Booking.com Should I pay in GBP or Swedish Krona

Rayleighboy

Hi apologies if this has been asked before but I am just about to book a hotel in Sweden for a few days in August. I will pay by my Barclays debit card but was wondering if I should pay in GBP or Swedish Krona. I read somewhere that you should always pay in the local currency (Swedish Krona) but then wouldn't my bank charge me for converting to sterling? If I pay in GBP is the price that is advertised the price I will pay??

Voyager2002

You misunderstood what you read: if you use a card that does not charge you for currency conversions, then always pay in local currency. In your situation paying in pounds is likely to be the lower-cost option.

Westin

Are you sure the rate will not be charged in Swedish Krona anyway? Booking.com give a GBP price as a guide but I think typically the rate actually charged by the hotel will be in the local currency.

David_Mills

It really annoys me that when changing currencies that charges are not made clear. A website such as Booking.com can display charges for properties abroad in either £ or the local currency, the choice is ours, but they do not state what charge is made for currency conversion. To find out, you have to look at the price in both currencies, work out what conversion rate they have used, compare it with the current rate on e.g. XE.com, and then make a judgement which it is going to be cheaper to pay in based on your card charges if any. I have a Halifax Clarity card which charges nothing, so for me it is usually cheaper, sometimes a lot, to buy in local currency.

Whatever you do, when travelling abroad and buying anything with a card or drawing cash, do not accept a conversion to £ at the point of sale- the charge is around 10%, i.e for every £100 you spend you are paying someone else £10. I'm sure you have better things to do with your money.

alanrowell

Read up on Dynamic Currency Conversion

There's a good chance that if you pay in GBP then Booking . com will use an exchange rate of their own devising.

You'll need to compare the overall costs of paying in Krona and paying bank fees against what Booking . com will charge