Credit Cards Abroad Article Discussion Area

pin

correct.

clint1

I always use my credit card while on holiday as the exchange rate when the bill comes in is very favourable. I pay the bill fully every month. On a recent weekend break in Dublin I used my visa card to pay for the Hotel and to purchase goods in a store. Both receipts showed the total in Euros and converted to £s at 70p/euro exchange rate, which was greater than the then current rate of 67p. Does this mean an end to buying with creditcards abroad at a favourable rate or are the Hotels/shops using their own exchange rate? ???

Galstonian

It could be a fast one pulled by some hotels (a lot in Ireland for some reason) they convert to the currency of the card issuer before putting the sale through. It is the hotel that is making the profit on the exchange. You could speficially ask for the bill in Euros.

I think this is the case as a friend used their US card in Dublin hotel and the amount was converted to $ rather than £.

lisajt

Hi can anyone help? Our holiday was cancelled due to hurricane ivan hitting the caymans. The hotel which we booked direct in USD, have refunded the money onto our egg credit card but we have lost sixty quid due to the so called currency rate variations >:( Phoned egg and they said to take it up with hotel but as they refunded the amount we paid it's not their fault but eggs and visa! Any ideas on how and if we can get this money back? Cancelled our credit cards as egg is crap for cashback now.
Using our nationwide cards now cheers martin.

8184727

Thank you Galstonian, i'm now on the case.

colin_tomlinson

There seems to be a great deal of concern about withdrawing cash abroad - not least the interest charged from the date it's withdrawn until it's paid off.

By using your card for most purchases the fees are avoided, but withdrawing cash is different. Just make sure you're withdrawing sufficient to avoid the minimum fee effectively bumping up the percentage (eg usually withdrawing the equivalent of £100).

Meanwhile, to avoid paying interest on the withdrawals abroad, put your holiday money INTO your credit card account before you go!

lisyloo

Meanwhile, to avoid paying interest on the withdrawals abroad, put your holiday money INTO your credit card account before you go!

DON'T DO THIS (without making checks first).
Bad advice colin.

If you load a Nationwide card and the card is stolen YOUR money is uninsured.
I have checked this with Nationwide and the only insure THEIR losses and not yours.
You could loose all your money - bad plan.

This is not the case with Liverpool Victoria (or at least wasn't the last time Martin checked).

If you want to do this the check with your provider first to find out whether your money is insured.
Don't rely on reading the terms and conditions because there is a subtle distinction between THEIR losses and YOURS which is not obvious just by reading the words.

janpe

Having checked my NatWest Mastercard after making purchases abroad I can't find any evidence of a 75p. loading on any purchases. For example an article bought for 103.87 EUR at exchange rate 1.427570 is charged on the bill at £72.76 There are no other charges on the bill so where does the loading chage come in?

dthyer

The loading is 2.75% rather than 75p. It is hidden in the exchange rate.
So the Mastercard rate might have been 1.466828 €/£ rather than 1.427570 €/£, and Natwest added 2.75% to the rate.
If you had used a credit card that didn't add a loading fee, such as Nationwide's, and then, assuming the same underlying exchange rate, you would have been charged €103.87 / 1.466828 €/£ = £70.81, i.e. £1.95 less.

I hope this helps,

DT

omega27

Used my Amex Platinum to purchase some tickets through Ticketmaster (Beauty & The Beast, Broadway - Valentine's Weekend away with BA Christmas offer. I love this site!) & they've appeared as:

$158.55 = £87.38. (Tickets were $70 each, plus booking fee, convenience fee, will call fee etc... Grr!)

I make that 1.8145 & the current Travelex rate is 1.8280 - they seem to be best for $US at the moment. The rate Amex give is actually better than their own cash/TC rate! And better than the Post Office & several banks I've looked at.