TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Proof of minimum funds

AA messaged saying we needed proof of minimum funds to pay for lodging? I guess that’s the treatment when you get a roundtrip for 16k miles.

Say what???? Never heard of such a thing.

I'm flying AA in six days on similar miles. I have received no such messages and I wonder why an airline would even need that info.

Yeah, hopefully you didn’t get scammed or something and send any private info to some weird email or something. Sounds crazy 🤷‍♂️

Lots of scams out there.

Came up during AA phone ap checking in. Says you must have $100-$200 to travel to SXM and $150-$200/day per person. AA sites source as: govt of the Netherlands.


The online entry form is fairly intrusive but doesn’t ask about money.

My IT guru figured the date glitch I warned her about right away.

You have to pick the year first then month and day.

Do they ask all those questions at the kiosk on arrival? Beam me back to 1979

Once you filled it out the Kiosk recognize all the info. Pretty quick. Never been asked financial questions by AA before. Even this last May. Maybe it's random thing but plenty on scams maskerading as Government sites looking for unsuspecting tourists to profit from.

The SXM website does say that you need to have sufficient funds but I have never heard that anyone has been asked if they have enough money when coming through immigration and certainly not from the airline. Most people carry a couple of credit cards these days so the funds requirement can easily be met with the CC limits.

It’s not questions asked by AA, it is a statement that pops up that you may have to show you have sufficient funds.

I am confused. You initially stated, "AA messaged" and then you said it was not AA. Any chance it is some "pop-up" and has no connection to AA?

It might be a question that is specific to the passport of the traveler. Perhaps U.S. citizens aren't asked the question -- but some other nationalities might be treated differently.

Sounds like just a general checklist on the AA site of things you need to have or be able to demonstrate when you enter St. Maarten. Most of us don't pay attention to it because it never comes up during entry to St. Maarten.

I see this as a phishing scam or a virus trying to get into your system when it's a pop up.

If you look at your AA flight reservation, there's a box you can click that says "Get ready to fly". If you click on that, it lists your destination's requirements. That's where, if you keep reading and scrolling down, the statement about the required funds is located. It doesn't pop up on its own (at least not on my phone). Regardless, you don't have to prove anything about your financial situation before you fly. It's just the airline trying to prepare you for what might be required when you arrive. BTW, it does state that there is a mandatory electronic immigration form.

I have been going to SXM for well over 20 years and using different airlines....and I have NEVER seen this

Exactly...same information available on my upcoming AA February reservation. If you follow the link it takes you here Netherlands Worldwide
It's not a AA requirement. It's a requirement of the Netherlands

This is just a general entry advice summary by AA. Technically, a question can be asked of any traveller if you have sufficient funds to provide for yourself during your stay by ANY customs official of ANY country, including both Canada and the USA. Most travellers are never asked unless the customs officer feels something is "off". Normally, if your accommodation is prepaid, you have a return air ticket, and a couple of credit cards, it is not an issue.

Many countries, including the US, can require proof of minimum funds. Most of us are never aware of it. The people who run afoul of it in the US are typically those who are in secondary screening with Immigration.

Not sure what message you received but that sounds very standard. I don't think its an AA thing and its just an FYI. It has to do with immigration.

Back in the day my Job took to me to many countries. In some countries immigration will want to know the purpose of your visit and proof of that reason, IE where are you staying, where are you going. You may also have to prove you have enough money to support yourself (valid credit cards etc...). In short, they want to make sure you are there for business or pleasure and not just showing up w/o the means to support yourself. I had to prove that from time to time. Usually just showing you have a hotel booking or the address of the customer or office I was visiting was suffice.

AA is giving you that warning because they may be on the hook to send you back if you are refused entry and cannot pay for the return trip.

I believe the issue is not that it exsts as a requirement but that ths traveler actually recieved the notice and not very many others, if any, on this board have ever received similar. It would be interesting to find out if anyone else on that flight also received the same notice...or was it only directed to a singular traveller

If one would look back here through the previous replies, I think that Georgia answered the question very well. Nothing from AA in particular, just the original poster scrolling down through info provided by AA from the SXM government, not particular to the original poster at all.

He later stated "Came up during AA phone ap checking in." So I believe he was on the AA website and did not receive some random email/message.