Best method for final payment

[Dreps]

Paul, You don't even have to use the Platinum card for the deposit. As long as you have it, and charge the cruise to an AMX card, you're fine.

[Paulchili]

Paul, You don't even have to use the Platinum card for the deposit. As long as you have it, and charge the cruise to an AMX card, you're fine.

 

 

Apparently not as simple as that.

After checking with Amex Plat desk, I was told that to qualify for those benefits you have to book the cruise through the Amex travel agency. If I can save over $ 300 by booking through my TA (and I think I can), then the whole thing does not make sense.

What am I missing?

[WesW]

Paul, you do not have to book through the AMX Travel Agency.

 

This Seabourn thread is good for AMX-P information:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=917204&highlight=american+express+platinum+card

 

Here are the AMX-P specific card details:

 

AMERICAN EXPRESS BENEFITS

 

 

PLATINUM / CENTURION PROGRAM

 

If you have an American Express Platinum card - the one that costs $450 a year, you can receive the following benefits. NO OTHER AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM AFFILIATED CARD WILL WORK. No Delta, Optima, Costco, Hilton, etc - affiliated Platinum cards.

 

 

 

$150 on board credit per person - up to $300 per cabin

 

Each participating cruise line (HAL, Regent, SS, SB, Crystal et.al) has additional benefits that you earn

when you book as a AMX-P cardholder

 

 

DETAILS ON THE PROGRAM

 

The cardholder MUST be one of the people traveling on the cruise.

Up to THREE cabins can have the benefits added if all the charges are on an AMX card and the Platinum card holder uses his Platinum card number to apply for the credit. It is NOT necessary to use the Platinum card to pay for the cruise to acquire the credit. However, the entire cruise must be paid on an AMX card of some kind. No Visa, MC or any other card. There are many Platinum AMX cards, Delta, Hilton, Optima, etc. These DO NOT QUALIFY. It must be the unaffiliated $450 Platinum card to qualify. All cards are approved and checked by American Express to ensure they are qualified.

 

For additional information, go to the American Express Platinum website https://www124.americanexpress.com/cards/platinum/benefits.jsp

 

HOW IT WORKS PRIOR TO THE CRUISE AND ON THE SHIP

 

There will be nothing in your tickets that identify the credit. Once on board you receive a letter in your cabin notifying you of the credit.

If this letter is not in your cabin, check immediately with reception to see if you have the credit on your account.

If there is any problem, please email your TA immediately. Unfortunately, this credit can "fall through the cracks" if the special authorization code (tracking number) is not forwarded by participating cruiseline to the ship. This is easily fixed. Your TA can contact your cruiseline for you and ensure that (a) the number is in their records and (b) instruct them to contact the ship and confirm the credit. This MUST BE applied to your onboard account. If you wait until the end of the cruise to fix this error you will not receive the credit.

[Paulchili]

Wes,

Thank you for that thorough explanation.

Apparently not all Platinum agents are fully familiar with the details of the program. As with all agents (like some airline agents) if you are certain about something, don't argue, but keep calling until you get the right agent who knows the correct answer.

Thanks again.

Paul

[caribbeansun]

The dispute window varies by specific card and provider as well as depending upon the service you are purchasing and reason for the dispute. You'll also find that rules differ by country, state and province.

 

DO NOT assume that if you are past the 60 day mark that you are out of luck.

 

I know from personal experience that there are exceptions to every rule - having unfortunately been involved in a rather nasty travel situation I fully recovered funds > 7 months after the charges and assisted no less than 5 others in similar recoveries from the same organization - the charges were to Visa, MC, Amex and involved Canadian and American purchasers - these were significant amounts - one person recovered >$50,000US.

 

So - yeah, charge it baby!:D

 

I understand that there is a limited window of credit card recourse, 60 days or so from the charge. So if you make your final payment 90 days what recourse do you have? Not arguing, just trying to understand. Thanks.

[Pearl64]

I have done some research. I checked into the Starwood CC but there is almost a 3% for foreign transactions. I need to pay my Oceania cruise and they bank in Ireland. Capital One does not charge for foreign transactions, but how are their rewards? Starwood doesn't use Continental or United which seem to be the airlines with the most convenient schedules for us, but if it is free, I guess we could use a different airline. I am really trying to limit my number of credit cards but maybe it would be worthwhile to get a Starwood one for things in the US and the Capital One card for things outside the US. Am I on the right tracK? I really am trying to bring my mind up to present times!

Thanks for all the help.

Pearl

[gillianrose]

A credit card is usually the best way but check your card agreement to see if they charge a fee for the offshore banking done by Oceania.

 

Lyn

 

I have never had foreign transaction fees on any cruise payment I have ever made, but I just recently put deposits down on several Oceania cruises.

 

I will not be pleased to see foreign transaction fees.

 

So, forgive me for being a newbie here, but why is Oceania using a foreign bank?

 

Also, since I don't wish to divulge which bank/card I have used for my deposits, could we please name names here?

 

Which banks/cards or bank/card combo charges foreign transaction fees? I have several cards and would like to use the best card for final payment, and may consider opening up a new card going forward if that is necessary or desirable.

 

Which ones do not charge any foreign transaction fees at all? Which is/are the worst?

 

If there is already a comprehensive discussion that has been done here before, could one of the O experts insert a link to the best of those discussions?

 

Thank you.

[DOJO466]

I have done some research. I checked into the Starwood CC but there is almost a 3% for foreign transactions. I need to pay my Oceania cruise and they bank in Ireland. Capital One does not charge for foreign transactions, but how are their rewards? Starwood doesn't use Continental or United which seem to be the airlines with the most convenient schedules for us, but if it is free, I guess we could use a different airline. I am really trying to limit my number of credit cards but maybe it would be worthwhile to get a Starwood one for things in the US and the Capital One card for things outside the US. Am I on the right tracK? I really am trying to bring my mind up to present times!

Thanks for all the help.

Pearl

Pearl64

I too was wondering about the foreign transaction Fee with the StarwoodCC. I think the case is moot because I do not think "O" takes Amex. I would however use Starwood at home and Cap One for "O" and overseas purchases.

[hondorner]

I know nothing about Starwood, but if it is an AmEx card, I am shocked that they charge the foreign transaction fee. I have heard that some cards charge a 2.7% currency conversion fee; don't confuse the two -- they are entirely different. The foreign transaction fee has absolutely nothing to do with currency conversion, and is charged by many cards if the transaction involves a foreign back, even if the entire transaction is in US Dollars. This was started by Visa, and to the best of my knowledge has never been adopted by AmEx. There are many licensees that issue AmEx cards, however, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of the greedy b......s were charging the entirely bogus fee on their own, despite being called AmEx.

 

Oceania does accept AmEx, I use my AmEx card issued under license by the Bank of America and have never (yet) been charged a foreign transaction fee.

 

Here's the situation: Visa decided to add a 1% foreign transaction to all their transactions, regardless of the bank. MasterCard followed suit. Banks that issue the cards have three choices -- pass the fee on to their customers; absorb the fee and charge nothing to their customers; and not only collect the 1% for Visa, but gouge the customer with an additional 2% to 4%, for a total of 3% to 5%. Guess which one most of the banks chose?

 

Capital One is apparently one of the banks that chose to absorb the fee. One other that I know about is the Gold Visa Card issued by Schwab Bank (a part of the Charles Schwab brokerage), which not only does not assess the foreign transaction fee, but also pays back 2% of all purchases -- a better rate that some of the cards that issue miles. They also have a checking account Debit Card in which all ATM fees, anywhere in the world, are refunded to you. I have nothing to do with Schwab, except to say, THAT'S the way to buy customer loyalty.

 

Gillianrose, both Oceania and Regent do business with the Irish bank because it pays for them to do so, even if they refund the 3%, which they will do upon request. They disclose the possibility of the charge on their website, but do not attempt to keep up to date with which cards are charging what fees.

[Pearl64]

Thank you for clarifying this for me. The Starwood card is an American Express card. I did call AMEX and was told the 2.7% was on all AmEX cards. I did not realize that there were two different things--foreign transactions fees and currency conversion fees. When we went to Europe three years ago I called the three card companies that I used to see which one had the lowest fees. Two had the 3% on both the credit cards and the debit card, but the state employee credit union only had 1%.

My husband said your explanation made sense. He is the business major who figures out the money arrangements and I make the travel arrangements and try to get the most for my money. I feel much better about this.

 

Thank you again, hondorner. I am glad you are feeling better. Sorry you had to miss your cruise but in light of recent travel headaches you just may have had a guardian angel looking out for you.

 

Pearl

[Jancruz]

Apparently not as simple as that.

After checking with Amex Plat desk, I was told that to qualify for those benefits you have to book the cruise through the Amex travel agency. If I can save over $ 300 by booking through my TA (and I think I can), then the whole thing does not make sense.

What am I missing?

 

Paul, the statement Amex Plat desk related is not a true fact. Check again.

Jancruz1

[pratzert]

Our Costco AMEX did not charge a foreign transaction fee when we made final payment with it. It has no annual fee and gives 2% cash back

 

For daily use I have a Bank of America Worldpoints VISA card that has no annual fee, and we have compiled enough points on it over the years (12) to pay for 2 round trip tickets to Europe + pay for half of our next cruise

 

That's really good to know, as I have a Costco Amex too. I never called them to check about the foreign trans fee.

 

Our T/A confirmed with "O" that they WILL reimburse us for the fee once we provide them with proof ( such as our cc statement) and they will give us either an OBC or a check.... our choice.

 

Thanks for the info.

[Paulchili]

Paul, the statement Amex Plat desk related is not a true fact. Check again.

Jancruz1

 

Jan,

Thanks for confirmation of this. I am following Wes' advice posted above (#28). Also see my comments about uninformed agents in #29.

Paul

[caribbeansun]

You might want to check that again - Amex charges 2.5% on the Canadian SPG card and virtually everything on their US card is better than the Canadian card - not that 0.2% is exactly going to make much difference.

 

I've learned at least one thing and that is that banks will find a way to extract the maximum fees one way or another - and just to keep it interesting they'll all do it in a slightly different way. I quickly compared two conversions at two Canadian banks/brokerages on US$ - one was 1% (TD Waterhouse) and the other was almost 5% Scotiabank (keep in mind we only have 5 major banks here). Sheesh! :rolleyes:

 

Thank you for clarifying this for me. The Starwood card is an American Express card. I did call AMEX and was told the 2.7% was on all AmEX cards.

[LHT28]

My TD USD VISA has no fee added to the cruise payments but it also has no rewards

My RBC VISA adds 2.5% to the daily currency exchange rate...it has rewards with the card

So it is a crap shoot with Canadian Cards

 

You just have to decide what is important to you

 

Lyn

[gillianrose]

double post.

[gillianrose]

Gillianrose, both Oceania and Regent do business with the Irish bank because it pays for them to do so, even if they refund the 3%, which they will do upon request. They disclose the possibility of the charge on their website, but do not attempt to keep up to date with which cards are charging what fees.

 

Thank you very much. I guess I will wait and see if there is a fee on our bank invoice, and then go from there. For final payment I will get another credit card with better perks and no fees if that is necessary.

 

I am still not pleased that Oceania has chosen to bank outside the United States where it causes these extra fees, though. It is a hassle and possible extra expense that Oceania customers should not have to worry about.

[caribbeansun]

Guess it's a good thing not all their customers are American then :rolleyes:

 

This isn't Oceania's issue it's YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY that has created the issue.

 

It is a hassle and possible extra expense that Oceania customers should not have to worry about.

[hondorner]

Guess it's a good thing not all their customers are American then :rolleyes:

Along with the fact that most of their bills are paid globally, and they have to get the money to pay those bills, somewhere. I suspect the Irish bank gives them a substantial incentive to pass all their income through that bank when it comes time to pay the bills. Just another example of good management, in my opinion.

[gillianrose]

This isn't Oceania's issue it's YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY that has created the issue.

 

OK, so you don't mind the charge, then. Or you know/knew how not to incur it. I didn't. And while it may be my bank which charges the fee, the reason the fee is there is due to Oceania using a foreign bank. Oceania Cruises has its headquarters in Miami, Florida and the vast majority of Oceania cruisers are not based in Ireland, so how was I to know?

 

I have never encountered this problem with any other cruise line, ever. I have not cruised Regent or Oceania in the past, but I have done lots of cruises on lots of lines, and none of my past, present or future deposits and/or final payments have ever had a foreign transaction charge and I guess it is because they are not using foreign banks which is, after all, the trigger for the "foreign transaction fee".

 

I would like to choose which credit card to use without having to factor in whether or not it is the best card to use with a particular cruise line.

[gillianrose]

Along with the fact that most of their bills are paid globally, and they have to get the money to pay those bills, somewhere. I suspect the Irish bank gives them a substantial incentive to pass all their income through that bank when it comes time to pay the bills. Just another example of good management, in my opinion.

 

Would it be too much trouble for Oceania reservation agents to at least mention this to people booking for the first time with Oceania (the words "first time guest" are right there on my invoice)?

 

Is that too much to ask?

[StanandJim]

OK, so you don't mind the charge, then. Or you know/knew how not to incur it. I didn't. And while it may be my bank which charges the fee, the reason the fee is there is due to Oceania using a foreign bank. Oceania Cruises has its headquarters in Miami, Florida and the vast majority of Oceania cruisers are not based in Ireland, so how was I to know?

 

I have never encountered this problem with any other cruise line, ever. I have not cruised Regent or Oceania in the past, but I have done lots of cruises on lots of lines, and none of my past, present or future deposits and/or final payments have ever had a foreign transaction charge and I guess it is because they are not using foreign banks which is, after all, the trigger for the "foreign transaction fee".

 

I would like to choose which credit card to use without having to factor in whether or not it is the best card to use with a particular cruise line.

 

 

We've been sailing with Oceania for more than five years and have never been charged the foreign transaction fee.

 

While this may just be luck of the draw, based on the credit cards that we have used, our understanding is that if one IS charged, Oceania will either issue a refund or a credit to ones on-board account.

 

Having to monitor the fee is a slight inconvenience, but in the long run, it would not effect our choice of which card to use.

[gillianrose]

We've been sailing with Oceania for more than five years and have never been charged the foreign transaction fee.

 

While this may just be luck of the draw, based on the credit cards that we have used, our understanding is that if one IS charged, Oceania will either issue a refund or a credit to ones on-board account.

 

Having to monitor the fee is a slight inconvenience, but in the long run, it would not effect our choice of which card to use.

 

I think it is much more than a slight inconvenience, and I would like to see the host of this board add an Oceania FAQ sticky that would assist newcomers to Oceania.

 

One topic of great interest to many (as well as other things) would relate to this issue, and a summary of which cards do and do not incur the fee would be very helpful.

 

This is one thing which sets Oceania apart from other lines, and not in a good way, unless everyone knows about it up front and can make an informed choice.

 

I am still looking forward to cruising on the new Marina, and am glad that the trip is well into the future when I will be better informed about all Oceania tips.

 

I nominate YOU for the Cabana FAQ section. :D

[pratzert]

gillianrose,

 

I agree with everything you have said and in fact, I have posted those very same points here in the past.

 

But the good news is... I have confirmation from my T/A that "O" WILL reimburse me ( and I assume you ) for the fee. Either in the form of a check or in OBC.

 

I'll take the OBC since I know my bar bill will be at least as much as the fee.....

[StanandJim]

gillianrose,

 

I agree with everything you have said and in fact, I have posted those very same points here in the past.

 

But the good news is... I have confirmation from my T/A that "O" WILL reimburse me ( and I assume you ) for the fee. Either in the form of a check or in OBC.

 

I'll take the OBC since I know my bar bill will be at least as much as the fee.....

 

I agree with you, Pratzert, and I don't understand why anybody would consider a fee that will be reimbursed to be anything more than a minor inconvenience.

 

Although some of us may "consider" that this is an Oceania problem, the truth is that it is another in a long series of charges which are being added by Credit Card issuers to bump up their bottom lines.

 

Oceania does NOT assess this fee, and has no control over which credit cards do or do not assess it. They refund the fee, purely as a courtesy.