Credit Card Currency Conversion

PeeBee

I would be grateful for views on the below description of credit card currency transaction conversion offer on board an American ship. I have read somewhere on this site but cant find it now, that you should be wary of allowing foreign commercial outlets to 'convert' spending on a credit card from the foreign currency (dollars in this case) to GBP.


It seems to me that I should elect option 'B' for my Saga Visa card.My card issuer does NOT charge a fee for foreign currency transactions.

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FOR NON-US CREDIT CARDS ONLY CURRENCY CONVERSION AUTHORIZATION


If you use a MasterCard or Visa Card issued outside of the U.S. which is billed in the following currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EUR, HKD, JPY, MXP, NOK, SEK, GBP, Royal Caribbean International offers a service where the full amount of your charges are converted, at your election, to the currency of your card by our conversion agent, Global Card Services, Inc., using the exchange rate in effect at the time the amounts are charged to your card.




A. I choose to pay my onboard charges in the currency of my card. I choose to use Royal Caribbean International's currency conversion programme. This currency conversion transaction is based on wholesale exchange rates collected from Bloomberg, plus a 3% international currency conversion fee. My choice to have charges billed in the currency of my card is final. I accept that the exchange rate used will be the rate in effect at the time the amounts are charged to my card.




B. I choose to have my credit card issuer convert my onboard charges to the currency of my card in lieu of participating in the Royal Caribbean International currency conversion programme.
If I opt for my charges to be converted by my credit card issuer, or if my card is not billed in one of the billing currencies listed, my charges will be processed in the onboard currency (USD) and the issuer of my card may charge a service fee for currency conversion.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

I vote "B". Saga are good guys in this scenario.

chattychappy

Yes, probably B. Looks like you'll be paying them 3% under A. Most cards charge about 3% for forex so the difference may not be great for these. But if your Saga card really is 0% loading AND they don't use their own forex rate, then go for B.

Confirmed non-loaded cards include - Post Office and Santander Zero. Also Nationwide comes in at 1%. Clarity is supposed to be 0%, but there is a thread to suggest that in practice it might not be.