paying american TA in different currency

[lenbest]

Hoping to book my next cruise with an american TA(I am living in UK)but how do I make the money transfer from UK pounds to dollars?

[Gordoncruickshank]

I just used my UK American Express and let them do the conversion. The TA we used took the card numbers and called Celebrity. The payment was actually taken by Celebrity not the TA.

I used my Virgin Amex card and there were no TA fees. Only charge was the overseas transaction charge. I got my Virgin Miles on everything.

 

The only problem is that you are at the risk of exchange rates moving as it s expected. To mitigate this you could open a us$ accounts and buy the dollars now. Then you know the rate at the start.

[jshartime]

Your credit card company will do it for you, to get the best exchange rate use a card that does not charge conversion rates.

[hvsteve1]

If your TA takes PayPal they charge minimal fees. I use it for transactions between the US and UK.

[villauk]

As others have said, the TA will sort and your CC will be deducted as if you were purchasing anything from abroad. The good thing is the money goes straight to X and not the TA. Ensure you provide your Captain's Club number when you book and you can still obtain the one free category upgrade e.g. 2C to 2B (must be at time of booking, though ;)).

[MR_T]

We use either a uk Virgin Atlantic credit card for miles or a pre-paid uk dollar MasterCard via fairfx .com which works perfectly and there's also an app to use it on your smart phone and all transactions are instant so easy to load cash on and also to monitor charges as they appear

[Project_gal]

If you are concerned about fluctuating exchange rates, companies such as Travelex provide arrangements for fixing the rate for a future purchase. This is used primarily for purchases such as property overseas but you may want to investigate.

[nijh]

Halifax Clarity CC for me, no currency loading and a really good exchange rate. Consistently rated the best CC for overseas transactions.

[rampers75]

Post Office credit card also charges no foreign transaction fee and good for use abroad

[tine-tine]

I paid my upcoming B2B cruise using the new Revolut card. This is a great card for holiday money and paying for International purchases but it is new and I am finding a few teething problems.

 

I loaded the Sterling (they do the conversion on point of purchase with no fees)(or you can load and convert money if the rate is favourable) but found there are restrictions of amount you can spend in 4 days, currently £5000, so payments if greater than that amount has to wait the relevant time. The other problem was it does not work like a CC more of a Debit Card where you load money upfront, although it is a Mastercard and processed by them, they dont allow manual transactions, ie distance keying in the card details when A/C holder not present, you have to use a computerised secure system. This caused problems until my TA spoke with Celebrity direct and they managed to circumvent the problem, never found out how!

 

All that being said, I have used it in Spain, Madeira, bought online from America, used at cash machines abroad and in the UK. The APP is super easy, loading money a breeze while abroad. You do need internet connection for the APP but that is generally available nowadays.

 

Just wanted to put that option out there for those interested. There is a good online forum on moneysavingexpert.com that has plenty of feedback.

[YORKI1]

I also use the Halifax Clarity card when purchasing anything in a currency other than GBP.