Which credit card should I use?

After reading all the volumes of responses to the different topics involving the transaction fees due to Oceania's using a foreign bank, I am very confused. Can anybody tell me which card is the one to use to avoid the fee? This is getting even more confusing than trying to find out if we are indeed going to Libya on the May 21 cruise (But that is a whole 'nuther thread)

After reading all the volumes of responses to the different topics involving the transaction fees due to Oceania's using a foreign bank, I am very confused. Can anybody tell me which card is the one to use to avoid the fee? This is getting even more confusing than trying to find out if we are indeed going to Libya on the May 21 cruise (But that is a whole 'nuther thread)

I used a Chase Mastercard for our final payment last November and did not get levied a foreign transaction fee.

We leave today for our cruise. Nautica here we come! Yippee!! :D

Joe

I have used a Citibank Mastercard for Oceania's deposits and fares, and although the billing statement indicates IRL for Ireland, there has been no service fee assessed.

American Express is the one I always use!!

Jan

*****

We used our M&I Visa with no foreign transaction fee.

I switched from MBNA, which always assessed a foreign transaction fee to Capital One, which doesn't. Saved a bundle on my recent Oceania cruise!

Mike

I have an MBNA Visa "World Points, Platinum" and they charge 1%. As a long time member of MBNA, it's not worth the effort to change cards.

I have an MBNA Visa "World Points, Platinum" and they charge 1%. As a long time member of MBNA, it's not worth the effort to change cards.

We figure our savings from not being charged the onerous 1% will be over $1000 per year, having switched from MBNA to Capital One. Plus - MBNA's domestic air "rewards" require 25,000 per trip, whereas Capital One is only 20,000.

Definitely "worth the effort" for us.

Mike

American Express always works well.

I sent an email to Citibank Advantage and they said they do not apply the foreign transaction fee if the charges are in US dollars. For those of you charged the fee from your credit card company, was the charge put in US dollars, or was there a conversion from a foreign currency?

We have used a formerly Bank One/now Chase Priority VISA and have not been charged the Transaction Fee for deposits or final payments. When I spoke with the Customer Service representative I was told that as long as the charges were in US dollars, no foreign transaction fee would be assessed.

I used my United Airlines VISA and was not charged the extra fee for my upcoming cruise. Out of the country I use a local credit union's VISA which does not charge the extra 3% overseas transaction fee. Shop around. There are many good choices.

I sent an email to Citibank Advantage and they said they do not apply the foreign transaction fee if the charges are in US dollars. For those of you charged the fee from your credit card company, was the charge put in US dollars, or was there a conversion from a foreign currency?

The charge was put in US dollars. Note that credit card companies can (and will) charge you TWICE for overseas transactions - one is the currency conversion fee, and the second is the foreign transaction fee. Even though the vendor may perform the conversion at the Point-of-Sale (POS), some unscrupulous credit card companies nevertheless tack on a 3% "foreign transaction fee," just because they can. And beware - some overseas vendors who provide POS conversions will tack on their own conversion fee, which you probably won't notice if you don't look carefully at your receipt and compare it to the current exchange rate.

Check out the outrage from earlier posts about Oceania outsourcing its credit card processing operation to a firm in Ireland. Also, check out page 60 of this month's Conde Nast Traveller for a listing of the various fees that credit cards are charging for foreign transactions. (I'd post a link, but it's not online yet).

Okay...help me figure this one out...

I would really like to use my MBNA Visa...It's through Royal Caribbean...and at 125,000 "points", I get a free 7-night Caribbean cruise for two...I'm currently at around 85,000 points, so the Oceania cruise fare would make up a large chunk of that 40,000 point difference...

Obviously, I don't want to pay any hidden charges...

Now, if I go ahead and use that card and something DOES come up, can't I get it removed? After all, it is an "unauthorized" charge...I have not consented to a "foreign transaction" fee for a purchase made in US $ from a US company...

On my Capital One Platinum Visa I was not charged a currency conversion fee when I used ATMs in Ephesus, Mykonos and Athens nor when I paid by credit card. I was not charged foreign transaction fees for any of those withdrawals or purchases, nor for paying for the cruise in the first place or settlement of my shipboard account. This was last July. I don't know if this policy still holds, but I recently purchased airfare from KLM and there wasn't any kind of extra charge. Surely they bank in the Netherlands.

Bruin Steve

MBNA will charge the 3% through Oceania. My travel agent was able to get Oceania to apply the charge as an on-board credit from Oceania. A real pain in the butt, but at least the bottom line evens out. What's worse, however, is the 3% that MBNA charges on all transactions incurred while you are out of the USA. As I said before, that's why I switched to Capital One (as well as that Capital One has a more generous "points" system than MBNA).

Mike

I have not consented to a "foreign transaction" fee for a purchase made in US $ from a US company...

Actually, the credit card company will tell you that you did when you applied for the card! You consented to paying a 3% foreign transaction fee that was hidden among the fine print in the contract of adhesion. The credit card company will then put the blame on the US company who outsourced the transaction processing to an offshore firm, saying they had nothing to do with that decision, and recommending that you contact the US company with your grievances. The US company might then suggest using an alternative card that doesn't carry the usurious fee. Once you've transferred the charge to your new card, cut up the old one and send it back to the originator saying you're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

What I meant was that I had not consented to a 3% foreign transaction fee on a DOMESTIC charge...

Nonetheless, I started thinking about this one...and remembered that I had charged my Deposit of $1000 back in August...So I went back and looked at my internet statement from September/August and, lo and behold, there was a $30 "foreign transaction fee" following my deposit notation...

I called Oceania...and they said they would give me a shipboard credit for the $30 and advised me to use a different credit card for the balance payment...

Now, again, I'm not really happy about using a different credit card because, though I have several, I use them for different purposes...and get different "rewards" for each...

So, I called MBNA...Their rep claimed that they are no longer charging this charge and I need not worry about it when I use the card on Oceania in the future...(I hope he's correct on this)...

Anyway, I asked, how about a refund on the $30? He claimed not to be able to do this...first, because it was so long ago (I chided him with if I were to take them tocourt on it, it's still WAY under the statute of limitations)...Then, he changes his tune to not being able to do it since, a couple of months ago, after a fraudulent use of my credit card number by an unknown party, we closed down the account number and transferred it to a new number...So, now, he claims, he cannot access the accounting of the old number...I responded that I sure could--all the old statements come right up on the screen when I log into their website...If I can access the info in seconds, surely he could...No luck, he said he'd call me back by next Monday!!!

Anyway, we're making progress...I think...

So, I called MBNA...Their rep claimed that they are no longer charging this charge and I need not worry about it when I use the card on Oceania in the future...(I hope he's correct on this)...

 

Anyway, I asked, how about a refund on the $30? He claimed not to be able to do this...first, because it was so long ago (I chided him with if I were to take them tocourt on it, it's still WAY under the statute of limitations)...Then, he changes his tune to not being able to do it since, a couple of months ago, after a fraudulent use of my credit card number by an unknown party, we closed down the account number and transferred it to a new number...

I wouldn't believe the MBNA rep's claim, if his excuses for why your $30 couldn't be refunded is any reflection on his veracity (or competence). Credit card companies are notoriously stingy at refunding fees - is it any wonder they're reporting record profits, despite their cries of being the victims of credit card fraud?

If there has been a change in policy, by all means get it in writing via a revised statement of fees. The automatic 3% foreign transaction fee is such a lucrative profit center for credit card companies that I can't imagine a company changing its policy just because a small handful of users bothered to examine their monthly statements (albeit belatedly!).

And although Oceania may be a "domestic" company, the Irish firm they use to process their credit card charges certainly isn't!

The Conde Nast Traveler article is now available on-line:

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=10173

Unfortunately, the table/chart of the credit card and the fees charged only appears in the magazine article.

On the basis of the Conde Nast magazine and from assurances from Citibank - in writing via email- I just made the final payment for our Libya-less cruise. I'll post whether a surcharge is added.

I just got my credit card bill for the final payment on the May 21 cruise. We used the Citibank Advantage Card. There were no fees or transaction charges added.

That's excellent, Bernita. I noticed a common thread - those who pay annual fees for their credit cards seem to have no 3% foreign transaction fee, while those who use "free" cards have the fee. I guess those "free" credit card companies have to make up the lost revenue in other ways!

I recently signed up for an annual fee-free credit card from the "new" US Airways - they changed credit card alliances to a VISA issued by Juniper Bank. I checked the statement that came with the card, and sure enough, there's a 3% add-on fee for foreign transactions, on top of any currency conversion fee. I fired off an angry email and they responded that the 3% was to cover the processing costs of these foreign transactions - why it would cost more to electronically process a charge from Ireland than from Miami is beyond me! Needless to say, I won't be using my Juniper Bank card on our upcoming cruise.

Actually, the credit card is free (at least for the first year). Every year, I get a solicitation through Citibank and they give me about 10,000 American Airlines miles for accepting and using the card once. After a year, they try to charge $50 for the card and I cancel it. A few months later, I get another solicitation for the same deal.

Because of the article in Conde Nast, I just ordered a free Capital One card. According to the article, they do not charge a foreign currency conversion rate (which is 2-3% by almost all companies, including Citibank), in addition to not charging if the charges are made in US dollars from an international bank. I like my free MBNA card, as we use it to get free Royal Caribbean cruises, but they charge for both instances.

The Capital One card can not be used at ATMs and they charge a great deal for cash advances, so I would not use it to get foreign currency. For that, I use the credit card from my brokerage card, as they allow for 50 free ATM transactions a year.

It pays to shop around, but I hate taking all those cards on vacation.

As a tip, I only carry half of them and give the other half to my husband, so in case one of us is mugged or loses a wallet, we still have usable cards.

I used my Capital One card at an ATM in Kusadasi and one in Mykonos. No foreign transaction fee. I don't remember the conversion fees, but the ATM fee was just a couple of dollars. Since we don't carry a balance on the card cash advances aren't any different from regular charges.