Originally Posted by
mcgahat
I have had stores ask me in other countries if I wanted to be charged in USD or local currency. Harrods in London used to do this but havent been in there in a while but assume they still do. I cant remember the rate they offered but think it was something like 2.x% mark up. ATM's seem to like to offer this also these days. I also had the Holiday Inn Bangkok do this once and it was very deceptive in the way the receipt showed and I complained after the fact and hasnt been a problem since but did happen there.
I dont mind if they make it clear you have a choice but dont like any funny business.
In my experience it happens in many other countries, but China is the worst in two respects:
1) The exchange rate is typically much worse (4.5-5% instead of 2.5-3%)
2) The cashier does not ask in China and most of the time doesn't understand how to process non-DCC. Every other country they have asked or corrected upon request.