Virgin Australia will impose a 1.3% credit card fee on bookings made from September 1, in a move which will see business class travellers on international routes paying substantially more in booking fees.

The changes are in accord with new rules on surcharging announced earlier this year by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Reserve Bank outlawing fixed surcharges which fail to reflect the actual transaction cost.

Virgin Australia currently levies a fixed $7.70 credit card fee "per person, per booking" on domestic flights, with $10 for trans-Tasman services and $30 for its international flights to Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi.

The new system will see credit card payment surcharges calculated at 1.3% of the overall airfare, with a 0.6% levy for debit cards including the Velocity GlobalWallet.

Fees will be capped at $11 for domestic and trans-Tasman fares and $70 for international tickets – the same ceilings as set by Qantas.

A Sydney-Los Angeles business class return flight with Virgin Australia currently attracts a $30 booking fee, but from September will rise to hit that $70 ceiling.

Virgin's new fee structure matches that announced by Qantas in July.

From September 1 the airline will also scrap the current booking and service fee for points-based award seat bookings, which mirrored the credit card charges for a paid ticket.

Also read: Five ways to avoid the Qantas credit card booking surcharge

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