foreign transaction fees

[ERNLYN]

Since Hawaii is part of the United States and most of us use Credit cards to pay for hotel RSVPs

I called the Bank of America and spoke to a rep, they do charge a fee but she could not confirm

if they do or do not charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for usage in Hawaii.  Anyone advise? 

[CruiserBruce]

Have been to Hawaii over 30 times...all land trips, so many more charging situations than a cruise. Never had a transaction fee. But we don't have any relationship with B-o-A.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

26 minutes ago, ERNLYN said:

Since Hawaii is part of the United States and most of us use Credit cards to pay for hotel RSVPs

I called the Bank of America and spoke to a rep, they do charge a fee but she could not confirm

if they do or do not charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for usage in Hawaii.  Anyone advise? 

 

Why would Bank of America charge a "foreign transaction fee" in any state?

 

What fee do you think Bank of America charges for using a credit card in Hawaii?

[Philob]

We don't use BofA, but was in HI a couple of weeks ago, got the bill 🤨, no foreign transaction fees. 

 

Thinks BofA need to retrain their reps.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Philob

[Silver Sweethearts]

1 hour ago, ERNLYN said:

Since Hawaii is part of the United States and most of us use Credit cards to pay for hotel RSVPs

I called the Bank of America and spoke to a rep, they do charge a fee but she could not confirm

if they do or do not charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for usage in Hawaii.  Anyone advise? 

According to Forbes Advisor, a foreign transaction fee is a fee charged by a credit card issuer or bank for every transaction made in a country outside of the U.S. Fees vary depending on the credit card or bank’s terms and conditions, but usually fall between 1% and 5% of the purchase amount.

[ERNLYN]

Thanks to all who replied.  BOA charges a 3% FTF, and she named a number of countries that are included.  But their website does not clarify (even though Hawaii is a US state) if the fee would be charged for Hawaii.  My reason for interest if we like many accumulate bonus points on CC use,  Example BOA offers a 3% bonus for every dollar spent on travel.  A 3% FTF would totally wide out a nice bonus on cruise fare, hotel, car rentals.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, ERNLYN said:

BOA charges a 3% FTF, and she named a number of countries that are included.  But their website does not clarify (even though Hawaii is a US state) if the fee would be charged for Hawaii. 

I spend a lot of time in Hawaii and use BOA. I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is no foreign transaction fee that I have ever encountered from them in my time here. 

 

I just don't understand why it would even be a question-- Hawaii is very much a part of the United States. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, ERNLYN said:

Thanks to all who replied.  BOA charges a 3% FTF, and she named a number of countries that are included.  But their website does not clarify (even though Hawaii is a US state) if the fee would be charged for Hawaii.

 

Does BoA charge FTF in Florida? Delaware?

[ERNLYN]

Amen, Princeton!

No Scottca075, as they are part of the mainland, I guess BOA assumes everyone considers Hawaii is includes as the US, I just wanted confirmation from BOA or I would move on to a card with a smaller bonus.  I will take advantage of my BOA 3% bonus offer.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, ERNLYN said:

No Scottca075, as they are part of the mainland

 

What does that have to do with anything?

 

1 hour ago, ERNLYN said:

I guess BOA assumes everyone considers Hawaii is includes as the US, I just wanted confirmation from BOA

 

Why do you need confirmation from BoA that Hawaii is not a foreign country?

 

I am not understanding any of this.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, ERNLYN said:

Amen, Princeton!

No Scottca075, as they are part of the mainland, I guess BOA assumes everyone considers Hawaii is includes as the US, I just wanted confirmation from BOA or I would move on to a card with a smaller bonus.  I will take advantage of my BOA 3% bonus offer.

 

Hawaii: The 50th US state. Statehood was granted on August 21, 1959. The currency is the US Dollar. It is not a foreign country. There are no foreign transaction fees. This is not complicated.

 

You also don't pay foreign transaction fees in the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, which aren't even states.

 

10 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

Why do you need confirmation from BoA that Hawaii is not a foreign country?

 

I am not understanding any of this.

 

Exactly.

 

The US State Department and Department of Defense consider Alaska and Hawaii "overseas" areas for entitlement to cost of living allowances, but they don't consider it a foreign country. Because it isn't.

[ERNLYN]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

What does that have to do with anything?

 

 

Why do you need confirmation from BoA that Hawaii is not a foreign country?

 

I am not understanding any of this.

To help you understand if I'm spending $10K on cruise, hotel and auto rentals it would mean a savings of $100.00 to $300.00 depending on a 1% or 3% bonus on the CC used. (Mike Drop)  🙂 🙂

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, ERNLYN said:

To help you understand if I'm spending $10K on cruise, hotel and auto rentals it would mean a savings of $100.00 to $300.00 depending on a 1% or 3% bonus on the CC used. (Mike Drop)   

 

I am not understanding why someone thinks Hawaii would be any different than Florida when it comes to FTF from BoA and why BoA would have to say explicitly they are the same.

[Silver Sweethearts]

This from a Bank of America website about foreign transaction fees:

 

"A Bank of America foreign transaction fee is a surcharge on your credit card that appears after you purchase something in another currency or your purchase passes through a foreign bank"

[skybluewaters]

On 4/13/2023 at 4:18 PM, ERNLYN said:

I called the Bank of America and spoke to a rep, they do charge a fee but she could not confirm

if they do or do not charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for usage in Hawaii. 

 

Perhaps the rep was so utterly gobsmacked by this question that she temporarily lost the ability to think clearly.

[CaribbeanBound]

Honestly, this is because a lot of people still don't know Hawaii is a state --- and even if it is a state, it's still considered international by many (including Verizon as recent as 20 years ago).  Some folks are not as well traveled as we are on this thread, or are products of poor education systems.

[Philob]

Let's not mention Hawaiian Pidgin 😎