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Old Jul 16, 2022 | 11:55 pm
  #26  
YariGuy
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Originally Posted by Nagasaki Joe
I'm familiar with the issue that you've raised. I think all FTers are savvy enough to only use CCs that don't charge a foreign transaction fee when traveling abroad. The other issue of which currency to choose may be less well understood by some. To be clear, my $8.00 Japanese meal was what it cost based on a straight yen to dollar conversion calculation. Apparently, I didn't specify the desired currency for the transaction and after checking Amex actually charged me $8.69 for the purchase, still a bargain if there ever was one, plus I got 15 MR points from Amex per dollar spent as part of my card welcome bonus..
JPY1100 to USD8.69 is 126.58. Today's exchange rate is 138.46. That's an 8.5% difference, and very significant (multiples of any rewards value). These amounts can add up. If it were me, I'd try other US cards to see what kind of exchange rate they offer.
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