Card, ACH or wire — and when each one is right

Aviation is one of the few categories where a single transaction routinely uses more than one rail, and where using the wrong one is expensive rather than merely inconvenient.

What each rail is actually good at

• ·Card: immediate, familiar, works for a customer you have never met — and reversible for months afterwards. Best where speed and customer convenience matter more than finality.
• ·ACH: cheap, slower, reversible under narrower circumstances and on a shorter clock. Reasonable for a known customer on terms.
• ·Wire: effectively final on receipt, expensive, and requires the customer to act. Right for large balances where finality is the point.

Why the split usually lands the same way

The deposit goes on card because the customer is new, the amount is manageable and convenience closes the booking. The balance goes by wire because it is large and nobody wants a six-figure sum reversible for six months. That is not a compromise; it is the rails being used for what they are.

Where this goes wrong is a merchant putting the whole six figures on card because it was easier at the time, and discovering what reversible means in November.

Wire fraud is a live problem in this category — fraudulent payment instructions sent around a closing or a large balance. Confirm instructions on a channel you already had, not one supplied in the email asking for money.