Not something I have thought of before - will try this on my upcoming trip.

Maybe spoke too soon

My Chase Sapphire reserve has contactless, been using contactless directly. The preauth alert and posting $ were the same, but 0.1-0.3% higher than xe

Headed back to states, can't test anymore :(

Reconciled my records

I was wrong, Google pay preauth and final post $ can differ. But the $ different is quite small (3 cents out of $40) and final fx rate is usually 0.1% from xe

My physical chip/contactless transactions, $ difference between preauth are usually larger (5 cents out of $10) and rate usually 0.1-0.3% from xe

I noticed that GP transaction has a better exchange than physical contactless as well as physical chip - I have no idea why that would be, but there it is.

Master Card Currency Conversion Charge
 

I have the BOA Flying Blue Mastercard with no foreign transaction fees. The charges always came back with an extremely favorable exchange rate. However in the past month it appears my foreign charges are about 1% higher than normal when converted into dollars. Last night I made a purchase of about 1700€ and the exchange rate on the purchase was about $17 higher than the exact exchange rate - as opposed to the usual dollar or two.
I also found this calculator provided by Mastercard that confirmed my suspicions https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/pers...-currency.html

(If this is the wrong forum for this post, please move it to the appropriate forum. Thank you!)

I've experienced those hidden ForEx fees many times in the past myself. Mastercard and Visa user agreements define lookback periods and allow banks to pick the best rates for themselves and worst rates for customer purchases. Exchanges rates frequently have brief spikes in either direction -- and those fluctuations can easily add up to 1% or even higher. Last time I looked at the MC Agreement, it also allowed member banks to delay currency conversion at their discretion. I assume that would give the banks more legal room to create wider spreads.
So "No Forex Fee" claims should not really be taken literally, although the cards having that claim are still the best for bank customers.

You made a purchase last night and it had already posted overnight? Are you sure you are not looking at the pending transaction amount, which will be revised?

The pending USD amount listed for transactions in foreign currency on U.S. issued MasterCards is always identical to the posted amount. In other words: conversion is instant and "what you see pending is what you get posted."

This is in contrast to Visa and Amex, where the definitive final FX rate is only applied when the charge posts

​​​​​​With regard to the specific claim of recent poor rates - I've also noticed this, and as a result, I've shifted any non-category bonus spend back to a local currency card for the time being.

Counterpoint - My Mastercards that I use for international travel or transactions charged in other currencies (Capital One Platinum, Apple Card, Capital One 360 debit at an ATM) always give me an exchange rate that's a bit better than the mid-market rate.

Have you made any recent charges? I've also had positive experiences until recently...

GBP 13.91 on 9 August to USD 16.89 Citi Premier

The XE.com rates:
8 August 1.2096174607 = $16.83
9 August 1.2091063168 = $16.82

I don't buy into the idea that the fictional mid-market rate is the "correct" rate, because I am selling USD to buy GBP.

As recent as July 20th

GBP/USD rate on Chase IHG Biz MC
 

A recent GBP purchase on Chase IHG Business Mastercard (which supposedly has no foreign exchange fees) got a rate 3% worse than the market rate: 1.24 vs 1.20.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b188eb9bf9.png

The MasterCard currency conversion tool is here: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/pers...-currency.html

It shows that the rate on 4 Feb 2023 was 1 Great British Pound = 1.2267365 United States Dollar

It shows that the rate on 2 Feb 2023 was 1 Great British Pound = 1.2400917 United States Dollar

Could this be a transaction date versus posting date difference?