Airbnb's sneaky 3% FX fee - deceitful and infuriating, and now unavoidable?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,014
Airbnb's sneaky 3% FX fee - deceitful and infuriating, and now unavoidable?
(Background: You pay a host in your local currency and they tack on 3% to convert it to the host's local currency even if you have a no-fee card and can pay directly in the host's currency. They quote you a rate in your local currency and you'd never realize it unless you paid close attention during the checkout process that they are screwing you by 3% on the FX conversion.)
It used to be that you could change the currency at the bottom of the page to the host's currency and avoid Airbnb's stupid 3% 'convenience' fee for currency conversion (they marked up the exchange rate). I now see that there is no way to avoid this - even if I change the currency at the bottom of the page and the country of my residence and the billing country of my card, it still wants to charge me in USD instead of EUR for a booking in Europe and mark up the interbank USD/EUR exchange rate that I would get through my card.
Frankly this is deceitful and infuriating. Every other OTA manages to handle multiple currencies without stealing 3% from me.
Isn't this against Visa / Mastercard rules about Dynamic Currency Conversion?
It used to be that you could change the currency at the bottom of the page to the host's currency and avoid Airbnb's stupid 3% 'convenience' fee for currency conversion (they marked up the exchange rate). I now see that there is no way to avoid this - even if I change the currency at the bottom of the page and the country of my residence and the billing country of my card, it still wants to charge me in USD instead of EUR for a booking in Europe and mark up the interbank USD/EUR exchange rate that I would get through my card.
Frankly this is deceitful and infuriating. Every other OTA manages to handle multiple currencies without stealing 3% from me.
Isn't this against Visa / Mastercard rules about Dynamic Currency Conversion?
#3
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,737
What if you book on the Airbnb site for the destination country - e.g., https://www.airbnb.co.uk/
(Background: You pay a host in your local currency and they tack on 3% to convert it to the host's local currency even if you have a no-fee card and can pay directly in the host's currency. They quote you a rate in your local currency and you'd never realize it unless you paid close attention during the checkout process that they are screwing you by 3% on the FX conversion.)
It used to be that you could change the currency at the bottom of the page to the host's currency and avoid Airbnb's stupid 3% 'convenience' fee for currency conversion (they marked up the exchange rate). I now see that there is no way to avoid this - even if I change the currency at the bottom of the page and the country of my residence and the billing country of my card, it still wants to charge me in USD instead of EUR for a booking in Europe and mark up the interbank USD/EUR exchange rate that I would get through my card.
Frankly this is deceitful and infuriating. Every other OTA manages to handle multiple currencies without stealing 3% from me.
Isn't this against Visa / Mastercard rules about Dynamic Currency Conversion?
It used to be that you could change the currency at the bottom of the page to the host's currency and avoid Airbnb's stupid 3% 'convenience' fee for currency conversion (they marked up the exchange rate). I now see that there is no way to avoid this - even if I change the currency at the bottom of the page and the country of my residence and the billing country of my card, it still wants to charge me in USD instead of EUR for a booking in Europe and mark up the interbank USD/EUR exchange rate that I would get through my card.
Frankly this is deceitful and infuriating. Every other OTA manages to handle multiple currencies without stealing 3% from me.
Isn't this against Visa / Mastercard rules about Dynamic Currency Conversion?
#4
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: YVR
Programs: UA Premier Platinum
Posts: 3,756
What if you book on the Airbnb site for the destination country - e.g., https://www.airbnb.co.uk/
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,014
I even tried Paypal which showed local currency initially but even with that they try to charge me in USD because that is where my Paypal account is located.
This is nothing but a 3% money grab and they're clearly being obstructionist about letting you use the local currency (in fact, the functionality used to exist according to posts on the Internet until the bas*ards blocked it). I intend to initiate a chargeback after my stay on the grounds that they are doing dynamic currency conversion without offering me the opportunity to pay in local currency, which I believe is against the rules of Visa and Mastercard. I'm not a lawyer, but I hope a class action is filed about this.
#6
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,438
Have you tried entering the billing address with the correct building/street/town, but leaving country as the country of the currency you wish to bill in? Not sure about AirBNB, but it works for many other travel sites/companies.
Edit: United for instance is another one that dynamically tries to change your currency based on billing address.
Edit: United for instance is another one that dynamically tries to change your currency based on billing address.
Last edited by belfordrocks; Nov 13, 2016 at 7:25 am
#7
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: All of them
Posts: 1,663
This has been around for a year at least, and they insist it's a "financial security" feature for them or some bullcrap like that, to supposedly protect them from currency fluctuations. I actually complained really loudly about this on my last stay and they gave me a $25 coupon.
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,014
Have you tried entering the billing address with the correct building/street/town, but leaving country as the country of the currency you wish to bill in? Not sure about AirBNB, but it works for many other travel sites/companies.
Edit: United for instance is another one that dynamically tries to change your currency based on billing address.
Edit: United for instance is another one that dynamically tries to change your currency based on billing address.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,014
This has been around for a year at least, and they insist it's a "financial security" feature for them or some bullcrap like that, to supposedly protect them from currency fluctuations. I actually complained really loudly about this on my last stay and they gave me a $25 coupon.
#12
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: All of them
Posts: 1,663
They go off of the billing address of your payment method, so if you pay with US credit card you're screwed. Not sure how the airbnb gift cards are treated, maybe those allow one to switch currency?
#14
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Olympian, no medals (non-elite status :p )
Posts: 122
This problem is not new. On a $1500 cad stay they charged me in CAD and performed the conversion. I asked through multiple emails to opt out of the Dynamic Currency Conversion, as is my right, I believe as a consumer. They declined. I called and escalated the matter. Still declined.
Here's where it get's interesting though: I then tried to change my card later on for a different purpose. I was switching from Amex to Mastercard to fulfill spend requirements. They informed me over email that I would not be able to issue a chargeback for the DCC. I never had an intention of doing that, but now that they said it, I googled it, according to Visa/MC rules you can issue a chargeback for DCC. Airbnb seems to know about this and actively tries to dissuade you from doing it. I find this whole thing disgusting on AirBNB's part.
Here's where it get's interesting though: I then tried to change my card later on for a different purpose. I was switching from Amex to Mastercard to fulfill spend requirements. They informed me over email that I would not be able to issue a chargeback for the DCC. I never had an intention of doing that, but now that they said it, I googled it, according to Visa/MC rules you can issue a chargeback for DCC. Airbnb seems to know about this and actively tries to dissuade you from doing it. I find this whole thing disgusting on AirBNB's part.