Originally Posted by
Youngmiler
I need to buy a few plane tickets from airlines based in Asia and Thailand airlines and have a question. When booking a flight at Bangkok Airlines it shows the flight in baht, if I purchase it from America, will I get hit with a 3% foreign transaction fee and what conversion rate will I get or does the purchase count as being made in America?
Where you purchase from is irrelevant. What does matter is the currency that company is selling the goods in and your credit card currency.
Let's take the Bangkok Air example. If your flight begins in Thailand then they'll quote a price in THB. If your flight begins in Cambodia they'll price it out in USD etc etc.
If you use expedia or another portal you're likely to be sold a more expensive ticket compared to what's available on PG's own site. You'll save the forex fees but pay more overall.
Your best bet is to obtain a CC that doesn't charge forex fees. Otherwise suck it up and pay the 5-8% additional cost of the foreign transaction. Or wait until you arrive in country and book in cash at the counter.
Other random info: PG will accept AmEx at their offices and airport counters. Online they only accept visa/MC.