FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - DCC: Dynamic Currency Conversion (2017-2025)
Old Jul 16, 2022 | 5:47 pm
  #896  
Majuki
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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Originally Posted by lsquare
So tapping is the safest way to avoid DCC in Australia? I'll be heading back to Sydney later this year and I want to use cards as much as I can. AMEX seems pretty useless outside of hotels, but no DCC at all with them?
Correct. Only Visa and MC are subject to DCC with MC being slightly more favorable to the consumer by having a buyer's remorse provision for DCC. By tapping my card I didn't see DCC, but I know for a fact it's been prevalent since around 2016. My first time seeing it was at a cafe in Brisbane 8 years ago (and I reported on it here in the previous thread). I've done trial transactions on previous trips where I try the same card on the same terminal via chip-and-signature, contactless with the card (no signature), and contactless via mobile device (Google pay, no signature). The DCC prompt would only appear when doing the chip-and-signature transaction, but it was easy to opt out if you were aware of what was happening. There should not be a situation in Australia where you do not control the terminal, so you can manage the DCC prompts.

The only thing unfortunately that's nearly ubiquitous these days is the 1-1.5% credit card surcharge. I justify it by using a card with no foreign transaction fee and 1.5-4.5x rewards (on a Chase Sapphire Reserve with a 50% bonus on redemptions) for the categories of my spend, so it's a breakeven in the worst case. Even at 1x, you're probably still breaking even with respect to exchange rate fluctuations.
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