conversion fee

i have never used a credit card outside of USA, have a question:

what currency (local vs US$) should i choose when paying with a credit card in Europe to prevent conversion fee?

i have some understanding about foreign transaction fee, but got completely lost in conversion part

thank you very much for help in advance

Doubt you can avoid a conversion fee. If you are allowed to pay in US dollars, that is probably the way.

In Europe almost no one will accept US dollars. Credit card charges will be in the local currency. This is the Euro for much of western Europe, but not all. For instance, the UK uses the Pound. If you are paying cash, you will need the appropriate local currency

Our Capital One card does not charge a conversion fee. All we use it for is foreign travels.

You can avoid foreign conversion fees when using a credit card if you use the right one as there are a number that do not charge fees. Capital One, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Chase Hyatt are three cards I use in Europe to avoid fees.

My Capital One debit card does not charge transaction or exchange fees at ATMs, but they no longer issue that card to my knowledge. There may be other debit cards with the same feature.

Beware of retailers who will charge your card in US dollars as a convenience...you will end up paying an exorbitant exchange rate to the merchant for the convenience. You credit card institution may still charge you a fee since their card was used outside the US.

Lew

Some Chase cards have no foreign transaction fee.

i appreciate all replies

to make it clear - i would need to be sure that charges done in LOCAL currencies before transaction - i am really slow:(

Are you talking about making standard purchases at stores and eating places on land? When you posted this on the Princess board, I took it to mean paying for your on board account, things like that.

Conversion fee is that the same as Exchange fees in your mind or are you talking of something else?

Exchange fees/rates are unavoidable when in a foreign Country

Some CC charge a Foreign transaction fee up to 3% of your purchase it will be shown on a separate line on your statement usually unless you are Canadian then it is hidden in the Exchange rate

Look for a credit card that does not charge a FTF on purchases outside the USA

If you are in Britain they will charge you in GBP

if they ask to charge you in USD say NO

Are you talking about making standard purchases at stores and eating places on land? When you posted this on the Princess board, I took it to mean paying for your on board account, things like that.

i was talking about using a credit card on land.

i have a card with no FTF, but i got confused reading different boards about a merchant doing conversion on site and charging a credit card in US$ versus posting transaction in local currency and bank will do conversion

i posted on the Princess board because i am going on Regal:)

if they ask to charge you in USD say NO

Thank you very much,

this is what i was looking for

If you let the seller do the conversion and charge you in USD, they will almost always use a worse rate than your credit card company will if the charge is in a local currency.

Also check once on the cruise that the Purser will not convert to your own Currency & just bill your CC in USD

I checked the box not to convert to CAD but Princess had other ideas :mad:

Now I pay my bill in USD cash on the last night of the cruise

Lyn

thank you very much for your advice

i did not even imagine that my onboard expenses can be charged in anything but US$ as i live in USA (in my multiple cruises it had never been an issue, but i traveled from US port to US port)

thank you very much for your advice

 

i did not even imagine that my onboard expenses can be charged in anything but US$ as i live in USA (in my multiple cruises it had never been an issue, but i traveled from US port to US port)

Sorry my mistake :o

I did not look where you were from

of course you will have no issue

Those of us not from the USA may though

if they ask to charge you in USD say NO

Thank you very much,

 

this is what i was looking for

They may not ask.

You should tell them when you give them the card you want it in local currency.

When you get the charge slip, examine it to be sure it did not do the "dynamic conversion" to US $. (It may have the local currency in big print and the US $ value in small print.) If they did, tell them to rerun it using only local currency.

Some places will say they do not understand English and thus do not know what you are asking. I bring along a piece of paper which in the local language says to only do the charge in local currency. You can get the translation easily on the Internet.

If you are in Britain they will charge you in GBP

if they ask to charge you in USD say NO

I've added bold and underlined to LHT's wise words. If you say "yes" you'll be penalized by two exchange rate transactions. First, even though the merchant may charge you in US dollars at point of sale, the UK bank isn't going to deal in US dollar charges. They'll process your charge in GBP. Then, you'll get hit with another exchange rate when the UK bank notifies your US bank of your GBP charges.

This happened to me in Antigua I was buying a dress there

The girl told me they had to convert it to my currency...never thought to ask what she thought my currency was

I ask for local currency to go on my CC but no

She converted it to USD put that on my Canadian CC so I got really dinged in that transaction

Last trip I went to look in the shop & thanks goodness I did not see anything I could not live without :D

i was talking about using a credit card on land.

i have a card with no FTF, but i got confused reading different boards about a merchant doing conversion on site and charging a credit card in US$ versus posting transaction in local currency and bank will do conversion

When a local merchant in a foreign country charges something in USD, the charge really isn't in USD. The charge device at the store/restaurant will compute the cost in USD and that's the way the receipt will read. However, the instant an international transaction goes to the foreign bank that handles each charge card's transaction, the bank is going to re-convert and process the charge in the local currency.

Every time a transaction gets switched from one currency to another, the card holder takes a financial hit. I'm not talking about a foreign transaction fee, which can be avoided by using the right credit card. I'm talking about the simple fact that money conversions are never precise. A local merchant offers the worst conversion rate. Bank charge conversion rates are better because an individual's transactions get bundled with every person's transactions that day. There's a benefit from scale and the exchange rate for a bank handling hundreds/thousands of transactions daily is much, much better than the exchange rate an individual can achieve.

Hope this clarifies things for you.

it did clarify it for me

all your responses are greatly appreciated

It is very common practice these days to be asked which currency you want to pay in. For instance my CC is from a British bank, so when I put my card into the machine to make a transaction in say, France I am asked if I wish to pay in GBP or Euros. I need to choose to pay in Euros.

So, whichever country you are in, you always need to pay in the local currency whatever that may be. No, never pay in USD in Europe it isn't a local currency here.

I also have a card which makes no charge for foreign transactions, so even if I use it five or six times a day to make a purchase I do not incur any extra charges.

It is also possible to obtain cash for purchases; credit cards tend to attract a higher rate of interest against cash withdrawals, however you can usually draw a limited range of foreign currency notes at the ships reception desk. This is not regarded as a cash withdrawal by your bank because it is not itemised as such just a part of your on board spend. In this way you can significantly reduce the number of foreign currency transactions for trivial cafe and minor taxi expenses made ashore by drawing a modest amount.

Regards John

They may not ask.

 

You should tell them when you give them the card you want it in local currency.

 

When you get the charge slip, examine it to be sure it did not do the "dynamic conversion" to US $. (It may have the local currency in big print and the US $ value in small print.) If they did, tell them to rerun it using only local currency.

 

Some places will say they do not understand English and thus do not know what you are asking. I bring along a piece of paper which in the local language says to only do the charge in local currency. You can get the translation easily on the Internet.

In a New Zealand hotel they put my transaction through as AUD instead of NZD. I got him to reverse it but he put it through again in AUD. If I'd had time to talk to a supervisor I would have but the airport shuttle bus was waiting.

It's not always a language barrier problem! :(

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

i have never used a credit card outside of USA, have a question:

what currency (local vs US$) should i choose when paying with a credit card in Europe to prevent conversion fee?

i have some understanding about foreign transaction fee, but got completely lost in conversion part

 

thank you very much for help in advance

You run the card through at the local currency, and then your bank card will convert it to US dollar. You don't get as good of a conversion from a store.

It is also possible to obtain cash for purchases; credit cards tend to attract a higher rate of interest against cash withdrawals, however you can usually draw a limited range of foreign currency notes at the ships reception desk. This is not regarded as a cash withdrawal by your bank because it is not itemised as such just a part of your on board spend. In this way you can significantly reduce the number of foreign currency transactions for trivial cafe and minor taxi expenses made ashore by drawing a modest amount.

 

Regards John

We find the ships reception desk charges a very high exchange rate. We use local ATM machine (not on the ship), example if in England we get enough money for other countries Ireland, Wales, etc.that use British Pounds. You get the best bank exchange rate and my bank only charges a $5 fee in the US. We have gotten money before leaving home on a trip and really feel waiting to get to the country and using the ATM is the best rate. When you use an ATM machine in a foreign country you receive the currency of that country, from the machine.