Watch for Foreign Currency Charge when booking Viking European River Cruises

[JUSTTWO4FUN]

We have taken 5 European River cruises and have one booked with Viking this coming December. On it we were charged a "Foreign Currency Exchange Charge' by our credit card company as Viking only uses a Swiss bank to handle their credit transactions. This added an additional $76+ to our trip that basically was not known about until it hit on our credit card statement. When contacting Viking they admitted it is not discussed in the booking process however it is in the "fine print". We have not been charged this on any of our prior cruises with any cruise lines be it river or main line cruises. I personally think that if Viking is doing business in the US they should use a US bank for their credit card transactions. I understand that they will probably build this into the price of the cruise however it would be upfront and not slyly slipped in the back end through the credit card company. Buyer be aware. You can pay by E-Check and save 3% however their agents do not push this and do not ask if you would like to use this option. Of course this would cut into their commissions as Viking hoem office staff works on commission also. However if you do pay with e-check, it would save you $100 or more on your cruise cost. We will be anxious to see if Viking can match up with AMAwaterways. AMA has been the best river cruise experience we have had. Just amazing! We were not extremely impressed 4 years ago with Viking however we are willing to give them another shot.

[jotabecu]

I am going with Viking in August on a Russia cruise.

When the payments were made there was a conversion fee which one of our friends noticed, we called the travel agent who in turn contacted Viking and they refunded it.

Try that route and see if it works.

Good luck!!

[Big Al B.]

We had the same thing just happen to us. I also have my TA checking into it to see what happens.

[mommullr]

we were also charged a foriegn transaction fee. We called Viking and were refunded the charges. Not a problem for Viking.

[Catcher2]

We too got the refund when we challenged the charge. I don't agree that therefore there is "no problem". It sounds as though Viking may just get what they can? Not a good feeling.

[rundent]

In looking at my latest Discover bill I see that my July payment for my Oct '10 cruise doesn't have a foreign currency exchange fee. Don't know where their bank is but the notation on my statement mentioned Woodland Hill, CA. as their location. Am I missing something?

[Big Al B.]

My statement indicated BASEL CH. I'm still waiting to hear from my TA, but I emailed her late Friday so it's still early :).

[Big Al B.]

Got a call from my TA. She said I will be getting the charge refunded. I had to send her a copy of my card statement (with everything else blacked out) so she could fax it to Viking. (I could have faxed it myself had I the capability).

 

If I make final payment using the same card, I'll get that charge back too.

[missbsmom]

We booked in July a Viking Basel to Amsterdam for late November. Paid it in full on AX. Just looked at my statement. Was not charged any foreign transaction fees . Would like to know how come some get charged one and others don't ?????

[jacksonnh]

I was looking at my customer agreement with my capital one card and it stated that they do not charge any currency conversion fees or any different exchange rates. I have used this card for overseas trips and have never been charged additional fees. This got me thinking so I went on line looking at various other credit cards and some say they "may" charges additional fees with foreign transactions. SO..........

 

Is it possible that the charge is based on your credit card company and not the trip provider? Just a thought!

[TravelerThom]

I was looking at my customer agreement with my capital one card and it stated that they do not charge any currency conversion fees or any different exchange rates. I have used this card for overseas trips and have never been charged additional fees. This got me thinking so I went on line looking at various other credit cards and some say they "may" charges additional fees with foreign transactions. SO..........

 

Is it possible that the charge is based on your credit card company and not the trip provider? Just a thought!

As far as I know CapitalOne has the only no-annual-fee credit card in the US that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. Most charge 3%, but some are less. There are some cards with annual fees that do not have a foreign transaction fee, but even most of them do. I specifically got a CapitalOne card to use out of the country, and generally only use it out of the country - this lets me avoid foreign transaction fees and also allows me to more easily cancel this card if I encounter a fraud problem [canceling a card that is automatically paying a number of bills is difficult].

 

Viking seems to rather randomly run some of their charges directly from their Woodland Hills office, while seeming to run the majority through Basel. It is unclear why they do this, but perhaps Switzerland gives them a cheaper credit card processing fee. Not realizing that my charge would be processed in Basel I did not use my CapitalOne card, and got hit with a fee. Viking did refund the fee when I protested, but I had to send the bills which was a pain.

 

IMO the foreign transaction fees for bank issued cards are a total rip-off. The currency conversion is done by the clearing house [eg Visa, MasterCard, etc] who add a small spread to cover their expenses, and the charge comes to the bank who issued your card in US dollars [assuming that you are in the US and have a US dollar account]. As far as your bank is concerned there is no extra effort since they get the bill in US$, and charge you in US$ just like any other charge, but they add 3% just to pad their bottom line.

 

Thom

[mike35]

Of course it's a ripoff, Thom - as are so many things in the banking industry. I always counsel my clients to use Capital One cards when out of the country, specifically because of their no-foreign transaction fee policy. Their rewards program isn't the best (despite what you see on their idiotic TV commercials), but I truly appreciate the savings on foreign purchases.

 

FYI, Oceania Cruises also uses a foreign bank (in Ireland) to process credit cards, even though they're based in Miami, and so it's important that one use a Capital One card when booking an Oceania cruise as well.

[Rivercruiseresource]

@JUSTTWO4FUN- First, allow me to disclose that I work for Viking River Cruises and hope to offer some helpful insight.

 

While, some credit card companies impose a foreign transaction fee for Viking charges, others do not and their criterion varies. This is why we cannot forewarn our guests about the potential fee. However, we want to assure you that Viking does not benefit from these charges, and when it does occur we reimburse the foreign transaction amount.

 

To address your other concern, I would love to speak with you on the phone about your previous Viking voyage. Perhaps we can help improve your upcoming trip. Please send me your contact information by email to Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

[TravelerThom]

@JUSTTWO4FUN- First, allow me to disclose that I work for Viking River Cruises and hope to offer some helpful insight.

 

While, some credit card companies impose a foreign transaction fee for Viking charges, others do not and their criterion varies. This is why we cannot forewarn our guests about the potential fee. However, we want to assure you that Viking does not benefit from these charges, and when it does occur we reimburse the foreign transaction amount.

 

To address your other concern, I would love to speak with you on the phone about your previous Viking voyage. Perhaps we can help improve your upcoming trip. Please send me your contact information by email to Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

"some credit card companies impose a foreign transaction fee for Viking charges, others do not"

I have looked repeatedly and out of the thousands of no-annual-fee credit cards in the US I have only been able find ONE that does not impose a foreign transaction fee. Are you able to identify for us more than one credit card in this category? If you can not, I think your statement is intentionally deceptively misleading, but am willing to listen to an explaination why you think otherwise.

 

Thom

[Big Al B.]

Just to follow up on this. I did receive a check from Viking for the foreign transaction amount. I used my Cap One card for the final payments and had no charge added.

[letsgo39]

My Schwab card does not charge foreign transaction fees and if you use it as a ATM card they refund any charges made by foreign banks for its use.

[sdianem]

Same thing with us. Got a $190 foreign transaction charge from B of A, called Viking, mailed card statements, and got a refund check. However, I told Viking that had I known there would be such a charge we would have used our Capital One card. About 5 or so years ago we got a card from them just for foreign transactions.

AMA did not charge this fee in 2009 but my TA says Regent charged one of her clients recently and she got it refunded also. Interestingly Azamara, in their final travel documents, noted that ship board bills paid by a credit card may be subject to a 3% transaction fee - this warned us to use our Capital One. Our rule now is to use Capital One for all travel unless it takes place solely in the US.