What is the Foreign Fee Transaction On My Card

[Papaya]

I booked for October 2010 using the "Love Away" Plan. Sounds great!! However, when I looked at my Credit Card transactions today, I saw this $7.74 foreign transaction fee. I guess this fee will occur each month that I pay on the Love Away Plan with that card? Do all credit card companies charge this fee? And is there anyway to avoid it? I guess I need to call the credit card company. But credit card companies are "playing hard ball" these days. They already increased my APR...just because they felt like it apparently. Not COOL.

[goodygirl]

that fee is put on by your credit card for making a transaction outside the usa. Sometimes the bank will take it off, otherwise you have to get a different card that doesn't have those fee's.

[cakes]

This fee is a relatively new thing. A lot of credit card companies formerly charged a "foreign transaction fee" only when the transaction took place in foreign currency. They recently started charging it for any transaction in a foreign country, even those in US$'s. This has been discussed on a couple of other threads and on several other message boards. It seems that the Capitol One "no-hassle" card is the best for avoiding the new fees. I bet they are seeing a big increase in applications.

[Trish]

I've also gotten the foreign transaction fees on my card too, also from the love away plan. Is there any way to pay this through the Miamai Office instead of going through the Jamaican office?

[suzancr]

I pay directly from my bank account and the fee is $3.00 a month. Although I was surprised to see it I figure $3 isn't much. I think I would do some calling if it was almost $8 a month.

[staceydavid]

Can you transfer the balance to a different credit card? Then it would just be US to US...of course youd want to check any balance transfer fees but I know some companies dont have BT fees it may work out better for you...just make sure to check interest rates and BT fees or it may end up costing you more in the long run

[Papaya]

Thanks for the advice. I did call the credit card company. It seems the foreign transaction fee can not be waived, although, they did agree to waive this one as a courtesy. They stated that the fee is 4% of whatever the amount you put on the card. This first foreign transaction fee was slightly higher because I had paid for the travel insurance also. They assured me the others should be lower, but I told them I did not want to pay this fee at all. The best they could do for me was offer another card which has a 1% foreign transaction fee designed for customers who incur frequent foreign charges/purchases etc. I hate paying fees "just because"...it really makes me aware of just how much these credit card companies get over on customers. Anyway...thanks again for the tips. I might opt for the card with the lower foreign transaction fee. I do have Capital One card already and I might just end up putting new transactions for the Love Away Plan on that card. Thanks again.

[cakes]

Glad you are getting this worked out. Even 1% is too high. There is absolutely no excuse for this fee. It's pure profit for the CC companies.

[kycouple]

I have a Chase BP Visa card and so far I have not seen a fee for the monthly charge from Couples. You might check this card out. It has a great rewards program especially if you have BP gas stations in your area.

[Lindad]

I have a AARP/Chase Visa card and also does not charge a fee of the charges are in US dollars. I have checked with the Customer service dept and had it verified after I had a charge from Canada that was in US dollars and it did not have a fee.

[Trish]

Hey, thanks for the tip on the BP card! We have one that we seldom use since we get beter perks from our grocery store, go figure!

[claire7676]

Hey, just found this thread because, guess what, I too just saw a "foreign transaction fee" on my statement. I have a Citi Dividend Platinum Select card. We used a travel agent a year ago, and I don't remember ever having to deal with this. I guess I will call my credit card just for laughs and see if they'll do anything, but my guess is that if hubby doesn't have a card that waives foreign fees, then we'll be applying for a Capital One card too. I'm not paying a foreign transaction fee for the balance due on our trip!!! These credit card companies have some nerve.

[becandjas89]

Before I booked thru Couples, I called my credit unoin and they called the visa company for me right then and there. The visa company said since I was giving them advanced notice and was in good standing w/ my credit, they would wave the international charges for the entire time I was paying off the trip. (2 months.)Maybe a little notice and negotiating could help.

[Kim&Ben]

My final payment was just charged to my BofA CC and there was a $63.60 Foreign Transaction Fee. I was a little upset. This was a new fee, I did not get it when paying my deposit in Feb. I called the bank and they did remove it with out any fuss. I did first mention that it was not on the deposit charge back in Feb and that they had a FL office and it was charged in US currency. That might of helped.

Did not expect it to be so easy to take it off but glad it was.

BTW I did call Couples first and she politely asked me to call the bank first because the fee was added by the bank and not Couples. She also told me I could call her back if they did not help. AND even gave me her direct extinction. Got to love Couples Customer Service.

[claire7676]

I kind of found a solution to the foreign transaction fees! All of our credit cards have a 3% foreign transaction fee. Our Bank Visa Check Card, however, only has a 0.8% foreign transaction fee!!! The card does have a daily limit of $2500 in charges, BUT I happily called my bank & asked them to temporarily lift the limit, and then I HAPPILY called up Couples to make the final payment! So, we saved $60 in fees! TAKE THAT, CREDIT CARD COMPANIES!!!! Just wish I had thought of this when we made our down payment to Couples.

WOO-HOO!!! All monies paid to Couples & less than 2 months to CSA!!!! Hope other people's Visa check cards are similar & you can use this little trick too!!

[Zazu]

I just checked our bank statement and they charged us over $50.00 for our final payment!! This is the first time we seen this, not too happy with that. We have called the bank and are waiting to see what happens now.

[Coloradojuli]

You do have the option of making your final payment via check. I did this one year. It took a bit of time for them to credit my account, but I saved money on the foreign transaction fee. I was able to mail the final payment to the Florida office. I do wish Couples would charge things through Florida.

[Zazu]

We heard back from our bank, they say they are charged that amount from the resort and have to pass it on. Is this true? Our bank said it would be 3% on a debit check card also. This must be something new as we were not charged this fee before. That 3% will added $60 to our May vist to CSS and will add $130 to the total on our upcoming December trip to CSA! Hate these kind of surprises.

[ironranger]

I just got off the phone with my CC company...capitol one....they charge ZERO fee's for out of the country charges....it is a personal Platium card.

Hope this is an option for you..

[mrs2cool]

My LLbean card charged $3.00 per $100.00. I switched to my Chase card -no fee. It just depends on the Credit card company.

[EinWI]

the only credit card that DOES NOT charge this fee is capital one.

[InPink]

I saw this fee today in my bank account and called the bank as I couldn't figure it out. Was disappointed to have 30$ charge that I didn't know about. They said Visa will charge 3% or 4% I believe every time I have a transaction in Jamaica or on my payment for resort.

[Tupperitaville]

I had the same problem - so I switched to the traditional deposit and pay 45 days ahead of the trip - I would rather put the $100 in my savings and get my 1% interest than pay fees monthly......

[Ayslinn]

I have a visa debit card and it charges my account every month with the love away plan, and I have never been charged this foreign transaction fee. so maybe by doing it directly from your checking account every month you can avoid these fees?

[ElaineChick]

We have a American Express green card and don't have the fee imposed on us.

If your credit card isn't treating you right, take your business elsewhere, IMO.