Credit card surcharges!

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, it's an Aussie thing. It started with hotels and airlines and is spreading all through the retail industry.

 

There is some backlash happening now. At least one airline started charging excessive fees not only on credit cards but on debit cards and every other form of payment (cash isn't an option when booking online). I believe there have been investigations into those fees recently.

 

A local Sydney garden centre used to charge the fee for credit cards. They got so much flak about it they had stopped charging it last time I went there. The cashiers were much happier.

 

When we were negotiating to buy our new car a couple of years ago, I mentioned that I wanted to pay by credit card. We were told there would be a fee to do that. At that point we stood up and prepared to leave, saying that the credit card fee was a deal-breaker. The fee went away very quickly. :D

Edited January 5, 2017 by OzKiwiJJ

[SadieN]

That was because they knew you from North of the Border where you love to pay taxes :).

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

Yep, about 2 hours north of Tijuana near ONT. ;).

Are there palm trees in Canada?

Edited January 5, 2017 by SadieN

[thinfool]

The surcharge in Australia is the merchant recovering the processing costs associated with accepting credit cards.

 

These fees also exist in the US, but they are not required to be disclosed to the consumer and are almost always included in the price of the purchase.

 

This is not the case in other countries. In Australia the law is written so that consumers are accurately informed of what they are paying.

 

There have been abuses of this surcharge but legislation is now in place to make this much more difficult.

 

Lots of good information here....https://www.canstar.com.au/credit-cards/the-end-of-excessive-credit-card-surcharges/

[linanles]

This is obviously referring to Aussie cc charges.

It is my understanding that when Mastercard and Visa were first introduced into Australia in the terms and conditions for merchants they were not allowed to pass on the merchant fee which was a percentage of the transaction amount and that percentage depended on the amount of cc payments the merchant put through the system per annum. Somewhere the rule about not passing on the changes has been changed or Mastercard and Visa now turn a blind eye to it. For some merchants the fee can be about 0.3% yet they are charging the customer far more. This is happening with the airlines in particular and politicians have been talking for a long time about stopping this but as usual with politicians, talks cheap.

[sloopsailor]

We've paid a Credit Card fee for several things in the US, including gas.

 

Technically, the credit card companies don't allow the addition of fees charged to the customer to use their cards. In some states, it is actually illegal to do so. Instead, businesses discount a slight amount if you pay in cash (think Arco gas stations). The end result is virtually the same, however.

[SadieN]

Technically, the credit card companies don't allow the addition of fees charged to the customer to use their cards. In some states, it is actually illegal to do so. Instead, businesses discount a slight amount if you pay in cash (think Arco gas stations). The end result is virtually the same, however.

 

 

To get points we've paid university tuitions with cards. All added the surcharge. In state and international, 2010 to present.

[linanles]

To get points we've paid university tuitions with cards. All added the surcharge. In state and international, 2010 to present.

 

We get points on our credit card too but I refuse to pay 1.1%, that's $1.10 per $100 spent to get $1 worth of points. I'll pay cash instead or depending on the purchase I'll got to another supplier that doesn't charge a fee.

[Host Jazzbeau]

To get points we've paid university tuitions with cards. All added the surcharge. In state and international, 2010 to present.

 

Technically, they didn't. Colleges and Universities don't accept credit cards for tuition -- they send you to a third-party vendor that takes your credit card and charges you the fee. That gets around the Visa/MasterCard rule.

[sloopsailor]

To get points we've paid university tuitions with cards. All added the surcharge. In state and international, 2010 to present.

 

In all my years of paying with a credit card, I have never been charged a surcharge for using it. The price we paid is exactly the same as if purchased with cash. There are vendors that offer discounts for cash, but we rarely have a reason do business with them, so that isn't a bonus for us. All of our credit cards are "cash rewards" type of cards. Even with those cards we never pay surcharges for anything when using our cards.

 

Some government agencies do charge a fee for using credit cards. The DMV in our state does, for instance. We don't often do business with them, however. And when we do, we usually write a check - I am fundamentally opposed to them charging a fee to use credit cards. There is no reason they need to do that, other than squeezing more money out of our pockets. Makes no sense otherwise, since using a charge card requires authentication and would give them the revenue immediately, while accepting checks can cause delays waiting for the check clear, or if the check bounces.

 

BTW: in an average year we earn enough cash back on our cards that we pay most of the cruise fares with it. Since we pay our cards off every month, we don't even pay interest or fees to use them. The cash back we receive is "free money" since we don't pay a cent more than if we had used cash for these purchases.

Edited January 5, 2017 by sloopsailor

[windsor26]

This is obviously referring to Aussie cc charges.

It is my understanding that when Mastercard and Visa were first introduced into Australia in the terms and conditions for merchants they were not allowed to pass on the merchant fee which was a percentage of the transaction amount and that percentage depended on the amount of cc payments the merchant put through the system per annum. Somewhere the rule about not passing on the changes has been changed or Mastercard and Visa now turn a blind eye to it. For some merchants the fee can be about 0.3% yet they are charging the customer far more. This is happening with the airlines in particular and politicians have been talking for a long time about stopping this but as usual with politicians, talks cheap.

 

It is getting past a joke everywhere. Aldi who charge a fee to use credit cards say that debit cards are free BUT IF YOU USE paywave It is classed as a credit purchase and they charge .5% There are tiny notices near the cash dispenser saying this but to not pay charges you have to insert your card and use a PIN Then it is free I tonly found this out this week eagle eyed husband asked why I used a credit card for groceries when I had not and I went and asked for anm accounting.:(:(:(:(

[linanles]

It is getting past a joke everywhere. Aldi who charge a fee to use credit cards say that debit cards are free BUT IF YOU USE paywave It is classed as a credit purchase and they charge .5%

 

You're right it is getting ridiculous. Some places don't charge the fee if you use Paywave but do if you swipe, yet Aldi is the opposite.

Thanks for that tip. I'll remember next time I'm at Aldi.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree.

[caribill]

You are likely running into a foreign exchange fee.

 

No, it is a merchant fee to help recover their costs of processing credit cards.

 

Any foreign transaction fee your bank may charge is additional.

 

As others have pointed out, Australia law allows this.

 

This is not limited to Australia.

 

Taxicab drivers in Singapore have a surcharge for using a credit card.

 

Tour guides in Israel have a surcharge (4%) for using a credit card.

 

Also common many other places on land.

[caribill]

 

This is similar to the old "discount for cash" that used to be offered here at gas stations way back when, and if paying by credit the price was higher.

 

That practice is alive and well here in Texas. Usually a 10 cent higher price/gallon for using a credit card at many (but not all) gas stations.

[Bill B]

Are there palm trees in Canada?

 

Yes. Not many people know Canada has an island in the Pacific with palm trees and surfing beaches - Vancouver Island.

 

P.S. The palm trees aren't native (but there are some in Victoria)... and you have to wear a wetsuit when surfing. ;)

[J&Jtravelcouple]

Yes Australian cruises now have a 1.1% credit card surcharge for payment of your on board account. We are on the Emerald and there is a note in the first day patter and on the service desk.

 

Here's a bit that might fry your noodle though. So far I have racked up about $8 cc fees but as yet haven't exhausted our obc?? Will be checking to find out why I am paying cc fees for obc, guessing the IT guru's didn't think it through when implementing......

 

 

For gratuities? Not sure OBC can apply to gratuities.

 

 

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[J&Jtravelcouple]

If it's only for charges made on the ship, you can maybe get around it by buying OBC in advance of your cruise, and using that to pay your statement at the end of the cruise?

 

 

I may do this, especially if it can be paid in USD which I THINK is the case...

 

 

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[kerryincork]

For gratuities? Not sure OBC can apply to gratuities.

 

 

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If you buy the OBC you can spend it on anything you want. It's only the OBC you might get from the cruise line you can't use on the gratuities.

 

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Edited January 5, 2017 by kerryincork

[Canada 59]

Cuba has been charging a 10% fee on credit cards for over 10 years now. They call it a tax but no tax if you pay in cash!

 

 

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[iancal]

In Europe I typically have my credit card in hand and then ask about a discount for cash. It is often good for 5 or 10 percent in Italy and in Greece.

[J&Jtravelcouple]

Thanks folks. This thread is about Princess charging a credit card surcharge. It appears to be related to Australia. We have not seen it in five prior cruises, US, Canada or Italy departures.

 

 

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Edited January 5, 2017 by J&Jtravelcouple

[caribill]

If you buy the OBC you can spend it on anything you want. It's only the OBC you might get from the cruise line you can't use on the gratuities.

 

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That's what it says on the web site.

 

Reality is that it can be used for gratuities.

 

 

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[Dulcibella]

This is obviously referring to Aussie cc charges.

It is my understanding that when Mastercard and Visa were first introduced into Australia in the terms and conditions for merchants they were not allowed to pass on the merchant fee which was a percentage of the transaction amount and that percentage depended on the amount of cc payments the merchant put through the system per annum. Somewhere the rule about not passing on the changes has been changed or Mastercard and Visa now turn a blind eye to it. For some merchants the fee can be about 0.3% yet they are charging the customer far more. This is happening with the airlines in particular and politicians have been talking for a long time about stopping this but as usual with politicians, talks cheap.

 

 

Yes the Reserve Bank rules changed and they have been refined again in 2016 http://www.rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/review-of-card-payments-regulation/q-and-a/card-payments-regulation-qa-conclusions-paper.html

 

 

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[mail4cindyr]

I've always paid with credit cards and never surcharged.

 

 

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[J&Jtravelcouple]

If it's only for charges made on the ship, you can maybe get around it by buying OBC in advance of your cruise, and using that to pay your statement at the end of the cruise?

 

I checked this out and prepayment of excursions is also in AUD. There really doesn't seem to be any way around it. Everything on this cruise is in AUD, even if paid from the US.

 

Our options are:

 

1) Use Visa FlexPerks Travel Rewards card which has no foreign transaction fee (also earn FlexPerks travel rewards) and pay the 1.1% credit card fee to Princess,

 

or

 

2) Use bank debit card with 3% foreign currency transaction fee and also earn no rewards, but thereby avoid the 1.1% credit card fee.

 

#1 seems to be the clear winner.

 

PS: More info on the Visa FlexPerks Travel Rewards card is here:

http://www.flexperks.com/credit/visaTravelBenefits.do

 

It's not our first card of choice, but it does have this excellent benefit of no foreign transaction fees, which is great for international travelers.