior to ticketing or payment deadlines if the funds are held up from your bank. |
Service Fees – All service fees are non-refundable
| Service Fee Description | Fee Charged |
| International Airfare Ticket – per point to point ticket | fr $295 |
| Multi-City/Round the World ticket* – per ticket | fr $595 – $1995 |
| Domestic AU Airfare Ticket – per point to point ticket | fr $125 |
| Intra-Europe Airfare ticket – per point to point ticket | fr $195 |
| Domestic USA Airfare ticket – per point to point ticket | fr $195 |
| Intra-Asia/Africa/South America – per point to point ticket | fr $195 |
| Miscellaneous airfare additions – seating request, meals, additional baggage | Varies between airlines and class of travel – advised at time of booking. fr $55 |
| Miscellaneous travel products – including: transfers, shuttles, day tours, experiences, courses, airport lounges, etc. | fr $55 |
| Ticketing fees – charged by our consolidator – per ticket** | fr $45 |
| Rail Booking Fee – Applies per booking for point to point tickets or multi-city journeys***. A multi-city journey may require multiple bookings with different suppliers. | fr $95 |
| Rail Booking Fee Applies per booking for Rail Passes*** | fr $75 |
| Cruises – Short cruises under 7 days may incur a service fee as these do not pay commission Longer cruises more than 7 days and luxury cruises do not incur service fees | from $295 per booking |
| Hotels – case by case basis – some hotels do not pay commission If a hotel pays commission, we don’t charge a service fee. However, many hotel rates are package rates which we must not provide a breakdown as per contractual agreements. | fr $55 |
| Printed travel documents including postage All suppliers provide PDF copies of vouchers which we provide as part of your booking with us via email. If you require printed copies of your vouchers, sent via express post, then this service fee applies. | $35 |
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| Amendments and Cancellation Fees | |
| Amendment – Domestic or International Airfare Ticket – per ticket**** | Minimum $225 + Airline fees + Any applicable fare difference |
| Cancellation – International Airfare Ticket – per point to point ticket***** | Minimum $600 + Airline fees (if ticket offers cancellation) |
| Amendment– Round the world ticket | Minimum $295 + Airline fees + Any applicable fare difference |
| Cancellation – Round the world ticket | Varies based on itinerary/fare paid |
| Amendment – Rail Products*** | $95 + Any applicable fare difference |
| Cancellation – Rail Products*** | Non-refundable |
| Amendment – Hotel Products | from $25 + Any applicable rate difference |
| Cancellation – Hotel Products****** | Minimum 1 night cancellation fee (if hotel offers cancellation). Many rates are non-refundable. |
| Cruises, tours, car rental | Varies based on operator – advised at time of booking |
| *Round the world itineraries are complex and it can take many hours to find availability and book. These fees vary depending upon the length of the round the world itinerary and the numbers of stopovers involved. |
| **These are included when quoting if applicable. |
| ***If booked in one transaction. Seat reservations are an additional cost and additional service fees apply if rail products are booked in multiple transactions. Amendment fees apply if changing the date/time of a booked service however not all rail products can be changed or cancelled. Most rail products are non-refundable and non-changeable. This will be advised at the time of quoting. Rail passes often require seat reservations at an additional cost. Often a seat reservation can only be booked, after the rail pass has been issued, thus requiring seperate booking fees. Fees mentioned include booking and ticketing fees we are charged by suppliers. |
| ****Amendment fees may apply regardless if the change is voluntary or involuntary. It’s important to note that ‘Any applicable fare difference’ can be hundreds or thousands of dollars more than the cost of your original ticket and is not charged by us, the agent – it is the cost of upgrading from the fare you paid, to an available fare on the new dates you choose. |
| *****Many airfares are non-refundable, across all fare types and classes. In the instance you purchase a non-refundable airfare – these are non-changeable, and in the event of cancellation you will not receive any refund of any kind. |
| ****** Many hotel room rates are non-refundable/non-changeable. These will be advised at the time of booking. |
Other fees may be necessary depending upon your itinerary and some fees may be charged by our suppliers which will be advised at the time of quoting/booking. These fees are non-refundable at all times.
If you have any questions about these fees, please contact us.
These fees are subject to change at any time.
Last updated – 7 April 2025.