Foreign transaction fee charge on cabin bill supposedly charged in USD

[stines]

Quick question if anyone should know. I just returned from a 10 night voyage in Cloud, Barcelona to London. My cabin bill was approx 1,000 which according to the onboard pursar was charged in US dollars (as all purchases on board were).

When I received my credit card statement, I also got charged an approximately 30 USD foreign transaction fee. My credit card company (bank of america) said that Silversea charged my card from London from their offshore bank account in a currency other than USD. Hence, the foreign transaction fee applies. I don't think it should apply as I was informed onboard by SS that my credit card would be charged in USD. Obviously the 30 bucks is no big deal, but I think SS is doing something inappropriate when it comes to billing.

Has anyone had a similar issue?

I called Silversea about it today but they told me they "have a skeleton crew available on Saturdays" and asked that I call back on Monday.

Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide.

[jpalbny]

This happens from time to time when the charge originates from an overseas location, though it's not (yet) happened to us. It's not limited to SS. See these threads for more details; there are many more threads on CC if you search for "foreign transaction fee" but these should give you an idea. Best bet is to call SS on Monday, as you're planning.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1200798&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1172425&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

[lord of the seas]

Just ask for the transaction fee to be refunded.It probably made sence for Silversea to use their uk banking facility.

Oceania are always having this problem when US guests book a cruise because their bank is in Ireland.They just refund the fee when a guest complains.

[stines]

Thank you very much. I wonder how many people just pay it and not look at the detail? Very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[Keith1010]

This happened to us. We had a very large on board credit so that transaction fee was relatively small. We noticed it but did not followup. This was the first time that we have been charged via a country outside the USA on any of our cruises.

Keith

[ging466]

This is a 'stock standard' for Australians when travelling anywhere. Our banks charge roughly 3% for the foreign transaction. Therefore when I buy a SS cruise, I factor in an additional 3% because I pay for the cruise in US$ on my credit card.

The latest problem for Aussies is, with the advent of chip credit cards, when travelling overseas and paying a bill, say in US$, the merchant then uses 'dynamic currency conversion'. In other words, charges u in your home currency (in my case Aussie $). Later, u discover that they have ripped u off by using a very unfavourable exchange rate. Merchants are 'supposed' to ask u what u wish to do but the unsuspecting don't know about this.

Princess has been doing this in Oz and people have been complaining bitterly, especially when the Aussie $ was up in the 90's and Princess was converting at around 70c on the foreign conversion.

Just be aware that this practice is going to become more & more popular.

Cheers
Jennifer

[Keith1010]

I should have mentioned that had I known that the charge would be UK rather than USA based I would have charged our shipboard account to our Capital One Credit Card which is one of the few USA based credit cards that does not tack on an international transaction fee.

Keith

[jpalbny]

I should have mentioned that had I known that the charge would be UK rather than USA based I would have charged our shipboard account to our Capital One Credit Card which is one of the few USA based credit cards that does not tack on an international transaction fee.

Keith

BOA Amex Accolades card never charges any kind of forex fee, whether the charge is in USD or any other currency, and the exchange rates are very close to on-par with the bank rates listed on xe.com. We use it overseas everywhere Amex is accepted... Which admittedly isn't everywhere, but all in all it works pretty well for us.

[ging466]

If anyone is interested in learning more about this DCC practice, have a read of this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_currency_conversion

Cheers
Jennifer

[TLCOhio]

THANKS to Stines, Jennifer, Keith and the others for highlighting and commenting on this issue! When we get on the Silver Cloud this coming Thursday in Copenhagen for our first cruise on Silversea, we will check on BOTH . . . any questions on how our on-board charges will be sent to our credit card, US versus a UK bank, plus any charity charges being hidden away on our bill.

We appreciate these "tips" on what to look for with our billings, etc. Lots of good and helpful info on these boards. I am planning on doing a LIVE "Silversea Virgins" report as we do our Norway Coast, Fjords and Land of the Midnight Sun cruise. I'll update on this posting for how the front-desk reacts on these issues and questions. I know some top Silversea staff in Florida, including the super helpful Laura, monitor comments on these boards. Hopefully they will pass the word to cut out such "tricks" that really make good customers super mad. It's not the amount, but the principle of being "SNEAKY" in the ways business should NOT be done with a true first-class cruise line. Honesty is important!

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Silver Spectre]

Quick question if anyone should know. I just returned from a 10 night voyage in Cloud, Barcelona to London. My cabin bill was approx 1,000 which according to the onboard pursar was charged in US dollars (as all purchases on board were).

When I received my credit card statement, I also got charged an approximately 30 USD foreign transaction fee. My credit card company (bank of america) said that Silversea charged my card from London from their offshore bank account in a currency other than USD. Hence, the foreign transaction fee applies. I don't think it should apply as I was informed onboard by SS that my credit card would be charged in USD. Obviously the 30 bucks is no big deal, but I think SS is doing something inappropriate when it comes to billing.

Has anyone had a similar issue?

I called Silversea about it today but they told me they "have a skeleton crew available on Saturdays" and asked that I call back on Monday.

Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide.

If you look at the T's & C's (general information), it states that all onboard payments are in US dollars. If SS wishes to use a non-USD account to debit your card then the currency fee should be at their risk. They should refund you this amount.

We always pay SS using Amex, and always get charged in US dollars. Ok, Amex charge a currency fee because its a sterling Amex account, but thats all.

[Keith1010]

If you look at the T's & C's (general information), it states that all onboard payments are in US dollars. If SS wishes to use a non-USD account to debit your card then the currency fee should be at their risk. They should refund you this amount.

We always pay SS using Amex, and always get charged in US dollars. Ok, Amex charge a currency fee because its a sterling Amex account, but thats all.

On our cruise last Summer to Alaska were were charged an inernational fee because the charge was from the UK. First time on any cruise line. As I mentioned earlier, it was a small fee because we had just a slight amout due to a hefty on board credit. As such, we did not follow up.

Again, first time we have ever experienced this on any cruise line.

We just assumed this is the way it's always done on Silversea.

It didn't take away from our enjoyment of the cruise.

I'm only mentioning this because this obviously happens for whatever reason.

Keith

[wripro]

I agree with Silver Spectre (great name for the next SS ship!)

[lord of the seas]

I agree with Silver Spectre (great name for the next SS ship!)

Assuming the finance is in place.

[DaveA]

This practice is common-place with Royal Caribbean and other big lines. In my experience they have always included a question in the very small print at check-in. Are you happy for the cruise line to have your account charged to your credit card in the currency of your credit card (the default option that makes more profit for the cruise line) or do you want the card charged in USD so that your card provider performs the conversion into your local currency?

I had hoped that this practie wouldn't extend to Silversea but I'll be watching closely when we check-in next Werdnesday.

Dave

[stines]

Well... I talked to Silversea today and they will NOT refund the transaction fee. They insist that the cabin charge was processed in USD but with a UK credit card processing facility, and it's my bank's issue. The woman was quite abrupt and said she never got a request like this before and no one complains about it. I would not say she was rude, just terse and held to her line/script. I just can't believe this was a first time request for this woman.

I explained that this really is not fair, quite sneaky, not disclosed to passengers in advance, and re-iterated that all of the SS literature/documents on board talk of charging everything in USD. At the end of the call, she did take note of my name and other details, so we'll if anything transpires. If not, SS has lost me as a customer forever after just one experience. It wasn't an exceptional cruise to begin with for the price paid, and this unfortunate event coupled with the hard-sell and booking of a future cruise by the on board sales consultant (which I did not authorize and later canceled) and some of the other negative comments I'm reading in your posts spell the end of the line for SS & me.

I will post an update if they re-contact me about the issue, and if not, I'll see you all over on the Seabourn board.

[Silver Spectre]

Well... I talked to Silversea today and they will NOT refund the transaction fee. They insist that the cabin charge was processed in USD but with a UK credit card processing facility, and it's my bank's issue. The woman was quite abrupt and said she never got a request like this before and no one complains about it. I would not say she was rude, just terse and held to her line/script. I just can't believe this was a first time request for this woman.

I explained that this really is not fair, quite sneaky, not disclosed to passengers in advance, and re-iterated that all of the SS literature/documents on board talk of charging everything in USD. At the end of the call, she did take note of my name and other details, so we'll if anything transpires. If not, SS has lost me as a customer forever after just one experience. It wasn't an exceptional cruise to begin with for the price paid, and this unfortunate event coupled with the hard-sell and booking of a future cruise by the on board sales consultant (which I did not authorize and later canceled) and some of the other negative comments I'm reading in your posts spell the end of the line for SS & me.

I will post an update if they re-contact me about the issue, and if not, I'll see you all over on the Seabourn board.

I know its a pain after you have tried to deal with this on the phone, but I would suggest that you contact Guest Relations either by e-mail or preferably in writing. It will give someone with more seniority/experience the chance to fix the problem and repair the damage caused to your opinion of SS.

[wripro]

Stines,

Might I also suggest that you have your TA contact SS regarding this. If the agent does a fair amount of business with them his request and pressure might carry more weight.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

Silversea does process their credit cards in U.S. dollars. Some large U.S. banks pick this up as a foreign transaction, even though they did not provide any currency conversion service.

Other banks do not treat the charge that way. For example, I just got off the Spirit on August 12 and we live in Spain. The charge came through in U.S. dollars converted by our bank in Spain to euros. There was no charge for the conversion.

Your argument is with your bank as to why they charged you a foreign transaction fee when your bank performed no foreign currency conversion service whatsoever because the charge is in U.S. dollars, no matter what country Silversea used to process the charge (it is common practice nowadays for large companies to use foreign-based credit card processing systems).

Please read your credit card contract carefully to see if this charge can be made by your bank just for the mere fact that the credit card transaction was processed outside of the United States, or whether that fee can only be charged when a foreign currency conversion service is performed.

That being said, I do think that Silversea should refund your $30 in the name of good customer relations and goodwill and the customer service representative should not have acted in that manner.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

[TLCOhio]

Here's the reply and detail I got back yesterday: "Foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you are traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

Not sure why Silversea needs to do this through a UK processor. Is that the "problem" on this issue? Using the UK processor means we get hit with the added 3% cost/fee that most credit cards do when making purchases in Europe. Right? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Keith1010]

Here's the reply and detail I got back yesterday: "Foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you are traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

Not sure why Silversea needs to do this through a UK processor. Is that the "problem" on this issue? Using the UK processor means we get hit with the added 3% cost/fee that most credit cards do when making purchases in Europe. Right? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


Terry you have this right. We were charged by a UK processor.

In my case I would never have brought this item up because we owed so little the charge was small but it really is something they should mention at check in.

I could have easily given them a Capital One Credit Card where there would have been no international fee.

Now what is interesting is we did an on board booking and that amount was done separate from the shipboard account which is the first time I have experienced that on any cruise line and that one was not charged using their consolidator so no fee was added on.

Anyway, for us it was a nit but nevertheless something that one would think could be avoided by SS.

Keiht

[SFL]

Terry you have this right. We were charged by a UK processor.

In my case I would never have brought this item up because we owed so little the charge was small but it really is something they should mention at check in.

I could have easily given them a Capital One Credit Card where there would have been no international fee.

Now what is interesting is we did an on board booking and that amount was done separate from the shipboard account which is the first time I have experienced that on any cruise line and that one was not charged using their consolidator so no fee was added on.

Anyway, for us it was a nit but nevertheless something that one would think could be avoided by SS.

Keiht


You may also wish to checkout Charles Schwab, they have a no international transaction fee credit card(for Merchant charges) The only charge is for cash/atm advances. I have used this card for Intl purchases and I pay the "Inter Bank Rate" for the currency exchange

[stines]

I wrote to SS today on this issue, and will let you know if they reply with the same response as Keith notes. If they would have just let passengers know, at the time you check in and/or when preparing the final cabin bill statements, that:

"Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

Then all would be fine. I would have used a different card to settle by cabin bill as a previous poster noted. SS was not up-front explaining their billing practices, and as a result, many passengers I'm sure have paid $ to their credit card companies over the years for no good reason. Very sloppy on SS's part.

[stines]

I did get a reply from SS as follows:

Please allow us to explain. The foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you were traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. We are unable to issue any monetary compensation. We understand this is not the answer you want to hear from us. When settling your onboard charges in future you have the option to pay by cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee. On behalf of Silversea Cruises, we thank you again for your correspondence. It is our sincere wish that you consider Silversea again when arranging future travel plans.

To which I replied:

Thank you for your response. However, it is not satisfactory. If SS would have been more straighforward and alerted me of your UK processing arrangement (which I had no idea of whatsoever!), then I would have used a different credit card to settle my account which does not charge a foreign conversion fee.

All SS would have to do is state something on the bill like:

Please note that Silversea uses a UK-based credit card processing facility. So kindly note that when settling your onboard charges, please be aware of this arrangement and know that you have the option to pay by cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee being assessed by your credit card company. Thank you.

My goodness, how simple is that. Just imagine all the negative press and comments SS could avoid my (easily) improving their very poor communication on this issue and abmissal guest relations. A real pity.

==
So my fellow cc'ers... be aware of the $ that you'll be assessed if you use any US credit card that imposes foreign currency conversion fees. And all because SS can't be more explanatory about their post-cruise billing details. Oh well - lesson learned for me and I hope others. Good luck Silversea in your future... like I said in my original Silversea v Seabourn comparison thread - I wonder about the long-term viability of this line. Time will tell.

[lord of the seas]

Yet another big mistake by Silversea after the "We say that you donate to our Italian Charity" fiasco.
There are quite a few of us that have a few hundred days with Silversea that have found alternative accomodation in the last year or so.Thank God for Seabourn.
Good luck Silversea,you are on a slippery road.

[Jade13]

Well... I talked to Silversea today and they will NOT refund the transaction fee. They insist that the cabin charge was processed in USD but with a UK credit card processing facility, and it's my bank's issue. The woman was quite abrupt and said she never got a request like this before and no one complains about it. I would not say she was rude, just terse and held to her line/script. I just can't believe this was a first time request for this woman.

I explained that this really is not fair, quite sneaky, not disclosed to passengers in advance, and re-iterated that all of the SS literature/documents on board talk of charging everything in USD. At the end of the call, she did take note of my name and other details, so we'll if anything transpires. If not, SS has lost me as a customer forever after just one experience. It wasn't an exceptional cruise to begin with for the price paid, and this unfortunate event coupled with the hard-sell and booking of a future cruise by the on board sales consultant (which I did not authorize and later canceled) and some of the other negative comments I'm reading in your posts spell the end of the line for SS & me.

I will post an update if they re-contact me about the issue, and if not, I'll see you all over on the Seabourn board.

We had this happen on our one SS cruise on the PAII, where we also received a foreign transaction fee. We never disputed it. The US land Rep sounds totally unprofessional. Why would any company lose a customer over $30.00?

Our one SS cruise was good, not great, and would not make our top ten vacation list. We had an unprofessional experience onboard with the assistant Expedition Leader. It was enough to make us cancel a cruse we had booked for next year. Azamara, (and even HAL) although not luxury def have more professional crew onboard. Btw, there was no future cruise consultant on our trip and we never even received a list of future cruises while onboard.

Btw, there was a couple onboard that told us they were in the second largest Suite (I forget the #, but I believe Deck 5 on PAII) and they were past SS cruisers and not happy. They said they were writing a long list of complaints to the company. It started when they booked everything through the cruiseline including Air from Florida to Tromso, transfers including in Oslo overnight in both directions to the Grand Hotel (I believe coach was $3,200.00pp for the air, 2 nights hotel & transfers) and they were "dumped" at the ship with all of their luggage by 10:00am and told they could not board until late in day until they demanded to speak to someone who would let them board.

Would we go back, probably, but not right now.

[Jaffa]

This matter has been dealt with before, on this board, numerous times, as far back as 2004.
Please feel free to search. This is old news.

I don't see how this is Silversea's fault at all.

Silversea is an Italian cruise line. Always has been.
Silversea's company Headquarters is in Monaco. Always has been.
Silversea's onboard credit processing has always been through London, because they are a European based company.
They don't have to baby you about it. You should have realised this.
Why would anybody expect it be any other way.

The only exception to this that l know of is onboard cruise booking deposits. Which revert back to the original T/A for commission purposes.
Of course this can be changed at a later date to a new T/A if the client prefers.

It is the responcibility of the credit card holder to know the in's and out's of their cards/banks terms and conditions. This would be especially relevant when dealing with a foreign company, with the intent to transact. This l would have thought would be common sense. It is always the first question l ask before l hand my card across, whenever l am in an different country or currency.

How is it Silversea's fault, that you did not ask the question.

You knew you were dealing with a non-American company, so it would be obvious to ask.

I think Silversea has nothing to appologize or compensate for.

Unless of course you think their terms and conditions should be 100's of pages long as they try to anticipate every single little nuonce from every nationality and diverse credit facility that their 100's of thousands of different customers may or may not use.

You copped a transaction fee because you did not check.
You blindly handed over your card.
It's time we all started to take responsibilty for our own actions and stop trying to pass the buck.

Oh! and Silversea did not get the money, "your" provider/bank did.

[stines]

Jaffa,
You're clueless and offensice. SS was misleading and employed an equally clueless (and pathetic) policy/procedure when it comes to settling the final cabin bill. Time will tell... as I said. I have a good hunch you'll be eating your words. Maybe not right away... but talk to me in 5 years or so.

[stines]

Jaffa,
And soory for misspelling OFFENSIVE!

[MJN1]

"The only exception to this that l know of is onboard cruise booking deposits. Which revert back to the original T/A for commission purposes."

Can I add another wrinkle to this story? On our last cruise we paid the on-board charges in US$ with a USA based credit card. This duly showed up next month on my account as "Silversea, Monaco" with the correct amount (there should be no charges added ever if there is NO currency conversion involved regardless where the "operator" is located!), so no issue:).
We also paid the deposit for our next cruise booked on board, again in US$ with the same USA based credit card and with a USA based TA. This showed up as "Silversea, London". When I queried why this difference in location (which results in a major tax issue :eek: for reasons I wont bore you with) I was told that SS now "in cooperation with all credit card companies" uses the address of the credit card to determine location of transaction. First time ever I heard about this policy from ANY company (and apparently did not apply to the on-board charges...)! Anyone else had a similar recent experience?

[travelingduo]

I have found this thread very interesting. My most recent SS cruise was in April and I looked at my CC bill and it was in USD and said Silversea Cruises, Ft. Lauderdale. So then I went back to look at my last 5 SS cruises and they were all charged in USD and all said SS Ft. Lauderdale. I am wondering if their policy changed. I will be in Asia in October on the Shadow and next April in Europe on the Wind, so I will keep my eyes open for this.

I have had nothing but positive experiences with both SS cruises and their customer service. I am sorry to hear that this was not the case for those participating on this thread. As a matter of fact, over the last year we sailed on Regent and Seabourn and were so happy to be back on SS and are booked on 3 more.

[DGF]

Our Canadian American Express cards charge 2.5% conversion charge

[DGF]

Our Canadian American Express cards charge 2.5% conversion charge

If a supplier then adds another charge which we have not approved, we have American Express put a stop payment on the unauthorized charge

[cruiseerf]

So: After sailing on Silversea for the past 5+ years this change concerns me, as I am a gambler and get out cash on board.

At the end of everycruise I receive my bill which I always pay in USD with my US based Credit cards.....In Asia, Europe, Caribbean etc. Now you are telling me that Silversea is using a different clearing house. So my upcoming 20 day onboard Europe cruises expenses (which will be significant) are going to hit my USA Platinum amex as a foreign charge and therefore incur an additional 3.5%? This doesn't make sense....except unless Silversea is trying to keep as much revenue as possible OUT of the USA with little regards to customers who dont like paying these fees.

Do I have something wrong here? With over 50% of their customers American this cannot be true?

Happy Travels.

[stines]

Sadly, it is TRUE, cruiseerf. If you are going to incur a large cabin bill, do look into a card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. Otherwise, SS's billing practices and non-existent communications about it will cost you. Very sloppy on their part.

BTW, just returned from Seabourn in the Med in August, and all charges were processed in USD out of Miami. No credit card fees at all.

[Emtbsam]

So: After sailing on Silversea for the past 5+ years this change concerns me, as I am a gambler and get out cash on board.

At the end of everycruise I receive my bill which I always pay in USD with my US based Credit cards.....In Asia, Europe, Caribbean etc. Now you are telling me that Silversea is using a different clearing house. So my upcoming 20 day onboard Europe cruises expenses (which will be significant) are going to hit my USA Platinum amex as a foreign charge and therefore incur an additional 3.5%? This doesn't make sense....except unless Silversea is trying to keep as much revenue as possible OUT of the USA with little regards to customers who dont like paying these fees.

Do I have something wrong here? With over 50% of their customers American this cannot be true?

Happy Travels. Suggest you check with American Express directly.

[DaveFr]

So: After sailing on Silversea for the past 5+ years this change concerns me, as I am a gambler and get out cash on board.

At the end of everycruise I receive my bill which I always pay in USD with my US based Credit cards.....In Asia, Europe, Caribbean etc. Now you are telling me that Silversea is using a different clearing house. So my upcoming 20 day onboard Europe cruises expenses (which will be significant) are going to hit my USA Platinum amex as a foreign charge and therefore incur an additional 3.5%? This doesn't make sense....except unless Silversea is trying to keep as much revenue as possible OUT of the USA with little regards to customers who dont like paying these fees.

Do I have something wrong here? With over 50% of their customers American this cannot be true?

Happy Travels.
Don't worry, you will not incur any fees for your onboard charges. AMEX cards only charge a currency conversion fee, not a foreign transaction fee. Since Silversea bills in US dollars, there will not be a currency conversion fee regardless of where the transaction is processed. I have charged all my deposits, cruise fares and onboard charges on Regent to an AMEX card and have never incurred a foreign transaction fee, notwithstanding the fact that Regent processes all their credit card transactions through a bank in Ireland..

Dave

[Mike2131]

BOA Amex Accolades card never charges any kind of forex fee, whether the charge is in USD or any other currency, and the exchange rates are very close to on-par with the bank rates listed on xe.com. We use it overseas everywhere Amex is accepted... Which admittedly isn't everywhere, but all in all it works pretty well for us.
When we took the PA II in June I called AX to let them know I would be going abroad. They informed me there would be foreign transaction fee (2.5% or 2.7%?) on charges abroad. Sure enough, it showed up (a very small amount) on the next billing.

[DGF]

When we took the PA II in June I called AX to let them know I would be going abroad. They informed me there would be foreign transaction fee (2.5% or 2.7%?) on charges abroad. Sure enough, it showed up (a very small amount) on the next billing.

Interesting. In Canada, Amex buries the 2.5% in the exchange rate when they convert US$ to Cnd $ and it never shows up as a separate charge

Miles off target, Visa and I believe same with AMEX, if you make a purchase in another foreign currency, they convert that currency at the wholesale rate to US$ and then convert to Cnd $

DEAN

[chicagogal]

Don't worry, you will not incur any fees for your onboard charges. AMEX cards only charge a currency conversion fee, not a foreign transaction fee. Since Silversea bills in US dollars, there will not be a currency conversion fee regardless of where the transaction is processed. I have charged all my deposits, cruise fares and onboard charges on Regent to an AMEX card and have never incurred a foreign transaction fee, notwithstanding the fact that Regent processes all their credit card transactions through a bank in Ireland..

Dave

Ditto for us.

[Mike2131]

Interesting. In Canada, Amex buries the 2.5% in the exchange rate when they convert US$ to Cnd $ and it never shows up as a separate charge

Miles off target, Visa and I believe same with AMEX, if you make a purchase in another foreign currency, they convert that currency at the wholesale rate to US$ and then convert to Cnd $

DEAN
The new statement format now breaks any fees out separately. I called once I received the billing and the rep explained the procedure. I believe their aim was to achieve full transparency.

I wonder if the Canadian billing format hasn't changed (and perhaps won't)?

[scapel]

Always use a Capital one Credit card which does not make a currency conversion charge and neither does it make a foreign transaction charge.

[scapel]

Interesting. In Canada, Amex buries the 2.5% in the exchange rate when they convert US$ to Cnd $ and it never shows up as a separate charge

Miles off target, Visa and I believe same with AMEX, if you make a purchase in another foreign currency, they convert that currency at the wholesale rate to US$ and then convert to Cnd $

DEAN

You see the charge if you keep your receipts and do the currency conversion yourself and look at the difference in charges.

[DGF]

You see the charge if you keep your receipts and do the currency conversion yourself and look at the difference in charges.

Joe

I have always wanted to do that. We do keep our receipts but how do you know what the currency exchange rate is at the time of conversion?

DEAN

[scapel]

Joe

I have always wanted to do that. We do keep our receipts but how do you know what the currency exchange rate is at the time of conversion?

DEAN
If you are in a country it will be close to the same for a few days. Just right it down on the receipt. Usually when you buy something they will have the exchange rate posted which is how you figure out how much something is worth in USD. Now the currency exchange rate will be on the day the transaction will hit the card, but the rate will be close enough.
Years ago I found out they were making a currency exchange fee that credit cards didn't use to make. I found out because I called the credit card company and asked why there was such a discrpency in my receipt and the credit card charge and that is when they told me they made a currency exchange fee.
I purchased a trip by telephone in Punta Arenas, Chile. The transaction was made in USD and I was upset when they put a $189 foreign transaction fee on my card. They took it off because I was a good customer and they had just introduced it a month before. They say they notified me, but I didn't remember. There was no currency conversion because it was in USD.
Now Capital one credit card does not put a currency conversion charge nor a foreign transaction fee. Call and ask them.
Now I don't know about England or Canada, but this is in the U.S.

[DGF]

Thanks. Will check more closely our upcoming Silerseas CruiseInvoicesd as they come in

DEAN

[jgrahamiii]

FYI, just read the cardholder agreement for the platinum Delta American Express Card. States that a 2.7% charge will be added to all foreign transactions after currency conversion. So I guess only the "regular" Amex cards don't have a fee. -John

[DGF]

FYI, just read the cardholder agreement for the platinum Delta American Express Card. States that a 2.7% charge will be added to all foreign transactions after currency conversion. So I guess only the "regular" Amex cards don't have a fee. -John

Wish that was the case; In Canada, Amex converts all foreign purchases into US $ and then to Cnd $. They add on a transaction fee of 2.5% on the US$ to Cnd $ conversion. Don't have a platinum card, but have a regular card and a Gold Business Aeroplan cards and both are charged. Result is that the points you receive wash out at a cost of 2.5%.

Once I get my mail set up for our US address, hope to ovrcome the problem with an AMEX American Airlines awards card. That way I will be able to avoid the extra charge for all the cruise fares

DEAN

[scapel]

FYI, just read the cardholder agreement for the platinum Delta American Express Card. States that a 2.7% charge will be added to all foreign transactions after currency conversion. So I guess only the "regular" Amex cards don't have a fee. -John
Thanks, I don't use any Amer Ex cards, so I didn't know that they didn't make a foreign transaction fee. I thought Capital one Card was the only one that didn't make either a foreign transaction fee or a currency conversion charge.