Originally Posted by
BKKLEE
Marriott Beijing City Wall wanted to bill me in USD vrs. RMB........... they were so "nice" to convert it, without asking! (BTW, I have a Visa card that no longer charges exchange rate fees)
I refused to sign the Visa receipt in USD and demanded it be in RMB, which after a few minutes I received and signed.
I later compared the USD amount the hotel originally wanted to charge me to what I was finally billed by Visa after they converted RMB to USD and the difference was in excess of 8.5% (savings) by just saying "NO"
Unfortunately I didn't notice this little "trick" at previous hotels/restauarants throughout my 10-days prior usage of my Visa card
Like I mentioned in your other thread, every Marriott (including the Ritzes and the Rens) in BJ uses BankCom thermal slip terminals that default to DCC.
I read a report in one thread about someone who managed to get the Cap Ren to charge him in RMB by using a different terminal on the first floor (lobby is on 4th floor), but I've been DCCed at pretty much every POS in the entire hotel.
As much as I hate to admit it, I've recently started using cash almost exclusively in China because it's clear that we are not winning this war with our current "dispute it after the fact" approach. That having been said, if anyone decides to take things to the next level (e.g. create a website or blog), I'd be happy to lend both financial support and content.