Royal Caribbean Visa - Foreign Transaction Fee

[Beachammo]

Hello fellow travelers

 

I recently picked up a Royal Caribbean Visa card and noticed it places a foreign transaction fee on charges outside the USA. My question is will I pay the fee when I close out my sea card when I complete my TA in Barcelona? Visa tells me to call RCCL. RCCL tells me to call Visa.

 

Has anyone used the card in the past to do this and what was the result? One rep told me since she thought all charges go through Miami corp that I should be okay.

 

Thanks for any feedback.

 

Shelton

[emtplg]

I have the same visa and rccl charges in US dollars.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[cruzinlady1947]

I've had the charge several times. It shows up on my account when I check online after the cruise. It usually isn't much, $1 or so, but then I don't spend that much either. But, the charge is there. :(

 

Gwen :)

[Cindy]

You shouldn't incur any foreign transaction fees for on-board charges, since RCI operates in USD.

[cruzinlady1947]

You shouldn't incur any foreign transaction fees for on-board charges, since RCI operates in USD.

My fees are for purchases on an island, not on board. I thought he was talking about charges off the ship. And, even though my purchases were in US dollars, I was still charged the fee.

 

Gwen :)

[Beachammo]

I've had the charge several times. It shows up on my account when I check online after the cruise. It usually isn't much, $1 or so, but then I don't spend that much either. But, the charge is there. :(

 

Gwen :)

 

Since this will be a 13 day TA......we''ll probably spend at least $3000. My wife loves being in the spa, drinks, specialty restaurants, and pre paid tips. A 3% fee would be $90.

 

I might just use my United Visa that has no fee. Just to be safe.

 

Shelton

[cruzinlady1947]

Since this will be a 13 day TA......we''ll probably spend at least $3000. My wife loves being in the spa, drinks, specialty restaurants, and pre paid tips. A 3% fee would be $90.

 

I might just use my United Visa that has no fee. Just to be safe.

 

Shelton

I misunderstood your question. You shouldn't be charged the fee while on the ship. I thought you were talking about purchases off the ship. Sorry for the confusion. :o

 

Gwen :)

[lakelorain]

RC charges are billed via Miami, so no fee. However, cruising out of Barcelona requires a Spanish Value Added Tax(Vat) unless the ship meets special requirements. When we did a TA out of Barcelona, we were told when the tax no longer applied. I think it was about 20%. Make sure you are out of the tax zone when making large purchases. I had the store hold all my purchase until we were out of the zone and they were happy to do it.

Edited April 25, 2014 by lakelorain

[lady_cruiser]

Hello fellow travelers

 

I recently picked up a Royal Caribbean Visa card and noticed it places a foreign transaction fee on charges outside the USA. My question is will I pay the fee when I close out my sea card when I complete my TA in Barcelona? Visa tells me to call RCCL. RCCL tells me to call Visa.

 

Has anyone used the card in the past to do this and what was the result? One rep told me since she thought all charges go through Miami corp that I should be okay.

 

Thanks for any feedback.

 

Shelton

 

This fee isn't only for cruises. We were accessed a foreign transaction fee last August on a tour bus trip to Canada.

[Karemark]

You won't be charged a foreign transaction fee for any charges on the cruise ship.

[CGBCruiser]

You shouldn't incur any foreign transaction fees for on-board charges, since RCI operates in USD.

 

You are right! It only charges you for transactions made on land in a foreign country. I want to say it was more than $1 per transaction though. You can always use a different credit card while in ports and I've been looking at those. There are several that don't charge that fee.

[suncityga]

Since this will be a 13 day TA......we''ll probably spend at least $3000. My wife loves being in the spa, drinks, specialty restaurants, and pre paid tips. A 3% fee would be $90.

 

I might just use my United Visa that has no fee. Just to be safe.

 

Shelton

 

One of the reasons to use the RCI VISA is the benefit of double points on RCI purchases. We have used our RCI VISA Card for on board payments many times in the Med, South America and on Transatlantic crossings and we have never had any 'transaction fees' of any kind by BOA. With a $3,000 on board payment... you are looking at a $60 in future OBC.

[Beachammo]

One of the reasons to use the RCI VISA is the benefit of double points on RCI purchases. We have used our RCI VISA Card for on board payments many times in the Med, South America and on Transatlantic crossings and we have never had any 'transaction fees' of any kind by BOA. With a $3,000 on board payment... you are looking at a $60 in future OBC.

 

Thanks

 

That's what I wanted to hear!

 

SHELTON

[shippmates]

If you are concerned about foreign transaction fees check out Capital One. The one we have does not charge one, so that is the one we use off the ship.

[CGBCruiser]

If you are concerned about foreign transaction fees check out Capital One. The one we have does not charge one, so that is the one we use off the ship.

 

That's the card I'm getting before we go to Europe! I have been researching. Capital One offers several different cards and it's worth checking it out.

[papaflamingo]

The Royal Caribbean Visa is a Bank of America card. I believe their Foreign Transaction Fee is 3%. There will be no fee for anything purchased through the ship as people have said (not sure about VAT in Spain thought, that makes sense).

I use a USAA Mastercard when possible. Their Foreign Transaction Fee is 1%. Also American Express just lowered theirs to 1%. But Capital One is worth the look if you are going to spend enough. We just couldn't get in time for our cruise so I gave up on them. Had some hassles, wasn't worth it to me.

[Beachammo]

The Royal Caribbean Visa is a Bank of America card. I believe their Foreign Transaction Fee is 3%. There will be no fee for anything purchased through the ship as people have said (not sure about VAT in Spain thought, that makes sense).

I use a USAA Mastercard when possible. Their Foreign Transaction Fee is 1%. Also American Express just lowered theirs to 1%. But Capital One is worth the look if you are going to spend enough. We just couldn't get in time for our cruise so I gave up on them. Had some hassles, wasn't worth it to me.

 

I have two credit cards that have "No Foreign Transaction Fees" A Marriott Visa and a United Visa. I just got the Royal Caribibbean Visa to pay for cruises and the double points. They also gave me 60k points to sign up.

 

Shelton

[steveru621]

I just got an email for my Delta Platinum American Express card. No more foreign transaction fees as of May 1. Will come in handy for our Alaska cruise next month, when we spend the day in Vancouver, Canada.

[Tropicalgal2]

My fees are for purchases on an island, not on board. I thought he was talking about charges off the ship. And, even though my purchases were in US dollars, I was still charged the fee.

 

Gwen

 

Gwen,

 

IF your Visa states that it charges a "Foreign Transaction fee" you WILL be charged WHEN EVER and WHERE EVER you purchase anything outside of the USA. The fee has nothing to do with the type of money that you buy the item. (US dollars) It is that you bought the item outside of the USA! :( The key word is "Foreign" that means anywhere but the USA.

 

We live in Panama. When the banks charged a "currency exchange rates," we didn't have to pay anything because we us the US dollar here. :) When they changed to the "Foreign Transaction fee" wording we got hit with the fees. :o

 

It hurt because our first time to pay the fee was after my hubby was hospitalized $ $ $ . . . Even our banker in the states couldn't explain the fee to us. He had to call the Visa company that they used to understand why we paid a fee! :eek: That is when we learned that the key was the word "Foreign" in the "Foreign Transaction fee" statement!!

 

We have since gotten credit cards that don't have the "Foreign Transaction fee" wording in their "small" print! :D

 

 

It was an EXPENSIVE learning curve! :cool:

 

We are VERY happy that the Delta Platinum American Express is "giving-up" the "Foreign Transaction fee" on their card!

Edited April 26, 2014 by Tropicalgal2

[TLex]

Gwen,

 

IF your Visa states that it charges a "Foreign Transaction fee" you WILL be charged WHEN EVER and WHERE EVER you purchase anything outside of the USA. The fee has nothing to do with the type of money that you buy the item. (US dollars) It is that you bought the item outside of the USA! The key word is "Foreign" that means anywhere but the USA.

 

We live in Panama. When the banks charged a "currency exchange rates," we didn't have to pay anything because we us the US dollar here. When they changed to the "Foreign Transaction fee" wording we got hit with the fees.

 

It hurt because our first time to pay the fee was after my hubby was hospitalized $ $ $ . . . Even our banker in the states couldn't explain the fee to us. He had to call the Visa company that they used to understand why we paid a fee! :eek: That is when we learned that the key was the word "Foreign" in the "Foreign Transaction fee" statement!!

 

We have since gotten credit cards that don't have the "Foreign Transaction fee" wording in their "small" print! :D

 

 

It was an EXPENSIVE learning curve!

 

We are VERY happy that the Delta Platinum American Express is "giving-up" the "Foreign Transaction fee" on their card!

 

Out of curiosity, do you bank in a US owned subsidiary in Panama with dollar accounts or in local bank with Balboas? I can well remember flying through Miami and asking what the exchange rate was for the Balboa...and the somewhat less than friendly response after they checked it!!! :D :D

 

And also wondering...have you been to the terminal in Colon? Do you know of locals that will take the cruises out of there and, if so, whether it's become safer than when I lived down there (1982-1999)? Thanks.

 

VR,

 

T Lex

[Tropicalgal2]

Out of curiosity, do you bank in a US owned subsidiary in Panama with dollar accounts or in local bank with Balboas? I can well remember flying through Miami and asking what the exchange rate was for the Balboa...and the somewhat less than friendly response after they checked it!!! :D :D

 

And also wondering...have you been to the terminal in Colon? Do you know of locals that will take the cruises out of there and, if so, whether it's become safer than when I lived down there (1982-1999)? Thanks.

 

VR,

T Lex

 

TLex,

 

We have been here since 1988 so like you we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Panama. ;) We have taken cruises ourselves out of the terminal in Colon. It is completely safe!! We know of Americans that live in Colon today. It is MUCH better than it was while you lived here.

 

Does Colon still have problems, yes. Is it safer than it was, yes. Would I recommend that who ever go to Colon and walk around like a tourist, NO! Tourists are just plain dumb many times when they travel to other countries! They do things that they would never think of doing in any BIG city of their country! :(

 

All bank accounts here are US dollars accounts. Panama along with a handful of other countries around the world are dollar based economies. (Most banks in the US are very protective and DO NOT like that other countries use the US Dollar!) :o

 

There are some US banks like Citi Bank but they have nothing to do with their US bank counter parts. The banks here are part of the international divisions of each bank. (US name banks here charge more than other banks in Panama. We don't even think about opening accounts with them!)

We have Panamanian bank account here. (We try not to pay any more than we have to pay in ANY bank fees!) :D

[Emmatravels327]

Thought this might be helpful as I've been doing some research for our Europe trip this summer and I've already been hit with a 3% fee on my visa card :mad:.....

http://www.creditcards.com/no-foreign-transaction-fee.php