In Bangkok and Samui, terminals I come across almost always seem to have quote slips, so the choice is there. I did have one case years ago where I was initially DCCed, noticed it and asked to walk with the waitress back to the terminal, who then voided and presented a DCC-free slip. Fortunately not repeated thereafter but we are very good with saying "charge Thai Baht please" proactively.

Poland sounds like Mainland China in terms of compliance...

Spain was DCC-compliant (ie, gave you the choice, even when obviously having the scam-offer much bigger/easier to choose) this weekend.

What annoyed me more is that apparently now banks in Spain are starting with that "Hey, we charge you 1.8/2€ extra on your transaction" when you get money from an ATM. No, thanks. More interesting, I had a charge of 21.80€ on my card (after I declined the withdraw on the last step when it told me it's gonna be 1.8€ extra) which quickly got deposited again, but it was a charge (ie, not just a blocking amount, but a charge & refund) - since my card is in €, I didn't lost in currency conversion on it, but I can imagine had I used a non-€ card, I might have (even if declined DCC) been slapped with twice a convertation NOT in my favour (ie, 21.80€ would become like 24.50 CHF, then the refund would only be for like 22.50 CHF) even though I declined the transaction. That's scamming on a whole new level.. watch out!

Still some banks were without that extra fee, so I managed to get around it, but it just sucks, I'd like to know what happens with a Non-€ card for sure.

Thailand with their 150 or even 180 Baht charge is the worst. In fact charges like this make me re-think my choice of country to go on holiday, as silly as it might sound..

It's hard to say. This is like the case of percysmith in London at Harrods where a credit might have a different exchange rate than the purchase. I don't know if it's voiding the transaction in this case or charging and then issuing a refund. It also depends on how the issuer posts the transaction/refund if they are two separate transactions. At least in the US with Chase, the transactions would both post the same day, using the same exchange rate, so you wouldn't be out of pocket. Other issuers might handle things differently.

As for ATM operator fees, there are a number of cards issued stateside that are popular here on FlyerTalk that will not impose an ATM use fee and reimburse ATM operator fees. I recognize that not all geographies/currency denominations have that as an option, however.

Germany used to have the same "fee free" ATM cards (DKB), but they've enhanced it piece after piece. First, they stopped reimbursing for extra charges, now they've changed it that you'll be charged 1.75% on ATM usage unless you put at least 700€ per month into the account.

If your local currency isn't the Euro, it kinda sucks.. because you will put yourself at risk when you don't actually use 700€ per month (which I hardly do.. and for hotel bills, my local Swiss cards will still be better as I'll only lose out once on currency conversion)

In short, with the ultra-low interests that have existed for a few years now, the whole credit card game kinda was made harder and harder.. (I kept a nice sum onto my DKB card when they paid close to 2% interest on it.. then the Euro went down, and I basically lost more than I ever gained on it.. don't talk to me about that :D )

Is that more an operator's fee (fixed fee) than DCC (crap rate/% markup)?

Anyway we in HK have an ongoing battle with card issuers who claim two-way foreign currency conversion charges for refunds on previous charges (this happens a lot in Japan, where void functionality is exceptionally rare). My take is the banks are entitled to keep the 1% charged by V/M but not the fees they charge on top.

I'd like to know what bank only charges 150-180 THB. The cheapest that myself and friends found was 200 THB (3 different banks). Likely less expensive to go a money exchange on my next trip to Thailand.

I have the Schwab debit card...I'll see if the Thai fees are reimbursed or not. Per the receipts, it seems as if the fee was just included in the cash withdrawal amount. I'll let everyone know.

It was the Sklep Freshmarket...on one of the roads surrounding the main square. However, you forced me to get the receipt out and look at it. Guess what, even after the cashier offered Zlotys because it was less expensive for me, the actual transaction occurred in dollars. Another to dispute with Chase!

ATM fees on foreign debit/ATM cards? When ATM's first came about we were told they were there because they were not labor intensive and saved money and so were free. Then some banks started charging fees for accessing YOUR money (waived of course for high rollers). Then banks caught on they could charge fees if you had the nerve to use their machines to withdraw from another bank's account. And up and up and up went the fees. When all this bs started, both cirrus and plus specifically exempted "foreign" that is from a different country cards from fees.

But banks have found ways around these rules en masse. Were the rules changed allowing the fees? Didn't see anything to that affect but I might have missed it. Or are the banks routing these transaction over networks different from cirrus and plus that allow these fees. I know about 10 years ago this was a fact and a Canadian replied they had been knicked for the fee despite making a withdrawal with their Canadian debit card at a US ATM. Cirrus and plus prohibited (I think they still do) these fees but somehow the transaction was being routed over STAR or some other shared teller network that allowed the fees.

My fidelity debit card and my Charles Schwab debit card presumably rebate these fees but I would have to check if the reimbursments are restricted to USA transactions. Just another way banks try to screw their customers.

Aeon Bank is not part of the Thai cartel that brought about this charge. As such they "only" charge 150 baht.

With a (HK-issued) Unionpay ATM card I get charged 100THB for Thai ATM withdrawals and 20-odd thousand VND for Vietnam ones http://bbs.16fan.com/thread-312916-1-1.html

I really couldn't be bothered to go out of my way to find an exchange shop. Sometimes I'm not allowed to.

FIDO reimbursements worldwide in my experience.

Had a hotel in India charge my USD even though I chose INR on the slip and asked the front desk to process in INR when I handed the card over.

Is there an easy way to dispute this with Citi without having to do it over the phone or chat?

I'm doing it via chat on my account and the guy tells me my card has a 3% charge on my card, and then he tells me that I don't have... took me 15 minutes to finally get him to open a dispute for me. Wow, how amazing CSR is.

This sucks.

Our largest bank over here is doing similar. We used to keep copies (or even maintain copies) of complaint forms and fax them to the banks with the offending DCC slips.

We don't have to explain what DCC is cos fortunately the HK Monetary Authority (which is the CFPB and the Fed combined) has already explained it and what we can do about it.

Unfortunately the bank is refusing to accept chargeback forms initiated by fax any more.

We're going to try using the secured message system - flag a transaction up for DCC, have them open a complaint and send us a form, then we'll fax or email it back.

Well eventually the person disputed the whole amount and then gave me the whole amount. I am staying at the same hotel again next week, will they not allow me to stay because Citi disputed the whole amount (only $19) since it is a rewards stay?

Do they actually dispute it with the merchant even though they it was instantly ruled in my favor with a permanent credit?