Credit card international transaction fees when buying in Australia

[woodyren]

I have booked many cruises both here and through US TA's. I understand that there will be an international transaction fee when booking through the USA.

 

I paid the deposit for a recent cruise through an Australian travel agent and advertised in Australian dollars with my awards CCard and (a big local) my bank charged my and international transaction fee of 3%.

 

Strangely I paid the rest of the cruise price a few days later with a different banks CC (same type of card) and did not get charge the international processing fee.

 

Too it up with which bank and they said it was because RCL process the fee offshore (in Miami). Will follow up with Royal.

 

Not happy.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, RCI processes the charges through a Miami bank.

 

I think the foreign transaction fee is charged by the bank your credit card is through, not Visa or Mastercard per se.

 

You'll just have to be careful which credit card you use for transactions that might be processed overseas.

[mr walker]

there was a recent discussion on here about this.

 

It is relatively new, & the earlier thread was the first I had heard of this. It had never happened to me but it has now! The bank (CBA) blame the vendor & RC blame the bank. I will be organising a different card, maybe 28 degrees prior to next time.

 

Note: from what I have seen since with others, it is a change with the bank as it has happened with other on-line transaction on supposedly .com.au websites transacting in $A

 

Anyway, we are aware now and can act appropriately

[Codster]

I participated in a discussion on here recently on this very discussion. I have since organised a 28 degrees CC and a Citibank Plus Card, neither of which attract OS transaction fees/charges

 

 

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[cruisine21]

It's called a single currency conversion fee. I know CBA and Westpac charge it. Some banks charge for debit cards.

 

Some TA's also charge a fee so you need to be careful.

Edited December 26, 2016 by cruisine21

[6666oz]

The company's and banks that charge these fees should be boycotted

 

I noticed the other day in the local Aldi store they now charge a fee for pay wave cards , another rip off.

[tazza_0712]

It's been happening for a short while now. My new ANZ Rewards Travel cards don't accrue any international transaction fees, so that's what I use for all online purchasing.

 

I use this card in place of my 28°, as although that doesn't accrue international transaction fees either, it also doesn't result in any kind of reward points which are important to me.

 

 

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[fairywren]

Westpac Amex doesn't charge fees for overseas transactions in AUD, eg RCI booked in aus, and also accrues double reward points.

[windsor26]

The company's and banks that charge these fees should be boycotted

 

I noticed the other day in the local Aldi store they now charge a fee for pay wave cards , another rip off.

 

Surely ,only on credit cards which they have always done I use paywave credit card never a fee

[Russell21]

Just before Xmas I bought a watch from the US Amazon site, and paid in Au Dollars without any bank or conversion charges.

If they can do it there is no justification for anyone else charging.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just before Xmas I bought a watch from the US Amazon site, and paid in Au Dollars without any bank or conversion charges.

If they can do it there is no justification for anyone else charging.

 

Which actually means that the credit card you use on your Amazon account doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. Those have nothing to do with Amazon however if you compare the AUD price Amazon charges against the USD price converted to AUD at the current exchange rate you will find that the Amazon AUD price is slightly higher so, in effect, you are paying some hidden conversion charges. I checked this and an item that was US$112 (AU $155 at the current exchange rate) came to AU $162 when Amazon did the conversion.

Edited December 26, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[Aus ATC]

My NAB Velocity AMEX did charge the 3% fee on an RCI purchase in AUD. Pretty poor form in my view (I can understand it if the transaction was in USD).

 

My ANZ Frequent Flyer AMEX did not charge anything extra on an RCI purchase in AUD.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Aus ATC

[MicCanberra]

I participated in a discussion on here recently on this very discussion. I have since organised a 28 degrees CC and a Citibank Plus Card, neither of which attract OS transaction fees/charges

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Yes, I have the same cards. The Citibank card has no international transaction fees on cash advances as well. :D

Note that the Citibank card is converting from a Visa to a MasterCard in March and there will be some rule changes.

[6666oz]

Surely ,only on credit cards which they have always done I use paywave credit card never a fee

 

 

Nope ! big sign (if you see it ) says words to the effect .5% FEES NOW CHARGED ON ALL CONTACT LESS CARD TRANSACTIONS, which means pay wave, tap and go and what ever its called with your bank, also included on sign is some BS about this makes the products you buy cheaper :(

[Russell21]

Which actually means that the credit card you use on your Amazon account doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. Those have nothing to do with Amazon however if you compare the AUD price Amazon charges against the USD price converted to AUD at the current exchange rate you will find that the Amazon AUD price is slightly higher so, in effect, you are paying some hidden conversion charges. I checked this and an item that was US$112 (AU $155 at the current exchange rate) came to AU $162 when Amazon did the conversion.

 

Well the fact that I was getting a 30% Black Friday discount, and the overall price was over $200.00 cheaper than I was quoted on the Dawn Princess made something like that redundant for me.:D

[OzKiwiJJ]

Well the fact that I was getting a 30% Black Friday discount, and the overall price was over $200.00 cheaper than I was quoted on the Dawn Princess made something like that redundant for me.:D

 

Well, yes, but you can't use that as an example just because you didn't care whether you were getting a good exchange rate (aka hidden conversion charges) or not.

[waydago]

there was a recent discussion on here about this.

 

It is relatively new, & the earlier thread was the first I had heard of this. It had never happened to me but it has now! The bank (CBA) blame the vendor & RC blame the bank. I will be organising a different card, maybe 28 degrees prior to next time.

 

Note: from what I have seen since with others, it is a change with the bank as it has happened with other on-line transaction on supposedly .com.au websites transacting in $A

 

Anyway, we are aware now and can act appropriately

 

Not New. First ever cruise in 2008 I was charged this transaction fee. 10 travellers - only 2 charged. Same 2 were with the same bank - NAB.

 

Booked in Australia with P&O AUSTRALIA. NAB billed the Sydney Office yet fee applied. Has applied on every cruise since. Other banks now appear to be jumping on the bandwagon of this lucrative little scam.

 

Both blamed each other of course, but NAB also charge this fee for other Australian transactions when their parent company is foreign, it appears it IS the banks - not the cruise line.

 

I might look into the cards suggested by others on here.

[Homerclese]

I purchased tickets on Ovation just last month using an Australian issued American Express charge card, and I am usually charged a foreign currency fee on transactions processed overseas, and yet the RCI charge - listed as "Royal Caribbean Miami" - is in AUD and has no foreign currency fee added.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I purchased tickets on Ovation just last month using an Australian issued American Express charge card, and I am usually charged a foreign currency fee on transactions processed overseas, and yet the RCI charge - listed as "Royal Caribbean Miami" - is in AUD and has no foreign currency fee added.

 

Not all banks and credit cards charge the foreign transaction fee on AUD transactions processed overseas. It's really trial and error to see if you are affected, although you should have received notification that these fees were being applied. Our main credit card company has lost quite a bit of our custom by doing this - all our overseas purchases now go through a 28 Degrees Mastercard. I'd ditch the original credit card completely except for the fact that we have an exceptionally good credit limit on it which gives us an emergency buffer if we ever need it.

Edited December 29, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[Homerclese]

... although you should have received notification that these fees were being applied now

 

That's why I went to check the statement, after reading this thread, and I would have been pretty cranky if I'd been charged a fee for this when I was always quoted in AUD. The tickets weren't cheap as we booked a Grand Loft Suite so the 3% fee, if it applied, would have stung. Thankfully no fee.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Homerclese

[MicCanberra]

Good result, it is a nice saving (or rather not a extra expense) not having to pay the transaction fees.:D

[The_Big_M]

Not all banks and credit cards charge the foreign transaction fee on AUD transactions processed overseas. It's really trial and error to see if you are affected,

 

It's not really trial and error - all banks have to disclose which fees they charge, and these overseas transaction fees are therefore in their fee listing on their website.

 

Of course, many aren't aware that a fee may apply so don't bother looking into it first. The other issue is that some providers don't disclose where the transaction is processed - although RCL/Celebrity do state that it is charged overseas in their terms.

[MicCanberra]

It's not really trial and error - all banks have to disclose which fees they charge, and these overseas transaction fees are therefore in their fee listing on their website.

 

Of course, many aren't aware that a fee may apply so don't bother looking into it first. The other issue is that some providers don't disclose where the transaction is processed - although RCL/Celebrity do state that it is charged overseas in their terms.

 

The trial and error part may have been referring to which company charges in AUD and here in Australia rather than in USD or in Miami.

[The_Big_M]

The trial and error part may have been referring to which company charges in AUD and here in Australia rather than in USD or in Miami.

 

As with RCL making the statement, you can always contact the company in advance, if it's not evident to check. Still no need to try.

[cruisine21]

I purchased tickets on Ovation just last month using an Australian issued American Express charge card, and I am usually charged a foreign currency fee on transactions processed overseas, and yet the RCI charge - listed as "Royal Caribbean Miami" - is in AUD and has no foreign currency fee added.

 

My Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard charges a fee but my Amex does not so I always use the Amex for RCI/Celebrity bookings. It's no good for Cunard though because they charge a credit card fee so I used the Citibank Plus.