Foreign Transaction Fee!!!

[ORV]

I thought I had it straight, now I am confused again. I thought I had to use the Capital One card to avoid the foreign bank fee - I understand the difference between foreign bank and foreign conversion fee. The Citibank Advantage card used to only charge the conversion fee, but then added the bank fee more recently, so I thought it was only the Capital One card and some brokerage house cards that did not have the fee. The Capital One card does not have a good mileage program - we usually used the Starwood Amex, but that had the fee the last time that I checked. Does anybody have any suggestions? It is not worth the fee to me to get the extra miles, but it sure would be nice to use a card other than Capital One.

 

I get triple points on travel related charges on my Capital One card, so even though it takes more miles to use it the 3 points per dollar spent makes it work out.

[caroak]

If you made your final payment and then for whatever reason had to cancel the cruise I assume you would be out the transaction fee if you had not already received a refund from Oceania or were planning on using it for shipboard credit.

[DaveFr]

I thought I had it straight, now I am confused again. I thought I had to use the Capital One card to avoid the foreign bank fee - I understand the difference between foreign bank and foreign conversion fee. The Citibank Advantage card used to only charge the conversion fee, but then added the bank fee more recently, so I thought it was only the Capital One card and some brokerage house cards that did not have the fee. The Capital One card does not have a good mileage program - we usually used the Starwood Amex, but that had the fee the last time that I checked. Does anybody have any suggestions? It is not worth the fee to me to get the extra miles, but it sure would be nice to use a card other than Capital One.

Benita,

 

I just checked and, like other AMEX cards, the Starwood AMEX card only charges a fee when there is a charge in a foreign currency. Oceania or Regent charges on the Starwood card should not incur such a fee because the charge is in US dollars. Are you sure the fee on your Starwood card was due to a charge by Oceania or Regent or was the fee due to a charge in a foreign currency?

 

Dave

[Paulchili]

Benita,

 

I just checked and, like other AMEX cards, the Starwood AMEX card only charges a fee when there is a charge in a foreign currency. Oceania or Regent charges on the Starwood card should not incur such a fee because the charge is in US dollars. Are you sure the fee on your Starwood card was due to a charge by Oceania or Regent or was the fee due to a charge in a foreign currency?

 

Dave

 

+1. I use SPG Amex b/o AA miles and recently had several payments to Oceania w/o an extra fee.

[jpalbny]

I'm not going to close this thread just yet because I have another topic/question -- which perhaps is no longer the case, but it's pertinent to "foreign conversion" charges.

 

When we did the Iceland cruise in June 2006 there were warnings that you should not agree to a foreign establishment converting your charge to dollars because that way you got charged with the 2-3% (or whatever) in each direction. I remember an Irish restaurant offering to do us this favor and we declined.

 

Is this still the case?

 

Like many others, we've never had a problem with the Oceania charge (okay, I agree it's not a charge levied by Oceania but it IS related to Oceania) on payments made with our credit cards. But we use our credit cards carefully. And MC is just not a card we use these days whenever we are dealing with foreign currencies or cruises.

 

Looking for information, not confrontation!:)

 

Mura:

 

You're referring to a foreign establishment "offering" to convert your purchase on the spot and charge your cc in US dollars for your "convenience." Right?

 

The problem with that is that they COULD charge you an inflated number of dollars... For example if you're buying something in Euros (today

€1 is going for $1.29) and it's listed as costing €100, if they charge your cc €100, you would pay around $129 plus a 3% fee, or $132.87. Your fee may differ, but the currency conversion for credit card purchases is almost always very near the interbank rate which is the best you can get.

 

Problem is, you have no idea what conversion rate the merchant will use, and if they are unscrupulous, it may be (much) worse. They might charge you much more if you're not paying attention. Unless you happen to know that day's interbank rate on the spot and can make the conversion in your head, you're probably better off paying with a cc in the local currency and eating the small transaction fee. €100 is obviously an easy number to convert, but if it's €52.70 and you're in a hurry, will you be able to calculate the "right" conversion? Will you notice if they add say 5% to their conversion? I doubt I could figure it out that fast in Euros, let alone a totally unfamiliar currency...

 

Then, there is still the risk that because it's through a foreign bank you'd get hit again for a foreign transaction fee. even though the charge is in USD - exactly like what happens to some making payments to O.

 

I have done this twice only, for good reasons each time. Once in Denmark my cc was rejected for a hotel bill, so the proprietor and I went online to a currency conversion site and did the conversion to dollars TOGETHER, after which I paid him in USD cash. The only other time was buying some stuff in Kusadasi when we negotiated the prices in dollars from the very beginning, and we thought the price was fair. No idea what the price would have been in Turkish Lira, but it didn't matter as the $ price was fair.

 

Otherwise we always pay in local currency. AMEX doesn't charge anything for the conversion, but our MC does, and we do have to use it in places where AMEX isn't accepted.

[LHT28]

If you made your final payment and then for whatever reason had to cancel the cruise I assume you would be out the transaction fee if you had not already received a refund from Oceania or were planning on using it for shipboard credit.

Others have reported they got the fee back from the CC company when the trip was cancelled..

maybe someone will comment further

[emairs]

we usually used the Starwood Amex, but that had the fee the last time that I checked.

 

We just made a huge final payment for our upcoming Marina cruise on our Starwood Amex card.

The only fee we paid was the foreign currency charge, because it is a Canadian dollar card and charge was in USD.

[LHT28]

We just made a huge final payment for our upcoming Marina cruise on our Starwood Amex card.

The only fee we paid was the foreign currency charge, because it is a Canadian dollar card and charge was in USD.

Canadian Cards hide the Foreign fee in the currency exchange rate

Read your CC contract for the % they charge

 

With RBC VISA it is 2.5 %

We have now switched to a Canadian TD US Visa card ...no fee no points either but less hassle for us;)

[Benita]

Thanks Cruise Critic friends, I will call the Starwood Amex people before my final payment and use that if they confirm there are no fees - if there are, Capital One.

[Cookie1]

Canadian Cards hide the Foreign fee in the currency exchange rate

Read your CC contract for the % they charge

 

With RBC VISA it is 2.5 %

We have now switched to a Canadian TD US Visa card ...no fee no points either but less hassle for us;)

 

The Canadian TD US Visa card is the one we have too. I did not get any fee charged when I put down my deposit. Will I get one when I pay off my balance? Or will it just depend if O uses the bank in Ireland?? Have you ever had that fee on that card Lynn? TIA!

 

Its good to know that if we do get the fee charged, I can get it back as an OBC, so this thread has been helpful. Thanks OP!

[LHT28]

The Canadian TD US Visa card is the one we have too. I did not get any fee charged when I put down my deposit. Will I get one when I pay off my balance? Or will it just depend if O uses the bank in Ireland?? Have you ever had that fee on that card Lynn? TIA!

 

Canadian issued Cards do not charge that FTF

It is a game US CC play

[juli2020]

The Canadian TD US Visa card is the one we have too. I did not get any fee charged when I put down my deposit. Will I get one when I pay off my balance? Or will it just depend if O uses the bank in Ireland?? Have you ever had that fee on that card Lynn? TIA!

 

Its good to know that if we do get the fee charged, I can get it back as an OBC, so this thread has been helpful. Thanks OP!

Received this from Regent this morning in regards to the Foreign Transaction Fee...

 

RSSC’s worldwide credit card transactions are carried out through our bank in Ireland in US Dollars. Some of the credit card issuing banks impose a “Foreign Transaction Fee” on any credit card transaction handled outside of the US. This “Foreign Transaction Fee” is an arbitrary fee being imposed by the credit card issuing bank and RSSC does not benefit in any way from it.

 

If a Guest has been charged by their credit card issuing bank the “Foreign Transaction Fee” they should contact RSSC and RSSC will reimburse them the amount of the “Foreign Transaction Fee”. We may ask you to provide a credit card statement to show proof of the charge. You can request this refund at any time after the Foreign Transaction Fee has occurred.

 

Thank you,

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

11340 Blondo Street | Suite 200

Omaha, NE 68164

800.285.1835 | ext. 0219 | fax: 402.493.2351 | http://www.RSSC.com

[Paulchili]

[/u]

Received this from Regent this morning in regards to the Foreign Transaction Fee...

 

RSSC’s worldwide credit card transactions are carried out through our bank in Ireland in US Dollars. Some of the credit card issuing banks impose a “Foreign Transaction Fee” on any credit card transaction handled outside of the US. This “Foreign Transaction Fee” is an arbitrary fee being imposed by the credit card issuing bank and RSSC does not benefit in any way from it.

 

If a Guest has been charged by their credit card issuing bank the “Foreign Transaction Fee” they should contact RSSC and RSSC will reimburse them the amount of the “Foreign Transaction Fee”. We may ask you to provide a credit card statement to show proof of the charge. You can request this refund at any time after the Foreign Transaction Fee has occurred.

 

Thank you,

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

11340 Blondo Street | Suite 200

Omaha, NE 68164

800.285.1835 | ext. 0219 | fax: 402.493.2351 | www.RSSC.com

 

Well done RSSC. Now it's your turn, Oceania.

[hondorner]

Well done RSSC. Now it's your turn, Oceania.

That is the exact same policy at Oceania, and has been long before Regent was purchased and merged into the same parent company as Oceania. In fact, it was the purchase of Regent by the same owners of Oceania that resulted in Regent using the Irish bank, and it was that same common management (Prestige Cruise Holdings) that introduced that rebate policy at Regent, copying Oceania.

 

The "Well done" is deserved by Oceania, not Regent.

 

The rebate from either cruise line comes out of the pocket of Oceania or Regent as a goodwill gesture. Neither deserves the negativity that has been exhibited.

[The Boyz]

I just joined the club with a $474 tranaction fee for our Marina cruise in February. Gonna try and get my travel agent to eat it. Does not look from all the messages in here that Oceania or the Banks really care.:eek:

[hondorner]

I just joined the club with a $474 tranaction fee for our Marina cruise in February. Gonna try and get my travel agent to eat it. Does not look from all the messages in here that Oceania or the Banks really care.:eek:

What part of "send your credit card statement to Oceania for a rebate" was confusing? Your travel agent will handle it.

[TKS]

THANKS to the cruise lines and BOO to the credit card companies. Doing business today is not easy, and the cruise line could say "tough," but O is working with passengers in the best and most honest way possible in this instance.

 

I agree, a conspicuous comment about this possibility in the O contract would be appreciated. Then, if people get hit with a fee and do not ask for the refund, they only have themselves to blame. If not for this CC community, I wouldn't have known to ask for the refund, as we used our MC and were charged. So, THANKS, too, to all of you for your continued interest in helping others. You saved me a few hundred dollars!:D

 

Cheers, Kay

[Paulchili]

That is the exact same policy at Oceania, and has been long before Regent was purchased and merged into the same parent company as Oceania. In fact, it was the purchase of Regent by the same owners of Oceania that resulted in Regent using the Irish bank, and it was that same common management (Prestige Cruise Holdings) that introduced that rebate policy at Regent, copying Oceania.

 

That may well be, but I am yet to see a single post where OCEANIA sent someone that kind of an e-mail. If they did, we would not be having this discussion.

Why didn't "The Boyz" (see post above) get that e mail like Juli 2020 did from RSSC? He/she (The Boyz) obviously doesn't know how to handle it. Neither do any number of people who are not CC members and many of them just "eat it". We know how to handle it; but everyone should be notified in some way.

I appreciate that it is not Oceania's charge per se, but most people do not know that or how to handle it.

JMO

[LHT28]

21.PAYMENTS

Any and all payments made by You to Us shall be made in currency of the United States of America or other currency acceptable to Us. All charges for services and products provided on board the Ship must be settled in cash or charged (via credit card acceptable to Us) before Your final disembarkation from the Ship. Any other expenses incurred by You or by Us on Your behalf shall be payable by You on demand. Carrier accepts no responsibility for credit card processing fees independently assessed by issuing banks. None of these fees separately charged by the issuing banks accrues to the benefit of Carrier or its credit card processing bank.

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/corporate/legal/ticketcontract.aspx

[Paulchili]

Lyn,

Thank you for posting it. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse but I still feel that it could be posted more prominently rather than being buried somewhere near the end (especially as this has been a recurring problem). It would avoid much frustration on both ends.

Also, this discusses the payments for charges made onboard the ship and refers to settling the account "before your final disembarkation". So it really isn't about deposits or final payments as such, which take place long before your final disembarkation.

[emairs]

Canadian Cards hide the Foreign fee in the currency exchange rate

Read your CC contract for the % they charge

 

With RBC VISA it is 2.5 %

We have now switched to a Canadian TD US Visa card ...no fee no points either but less hassle for us;)

 

Starwood Amex appears to be 3%, which isn't much more that what my bank (CIBC) charges for US dollars. Even if it is a bit more, it is such a great card, that it is worth it.

[Cookie1]

Thanks for everyones replies!

 

I have been reading this board for a few months, but I have to admit, I must have missed any threads regarding this matter, perhaps from the way they were titled? - for some reason, I guess I just did not look at them.

 

Although it apparently does not affect Canadian CC's, I am so glad I read this thread, so now I KNOW, and if something does pop up for some weird reason, I will know to do about it.

 

Just wanted to say, as someone who adiminstrated/moderated another special interest forum, it is very much appreciated that no matter how many times the same version of a question gets asked, there are some knowledgeable and experienced O posters who will take the time to answer it yet again. Thank you

 

~A

[Wannaknow]

I didn't look at this thread either. Was shocked when I did (we are new cruisers). However I found our Marriott Visa (issued by Chase) did not charge a transaction fee on our deposit. Will check with them before we put the rest of the fare on the card. Thanks for the info!

[lmarmors]

The best way is to ask your TA or if you booked direct ask OCEANIA.

Oceania randomly uses the Irish bank (it does not do this 100% of the time). It is Oceania dependent, not the card. As previously stated only Capitol One guarantees no foreign transaction fees (it is in there terms).

Up until recently Amex had none, but I was charge recently 2.7% for a foreign USD transaction. Again it depends if Oceania makes a foreign USD transaction/processing with their Irish Bank

 

Thank you PaulMCO and everyone else on this thread....I do book with a TA, so I will definitely ask him before making the final payment in April, especially since I want to use a Visa card for that, rather than the American Express I used for the deposit and a few payments since then.

 

This whole matter of foreign fees, which CC card to carry abroad can get very confusing.....

[winniecody]

NOBODY TOLD ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Last month, I made final payment on our cruise from Hong Kong to Athens and put it on our Mastercard. Today I found out that I was charged a "Foreign Transaction Fee" of $920 (yes, that's nine hundred and twenty dollars!!!) by Mastercard because Oceania's revenue goes through Ireland!! Did I miss something in the fine print somewhere???? I thought it was an American company!!

 

The only reason I charged all of that was so I could get my American Airlines Advantage miles. Guess I'll never do that again!

 

Same thing happened to us last year. My travel agent had it reversed. You can too! winniecody