I've kept off the thread for a few days as it's very boring for other followers to have to wade through debates which are only relevant to a few, which is where a previous poster seemed to want to drag it by playing the man and not the ball, to use a footballing simile.
Pabloc, there is a very good reason to book by credit card, a reason which is the same for any airline and not unique to Monarch. If anything happens to the airline between you booking and paying for your flights and actually getting back home, your credit card company is obliged to refund your money under the Consumer Credit Act. This does NOT necessarily apply to debit cards. For bookings not covered elsewhere (eg via an ATOL licence) then many people might actually wish to have some protection rather than none. There is a price for that protection, but it's up to each individual to decide what they are prepared to pay for it.
Spotty M, the issue which sits behind today's decision could be one of two things. A) Monarch's terms with credit card companies have become less favourable than they were before and they need to pass this on to customers. B) Monarch had counted on getting a significant increase in business by cutting card charges and that hasn't materialised, so they need to put the charges back up again to earn the same revenue. Either isn't exactly great news.