I was just going over my United Chase Visa credit card statement and noticed a $9 foreign transaction fee for a $300 Toronto to Los Angeles ticket on Delta Air Lines. I thought it was a mistake since I purchased the ticket while in the U.S. and to an American company. But when I called the card’s customer service hotline the representative told me it wasn’t a typo and that she couldn’t waive the fee.
She was sweet so instead of telling her to shove it, I politely told her to go ahead and cancel the credit card. She offered me 200 United bonus points to change my mind but I kindly declined since homie doesn’t play that game.
I have a Capital One Visa card and an American Express Platinum and neither charge a foreign transaction fee. This way I won’t make the mistake of paying with the wrong card and getting dinged for something so ridiculous.
Do you agree? If so, and you travel internationally, I encourage you to do the same.
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Amen. I HATE being nickel and dimed. They could have sent ALL of their customers by email. It wouldn’t have visit them a dime. They are counting on people not noticing, Making Chase & United millions. Good for you!
I totally agree, but what other card companies do the same thing. There should be a standard when it comes to travel charges. Otherwise, why travel and get dinged with these unknowns. It just hurts everyone involved.
I agree. I am an online retailer and about once a month some customer gets dinged for a foreign transaction fee because although we have an American card processor and an American store and American web site our head office shows up as Canadian. So some greedy card suppliers tack on an arbitrary “foreign transaction” fee even though it is a US$ transaction and they have absolutely no extra cost for the transaction.
No offense… but clearly you booked a flight from Toronto and Delta thought you were Canadian and they charged you in Canadian dollars. Anytime they charge you in foreign currency, chase will charge a fee. However, Chase did not choose the currency and it’s in no way their fault. It’s an easy mistake as the value is so similar and these websites assume a lot automatically. But still… you’re pointing fingers here.
Ummm, so you’re flying on Delta but charging it on a United branded credit card. Neither airline flies non-stop between the two it seems, so…you basically were throwing free miles down the drain by opting to go with an airline not affiliated with your credit card.