3% Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fee!

[aaannnthony]

I have avoided initiating this thread since I thought the problem would be resolved quickly, however, it has not!

 

We completed our 31 day b-2-b on April 15th in Istanbul. Our settlement charges aboard ship were posted a few days later to our VISA statement for the month ended May 14th. Upon return home in April, we immediately booked two cruises for 2006 aboard Oceania, each requiring a $1,000 deposit.

 

Upon receipt of our May 14th Chase Visa statement, I noted that all the Oceania transactions had been surcharged 3%, the two $1,000 deposits were each charged at $1,030, and, the settlement charges from our cruise were also surcharged at 103%, exactly, of our committed onboard charges.

 

Now, a month has transpired and the matter remains unresolved; Chase stupidly contends that the transactions were made in a foreign currency, and, despite my objections, and detailed explanations, remains adament in this matter.

 

Has anyone had this problem?

[Phoenix cruiser]

Surprised to find that Chase considers the US Dollar a foreign currency. :confused: So what was their explanation?

[ClaudiaF]

yes that is a good one.. as all credit cards

seem to charge this 3% fee for currency "exchange" rate.. but Oceania uses US dollars.. so what gives? Would certainly get Chase on phone for the correct answer.

[phlewt]

Don't know whether it will answer all your questions or not, but the following recent article in the LA Times has some information regarding the fees:

 

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-insider19jun19,1,5706189.story?coll=la-travel-headlines

[mikiew]

We have one CC that charges that 3% so we leave it at home. The others do not.

 

 

I cannot imagine since Oceania is located in Miami, and you paid in US$$$$ that you would be charged a fee.

[Guest Jancruz]

May I make a suggestion..have your TA cancel the original transaction and book it on a different credit card..it is ridiculous to have to pay that 3%

Jan;)

[aaannnthony]

Jan, that's exactly what I initiated yesterday before my post. I've mailed a letter to Chase, copy to an Oceania senior official, requesting that the Chase charges be reversed and my Amex Platinum card be charged.

[ARTGRL]

one might gather that Oceania is on their way to another realm............sneaky little charges here and there, excessively high tours, which aren't even good, etc. Already the prices for '06 are far higher and now they have a1,a2,b1.b2 cabins, whats this?.........will they price themselves out of the ballpark with their attitude of getting as much as they can? Remember, they compete yes, but prices are getting close to Silversea with them offering far less. I hope they don't ruin the product with greed.

[conderost]

have you looked into the AE Travelers Check Credit Card..you pre place money in this account and use it as a credit card...i am not sure of the fees...but it may be worth it to look into it...going in oct. 06,,need to know the best way to avoid the extra card fees.

[shoshona2]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks aaannnthony. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't know what Chase is now doing. Since our United Mileage Bank One card was taken over by Chase, I have had trouble paying for gas and then a half hour later paying for groceries 15 miles away from the gas station. I am getting used to people asking if I have another card. I know Chase is checking for fraud, but these are small purchases. Sooooooooooo, it doesn't surprise me that they have now tacked on this 3% charge. My husband called tChase this morning and asked if he charges airfare on Luftansa or another foreign airline, will a 3% charge be added. They said yes. So, he called Citi Bank Advantage and they said no charges will be added for any of the cruise or airline charges. If you charge a $10,000 cruise with Oceania, it could be $300 extra to Chase.

 

So, we will now use our American Express or Citi Bank Advantage card for our travel needs. We use mileage cards all the time, so we can get the perks.

 

Sheila

[Guest Jancruz]

one might gather that Oceania is on their way to another realm............sneaky little charges here and there, excessively high tours, which aren't even good, etc. Already the prices for '06 are far higher and now they have a1,a2,b1.b2 cabins, whats this?.........will they price themselves out of the ballpark with their attitude of getting as much as they can? Remember, they compete yes, but prices are getting close to Silversea with them offering far less. I hope they don't ruin the product with greed.

 

Artgirl, these charges have NOTHING to do with Oceania..and I do not see any "sneaky little charges" all charges are right out in the open..Princess who has one of the Ren ships has six more categories than Oceania does on the same deck plan and no one forces anyone to go on the tours..If you feel the price is close enough to Silversea..you should check it out..I think you will find a MAJOR price difference..

Jan

[Guest Jancruz]

Jan, that's exactly what I initiated yesterday before my post. I've mailed a letter to Chase, copy to an Oceania senior official, requesting that the Chase charges be reversed and my Amex Platinum card be charged.

 

Quick question..wouldnt it have been easier to ask your TA..

Thanks,

Jan:)

[john2003]

Does anyone have a way of explaining Anthony's situation? I looked at the LA-Times reference but it didn't really help me. His deposit wouldn't be overseas or cross-border or foreign currentcy so I don't understand the policy they are applying.

 

As a Canadian we are used to this type of fee unless we book with a line that provides Canadian pricing (e.g. HAL). Part of my interest is that this type of transaction which may be cross-border may now be subject to the fee.

 

I have realised recently that one can't assume that all banks are close on such charges. Exchange rates and other fees may change substantially between banks so one has to pay attention.

[aaannnthony]

Jan, T/A's not involved. The three charges in question were for two deposits made by me, no T/A yet involved, and final settlement charges for our 31 day cruise, certainly something the T/A should not get involved in.

 

To repeat Jan's comment to ARTGRL, this has NOTHING to do with OCEANIA. That post was totally inappropriate in this thread.

[Guest Jancruz]

Thanks for the quick answer..I hope it all works out..I am sure Oceania will take care of it for you!!

Jan:)

[susiesan]

There was an article in the WSJ a few days ago about this. Apparently, when at upscale hotels and crusies in Europe and Asia they ask if you'd like your charges in dollars on your credit card. So they put in dollars and send it to the local bank for processing. It is converted to euros, which incurs the first 3%. Then when the charge goes to yourr US credit card it is converted back to dollars on your bill, the second 3%. If Oceania is using a bank in Europe for immediate payment to them of credit card charges and put the onboard charges in euros there wouldn't be this extra fee. We cruised on Viking River cruises last fall and the onboard charges were in euros with no extra 3%. Can you ask Oceania to bill in euros? This is absolutely an Oceania fee as well as the credit card companies. I plan to look into this further so as to avoid this fee on my cruise in June 2006. here is a link to another article that explains it quite well:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-04-21-card-fees_x.htm

 

Susie

[susiesan]

Here's another article that explains what is going on:

 

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624a1.asp

 

My question to Oceania is: are they using dynamic currency conversion to figure the onboard bills? If so, they are gouging their passengers. Some of you who are going soon, could you please ask about this while onboard?

 

Susie

[Phoenix cruiser]

Dynamic Currency Conversion applies if the charge is in local currency and you ask on the spot to have it rung up in dollars so "you will know what it costs in dollars." I have seen this done a lot at airport shops like Heathrow and Gatwick. Since Oceania charges you in dollars to begin with, the term does not apply. Howver, note from the article that many credit card companies and banks are charging at least 2%,"even if the purchase is made in dollars." This is just another fee for no extra work, like the ATM non-issuing bank service fees. Definitely not an Oceania induced problem. :mad:

[shmabbies]

I can't fathom how a transaction charged in US dollars requiring no conversion can incur this fee. I have a Chase card too - by virtue of multiple mergers - if anyone is shown the actual text in those microscopic inserts we get, I'd like to know where it is. Aaanthony, if you haven't already, please post this on some of the "port" boards as well as on the boards of the other cruiselines, to possibly get some feedback on where this is originating. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not convinced it's Chase, neither am I convinced it's Oceania, but as someone with a Chase card AND an upcoming cruise, I want to get to the bottom of it.

[Portolan]

FYI, we recently booked an Oceania cruise through our travel agent (not on-board...obvious difference) and were charged exactly $1000 on our (now) Chase United Mileage Plus Visa. So the key here may be the charging on-board. But even that doesn't pass the sniff test since in all our previous experiences (though not with Oceania, admittedly), the charge shows up as posted from the cruise lines corporate headquarters (usually, Florida). The only thing that would remotely make sense (though seem to be unique in the cruise industry) is if the charges were processed based on where the ship was (and that was where at the end of the cruise???) whihc might have required the conversion to the local currency for the charge on which you'd pay the 3% to have it converetd back to $$$.

 

Bizarre in any case!

[aaannnthony]

Just so there's no confusion, the two $1,000 deposits were made by me from home, via telephone, New Jersey to Miami, after our return home from the cruise.

[LHT28]

As a Canadian we are used to this type of fee unless we book with a line that provides Canadian pricing (e.g. HAL). Part of my interest is that this type of transaction which may be cross-border may now be subject to the fee.

 

.

I am also confused but I think it is the CC company that charges the fee.

I maybe wrong.

We have booked several cruises where it was in U.S. funds and the only charge is the exchange rate and CC usually charge 1-2% more than the going bank rate for the day.

EG: if we put $1000. U.S.D. deposit it shows up on my bill as

Oceania $1000. usd exchanged at $1.29 = 1290. CND

 

We recently were in the U.S. and all my charges were like this the exchange rate seemed reasonable but i will go back and check the historical daily rate for those days and see if an extra 3% was added.

 

If however I use my ATM card in the Europe the is an extra service fee of up to $5. at times.

In the U.S.A we were charged $3. per transaction on the ATM card.

 

I have RB Visa.

[LHT28]

Ok I checked the credit card website and their rate is 2.5% ...so I guess I will be curbing my purchases in other countries from now on. ;)

 

"Foreign Currency Transactions

 

We will bill you in Canadian currency. If you use your Visa Card or your Visa Account number outside Canada or charge amounts to your Visa Account in a foreign currency, we will convert your charges into Canadian dollars at our exchange rate which is 2.5% over the exchange rate set by Visa International, in effect at the time we post the transaction to your Visa Account."

[shmabbies]

I think we're getting away from the original post which is what I know I'd like an answer to! That question is in regard to a US resident charging his shipboard account in US dollars to a Chase visa card on a ship that advertises itself (I'm pretty sure) as using US dollars as the currency on board, being charged a foreign currency conversion fee. And then later using (presumably) that same card to book two cruises thru a US office and being charged a foreign currency conversion fee.

 

While some are quick to discount Oceania's involvement, I've scanned the other cruise line boards and see no mention of this. I find it hard to believe, since Chase has gobbled up many other banks, that no one else has encountered this problem if in fact it is a CHASE problem and not an OCEANIA problem. Anyone who used a Chase card on another cruise line and had the same result would likely have posted by now, especially since Aaanthony's problem didn't occur yesterday!

 

Please, no offense, but I'd rather this issue not get mixed up with the "normal" currency conversion charges that we almost all get when we use our cards on foreign soil, and not mixed up with conversion of Canadian dollars to US dollars. This is a specific issue regarding Chase visa and Oceania (unless someone else can produce another bank and/or cruise line where this happened).

[Guest Jancruz]

Since I have been on 10 Oceania cruises and have paid with my amex and use Credit cards for ALL my clients while I was in business. I have never seen this happen in all my 30 years..it has to be the credit card company..I will be talking to Frank DelRio later this afternoon and will ask him..

 

Jan:)