Using Credit Cards Abroad-Warning about Chase

[Jacqueline]

I just spoke to them on the phone and they told me that they charge a three percent fee on foreign currency transactions. It says nothing on the website when I went on it later to see if this information was in print. When I called to put the notification in on my free card it was an automated system. No mention of a fee.. I got to talk to a real person on my PresidentialPlus card (pay a fee for this card). He let me know about the charge.

Called Capital One. They do not have this charge. Guess what card I will be using on my trip?

Jaime Diamond sticks it to the consumer without written notification. Nice move.

[CruiserBruce]

This has been beat to death on the boards. I just went to Europe for a month, and knew the 3% would be there. That is why I charged very little. And why so many people either use the Capital One card, or get Euros at ATMs.

 

Your on board account on HAL will be in dollars, so there won't be any transaction fee there.

[andeesue]

Check out the Charles Schwab Visa, no foreign currency fee and a 2% back on what you spend :)

[Jacqueline]

I'm glad that people know and that it was beaten to death. But I had not seen this on the HAL page- unless its bed bugs or dress code, most items slip to page two, especially if you don't read regularly.

I prefer to use credit cards as I do not like to carry a lot of cash. WIth the Euro, it has gotten easier, but it is still not hard to have a cruise with multiple currency types.For example, last year I was in the UK and Copenhagen...and so on.

My complaint is that it would have been very easy to not have found out about this charge until I got home.

[brooklyn66]

I got a Capital One card, no foreign transaction fee. and no yearly charge for the card.

[robertmnch]

I got a 3% charge on my Alaska Arilines Credit for a Canadian transaction. Didn't know about it. Called B of A and they cut the Fee by 50%. Heard about Capitol One and use it whenever I go out of the U.S. I had a Credit Card Fraud on my Capitol One Card when in Canada this past June. Capitol One took care of it quickly and removed the "Charges", but will NOT tell me who made the Charges. I would appreciate the names so I can keep other Seniors from getting ripped off by these people.:o

[Jade13]

I'm glad that people know and that it was beaten to death. But I had not seen this on the HAL page- unless its bed bugs or dress code, most items slip to page two, especially if you don't read regularly..

 

Why would HAL know what your credit card charges for overseas transactions?

 

Btw, Visa is currently 3% and American Express 2.7%.

[rafinmd]

I use Capitol One a lot, and also get at least an equally good deal from a couple of credit unions, if that's a potential option.

 

I wouldn't be so sure HAL would be exempt from the 3% fee. They should be, since they're (I believe) based in Seattle and charge in USD, but some of the banks are pretty creative about assigning foreign transaction fees even when in USD.

 

Roy

[Sailkeywest]

Wow, thanks for posting this for people that didn't know it already. Good information to have.

[kjw869]

Why would HAL know what your credit card charges for overseas transactions?

 

Btw, Visa is currently 3% and American Express 2.7%.

 

 

Jade, I believe she meant the HAL board on Cruise Critic. That's why she mentioned other items such as bed bugs and dress codes threads had slipped on to another page.

[Jade13]

Jade, I believe she meant the HAL board on Cruise Critic. That's why she mentioned other items such as bed bugs and dress codes threads had slipped on to another page.

 

Ok, OK, I see that know. Thanks.

[whogo]

Btw, Visa is currently 3% and American Express 2.7%.

The foreign exchange fee is set by the card issuer, not by Visa. My Visa credit card from Capital One charges no foreign transaction fees.

 

This site is great for comparisons of different credit card fees: http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange .

 

For those who can not find Chase's fees on their website: https://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?card=D59W&page_type=appterms

[SeaDays]

I'm glad that people know and that it was beaten to death. But I had not seen this on the HAL page- unless its bed bugs or dress code, most items slip to page two, especially if you don't read regularly.

 

Jacqueline, although the Cruise Critic board is our daily reading, your Chase agreement, sent to you many times (and online) does indicate that there's a foreign exchange transaction fee. It's not the job of Cruise Critic.

 

Yup, almost the banks all do this.

But if you were to were to exchange a few U.S. dollars for Canadian funds at an exchange booth, you would pay an exchange rate that exceeds what the bank used for the transaction. You received a bank rate exchange rate (almost wholesale) by paying the fee.

 

How much did this set you back in relation to what you paid for your cruise and on board spending?

[Jacqueline]

Jade, sorry for the confusion. A previous poster had made me feel remiss for not having identified that this information had been up on the board in the past and that I was being redundant in bringing it up yet again..... . I missed it and felt that perhaps others had too. I did mean the HAL CC board.

Thank you KJW for reading my mind!

WHOGO, thank you for posting this information as well.

For many of us international travel is not an ongoing experience. My past travels extend over decades, but it has been a year since I have been to Europe and I had not until today had the occasion to delve into the fine print on my Chase accounts. I wanted to be sure that others were aware that there was the possibility of a fee for there credit cards as well.

I do not need to pay any sort of transaction fee nor will I as I do have options. Most everyone else does too.

There is plenty of information on this board that is posted over and over. I am more than happy if one person has an awareness that they did not have before and does not need to spend money on transaction fees unless it is a purposeful choice.

[vbmom87]

For many of us international travel is not an ongoing experience. My past travels extend over decades, but it has been a year since I have been to Europe and I had not until today had the occasion to delve into the fine print on my Chase accounts. I wanted to be sure that others were aware that there was the possibility of a fee for there credit cards as well.

 

It was a good post. There are always new people joining and browsing. It was informative and I am sure benefited someone who was not familiar with these charges. Thanks for posting.

[Hawaiidan]

In my 30 years of travel to europe , for up to 30 days, and in every country from Poland to Spain.. I have never carried or needed more than about80 to 100 dollard in local money. everything else went on the credit card... You may pay the small percent but get the rate of exchange for the million unit rate.... which is up to 5% lower than the daily sweep. Havent considered that ?

My question is why would you use cash at all? It gets you no points, has a surcharge.. and you end up with a lot of change you cant convert... wau more than 2 to 3%... so you loose getting cash

Heck I dont even have a ATM card.... as I dont use cash except on very, very rare times even in the US... less than maybe 200 to 300 a year between my wife and I.:rolleyes:

 

I consolidate my charges all on my chase/United card and as a result get to fly to all my trips first class..free saving up to $20.000.00 a year on airfare....

So sweat the 2 ot 3% whoopie on a few hundred dollars at most and loose out on the bis picture. Penny wise can be pound foolish. I pay more sure, but I get way more than I pay... None of the other ( all airline credit cards can hold a candle to the single airline card because it would be against the airlines own interest to give every card the same deal as they give their card holders... They also give me annualy 2 free tickets coach from HAWII TO ANYPLACE in the US.... Does your card?

 

Rip off.... ya right:cool:

[Jacqueline]

Sure, I use my premium card for 90% of my expenses here at home that get me my benefits. From gas to groceries, I rack up my points as well. By paying in full every month, I have no interest charges that offset any potential benefit.

 

For my charges in Europe, I will use a card with no extra fees. And get the benefits that you describe without any surcharges. Capital One does have benefits. My Chase card has benefits. But I will use my Chase at home,not for this trip.

 

Hawaiidan. you are right to use your card for all the benefits. No disagreement there.

[serendipity1499]

Check out the Charles Schwab Visa, no foreign currency fee and a 2% back on what you spend :)

 

We have been told on this board that that you must have an account to get the Charles Schwab card....They will no longer give it to you for a small account..

 

I'm glad that people know and that it was beaten to death. But I had not seen this on the HAL page- unless its bed bugs or dress code, most items slip to page two, especially if you don't read regularly.

I prefer to use credit cards as I do not like to carry a lot of cash. WIth the Euro, it has gotten easier, but it is still not hard to have a cruise with multiple currency types.For example, last year I was in the UK and Copenhagen...and so on.

My complaint is that it would have been very easy to not have found out about this charge until I got home.

 

I just spoke to them on the phone and they told me that they charge a three percent fee on foreign currency transactions. It says nothing on the website when I went on it later to see if this information was in print. When I called to put the notification in on my free card it was an automated system. No mention of a fee.. I got to talk to a real person on my PresidentialPlus card (pay a fee for this card). He let me know about the charge.

Called Capital One. They do not have this charge. Guess what card I will be using on my trip?

Jaime Diamond sticks it to the consumer without written notification. Nice move.

 

Jacqueline I'm not trying to criticize you, but only to help you to find things on this board..

If you don't see a subject on page one or two of this board, then it's easy to go to the top right hand corner & put the subject into the search box..I just put in Credit Cards & many recent threads came up...This one in particular with 67 posts is very informative & explains most of the cards & their charges..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1250140&highlight=credit+cards

I like you have a Chase card which we use at home but never use it abroad..Instead we use only our Capitalone cards in Europe...We get the same rewards with Capital One as we do with Chase, but are never charged a foreign transaction fee..

You mentioned you could not find your agreement on-line..If you go to this site on-line All the Card member agreements for all the chase Credit cards are there..Only problem you have to update your adobe to get the PDF file..

https://www.chase.com/online/card_feed/cardmember_agreement_chase.htm

cheers....:)Betty

[baggal]

I just spoke to them on the phone and they told me that they charge a three percent fee on foreign currency transactions. It says nothing on the website when I went on it later to see if this information was in print. When I called to put the notification in on my free card it was an automated system. No mention of a fee.. I got to talk to a real person on my PresidentialPlus card (pay a fee for this card). He let me know about the charge.

Called Capital One. They do not have this charge. Guess what card I will be using on my trip?

Jaime Diamond sticks it to the consumer without written notification. Nice move.

 

Get your facts straight. The name of the CEO of JPMorganChase is Jaime Dimon.

[Jade13]

In my 30 years of travel to europe , for up to 30 days, and in every country from Poland to Spain.. I have never carried or needed more than about80 to 100 dollard in local money. everything else went on the credit card... You may pay the small percent but get the rate of exchange for the million unit rate.... which is up to 5% lower than the daily sweep. Havent considered that ?

My question is why would you use cash at all? It gets you no points, has a surcharge.. and you end up with a lot of change you cant convert... wau more than 2 to 3%... so you loose getting cash

Heck I dont even have a ATM card.... as I dont use cash except on very, very rare times even in the US... less than maybe 200 to 300 a year between my wife and I.:rolleyes:

 

I consolidate my charges all on my chase/United card and as a result get to fly to all my trips first class..free saving up to $20.000.00 a year on airfare....

So sweat the 2 ot 3% whoopie on a few hundred dollars at most and loose out on the bis picture. Penny wise can be pound foolish. I pay more sure, but I get way more than I pay... None of the other ( all airline credit cards can hold a candle to the single airline card because it would be against the airlines own interest to give every card the same deal as they give their card holders... They also give me annualy 2 free tickets coach from HAWII TO ANYPLACE in the US.... Does your card?

 

Rip off.... ya right:cool:

 

I use a couple of cards that give airline miles but to answer your question regarding cash, in Europe all of the drivers or guides we have used only have taken cash Euros, and hotel gave a 10% discount paying in cash, so we do bring a lot of cash to Europe as credit cards are not accepted in most cases for us.

[Jade13]

So sweat the 2 ot 3% whoopie on a few hundred dollars at most and loose out on the bis picture. Penny wise can be pound foolish. I pay more sure, but I get way more than I pay... None of the other ( all airline credit cards can hold a candle to the single airline card because it would be against the airlines own interest to give every card the same deal as they give their card holders... They also give me annualy 2 free tickets coach from HAWII TO ANYPLACE in the US.... Does your card?

 

Rip off.... ya right:cool:

 

Which card are you talking about and what is the annual fee?

 

Have you considered Starwoods American Express? You can transfer to most airlines programs on a 1:1 ratio PLUS, for every 20,000 points transferred you get an additional 5,000 points (so 25,000).

[Bobblsc]

We have been told on this board that that you must have an account to get the Charles Schwab card....They will no longer give it to you for a small account..:)Betty

 

Last spring I was told by a Schwab representative that they no longer issue credit cards for any account. They do still honor cards already issued.

The Schwab Bank ATM card, however, does avoid ATM cash withdrawal fees from all banks. But there may be other fees from foreign banks charged to any cash withdrawal. The user is supposed to be notified of these fees before the final withdrawal step.

 

Bob :cool:

[MATHA531]

The Schwab account is being dis=associated from Charles Schwab as of the end of this month. Current cardholders have received a communication that as of 01 October, the card will remain valid and no changes will be made in terms (2% cash back on all purchases plus no foreign exchange fee including the 1% visa fee) at this time. The last 3 words are the key. The card will become a credit card issued by a credit card processor known as FIA...I believe I read somewhere that FIA is associated with Bank of America....the speculation is the cards did not bring enough new accounts to Schwab...many people just opened Schwab accounts for the card.

 

All over the place, credit card companies are withdrawing rewards or making them harder to get. How long will FIA keep the perks of this card. My ballpark guess is that as of January, this will be history (just a guess mind you).

[tooalto]

Just a small aside about your wanting the names of the people who used your card: I had the same thing happen here at home with my debit Mastercard. Someone charged over $1100 on this card which comes directly from our checking account. The money was restored within minutes. I'm still upset at the bank, which is a small local bank, for not having caught the fraud. However, when talking to the police, which I had to do in order to try and get the name the order was placed in, they said I was no longer the victim - either the bank or the retailer was the victim. The retailer would not release then name either.

[kyriecat]

Jacqueline,

 

In case you are not aware of this, Chase also charges a foreign transaction fee of 3% on purchases made in US$ processed outside the US. Bank of America does the same thing. Chase instituted the new fee in February.

 

If you make a purchase in the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico or anywhere else outside of the US, they will tack on a 3% fee even if the transaction is US$.

 

I have a website that I occasionally make purchases from that appears to be based in Washington state. The prices are all in US$ and their shipping address is Bellingham, WA. However, they process their credit card transactions in British Columbia, Canada. I got hit with the additional 3% fee from Chase shortly after they introduced the fee so I use my Capital One card now to make purchases from them.

 

Unfortunately with the internet, it's hard to always know where the transaction will be processed. I've seen an few posts from people who booked their airlines or hotels through one of the major travel websites then got hit with the "foreign transaction fee" from their credit card because the charge was processed outsite the US. The world had gotten smaller and I can't help but think that the credit card companies are taking advantage of it.