Charlie Chan Posted December 18, 2013 #1 Share Posted December 18, 2013 We've normally cruised with HAL and book directly with the Aus office. There are no surcharges for using a credit card. We're now looking at a Celebrity cruise. The Celebrity office said they do not charge a fee but the money goes directly to a US account, so there could be international transaction charges. I like to use a card for the travel insurance component. All the TA's we've contacted charge 2% for a card. I'd prefer to book directly even though it costs a bit more - at least the cancellation is more fair. We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance. Can anyone who has booked directly with Celebrity confirm that there are overseas transaction fees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjoon Posted December 18, 2013 #2 Share Posted December 18, 2013 We've normally cruised with HAL and book directly with the Aus office. There are no surcharges for using a credit card. We're now looking at a Celebrity cruise. The Celebrity office said they do not charge a fee but the money goes directly to a US account, so there could be international transaction charges. I like to use a card for the travel insurance component. All the TA's we've contacted charge 2% for a card. I'd prefer to book directly even though it costs a bit more - at least the cancellation is more fair. We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance. Can anyone who has booked directly with Celebrity confirm that there are overseas transaction fees? When we booked our last cruise I used our credit card for the deposit. Yes there was international fees added to the amount by the credit card company even thou I booked through Celebrity Australia. When I paid the final balance I did a bank transfer that didn't have additional fees. An example of the fees we have recently had on our card was a transaction used oversees of $670 + the conversion fee of $20. Calculate that for a cruise price and it would be horrendous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted December 18, 2013 #3 Share Posted December 18, 2013 We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance. The amount a person has to pay on their credit card to quality for 'free' travel insurance varies with different banks. With our ANZ Visa card we just have to spend $250 of the total travel cost on the card, so we usually pay the cruise deposit on the card, then deposit the balance directly in the bank account of the TA or cruise line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Chan Posted December 19, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, CBA needs at least $1000 pp to be charged before the insurance applies. Normally this hasn't been a problem, but this is just a NZ cruise so we won't have the expensive airfares. It appears difficult to avoid the charges - and the deposit is non refundable if we go with the TA. But it's cheaper than a new insurance policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted December 19, 2013 #5 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, CBA needs at least $1000 pp to be charged before the insurance applies. Normally this hasn't been a problem, but this is just a NZ cruise so we won't have the expensive airfares. It appears difficult to avoid the charges - and the deposit is non refundable if we go with the TA. But it's cheaper than a new insurance policy. A couple of ideas - get a new TA and get a new credit card (an ANZ one where you only have to pay $250 on the card to get free travel insurance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brossy Posted December 19, 2013 #6 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I recently paid the balance of my cruise using my 28 degree card and there was no fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pean Posted December 20, 2013 #7 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think it depends on the conditions on the card. We have never been charged fees when we used our MasterCard but we once used the visa card and were charged fees so went back to the MasterCard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Chan Posted December 21, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Thanks again for all the responses. We'll need to do a bit more research - our credit card is linked to ff points - and has a very high limit before they are capped, so that has to be considered. We'll pay the deposit with the card, and hope that flights, hotels etc closer to the time may reach the minimum spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted December 21, 2013 #9 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I recently paid the balance of my cruise using my 28 degree card and there was no fee. I do not know if you know yet but this card is introducing changes as of 1 Jan 2014, it ison the cash withdrawals which will now carry a charge and conversion fee (not like it was before).:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keagle Posted December 21, 2013 #10 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I do not know if you know yet but this card is introducing changes as of 1 Jan 2014, it ison the cash withdrawals which will now carry a charge and conversion fee (not like it was before).:D This is partially correct. There will be a fee for a cash advance or cash equivalent transaction, but there is still no conversion fees or international transaction fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted December 21, 2013 #11 Share Posted December 21, 2013 This is partially correct. There will be a fee for a cash advance or cash equivalent transaction, but there is still no conversion fees or international transaction fees. What are the fees going to be? I have just been told by a friend that they were changing for cash.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted December 21, 2013 #12 Share Posted December 21, 2013 What are the fees going to be? I have just been told by a friend that they were changing for cash.:D 3% with a minimum of $4. All you might want to know, and some you probably don't :-) : http://www.28degreescard.com.au/faqs/cash-advance-fee.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted December 21, 2013 #13 Share Posted December 21, 2013 3% with a minimum of $4. All you might want to know, and some you probably don't :-) : http://www.28degreescard.com.au/faqs/cash-advance-fee.html Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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