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The basement vending stalls have portable POS machines, and the choice is selected before you are handed the machine for signature. The supermarket's machine is more DCC friendly as it asks for the choice right before the signing.

All in all, DCC in Korea is easily avoidable. It is very credit card friendly.

Sorry, will just post the link next time.

For those who use PayPal, be aware that they do DCC by default, although the setting is changeable, buried in their settings (it isn't simply in your CC's regular config). I was just reminded of it when I used PP to top-up my Italian Vodafone SIM for an upcoming trip.

Paypal seems to have just changed their interface--I had the old interface last week, but suddenly have the new one now. Not sure if everyone has it now or if it is a rolling update, but this is where the setting is buried using the "new" interface:

--Settings (near the top)
--Payment preferences (left-side menu)
--My pre approved payments ("Update" link)
--Set Available Funding Sources (link in the header part of the table)
--Finally, for each Visa/MC, there should be a link next to the CC number: Conversion Options
(Of course, AMEX doesn't have the link, but I'm not sure about Discover since I don't have one.)

I changed my settings awhile ago, so I'm not sure if they've since changed the default, but back then the default was always the "Use PayPal's conversion process…" option. The other option is "Bill me in the currency listed in the seller's invoice" with the usual warnings that you are venturing into an abyss of unknown if you use this setting.

Also--not sure, but this setting's availability may vary, depending on what country your PayPal account is under.

PayPal's own fees are so extortionate that DCC almost pales by comparison. I'm not surprised that they're trying to double up though; that's PayPay style.

I haven't tried it myself, but I was told that the Vodafone top-up site would fail with payment directly by CC if it isn't an Italian CC--but PP works, which is why I've always used it for this.

The annoying thing is that I can never quite get this transaction to go how I want with a CC. I explicitly choose to use my CC each time I top-up, and the transaction goes through without incident, at least superficially. However, when I go back to the PP transaction details, I always see that it comes out of my linked checking account, and the conversion rate is always exactly 2.5% more than the daily $/€ rate (which matches PP's 2.5% conversion fee). I'm not sure if the CC is failing silently and PP is dropping back to my checking account, or if PP is not even trying my CC at all. If the CC was rejected, it would be nice if they told you, but they don't seem to show that in the results. In any case, you can't seem to "turn-off" your linked checking account, so the only way to test is to delete it altogether, have a $0 PP balance, test a transaction, and then setup everything again afterwards. I'd like to see what the same transaction would look like using my Visa with 0% FTF and with PP's DCC setting off.

This is what the PP site says regarding anything involving currency conversion:
I don't actually have an issue with charging 2.5% when they are providing a service like conversion while I (knowingly) use my checking account--after all, they are a business providing a service, and 2.5% is technically better than the 3.0% or 2.7% that some CC companies charge, and with a checking account as source, it isn't double-dipping like with a CC w/FTFs as source. But I do have an issue when they are doing it when I explicitly select my 0% FTF Visa with DCC turned off as the payment method, and then they revert to my checking account with an automatic 2.5% fee without any confirmation from me first.

You might need two accounts - one with your checking account only, one with your credit card account. Use the latter for payments.

Case 2 objection to DCC even when you have a 3.0% foriegn currency conversion fee card is when that card also charges foreign transaction fee for DCCed transactions as well http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post22309044

Fellow FlyerTalker member klashn and I have been in Barcelona taking advantage of the Widerøe mistake fare over Presidents' Day weekend. We were in a souvenir shop near Parc Güell and klashn used his Capital One without a second glance from the merchant at doing a swipe and sign transaction on a mag stripe only card.

The price was 10 €, and we clearly saw this on the screen. However, he didn't watch the merchant carefully, and DCC was applied with him being charged in USD. The exchange rate made it such that the DCC was about a 6% markup over the real exchange rate. We went to another store off of La Rambla and carefully specified wanting to pay in euros. We saw that after the card has been swiped the machine will say 1 for USD (DCC) and 2 for EUR (no DCC). I think the default option is DCC, but I'm not sure. We checked carefully and got a DCC-free transaction, but it shows that one needs to be vigilant.

I only used my credit card twice while here, once for tickets at La Pedrera and once at a TMB kiosk to purchase the 10 trip metro tickets. Neither transaction had DCC. The hotel will be the final charge with the potential for DCC, but we'll find that out tomorrow and I'll report back. Also, if klashn sends me the redacted receipts, I can add them to this post.

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) - Master Thread
 

My experience in Poland and Germany is a bit more shady with the defaults. It asks "Approve transaction? Green for USD, Red for (local currency)". Since cashiers don't always read the best English, they just hit green for approve. This has happened to me despite requesting payment in local currency.

+1 and I do out best pidgin English when we say "Chaaaarrggee Eurrooooooos".

I wish I can do the tongue rolling Jim Hacker does.

We haven't made it to Poland yet.

So...I'm not as kind. This is supposed to be part of their training. I know these are usually student types but their bosses are supposed to tell them what they're supposed to do (namely ask which currency you wish to pay in). My own opinion is the management prefers they perform the dcc scam because the vast majority of customers either don't know the diffeence or think how wonderful it is to pay in their currency. And for the occasional tourist who might complain, the "no speak English lie" usually suffices. I would never let them pull this garbage on me but if I can't quickly resolve it, as has been discussed, just cross out the statement you were offered the chance to pay in local currency, circle the local currency amount and initial. Then when you get home, dispute the charge as a clear violation of visa (or mastercard) rules. We can stop this cancer from spreading further by vigilance and follow up no matter how small the amount.

I've definitely encountered a few that I'm convinced purposely ignored me. One I specifically requested payment in Euro and they responded "we'll see" and immediately hit the USD button. I've been following your advice of crossing out the USD total and the paragraph that says I consent to DCC. I've even added some negative Yelp/Tripadvisor reviews at those places regarding DCC.

I've disputed every Chase DCC transaction successfully. Barclay requires a phone or written dispute so I haven't had a chance to file those ones yet.

I've taken the cases to Chase and be successful in the past.
Although I've never been to Western Europe, my experience in Northern Europe is quite good. I remember being shown the selections and I was able to make a choice.
The experience is the best in Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. You are clearly given the choices, and everybody knows this deal.
What you guys say about DCC in Western Europe just makes my image of that crime ridden place worse. I can vividly picture a Italian or French merchant con you with "Let's see"+"hitting USD"... ON PURPOSE!!!

It's hard to generalize this and indeed some of it in a way is cultural. For example, maybe I'm an exception, but I have rarely encountered this scam in France. Perhaps it dates back to the time the French really wanted everybody to accept their culture and part of it was you paid in (French) francs. (Of course it's the euro now). The home and birthplace of this scam was Ireland (the Republic of). For years, they never asked and if you complained after the fqact, they had some lies ready for you. ("It's a good rate set by the Bank of Ireland. Besides you may not know your bank charges a fee for currency conversion." (Mine doesn't and of course it's a foreign transaction fee anyway). "The amount in your currency is just shown as an approximation' the transaction is being done in punts (the pre euro currency)." Or, "we have no control over it. The terminal does it automatically." Heard all of them in my arguments with merchants which was always followed by from me, "Please bring the manager." Of course, in Ireland I never heard, "No comprende Ingles" or something to that effect. Today, and I've seen this in operation say at Blarney Castle mall they do ask but they urge you the better choice is your currency. ("you lock in the rate." Like the rate ever changes in a single day by 5% but to be fair, when you say euro, that's the end of the story. They run the transaction properly.

It's a growing problem in London. Many of the rip off theatre agencies which pretend to be the official half price theatre agency on the walk from the underground station on Charing Cross Road to Leicester Square pull this automatically and claim its part of the deal to get the 1/2 (which is more than the official Leicester Square TKTS booth charges). Spain is getting bad (elcortes ingles a prime example). Italy is getting bad (but never been pulled on my at an Autogrill). Holland and Germany loathe credit cards as it is. For years, of course, in the so called Eastern bloc before 1989, transactions were often required by law to be done in wetern currency (the way these cash starved countries loaded up on convertible currency and it was legally required).

So as I said, it's hard to generalize. And let's not forget the many unscrupulous merchants in the USA who pull this sruff on foreign visitors to the USA!

Hong Kong - I don't think so

DCCing a FT Ambassador

http://www.hongkongcard.com/webedito...1125_22974.jpg


Korea - DCC rollout is fairly limited.

Japan's just started http://www.hongkongcard.com/forum/fo...p?id=3939&p=17 #168

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...lafayette.html

Not at the Gourmet Experience at El Cortes Ingles Gran Via Madrid

+1 and I spent 5 days last October eating, shopping at duty free outlets and chains, paying at hotels (chains and boutiques) all the way from Milan to Florence to Venice and not once have we been DCCed.