patams

I was just informed after deciding on a rental property that if I use Visa, which they accept, to pay 50% of my reservation that they will charge 17% on top of the rental charge. Is this normal? If I wire the money it will cost me $32 at my bank and I don't even know how much at the bank at the other end of the wire. Any help with information would be appreciated. I read that a 1% or 3% charge on Visa is normal, but 17%? I see lots of posts about using small bills, visa, and ATM's but did not see something like this addressed.

avrooster

Where IS this?

patams

Wow! I am a doofus! I was inquiring about Costa Rica. So sorry.

TripleSecDelay

That's news to me. By what method of payment does the property not charge a fee?

patams

Either wire the money or pay by Visa. They did reduce the Visa to 7%. Just a little strange to me.

siempretrvls

Is this an agency or are you dealing directly with the property owners? Sounds like malpais.net to me...if it is them I recommend dealing directly with the hotel or property owner. malpais.net stinks!Do a search to find them on a different web site. Costa Rica banks do charge a higher rate for credit cards, 7% sounds right. I just stayed in Mal Pais and I did wire the money directly to the hotel. They were nice enough to give me a discount toward my wire transfer fee and didn't charge me anything for the other end. It ended up not costing me anything to wire the money. It really depends on who you're dealing with but 17% is high. BTW, my bank only charged me $15.00 for the wire transfer. See if you can get a better rate from your bank if you do wire.

mikemo

Low fee USAA Federal Savings Bank charges $12.US and $35.International outgoing wire transfer fees.
Incoming are free.
In Central MX, many home rentals, B&Bs and small Hotels are cash only.
M