Interseting Charge From Bank of America on RCCL Visa

[KMagz]

Alaska is part of the US. It appears you live in Virginia - Why would you be charged a foreign transaction fee in Alaska?

 

True -- but some people can see Russia from there. :)

[Starry Eyes]

Alaska is part of the US. It appears you live in Virginia - Why would you be charged a foreign transaction fee in Alaska?

 

Alaska cruises include Canadian ports. Many of them start or end in Vancouver. The foreign flagged ship's sailing RT from a US port (like Seattle) must stop at a foreign port, hence Canada stops. That poster probably encountered transaction fees in Canada.

[Jax129]

Does anyone know if the fees apply in St. Thomas?

[Starry Eyes]

Does anyone know if the fees apply in St. Thomas?

 

As St Thomas' currency is the USD, there should not be a currency exchange, so I would guess there will be no fee. Of course, that is just a guess...I would not put it past a credit card company to charge a fee for anything...

[macruisefan]

Does anyone know if the fees apply in St. Thomas?

 

Yes! The company that ISSUED the credit card can tell you!

[SPacificbound]

I use my Capitol One Venture and my Chase Freedom for International charges.

[FLACRUISER99]

Yes! The company that ISSUED the credit card can tell you!

 

I'm sure their reps are as knowledgeable as RCI's.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cruisegirl1]

Alaska cruises include Canadian ports. Many of them start or end in Vancouver. The foreign flagged ship's sailing RT from a US port (like Seattle) must stop at a foreign port, hence Canada stops. That poster probably encountered transaction fees in Canada.

 

My thought also – but the posters did say he/she was charged in Alaska.

M

[sr4mjc]

I use the Citi Thank You premiere card, no transaction fees. Southwest Visa (the higher tier one) doesn't either.

[KKMurphy2]

Yes--we found several of our charges on our Alaska trip had this fee. We try to use cash whenever we can outside of the US.

 

Thanks for the heads up about the fees in Alaska. We are going on an Alaskan cruise next month. Since when is Alaska out of the country??

[dasi11]

Bank of America does offer a travel rewards credit card that does not charge fees for charging abroad other then the exchange rate. We just got one for our upcoming Europe cruise. if you plan trip out of the country it is worth getting and extra fee free credit card for the trip.

[necruiser215]

Thanks for the heads up about the fees in Alaska. We are going on an Alaskan cruise next month. Since when is Alaska out of the country??

 

There ar eno international conversion/usage fees for Alaska. Most likely, charges were incurred in Canada during Alaska trip.

[Starry Eyes]

My thought also – but the posters did say he/she was charged in Alaska.

M

 

That poster said "on our Alaska trip" not " in Alaska." However imprecise, can't we assume that poster meant international charges were incurred in Canada while on an Alaska cruise?

[kyriecat]

Bank of America started charging a 3% foreign transaction fee for charges in US$ that are processed outside the 50 US states in November of 2009. It's not a new fee but most people who haven't used their card for a transaction outside the US wouldn't know about it unless they actually read the T&Cs. BoA also charge a foreign currency fee of 3% for charges made in currencies other than US$.

 

I cancelled my RC BoA card in 2010 after a dispute with them over the foreign transaction fee as well as their poor customer service. They charged the transaction fee for a hotel stay at the Embassy Suites in San Juan. I argued that Puerto Rico is a US territory but was told the charge is applied to any transaction processed outside the 50 US states. I'd already had several problems with them locking my card almost every time that I tried to use it at a grocery store located 1/2 mile from my house that I shop at frequently. I'm not sure why a $50 charge at that grocery store was flagged as "suspicious" but a transaction for over $5000 to Bloomingdales in Denver, which is over 1000 miles from my house and someplace I have never shopped, went through without a problem. :mad::rolleyes: It took several months to get that off my account.

[travelplus]

Thats why I have the Bank Of America Travel Rewards Credit Card with no foreign transaction feel, no annual fee if linked to your checking or savings account and it has a Chip and Signature card(EMV) for use abroad.

 

Remember when you are abroad to ask the person running your card to charge you in the local currency rather than the Dynamic Currency US Dollar as that can asses you a fee. This way you won't be assessed a fee. The card is a Visa Siganture Card with Concierge Services, Warranty, Trip Insurance Rental Car Insurance etc.

[RZ3]

I carry a Capital One Venture card as well as a Citi Signature Mastercard for AA miles, neither of which incur foriegn transaction fees. I learned my lesson when I charged a fairly expensive excursion in Barbados on my RCI card and got hit with a big fee. That certainly knocks the value of the card down a bit. They could convert the card to one that doesn't incur those fees, but fewer people would qualify for them because of the higher credit requirements.

[erin_cruisers]

Wow! Thats crazy.

I only found out a year or so ago that American Credit cards had these transaction fees.

Here in Canada, our Banks issue credit cards with no foreign transaction fees.

That goes for VISA, Master card, and American Express (I have all 3)

[Mango Tango]

I used my Bank of America RCCL Visa card in St. Martin to purchase a piece of jewelry. After I had agreed on a price for the ring, I mentioned to the jeweler about the 3% foreign transaction fee that my card was going to charge. He then subtracted 3% off the total. I was happy about that. :)

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

That couldn't be true for the OP's case as the bill deals with debit cards, rather than credit cards. Yes, large banks stand to lose profits on debit card transactions that were previously made off the merchant. Yes, watch your mail for new debit card fees that may be changing at your bank, though most banks are simply eliminating debit card rewards programs to offset and aren't adding consumer fees in this economic and regulatory environment.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

Weird charge from your bank - thank Dodd-Frank. In the US it's one of the side effects of that bill.

[lady_cruiser]

I recently came across something that I thought might be interesting to anyone using RCCL Visa. I am not sure if this has been posted before.

 

We have had the RCCL Visa card for several years and use it regularly. A couple of weeks ago we made a reservation for something that was processed in Canada. Bank of America charged a International Transaction fee in addition to the purchase price. (About $30)

 

I contacted BOA and they said that any transaction that occurs outside the USA is assessed this fee. I questioned the BOA rep as to why a card that has International in the name and is offered by an International travel company would carry this fee.

 

Bottom line - this card does. Other cards offered by BOA do not as per the Rep. :confused:

Good to know if you plan to use this card in an international port.

Sorry this happened to you without realizing that for the past several years BoA has been accessing a fee when used outside of the United States.

 

Our first time this happened to us was a few years ago when my sister purchased "inexpensive" jewelry in Cozumel.

[reney313]

That couldn't be true for the OP's case as the bill deals with debit cards, rather than credit cards. Yes, large banks stand to lose profits on debit card transactions that were previously made off the merchant. Yes, watch your mail for new debit card fees that may be changing at your bank, though most banks are simply eliminating debit card rewards programs to offset and aren't adding consumer fees in this economic and regulatory environment.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

Frank-Dodd and the CARD ACT of 2009 covers credit cards as well.

 

However, I will state that credit card companies did indeed charge foreign fees prior to Frank-Dodd and CARD ACT.

 

I've read some misinfo. on this thread so I'll just try to make a few blanket statements real quick:

 

1. Yes, read your terms and call your company to verify if they will bill foreign transaction fees for your specific card. DO NOT trust what you read here because cards from the same bank can have differing terms.

2. Most often it is the travel partners that offer the no foreign transaction fee as a benefit. However, not all do and sometimes it depends on which card within their suite (example, Platinum, Signature, etc). So, if someone says "I have a XX card with no fee" does not mean that everyone with a XX card does not have a fee.

3. Alaska and Hawaii are definitely domestic. If someone was billed a fee from their Alaska cruise, it was a charge made in Vancouver or somewhere else in Canada, not Alaska. I need to verify for US Territories and Puerto Rico.

 

On that note, I would hope that RCI/BofA would change their terms for no foreign transaction fees as their cruisers are most often in ports outside of the US. I am a little surprised they have the fee on that card.

 

As part of my Code of Conduct at work, I am required to disclose that I am employed by a major Credit Card company and I am not authorized to comment officially on their behalf.

 

As an active member of Cruise Critic, I'm just trying to help dispel some incorrect assumptions (while well intentioned) that were made the same as I would do with any other cruise related topic.

[cruisnseas]

Sure. Prior to dodd frank banks had a variety of ways to generate revenue that were eliminated by the law. FTF's were rarely charged by the major banks because they were viewed as unnecessary. After the law went into effect, it was one of the fees that was missed by the law and started to show up.

 

Yea, no. FTF have been around for ages and ages and were already quite common well before 2009 and the Dodd-Frank. My old BofA card, Chase card and Discover cards all charged FTFs prior to Dodd-Frank.

[reney313]

Yea, no. FTF have been around for ages and ages and were already quite common well before 2009 and the Dodd-Frank. My old BofA card, Chase card and Discover cards all charged FTFs prior to Dodd-Frank.

 

Correct.

[Bettytrouble]

The international charge also applies to using American Express.

 

American Express has never charged us an international fee. I don't know if it is because it is gold or not, but we use it whenever possible outside the country and have never had the fee added.