Originally Posted by
drewguy
My experience in early days was that even with DCC card issuers that charged their own FTF still charged the FTF because the transaction was "foreign" - i.e., the fee was for the higher risk on foreign transactions and the cost of dispute resolution, not the convenience of converting currency (or so they claimed). So you would pay ~ 3%+3% with DCC, or 3% without. In other words, DCC *never* made sense to me.
It was probably 15+ years ago when cards started changing from currency conversion fees to foreign transaction fees, so it's been awhile. It did make sense when a card had a currency conversion fee of 3% and DCC was up to 3% since you'd get the rewards on the full transaction amount in the case of DCC whereas the card issuer would not accrue rewards on the currency conversion fee. Perhaps as a result of DCC becoming more widespread card issuers changed from currency conversion fees to foreign transaction fees. Now with many US cards offering 0% FTFs, DCC makes no sense.
Originally Posted by
drewguy
I've found many hotels have already processed the checkout and charged your card early in the morning, even if you go to the desk to get the receipt and confirm the bill.
I always make sure to get the credit card terminal receipt to verify that there is no DCC. Another option is to check-in with an Amex for the preauth and then ask to change the card at checkout. That might afford you additional control and the opportunity to opt out.