Thanks for your message.

While I appreciate the clarification you offered, I’d STRONGLY discourage any US citizen or US passport holder from purchasing tickets using US credit cards, even if the airline office does accept them (which it doesn’t always) in the third country when you’re on the ground there. There are two main reasons why I say this.
First: (especially if you’re buying the ticket from Cubana): The Cubana purchase will show up on your credit or debit card record, potentially prompting an investigation that could ultimately result in you receiving a threatening letter from OFAC and a potential fine of several thousand dollars. The embargo laws strictly prohibit spending any money that “aids and abets the enemy”– and money paid to Cubana is definitely considered to be in that category. The powers that be who are in charge of such reviews are much more likely to flag a Cubana purchase than a Mexicana purchase, but I’d still recommend cash to credit for either airline.

Second… from my own experience, I was able to use a debit card for a ticket purchase on one of my trips; however, upon my arrival at the airport, I’d learned that while I technically had a reservation number, my ticket purchase had not actually been processed, and Mexicana had never notified me. Mexicana, in particular, is vigilant about not processing US credit or debit cards for Cuba flights, and you’re likely to either be forced to pony up the cash if you want to catch the flight you thought you were scheduled for OR to lose the flight. I arrived at the airport about three hours before my flight and was still running to catch it because I had to wait in line for over two hours before the issue could be resolved.

While many people, including myself, are reluctant to carry such large sums of money, cash is always preferable when you’re planning a Cuba trip. The longer a paper trail you create for yourself, the more difficulty you’re likely to face.

Thanks for passing along the story, and more thanks for sharing your own– proof positive that no matter how current or complete a guide one has, or how experienced the writer of that guide may be, on the ground experiences are ALWAYS subject to variation (not to mention the whims of a travel agent or border official)!

I’d definitely be interested in hearing from others who have been traveling to Cuba recently. I’m beginning to hear some new difficulties folks are encountering in gateway countries as the US steps up monitoring– even in foreign airports.

I visited Cuba a few weeks ago, and wanted to add some clarification to one of your notes which might be confusing to some readers. You wrote:

“Americans are accustomed to booking most of their flights online, but you can not use a U.S. credit or debit card to purchase a flight to Cuba, even if you are buying the ticket from a gateway country’s airline (such as Mexicana or Air Jamaica) by phone or over the Internet. You may be able to convince a phone agent to hold a reservation for you, but the more likely scenario is that you will purchase your ticket after landing at the airport in the gateway country.”

Here’s how it worked for me and another US citizen friend. We bought Cubana Airline tickets from Mexico to Cuba using US-based plastic. I made the purchase in person at a travel agency in Mexico, where I presented my debit card and passport for my ticket, and a photocopy of my friend’s credit card, photograph, and a note authorizing the travel agency to make the purchase.

My understanding from the travel agent is that — alternatively — both of us could have purchased our tickets by faxing all of these papers from the US to the agency in Mexico. But because I was already in Mexico several weeks before our planned trip, it seemed better to do this in person – with nice scans of my friend’s documents, emailed to me in encrypted files, rather than fuzzy faxes.

Another plastic method that we didn’t try: getting a “prepaid” MasterCard or Visa from a non-US bank, not just for buying a ticket, but also for making purchases and obtaining cash while in Cuba. (Our trip was short enough that we just brought sufficient pesos from Mexico to exchange into Cuban CUCs for our one-week stay.)

Thanks so much for the information you have shared. I certainly encourage Americans to travel under the auspices of the ever-shrinking pool of travel licenses, and appreciate the details about your organization and the links you’ve shared here.

Peace,
Julie

Thanks for your post. Could you include the link to your forum so The Travelers Notebook readers could visit your site?
I think we met when my husband and I had an art gallery in Long Island City– do you recall NovoArte on the corner of Vernon and 48th Ave.?

So glad to see you here, and I hope you’re visiting our sister sites, http://www.matadortravel.com and http://www.bravenewtraveler.com.

Peace,
Julie

This is a great summary for Americans on how to visit Cuba. I can attest to its accuracy because my organization in Vancouver Canada helps travelers from the States visit the island regularly.

Canada is also a good gateway and Canadian immigrations will not stamp your passport upon return from Cuba, if you ask, nor do they require a tip for the courtesy.

There is a category of legal Cuba travel your readers may be interested in. It is for full time professionals conducting research on the island. Our website details the process at http://cubafriends.ca/legaltravel

We offer many education and cultural programs to Cuba that qualify for this license at http://cubafriends.ca

We look forward to the day when our friends in the US will be able to visit Cuba freely as we can in Canada.

Marcel Hatch
Education Coordinator
Cuba Education Tours

Travel to Cuba for all but a handful of those of us who live in, are citizens of, or otherwise “subject to US law”, such as green card holders, is extremely limited. We can go to China, Vietnam and North Korea, which have one-party political systems like Cuba, or to Saudi Arabia which has a no-party political system, but simple visiting of Cuba is not allowed for nearly all of us from the United States.

That needs to change, and such change requires national legislative change, since the US rules and regulations restricting travel to Cuba are combined in a complex series of laws such as the Helms-Burton and Torricelli laws, and more.

Thanks for your report.

Walter Lippmann