I think most of us take the hit on the credit card, but if you are getting charges of 5% then can I suggest you get a better card - Citibank charges me less than 2% on most transactions.

The alternative might be to find a TA who would accept money being wired to their bank account. But you are always going to get hit for about 2% if you have to switch currencies.

Some TAs (e.g. EMECO in CAI) will courier the ticket to you (sometimes even not charging anything for this). Alternatively you can simply pick the ticket up at the airport when you arrive there. I have done turnrounds like this at CAI (using both BA and AA/Emeco), Paris (using CX directly) and Taipei (using Amex - our corporate TA at the time).