Foreign Transaction Fee!!!

[fragras]

NOBODY TOLD ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Last month, I made final payment on our cruise from Hong Kong to Athens and put it on our Mastercard. Today I found out that I was charged a "Foreign Transaction Fee" of $920 (yes, that's nine hundred and twenty dollars!!!) by Mastercard because Oceania's revenue goes through Ireland!! Did I miss something in the fine print somewhere???? I thought it was an American company!!

 

The only reason I charged all of that was so I could get my American Airlines Advantage miles. Guess I'll never do that again!

[StanandJim]

NOBODY TOLD ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Last month, I made final payment on our cruise from Hong Kong to Athens and put it on our Mastercard. Today I found out that I was charged a "Foreign Transaction Fee" of $920 (yes, that's nine hundred and twenty dollars!!!) by Mastercard because Oceania's revenue goes through Ireland!! Did I miss something in the fine print somewhere???? I thought it was an American company!!

 

The only reason I charged all of that was so I could get my American Airlines Advantage miles. Guess I'll never do that again!

 

Scan that page of your credit card statement and send it to your TA (or to Oceania directly) and the Cruise line will give you an onboard credit to match that amount.

Money in your onboard account can be used for tips, boutique purchases, to purchase shore excursions, at the spa or to pay your bar bill.

 

Hope that this helped~

[Friscorays]

Unfortunately, a fairly common thread topic in the Oceania section.

 

Some oldies but goodies from 2010 alone:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1287964&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1236358&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1200798&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1187372&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1172425&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1129480&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

[susiesan]

How in the world would you ever use $920 in onboard ship credit?? That's close to the cost of a one week cruise.

 

Dispute the charge with Mastercard and refuse to pay it.

[MomC]

I tried to fight this fee with MC to no avail. Luckily, ours was only $400 or so. If your transaction fee was $900 or so you must be on a very long cruise (or have the top suite) so you will probably come close to that amount in tips. That's how we plan to use ours. And NEVER again will I charge an Oceania Cruise on my MC.

[Mura]

It's true that you need to choose your credit card carefully.

 

We have not run into this problem although it's not the first time I heard about it!

 

We normally use our Capital One Visa for these payments because they don't charge a conversion fee. And I've heard Amex is now being kinder in this connection.

 

I do have an HSBC MC that doesn't charge the fees but you need to have a Premier Account to qualify.

 

It seems to me that most people sandbagged with these fees discovered them when the paid the deposit. That way they can get the TA to reverse it. But when you find out after the fact, WOW. I'd be equally upset.

 

It WOULD be nice if Oceania realized that passengers are unhappy about these charges and just switch to a US bank... but I suspect that ain't gonna happen.

[A Knitter]

How in the world would you ever use $920 in onboard ship credit?? That's close to the cost of a one week cruise.

 

Tips, bar bill, Spa, excursions, internet. It add up fast.

 

NOBODY TOLD ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The only reason I charged all of that was so I could get my American Airlines Advantage miles. Guess I'll never do that again!

 

Sorry you didn't do a search on this subject before making the deposit. Although I have never had a problem charging my deposit and final payment using my United Visa, just to be on the safe side, Capitalone never charges a foreign transaction fee. I personally don't care for the Company other than using the card to my advantage overseas.

[fragras]

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

 

When I put down the deposit last June, there was no foreign transaction fee charged. And the reason that this one is so high is that it is an expensive trip. It's the 45-day cruise on Nautica from Hong Kong to Athens in a PH2.

 

This turns out to be a 3% fee. I never even thought to check out the threads that talk about "foreign" fees because I didn't think it applied to me. It is an American company, after all.

 

I know that it's not Oceania's fault but a prominent mention on their website certainly would have helped.

 

But now, thanks to all of you, I will call Oceania (we're booked directly) and try at least for an OBC. We certainly will have a larger bill than that after all that time.

 

Thanks all.

[emckeeve]

We too use our Mastercard to accure American miles. When the transaction fee was tacked on to our deposit, I requested a refund from Oceania and got it by check. When we paid the balance we requested shipboard credit because it will take care of the gratuities (almost $400) with no transaction fee. :-) But I agree, it's a rip off for those who don't contest it.

[ORV]

How in the world would you ever use $920 in onboard ship credit?? That's close to the cost of a one week cruise.

 

Dispute the charge with Mastercard and refuse to pay it.

 

 

Uh.......nevermind. :rolleyes:

[StanandJim]

it's a rip off for those who don't contest it.

 

This isn't even a fee that is charged by the Irish Bank that Oceania uses.

 

It is a Credit card generated fee, posed by the buyers credit card company.

 

It's a pity that we don't have access to Credit Card Critic.com! :o

[LHT28]

ISSUE:

I guess the only way around this is for Companies doing business in the USA should disclose they use off shore banks for processing their transactions.

 

I wonder how many people actually read the fine print of their Credit Card or cruise contracts.

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/corporate/legal/termsconditions.aspx

 

Our Canadian credit card transactions with Oceania read Oceania cruises Miami so not sure how some U.S. credit cards get a different location of the transaction.

It may be a question for your Credit card Company :confused:

 

Lyn

[Paulchili]

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

 

But now, thanks to all of you, I will call Oceania (we're booked directly) and try at least for an OBC. We certainly will have a larger bill than that after all that time.

 

Thanks all.

 

Think of your $900 fee as a bonus 900 AA miles that you wouldn't get otherwise (or at least not until later). As you said, you'll have no problem spending that OBC on such a long cruise :)

As miles are very important to us as well (to allow flying in business on those very long flights) I'll still use my MC instead of Capital One and apply the fee to OBC.

[hondorner]

How in the world would you ever use $920 in onboard ship credit?? That's close to the cost of a one week cruise.

 

Dispute the charge with Mastercard and refuse to pay it.

That won't work. It's a fee charge by Mastercard (1%) and the issuing bank (2%) just because they can get away with it. It is NOT a charge assessed by either Oceania or the Irish bank, so there is no way to dispute it, and if you do not pay it, your credit will be dinged.

 

Take time to understand the situation instead of shooting from the hip.

[hondorner]

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

 

When I put down the deposit last June, there was no foreign transaction fee charged. And the reason that this one is so high is that it is an expensive trip. It's the 45-day cruise on Nautica from Hong Kong to Athens in a PH2.

 

This turns out to be a 3% fee. I never even thought to check out the threads that talk about "foreign" fees because I didn't think it applied to me. It is an American company, after all.

 

I know that it's not Oceania's fault but a prominent mention on their website certainly would have helped.

 

But now, thanks to all of you, I will call Oceania (we're booked directly) and try at least for an OBC. We certainly will have a larger bill than that after all that time.

 

Thanks all.

 

When you send a copy of your credit card statement, you can redact (black out) all the information except the pertinent charge, your name, etc, and perhaps leave the last 4 numbers of your credit card visible. They don't need or care to see the rest.

 

If you have a travel agent, he or she can handle the whole thing for you.

 

They will always issue shipboard credit but may issue you a check if you insist.

 

This is NOT money that ever went to either Oceania or the Irish bank. so what they rebate to you is a goodwill gesture out of their own pockets. The fact that they are willing to rebate it (not a refund since they never got it in the first place) is a good indication that their savings by using the Irish bank are more than 3%.

 

It is covered on the Oceania Cruises web site in the Frequently Asked Questions section, which everyone should read on every cruise line before booking.

[wripro]

Even if the money does not go to Oceania they should clearly state both on their website AND on the invoice that they use an Irish bank that will charge a 3% surcharge and this will alter the price of one's cruise. It's unfair to not let people know this when they are planning the budget for their cruise.

[Rickey 88]

Even if the money does not go to Oceania they should clearly state both on their website AND on the invoice that they use an Irish bank that will charge a 3% surcharge and this will alter the price of one's cruise. It's unfair to not let people know this when they are planning the budget for their cruise.

 

With respect, I must disagree. Not all banks make a surcharge on transactions forwarded overseas. There has been much discussion here previously of those who don't - American Express, Capital One, etc.

 

Therefore, a blanket statement such as you propose wouldn't apply to all potential cruisers. Please remember that this whole mess is one created by a number of banks, mostly Mastercard and there is no reason why Oceania, who has had nothing to do with such surcharges, should be involved.

[caroak]

When we charged our deposit I was really surprised when we got our credit card bill. I was also surprised that our TA didn't mention the possibility of a fee. I called Oceania myself and they sent me a rebate check. Our final payment is due in February and I want to use one of our Citibank cards so we can get those precious miles. Before I do that I'll check with Oceania to confirm if they'll, once again, send a check. If not, we'll just take the shipboard credit because we do not want to give up those miles.

[StanandJim]

When we charged our deposit I was really surprised when we got our credit card bill. I was also surprised that our TA didn't mention the possibility of a fee. I called Oceania myself and they sent me a rebate check. Our final payment is due in February and I want to use one of our Citibank cards so we can get those precious miles. Before I do that I'll check with Oceania to confirm if they'll, once again, send a check. If not, we'll just take the shipboard credit because we do not want to give up those miles.

 

It would help all of us more, in the long run, if we ALSO raised a similar amount of hell with Mastercard for charging this ridiculous fee in the first place. :cool:

[PaulMCO]

And Oceania for continuing to use a foreign bank that causes MasterCard and Visa to assess such charges.

 

Don't only blame the greedy banks. Oceania also gains an advantage for using an Irish bank (whether it is currency or tax)

 

My TA has always warned me when booking.

[Benita]

I like the idea of it being printed on your invoice that Oceania uses a foreign bank, with the suggestion that you check with your credit card company to see if a foreign bank fee will be charged. Expecting people to read all the small print in the contract and web site is a nice thought, but just doesn't happen. Since it costs Oceania money to rebate back the money or give an onboard credit and the fees do leave a bad taste in the mind of the customer who would never dream that an American company would use a foreign bank, printing it on an invoice would be an easy way to maintain both the money and the goodwill.

[juli2020]

With respect, I must disagree. Not all banks make a surcharge on transactions forwarded overseas. There has been much discussion here previously of those who don't - American Express, Capital One, etc.

 

Therefore, a blanket statement such as you propose wouldn't apply to all potential cruisers. Please remember that this whole mess is one created by a number of banks, mostly Mastercard and there is no reason why Oceania, who has had nothing to do with such surcharges, should be involved.

 

If Oceania and Regent did not use a bank outside of the U.S....We would not be having this discussion.

American Express now charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee as does United Mileage Plus Visa which charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Just spoke to Regent and Regent will credit the foreign transaction fee back to your credit card.

[digby]

How in the world would you ever use $920 in onboard ship credit?? That's close to the cost of a one week cruise.

 

Dispute the charge with Mastercard and refuse to pay it.

 

Really? We've never been able to have a bill at the end of a cruise less than that, and usually much more than that! It's pretty easy to do when you consider, excursions, drinks, and other items purchased on board.

[mike52]

My TA has always warned me when booking.

 

 

 

Our's has been in the busines for 20 yrs and never heard of it...?

[susiesan]

[/u]

 

If Oceania and Regent did not use a bank outside of the U.S....We would not be having this discussion.

American Express now charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee as does United Mileage Plus Visa which charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Just spoke to Regent and Regent will credit the foreign transaction fee back to your credit card.

 

I just put the final payment of my O cruise on an SPG AX card in November and there was no foreign transaction fee. AX charges the fee if your purchase is billed in another currency and has to be converted to dollars.