Foreign Fee Charged For Royals Club Service Payment

I was recently charged a foreign fee for paying my Club Service Fee for the Royal Caribbean. I called ISCO and made the payment with my Citibank credit card. I sent an E-Mail to ISCO asking why I was charged this fee if the payment was made to them in Ft. Lauderdale. Here is their response:


Dear Member:

My name is Claire R Lee. I am the Cash Manager at Interval Servicing Co., LLC.

In March and April 2008, all credit processing for the Royal Resort properties and Royal Resort managed properties was moved to a Mexican bank for Mexican properties (Hacienda Real del Mar, Hotel El Castellano, Real Arenas de Cancun, and Club Internacional de Cancun) or a Belizian bank for all other properties, including the Royal Mayan, the Royal Caribbean, and the Royal Islander.

Some banks issuing credit cards have fees included in the card holder agreement when charges are processed through an international bank even if the international bank is processing charges in U S dollars. Many issuing banks do not charge these fees.

We have received very few reports of fees being charged to members. We are advising members to please check with the bank issuing their card to determine if fees will be charged if charges are processed through an international bank to a US dollar merchant.

Sincerely,

Claire R Lee
Cash Manager

Thanks for the heads-up on this. I will be sure to find out if my credit card will be charging the foreign currency exchange fee before paying the annual maintenance fee. It's too bad for all the American owners at the Royal Resorts that they could not process their charges through an American bank, being they have a location in Ft. Lauderdale. From the things I have been reading lately, the Royal Resorts seem to be getting much less customer friendly.

Notwithstanding their annoying commercials and mail box filling offers, at present Capital One does not charge fees for transactions in foreign currencies. Handy for lots more than just the Royal's charges!

Seems like all of my current cards charge these fees so I'll have to consider getting a new one for travel in Mexico. My wife dislikes Capital One, does anyone know of other banks that do not charge foreign currency fees?

Thanks!

I got a "heads-up" on this about two weeks ago on the Royal Resorts Message Board. I think it would be good business if the Royal Resorts would warn people when they are making a payment by phone or by the internet that they may be hit with this charge. I'm staying with the U.S. Mail for my payment!

How do you make a Capital One?

fyi:

geoffb, it looks like you'll probably continue paying the transaction fees. We've had no problem with Capital One and I don't know of another card that waives both the bank AND card fee(usually 1% + 2%).

jschmidt, it's the method of payment(credit card) that incurs the fee, not the manner in which you make it. Telephone, internet, U.S. Mail doesn't make any difference.

Jim C said:

jschmidt, it's the method of payment(credit card) that incurs the fee, not the manner in which you make it. Telephone, internet, U.S. Mail doesn't make any difference.

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Jim

Thank you for the explanation. I was actually thinking of sending a check via the U.S. mail to pay my annual maintenance fees. If I mailed my credit card to The Royal Resorts, I may never get it back!

CC Fee

Discover also does not charge any fees for international transactions, but they are not widely accepted outside the U.S.

Danette

jschmidt said:

Jim

Thank you for the explanation. I was actually thinking of sending a check via the U.S. mail to pay my annual maintenance fees. If I mailed my credit card to The Royal Resorts, I may never get it back!

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However, if you sent in a payment form(if they have one) or a cc authorization, you would maintain control of your card and see the transaction fee on your next statement.