Originally Posted by
sethweinstein
I've been in China a few days and no one seems to be honoring my DCC opt-out preferences. I'm taking pictures of all my signed receipts showing RMB selected.
One was at a Crowne Plaza, where I'm staying. I charged a RMB 188 dinner to my Chase Sapphire Reserve and it posted (it has already posted) with exactly the offered DCC-ed amount of USD 28.77 instead of the correct amount of $27.61. I'll still be there for a few days. Should I try to confront them about it, and if so, how should I go about that?
I know I can contact Chase, but I feel as if I'm going to come back with around 10 receipts that all have to be re-charged.
And speaking of Chase, is there any way to see on the Chase site the conversion details? Most other banks' sites seem to show a charge of, say, $27.61, but then show in the details that it corresponds to RMB 188.
Thanks,
Seth
Hello Seth,
The best option for resolving DCC is when you are still at the merchant. I don't know if getting a reprint of the receipt is possible in Mainland China, but this is a trick one can do in Hong Kong to confirm whether or not there was DCC.
If you hear the line, "Check the box next to RMB, and it will be RMB!" it is almost a certainty that you will be hit with DCC in China. Ask how your currency preference can magically transfer from the signed receipt to the terminal with no further input from the cashier.
The best option at this point is raising the issue with Chase. The choice, of course, is up to you, but I personally would try to fight every one of these charges for a Reason Code 76 changeback. Merchants in Mainland China are among the most non-compliant with DCC in the world. Other locations on the DCC Wall of Shame are Poland and India.
With Chase, there's no way to see the exchange rate until you get the statement. However, it is possible to calculate what the amount should have been. Chase uses the Visa exchange rate on the posting date of the transaction, which you can find
here. For example, the Visa USD/CNY exchange rate on June 19th was 0.146865. 188 CNY without DCC would therefore post on June 19th as $27.61.
Chase also uses the Visa exchange rate for the pending amount based on the date of the transaction. Seeing a charge of $28.77 implies that the DCC markup was 4.2%.
I've noticed other issuers, such as AmEx (not subject to DCC) or Fidelity (my card of choice for getting cash overseas) use the transaction date exchange rates. This means that DCC is 100% a worse option since the amount will always be higher than the exchange rate used. In the case of Chase, there could be very limited circumstances where DCC might be favorable, but one would not expect the USD/other currency exchange rate to increase above the DCC spread in a few days. The only example that comes to mind was when the Swiss Franc rapidly appreciated a few years ago.