credit card charges with Celebrity

[Charlie Chan]

We've normally cruised with HAL and book directly with the Aus office. There are no surcharges for using a credit card. We're now looking at a Celebrity cruise. The Celebrity office said they do not charge a fee but the money goes directly to a US account, so there could be international transaction charges.

 

I like to use a card for the travel insurance component. All the TA's we've contacted charge 2% for a card. I'd prefer to book directly even though it costs a bit more - at least the cancellation is more fair. We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance.

 

Can anyone who has booked directly with Celebrity confirm that there are overseas transaction fees?

[benjoon]

We've normally cruised with HAL and book directly with the Aus office. There are no surcharges for using a credit card. We're now looking at a Celebrity cruise. The Celebrity office said they do not charge a fee but the money goes directly to a US account, so there could be international transaction charges.

 

I like to use a card for the travel insurance component. All the TA's we've contacted charge 2% for a card. I'd prefer to book directly even though it costs a bit more - at least the cancellation is more fair. We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance.

 

Can anyone who has booked directly with Celebrity confirm that there are overseas transaction fees?

 

When we booked our last cruise I used our credit card for the deposit. Yes there was international fees added to the amount by the credit card company even thou I booked through Celebrity Australia. When I paid the final balance I did a bank transfer that didn't have additional fees.

 

An example of the fees we have recently had on our card was a transaction used oversees of $670 + the conversion fee of $20. Calculate that for a cruise price and it would be horrendous.

[Aus Traveller]

We have the 28 degrees card, but obviously there is no insurance available with it. The airfares alone won't be sufficient to meet the criteria for the insurance.

 

The amount a person has to pay on their credit card to quality for 'free' travel insurance varies with different banks. With our ANZ Visa card we just have to spend $250 of the total travel cost on the card, so we usually pay the cruise deposit on the card, then deposit the balance directly in the bank account of the TA or cruise line.

[Charlie Chan]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, CBA needs at least $1000 pp to be charged before the insurance applies. Normally this hasn't been a problem, but this is just a NZ cruise so we won't have the expensive airfares.

 

It appears difficult to avoid the charges - and the deposit is non refundable if we go with the TA. But it's cheaper than a new insurance policy.

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, CBA needs at least $1000 pp to be charged before the insurance applies. Normally this hasn't been a problem, but this is just a NZ cruise so we won't have the expensive airfares.

 

It appears difficult to avoid the charges - and the deposit is non refundable if we go with the TA. But it's cheaper than a new insurance policy.

A couple of ideas - get a new TA and get a new credit card (an ANZ one where you only have to pay $250 on the card to get free travel insurance).

[Brossy]

I recently paid the balance of my cruise using my 28 degree card and there was no fee.

[Pean]

I think it depends on the conditions on the card. We have never been charged fees when we used our MasterCard but we once used the visa card and were charged fees so went back to the MasterCard.

[Charlie Chan]

Thanks again for all the responses. We'll need to do a bit more research - our credit card is linked to ff points - and has a very high limit before they are capped, so that has to be considered. We'll pay the deposit with the card, and hope that flights, hotels etc closer to the time may reach the minimum spend.

[MicCanberra]

I recently paid the balance of my cruise using my 28 degree card and there was no fee.

 

I do not know if you know yet but this card is introducing changes as of 1 Jan 2014, it ison the cash withdrawals which will now carry a charge and conversion fee (not like it was before).:D

[keagle]

I do not know if you know yet but this card is introducing changes as of 1 Jan 2014, it ison the cash withdrawals which will now carry a charge and conversion fee (not like it was before).:D

 

This is partially correct. There will be a fee for a cash advance or cash equivalent transaction, but there is still no conversion fees or international transaction fees.

[MicCanberra]

This is partially correct. There will be a fee for a cash advance or cash equivalent transaction, but there is still no conversion fees or international transaction fees.

 

What are the fees going to be? I have just been told by a friend that they were changing for cash.:D

[The_Big_M]

What are the fees going to be? I have just been told by a friend that they were changing for cash.:D

 

3% with a minimum of $4.

 

All you might want to know, and some you probably don't :-) : http://www.28degreescard.com.au/faqs/cash-advance-fee.html

[MicCanberra]

3% with a minimum of $4.

 

All you might want to know, and some you probably don't :-) : http://www.28degreescard.com.au/faqs/cash-advance-fee.html

 

Cheers,