We're watching closely a play by United Airlines to pass the costs (2-3% or more) of credit card interchange fees onto travel agents, which could lead to diminished consumer legal rights in the event of disputes. Business Week. The Upgrade blog. The Travel Agent Central blog. The issue is bigger than than the obvious dumping of costs onto someone else. Under the Truth In Lending Act's section known as the Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers generally have certain important legal dispute rights when products or services purchased with a credit card aren't satisfactory. Those rights include a right to demand that the bank do some work investigating the problem. If that right can only be used against tiny travel agents instead of the powerful airlines who actually failed to adequately provide the service, consumer leverage will be diminished. A previous blog on merchant interchange fees and convenience stores.