Warning - room cancellation / change for Canadians

[Isabelle12345]

I just wanted to share a recent experience I had concerning room cancellations / modifications with Disney because I think it might help other people...
I am Canadian and have a Canadian Credit card. I am used to booking and modifying room reservations with different websites (Expedia, booking.com, ...) for US hotels and never had issues - the price paid was the same amount that was refunded when room reservation was cancelled.
However with Disney, since you are making a booking in USD directly with Disney, there are fees with credit card (2% in my case) - so when I book, I pay price of the deposit +2%, and when I get a refund, it is price of the deposit -2%... Which means I pay about 4% of the deposit each time I modify a booking with Disney.
I saw the price difference before thought it might be related to change in the currency but there was a cancellation I made within a few hours and the amount credited was 20$ less than what I paid...
Just a heads up for those people like me who are used to booking / cancelling without problems, this is not the case here (I want to emphasize that this is NOT Disney's fault - it is really a matter of credit cards) but since people often advise on this website and others to book and then modify to upgrade / apply a discount etc., I just wanted to let people know this is not exactly the case for Canadians or people with other currencies! You have to consider the credit cards fees for each transaction...
I hope this will help other people - I know it will change the way I book with Disney!

 

[Mollygirl21]

We always used a USD credit card from Scotiabank for travel - then we didn't have to worry about the exchange rate because all transactions are in USD.

We recently switched to the Passport visa from Scotia which is Cdn$ but there is no foreign exchange surcharge (the 2% you referenced above) and it has some good travel rewards/benefits.

I'm not endorsing Scotiabank at all but if you look around, there are some decent alternatives to paying those fees.

One other note - we also have a USD bank account where we save a little each month so we average out the exchange rate over the year rather than taking a big hit when we pay for the trip if the Cdn dollar happens to be down.

 

[lorenae]

I have a "no foreign transaction fees" credit card. Actually, a couple of them. I haven't used it in the US of course as I'm a US resident, but I've used it in Europe, Canada, Mexico, and other places with no 2% fees. They are free credit cards with cash back rewards, and no fees for foreign transactions. I also have a free debit card (NOT the credit card!) to withdraw $$$ out of foreign ATMS and I've used those in many countries in Europe with no fees.

Maybe a no-fee card for just these types of purchases would be a good idea for those who make reservations in the US with credit cards.

 

[Isabelle12345]

Thanks I did not know there were credit cards without those fees!
I will look into it and definitely get one!
I feel stupid for not knowing that but at least now I know!!!

 

[Mollygirl21]

Thanks I did not know there were credit cards without those fees!
I will look into it and definitely get one!
I feel stupid for not knowing that but at least now I know!!!

No reason to feel stupid This Passport visa is really new and we investigated a bunch of options recently because we were renewing our mortgage

 

[lorenae]

No need to feel chagrined at all! I only found out about these because we live near the border, and 12 years ago my daughter was planning on going to college right on the border. We would shop, eat and drink in Canada, since that's where the restaurants and shopping centers were, but get hammered with the credit card foreign transaction fees. So that's when I got my first credit card that didn't charge those fees. She even bought all her hockey gear on the Canadian side, and I think I did also.

Before that, I never imagined even needing one (or even thinking about one). In the last 14 months, I've been to Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Canada- and I just use my credit card and get the current (best) exchange rate with n additional fees. Same with my debit card at an ATM. It was something I never even knew I needed, but with today's Global market and travel, it's been really great!

 

[StarSeven7]

Yeah those foreign exchange fees are a killer especially when you return things! We got a credit card with no foreign exchange fees - check out the HomeTrust visa, I believe it’s the only one out there with no annual fee. But before we had that, if I had to return something that I paid for in USD I would often ask for the $ back in s gift card so I didn’t lose the amount of the foreign exchange fee.

 

[EACarlson]

I'm a little surprised that more Canadian cards aren't ForEx fee free. I have 20+ US cards and I think only one or two of them have one. I know my AmEx, Chase and Capital One cards don't have ForEx fees. Do their Canadian Counterparts have them?

 

[StarSeven7]

I'm a little surprised that more Canadian cards aren't ForEx fee free. I have 20+ US cards and I think only one or two of them have one. I know my AmEx, Chase and Capital One cards don't have ForEx fees. Do their Canadian Counterparts have them?

The credit cards in Canada are totally different than those offered in the States. (Trust me, I know! I'm an American living in Canada!) I think the AmEx cards offer no foreign exchange fees but I'm not positive since I don't have one. I'm not sure about the other ones but I know there are very few that offer no forex fees because when we looked to specifically get one last year there were only a couple of options.

 

[hdrolfe]

The fees are part of why I use giftcards. But of course then you need to be sure you will be going. I used GC for my last trip and changed the reservation many times with no problem, though none of the changes resulted in a refund/repurchase situation.

 

[Isabelle12345]

Thanks again to all of you for your replies
I applied today for a no foreign fees credit card!
I realise now that I knew about those fees but just assumed the extra $ was refunded too (yeah right... like credit card companies would ever do that!)

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

Even with a no fee card the exchange rates are still different if booking/buying in USD (considered a buy) versus a return/cancellation (considered a sell) -- usually 1 to 2 cents per dollar depending on the card/bank. The forex fee usually about 2 to 3% (which the no fee cards DO cover) is on top of that.

This is definitely something those using non-US cards need to keep in mind if you need to change anything pre-paid (room, dessert party, tour, event, etc...) As you say it's not entirely a disney problem --- but they could definitely take steps to make things better (maybe allow non-US cards to modify and apply existing payments rather than cancel and have to book new dining/room/event reservation.)

Even something like converting a room only booking to a package requires this exchange fee to be initiated... I get they may not be able to do this easily online but if I call to make that change they should EASILY be able to apply a room only payment to a package (yeah there's 2 Disney entities involved and some have been able to move payments but its not consistent but everyone should be able to move the payment internally without cost to the consumer.) Disney do this because they can and it only costs the guest. I have read of people who have reached a cast member that can do this... but it is not common and not something most people will experience.