Are there credit card transaction fees in the caribbean?

[Clarea]

I just spoke with Discover Card last night. You won't see the Discover Card sign in Europe, but if you see Diner's Club International you can use it there. You will see the Discover Card sign in London and will be able to use it there also. I was especially interested in the Baltic countries because of my cruise. So according to the Discover Card rep I will be fine.

Thanks for the info. I never realized there was a connection between Diner's Club and Discover.:)

[Xstant]

And who might that be Bob? Capital One was the last provider that I know of that used to not have foreign transaction fees.

 

Some cards with no foreign transaction fees:

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Ink

Southwest Airlines Premier Rapid Rewards

I think at least one Delta Airlines Amex card

 

 

There are others, also.

[Xstant]

Do NOT let a merchant offer to charge you in US dollars. Besides the fact that you will still get hit with a foreign transaction fee, the exchange rate is terrible. The credit card companies get the commercial, bulk exchange rate which is the best rate you can get.

[Ocean Boy]

Some cards with no foreign transaction fees:

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Ink

Southwest Airlines Premier Rapid Rewards

I think at least one Delta Airlines Amex card

 

 

There are others, also.

 

Do these card also have no annualy fees? For people who do not travel a lot it does not make sense to get a card with no international transaction fees only to get stuck paying a yearly fee to maintain the card. I need to find a new card. I'm tired of paying Bank of America's fees. :rolleyes:

Edited April 30, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[Xstant]

Do these card also have no annualy fees? For people who do not travel a lot it does not make sense to get a card with no international transaction fees only to get stuck paying a yearly fee to maintain the card. I need to find a new card. I'm tired of paying Bank of America's fees. :rolleyes:

 

Those cards do have annual fees but they are waived the first year. They often come with nice sign up bonus points. The Southwest card often has a 50,000 point bonus for new members (I think it's only 25k now but they run the promotion often). That card also gives you 6000 points each year you pay the $99 annual fee. That's worth about $84 in airfare.

 

I believe Capitol One has no annual fee but I'm not entirely sure.

[Clarea]

Do these card also have no annualy fees? For people who do not travel a lot it does not make sense to get a card with no international transaction fees only to get stuck paying a yearly fee to maintain the card. I need to find a new card. I'm tired of paying Bank of America's fees. :rolleyes:

Capital One has several cards available with no foreign transaction fees. We have one that also has no annual fee called Venture One.

[Ocean Boy]

Capital One has several cards available with no foreign transaction fees. We have one that also has no annual fee called Venture One.

 

Thanks.

[ahecht]

The PenFed Visa and American Express cards all have no foreign transaction fee, and most have no annual fee either. To sign up you either need to be in the military, work for the government, have a family member in the military or government, or make a one-time $15 donation to one of their affiliated charities.

 

I use their cash rewards card, which gives 5% cash back as a statement credit on gas purchases and which has no annual fee if you keep $25 in a money market savings account with them.

Edited April 30, 2014 by ahecht

[CRUISEBOY305]

Allot of vendors throughout the Caribbean can charge your card in US Dollars.

I use Capital One all over the world, they don't have a foreign transaction fee.

[CRUISEBOY305]

We've paid foreign transaction fees for charges in St. Thomas, which is the US and uses dollars.

 

that's very unusual and probably illegal since St. Thomas is part of the US.

[NEMMRRC]

As stated already Discover card no longer charges a fee (% of sale) when used outside the USA. And, I believe there is no annual fee to carry a Discover card.

 

There are some banks that offer debit cards with their preferred checking accounts that do not charge a transaction fee when used outside the USA. Plus, they also may waive the ATM fees as well when withdrawing cash (in the local currency giving you the best exchange rate that day) at ATMs outside the USA.

 

Thus, check with your bank/credit card provider and ask if you will be charged a fee when purchasing goods and services outside the USA.

Edited April 30, 2014 by NEMMRRC

[Havingfun2010]

One way to handle this, is when you travel, accept in your head that you will pay taxes and fees that you are not accustomed to, and just accept it that it is out of your control. Just like if you go to an ATM machine, you will pay a fee. If you get cash converted, you pay a fee for the service. It is just something to accept, not worry about, and live with it.

[Clarea]

One way to handle this, is when you travel, accept in your head that you will pay taxes and fees that you are not accustomed to, and just accept it that it is out of your control. Just like if you go to an ATM machine, you will pay a fee. If you get cash converted, you pay a fee for the service. It is just something to accept, not worry about, and live with it.

Since we've been talking about Capital One cards, I wanted to note that when their debit card is used, ATM fees are reimbursed up to a max of $30 per month. Very useful when using an ATM to get foreign currency when traveling.

Edited April 30, 2014 by clarea

[Ocean Boy]

One way to handle this, is when you travel, accept in your head that you will pay taxes and fees that you are not accustomed to, and just accept it that it is out of your control. Just like if you go to an ATM machine, you will pay a fee. If you get cash converted, you pay a fee for the service. It is just something to accept, not worry about, and live with it.

 

That is definitely one way to handle it. The other way is to do something about it.

[Ocean Boy]

Allot of vendors throughout the Caribbean can charge your card in US Dollars.

I use Capital One all over the world, they don't have a foreign transaction fee.

 

Charging in US dollars does not prevent the fees though. We were charged in US dollars on St. Maarten. We got stuck with the fee.