When in Europe Pay in € not £ (1 Viewer)

[Jim]

Increasingly in the Eurozone we are given the opportunity to pay in £. This article in today's Daily Fail sets out the dangers of doing so.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...great-holiday-spending-racket-add-5-bill.html


Moneysupermarket.co.uk says this

Card users beware: dynamic currency conversion

Merchants and retailers overseas might offer you something called 'dynamic currency conversion'. This means they charge you in Sterling (or for overseas readers, whatever your currency may be) rather than the currency of the country you're travelling in. This can be convenient and gives you a familiar perspective of the price you're paying - but you will normally be hit with a higher exchange rate for this service so never use it and always CHECK before signing anything or entering your PIN - they might not always ask! So if you see a conversion, make sure you ask to be billed in the local currency.

 

[Chris]

Its a scam isn't it?

We have just got one of those charge cards that you prepay in Euros so I hope that overcomes the problem.

Thanks for posting that.

 

[Bailey58]

Yep, do the exchange over here before you go and pay in the local currency, that way you only get shafted once.

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[BobT]

European payments

All of our tour leaders are issued with a credit card and a cash card. They always pay bills in euros, even with the credit card. The cash card is pre-loaded with the relevant amount of Euros and this way they have 2 payment options and we have only one exchange to make. I would recommend the Caxton Euro card - we use them and find them very efficient.

 

[tonyg]

We have a Nationwide credit card that we use for ALL our purchases over €10. I then pay it off monthly on their website, from my Nationwide flex a/c.
I used to use my Nationwide debit card to withdraw euro's at ATMs (but since they introduced a transaction charge I stopped using it). I now use our Credit Agricole card to withdraw euro's.
Thankfully I've not bought in sterling, no store, restaurant etc has even tried asking.
We moved here last november, before that we spent about 3 months a year here for 12 years.

 

[peter marshall]

Hi Jim
We went to Switzerland last September, At the border we purchased the vinyet the girl said 40 euros NO we gave her 40 Swiss Francs which was a lot cheaper in the exchange rate, how many fall for that one. :Angry: :Angry: Pete

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