"Millions of satisfied cardholders have made educated, informed decisions to use DCC..." sounds like Lockheed claiming to the Canucks seven U.S. allies (that is eight less UK) have made educated, informed decisions to go with the F-35...

Was this in NYC or in off the beaten path places? I can't imagine that the local Toys R Us and JCPenney in my parents' hometown would have ever encountered a non-USD card. As long as the customer facing terminal is an option it would be fine for those of us on this thread, but it's still shady.

Reclusive, how hard is it to qualify for that Lloyd's card with no local credit history? I'd much rather have it than any Amex issued card when I move in May...

I think because it is UnionPay...

[QUOTE=MajukiFor example, I remember in June at a McDonald's in Sydney the cashier was frantically searching for a pen for an A$8.10 transaction (posted as US$7.59). In contrast, most fast food places in the US have VEPS enabled.[/QUOTE]

I've been living in Australia and New Zealand for a month, this has been happening all the time :D

One interesting thing (maybe off topic), I used my Schwab Debit once at an un-manned gas station. When I chose CHK (it's a debit card, linked to my checking account, right), the transaction was denied. When I chose CRD, and entered my PIN, it worked. I was left confused...

Anyway, I now know I've got a Chip and Pin card as my last resort, albeit if this debit card is still considered Credit, I'll pay the CC surcharge (in Australia and New Zealand) and earn no points or miles... Luckily gas stations here don't charge CC surcharge, but Novotel charges 2%...

The credit card surcharge doesn't bother me as much as DCC because it's disclosed upfront. I don't like paying the surcharge, but there's really not much that you can do for a $1000-2000 hotel bill. At least with DCC there is in theory some recourse and/or ability to avoid it. The fees aren't nearly as bad as with DCC either. I forget in Australia if the surcharges can only recover the fees the establishment incurs to accept a credit card payment or if they're allowed to charge a markup.

I think CHK in Aus (this is a gas station in Aus right?) means EFTPOS. NAB and HSBC's been brainwashing me to press Cr at EFTPOS terminal with my Visa Debit cards from them and merchants have been trying to educate cardholders not to.

If you bank with Lloyds and have a good 3 or 4 months of history with them (Paying in over £1000 a month). After that you'll probably pre-approved. If you cant pay in that much you can trick their systems by moving out and back in from another account.

It's a gas station in NZ, but I think they are all the same.

So basically Visa Debit cards from the US don't qualify for CHK in AUS and NZ because it is not using EFTPOS (similar to UnionPay)? I just tried again today, my Chip and Signature and magnetic cards from US all don't work at gas stations pumps, and my Schwab Debit card only work when choosing Credit AND inputing the PIN.

This is interesting because in the US my Schwab Debit would definitely be considered check cards and merchants would run them as debit cards when PIN is inputed.

P.S. The Schwab agent just confirmed through secured messaging at Schwab.com that my card is indeed a check card, with the Chip and Pin feature. However, the technical part of why CHK wouldn't work but CRD would was left unanswered.

In Aus, Dr on a Visa Debit card will run the transaction over EFTPOS and Cr on a Visa Debit card will run the transaction over Visanet.

Thank you very much, are they a good bank to deal with given all the changes - FBAR/FATCA issues? Not looking forward to that mess but thankfully my mum is very knowledgeable about taxes and will sort that half out for me :)

1. The regional debit networks are different and the Schwab card's regional debit can't be used outside the US.

2. The Visa network is international, the PIN was required as the Schwab card allows online PIN for Visa if the terminal doesn't support signature, which that terminal obviously didn't.

Credit and Debit are bad terms really. Credit effectively means Visa, MasterCard, Amex or one of the other various signature networks and debit means one of the local domestic networks (although some Canadian and UK debit cards support US debit networks as they are partnered with NYCE Debit).

This only really occurs in a few countries like AUS,NZ and the US.

In most other countries a debit card always runs as a debit card (Either over a major card network or a domestic network), this is usually because of two reasons, either the card only runs on one of the signature networks and merchant just pays less interchange or a fixed amount on debit but the card doesn't actually process any differently to a credit card (The UK for example). Or the countries debit cards run on a domestic only network and while they may support Visa,MC or Amex they will only process over these networks outside of their domestic market (Canada or France).

I've read some articles about Aus and NZ capping credit card (or EFTPOS I'm not sure) swipe fees. Confusingly, this cost saving thing for the merchants led to CC surcharges???

So that cap should only apply for EFTPOS, right? And since credit transactions don't have the cap, merchants charge surcharges to level the field, right? Is my understanding right?

Encountered my first DCC attempt in New Zealand.

Novotel Christchurch asked me whether I want to settle in USD. I said no, and NZD charged.

I think for other hotels I always say "NZD please" preemptively, so no attempts were made before the Novotel.

Other than that, never seen DCC in the Kiwi Country. Also saw so DCC in Tahiti and Bora Bora.

Yeah, it's probably best to preemptively specify the local currency at hotels. While you might end up getting a few blank stares it's better than the alternative.

In other news, I finally convinced my spouse to let me try her TWD Visa on a local purchase at Kinokuniya (Japanese bookstore) in San Jose. This was after an unsuccessful attempt to her her to buy something at Macy's or Nordstrom. The purchase was for $10.82, but Bank of Taiwan is showing a pending transaction amount of NT$357. The Visa exchange rate shows the amount as being NT$336, so something is causing a 6.25% markup. She told me that Bank of Taiwan charges 1.5% a currency conversion fee, but we can't explain the rest. I'm thinking it might be the case like using Discover at Uniqlo in Japan where the pending transaction amount is higher than what the posted amount will be.

I'll report back after the transaction posts, but I don't think she'll be using the card in the US anymore, not even in the interest of science. :D She says we shouldn't pay an extra 1.5% if we can avoid it.