Imperial Bill Posted March 29, 2011 #1 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oceania does their business in Irish punts( or whatever the Irish currency is) and therefore if you use a credit card to charge your cruise or for your shipboard charges, you may pay an extra percentage based upon your cards policy. This could be 3-4 percent. Oceania quotes all of their cruises in USDollars, and nowhere could I find in any of their literature a reference to the fact that they are not dealing in dollars and alerting you to their policy. Shame on Oceania for this subterfuge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted March 29, 2011 #2 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oceania does their business in Irish punts( or whatever the Irish currency is) and therefore if you use a credit card to charge your cruise or for your shipboard charges, you may pay an extra percentage based upon your cards policy. This could be 3-4 percent. Oceania quotes all of their cruises in USDollars, and nowhere could I find in any of their literature a reference to the fact that they are not dealing in dollars and alerting you to their policy. Shame on Oceania for this subterfuge. Just a few discussions down on this page you will find one of MANY that have been on this board. Try the search function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickey 88 Posted March 29, 2011 #3 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Imperial Bill, your facts need reviewing - Ireland has not used "punts" - their version of "Pounds" for many years - ever since they joined the European Union - their currency since then has been the "Euro". The charge to which you are referring is one which is levied by the Credit Card issuing bank - and has absolutely nothing to do with Oceania. Please use the "Search" function of CruiseCritic and review the many, many previous posts over these years on this very subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammieK Posted March 29, 2011 #4 Share Posted March 29, 2011 O does inform of this possible charge in the brochure and it is prudent to check with your individual credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted March 29, 2011 #5 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oceania does their business in Irish punts( or whatever the Irish currency is) and therefore if you use a credit card to charge your cruise or for your shipboard charges, you may pay an extra percentage based upon your cards policy. This could be 3-4 percent. Oceania quotes all of their cruises in USDollars, and nowhere could I find in any of their literature a reference to the fact that they are not dealing in dollars and alerting you to their policy. Shame on Oceania for this subterfuge. The entire transaction is in American Dollars. Certain credit cards impose the transaction fee because the bank is located in another country. It has nothing to do with currency conversion, and has nothing to do with Oceania beyond the fact that it is economically advantageous to them to use the Irish bank. The fee is collected by the credit card folks and does not accrue to Oceania or to the Irish bank. It is an entirely bogus fee, because it does not cost the credit card company any more to process through a foreign bank. Use a card that does not assess the fee and you'll be OK. Keep using the card you are now using and you are feeding the card company's profit margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1985rz1 Posted March 30, 2011 #6 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Here's the most recent link to a site that explains and details the various transaction fees that apply to charge and credit cards (including AMEX). Some of the cards apply these fees on dollar transactions if the originating bank is foreign. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilrr Posted March 31, 2011 #7 Share Posted March 31, 2011 After reading all of the posts which I found very interesting -- I called Oceania this morning and the gentlemen was very nice and said "if you use "any" AMEX card, he has never seen any FTF charges and if there were any to just call and they would be refunded." I gave him the example of booking excursions on-line or onboard charges at the end of the cruise. Additionlly, I called AMEX last night (as my deposit went through AMEX via the TA) and they said that FTF fees (2.7%) are only waived on Platinum and Centurion Cards --I was not charged any FTF (by AMEX) on the deposit and my card is not a Platinum or Centurion card -- Oceania may have a special agreement with AMEX for their other cards. Anyway, I appreciate you bringing this to light and will keep an eye on the charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted March 31, 2011 #8 Share Posted March 31, 2011 -- Oceania may have a special agreement with AMEX for their other cards. I highly doubt Oceania has any agreement with the credit card companies to waive the FTF ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilrr Posted March 31, 2011 #9 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I highly doubt Oceania has any agreement with the credit card companies to waive the FTF ;) LHT28 - I can only tell you what was said. After working in corporate for far too many years - I can tell you that companies with large volume of cash flowing through their books can make varying deals on many levels and with all companies including AMEX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted March 31, 2011 #10 Share Posted March 31, 2011 LHT28 - I can only tell you what was said. After working in corporate for far too many years - I can tell you that companies with large volume of cash flowing through their books can make varying deals on many levels and with all companies including AMEX. The point here is that the fee is not specific to Oceania. Those Visa/Mastercard customers who are effected, would be charged the fee for ANY PURCHASE which was processed through that Irish bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilrr Posted March 31, 2011 #11 Share Posted March 31, 2011 The point here is that the fee is not specific to Oceania. Those Visa/Mastercard customers who are effected, would be charged the fee for ANY PURCHASE which was processed through that Irish bank. JimandStan - Nobody is disputing what you are saying. When we have traveled with other cruise lines though Europe, booked our excursions on-line or paid our bill at the end of a cruise - it is done in US$ and no FTF fee was ever charged, no matter what card we used anywhere in the world. This is the first instance that I have seen this issue arise in 20 cruises on multiple lines. As someone mentioned in another thread - "if I was going to spend $14,000 on a cruise I would not want to be charged a $420 FTF." I totally agree - as I said to the Customer Svc. Rep. at Oceania - that they really need to process their U.S. transactions through a U.S. bank to avoid these issues - and he agreed, as they get numerous calls on the issue and Oceania is making refunds on the charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted March 31, 2011 #12 Share Posted March 31, 2011 The point here is that the fee is not specific to Oceania. Those Visa/Mastercard customers who are effected, would be charged the fee for ANY PURCHASE which was processed through that Irish bank. Correct -- but what other US Cruise lines use foreign banks for the US residents?? HAL, RCCL, Azmara, ??? NO..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted March 31, 2011 #13 Share Posted March 31, 2011 LHT28 - I can only tell you what was said. After working in corporate for far too many years - I can tell you that companies with large volume of cash flowing through their books can make varying deals on many levels and with all companies including AMEX. They may get a discount on the volume of sales put through on a CC We did in the retail company I worked for ...the more sales volume for VISA/MC we got a bigger % off the fee on a sliding scale. One week it could be 3% of the total sales another week it could be 4% My payment to Oceania always show as Oceania cruise Miami so not sure how others have it on the statement Of course we are not charged the FTF either Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilrr Posted March 31, 2011 #14 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Correct -- but what other US Cruise lines use foreign banks for the US residents?? HAL, RCCL, Azmara, ??? NO..... They may get a discount on the volume of sales put through on a CC We did in the retail company I worked for ...the more sales volume for VISA/MC we got a bigger % off the fee on a sliding scale. One week it could be 3% of the total sales another week it could be 4% My payment to Oceania always show as Oceania cruise Miami so not sure how others have it on the statement Of course we are not charged the FTF either Lyn PaulMCO and LH28T - Totally agree with both of you. I would have never thought of this issue and that is why I always use CC as a resource. :) If anything, I always get my extra "SBC" on the cruise lines for being a shareholder -- I will just have to drink less on this cruise or buy a piece of the company...LOL:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1985rz1 Posted March 31, 2011 #15 Share Posted March 31, 2011 My understanding is that AMEX's 2.7% foreign exchange fee is rolled in to the exchange rate that is applied to foreign currency charges. It is not listed as a separate line item. This may also be true of some VISA and MC cards for true foreign exchange conversions. AMEX does not charge this fee for dollar charges made through a foreign bank. For VISA and MC such fees would have to be listed as a separate line items since there was no real foreign currency exchange. I've found the cardholder agreements for all our cards are pretty explicit as to whether a fee is charged for currency exchanges and for dollar charges made though a foreign bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted March 31, 2011 #16 Share Posted March 31, 2011 My understanding is that AMEX's 2.7% foreign exchange fee is rolled in to the exchange rate that is applied to foreign currency charges. You might be confusing the Foreign transaction fee with the foreign currency exchange fee Different things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1985rz1 Posted March 31, 2011 #17 Share Posted March 31, 2011 You might be confusing the Foreign transaction fee with the foreign currency exchange fee Different things The way my MC and VISA cardholder fine print reads is that in the case of foreign currency, the foreign exchange fee includes the current exchange rate plus the foreign transaction fee. For dollars charged through a foreign bank, only the foreign transaction fee is assessed. That is also what I found to be the case on my VISA debit card statements and on my AMEX statements. But of course this may not be the way all banks treat the fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1985rz1 Posted March 31, 2011 #18 Share Posted March 31, 2011 The way my MC and VISA cardholder fine print reads is that in the case of foreign currency, the foreign exchange fee includes the current exchange rate plus the foreign transaction fee. For dollars charged through a foreign bank, only the foreign transaction fee is assessed. That is also what I found to be the case on my VISA debit card statements and on my AMEX statements. But of course this may not be the way all banks treat the fees. Actually he way I check this was to go to the historical section foreign exchange site http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/, put in the date of a transaction on my statement, use the interbank rate (the foreign transaction fee) appropriate for the card and calculate the net exchange rate. I find the credit card statement uses this value for the foreign exchange rate. I had to use 3% for AMEX also, since 2.7% is not an option, but that is close enough. I get the same result if I use the exchange rate and correct for the 2.7% directly on the statement amount. There is no separate line change for the 2.7%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunding Posted April 1, 2011 #19 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Oceania does their business in Irish punts( or whatever the Irish currency is) and therefore if you use a credit card to charge your cruise or for your shipboard charges, you may pay an extra percentage based upon your cards policy. This could be 3-4 percent. Oceania quotes all of their cruises in USDollars, and nowhere could I find in any of their literature a reference to the fact that they are not dealing in dollars and alerting you to their policy. Shame on Oceania for this subterfuge. Simple solution: Get a Capital One credit card. No Foreign Transfer fees. :) And, then, if you choose, use it only for cruises, on-board charges, purchases abroad, et al. Or use it all the time -- they have a fairly decent "Rewards" program. (No, I don't work for them -- I'm a school teacher.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunding Posted April 1, 2011 #20 Share Posted April 1, 2011 P.S. I think I probably meant "Foreign Transaction fees." I mean, it's not like I have a Swiss bank account or anything..... Though I certainly wish I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capecodder2 Posted April 1, 2011 #21 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I wish CruiseCritic would put a sticky with links to all these threads that bring up this subject of FTFs. I get tired of reading the same stuff over and over. Come to think of it, why do I even bring up the thread to read? Beats me. I think I will try to get over it. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted April 1, 2011 #22 Share Posted April 1, 2011 ...Come to think of it, why do I even bring up the thread to read?... Because you're addicted to CC and, Because you don't want to miss anything. Just like me. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKS Posted April 1, 2011 #23 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Because you're addicted to CC and, Because you don't want to miss anything. Just like me. :rolleyes: Guilty too! Kay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capecodder2 Posted April 1, 2011 #24 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Oh, okay, you caught me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.