I understand that many places in Costa Rica accept credit cards. Do they add on an extra percentage to the bill if a card is used? I am working with a Costa Rican agent who wants to add 5%. Would the same happen if I paid hotels directly?

Thank you

Some do, some don't. I know a couple places that charge about %7, because otherwise they have to eat that cost. On the other hand, some will give you a discount if you pay with cash.

when we had our small hotel in Santa Fe, NM we paid 1.9% to VISA and Mastercard. I wonder if rates have changed that dramatically or if hotels are taking advantage of what we felt was a fair cost of doing business
( our rates were moderate doubles w/ breakfast US$85- $135 )

AndrewDavid

I'm traveling to CR in December for 13 days. What is the best advice for taking money/credit card/debit card with you???

Thanks,
Leigh

Some will add a percentage onto the total - depends upon the hotel. I would just check with each individual hotel. We were all set to check out of Bosque del Cabo with a credit card, and they told us they would prefer a check - it just depends upon the properties.

A lot of the credit card companies tack on an additional financial conversion fee if you travel overseas as well. Good idea to check with your credit card company.

Volcanogirl, does Bosque del Cabo add a surcharge if you pay by credit card?

Hi, Marcia - we didn't make it that far. As soon as I pulled out my credit card, they told me they would prefer a check, so I never got to find out. You could e-mail Leonardo through their website and ask; I found them to be pretty responsive. They had us pay a 50% deposit before we left - that was also with a check.

MarciaM,
They do not add the surcharge for payment for the room; and they WILL take your card although they vastly prefer that you pay with travelers' cheques or cash (or personal check). I believe Kim told me when we were making arrangements for a stay last March that they DO tack on the 6% charge if you also use the card for tours, etc.

As VG said, once they tell you (by e-mail) in advance that they would prefer no cards, most people probably choose to honor that. Seems like Kim said if you really needed to use a card, they needed advance notice (like the day before check out).

As VG said, Leonardo can send you that standard e-mail with their preferences and explanations. There are reasons, involving the banking situation, etc.

Most of the tours we took preferred cash. We went to the ATM machine and withdrew cash as needed. We had no problems. We paid for the room with travelers checks.

We found that credit cards are accepted in a lot of places, but that there is a "discount for cash", so we have not used our credit card as much as I thought we would. We use a Capital One card because it is the only one we've found that doesn't have a foreign conversion fee from the credit card company.