Safetravel3

I would be happy to get those rates. I am charging our entire trip on the new Amex cards, and the amount really adds up. I guess I am very sensitive to the forex rate and not too happy. Thanks for sharing.

patrick.barnes

That's how I feel when making large AUD purchases (which I do every month). Generally the rate is 1% better for that, so it makes a big difference to me.

I do wish TYPs had a couple more transfer partners. I really thought Citi were going in the right direction with the Prestige, but then they sort of retreated. I still carry it because of FX, but that's kind of the only reason with the CSR now available.

patrick.barnes

One more datapoint for this thread.

Made a AUD$3180 payment on the Arrival+ on 12/24. Took a while to post but just did so.

Barclays claims the transaction post date is 12/28. They converted it to $2285.58. Plugging in my values here:

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html

Gives me that exact value but only if I choose 12/27. Maybe a time zone thing. Unclear which time zone the MasterCard website operates in.

So... maybe something to keep in mind for later comparisons.

Safetravel3

There seems to be a country-bias. It would nice if somebody has provided a matrix with the country-specific rate differences across VISA, MC, and Amex. Or, we might be able to contribute to that matrix.

patrick.barnes

We are the matrix.

Unlikely there are more data points anywhere else than in this thread.

It would be nice if Amex made their FX rates public like V and MC so we could compare that way.

mia

They do, but to my knowledge not on a website that is available to USA cardholders. I can see it because I have an International Dollar Card, and it requires a login.

zyxlsy

Last time I went to Japan was October and AMEX gave me the same pending rate as MC did.

However, the AMEX one took two weeks to post, and the MC one took four weeks to post...

At that time USD was climbing fast so the posted numbers become irrelevant.

But it may be just that, that Amex is no longer as good as MC in JPY->USD.

I recently charged $15000 worth of CNY onto my Buz Plat and the rates look fine. I will find one and compare it to MC and show you guys here later.

antonius66

What is going on here? A few months ago I paid for a hotel in Germany with this and got about 5% below the spot rate, which I have NEVER had happen with a credit card. Today, I just paid a hotel in Japan with it, and it is pending on my statement at 110.3 JPY to the USD, when the spot rate is 115. I wrote it off the first time to some kind of rapid change in the currency market as to when I actually paid, but now this is twice with the same card. Also, I did not agree to any DCC, and this was from major hotels before where I have stayed previously. Am I the only one with this?

mia

I moved your post into the established thread on this topic. Card issuers do not set exchange rates, that's done by the networks, VISA in this case. Also, the rate will change between the pending and final amounts.

antonius66

I have used Visa cards a ton of times and never gotten anywhere close to such a bad rate, and oddly it has only been twice with this card. According to Visa's own currency estimator, the pending charge is 3+% lower than they estimate. We will see when it posts, but this is exactly what happened with my last charge and it posted just as low.

I tried to search for this thread, but I guess I used the wrong terms.

mia

Perhaps not . Note that this thread is in Credit Card Programs, rather than in the Chase forum.

jnb_tx

i have never had a visa transaction post at any amount other than the visa listed exchange rate for that day... but only when the original charge was made in the local foreign currency. a sneaky practice some overseas vendors will use is, "for your convenience," they do their own conversion into "USD" at a much less favorable exchange rate, then charge the amount to your card in USD rather than local currency. if the charge is made by the foreign vendor in USD, it would still be subject to a ForEx fee if your card has that, but it would post as the USD calculated by the vendor's own exchange rate, not the USD conversion based on Visa's rate for a local currency charge. you must be adamant when using a card in any foreign country that they run the charge in local currency to avoid this "convenience." i would bet this is what's happened, but you could call Chase and confirm if the original charge was made in USD or foreign currency subject to Visa's conversion rate.

Edit: I see you are aware of the DCC issue, but still would be prudent to check with Chase to see if that is the cause of the discrepancy.

luna6

Pending doesn't mean squat. It will often change when it posts. With that said, going through this thread, Visa seems to be the worst when compared to Mastercard and Amex. Even knowing that, I use the CSR for the 3x categories lately on international charges (figure I end up getting 2x UR points with the approx. 1% currency surcharge they seem to add on). If your sensitive to poor currency exchange rates I would stick with Mastercard or Amex. I like to mix em up to whichever fits my needs.

About DCC. That's a separate issue. I've only had it happen to me once, in South Korea and I went back to the lobby and corrected the issue. It sucks that it happens, but you have to be vigilant and make sure charge is in local currency when you get the bill (especially if it's your first time staying at the hotel).

gregsfortytwo

Did you stay at the exact location previously, and bill it with the same card network? Or just others in the chain?
I recently stayed at the Marriott Regents Park in London and they used DCC despite every communication I received from them portraying costs in pounds. Other Marriott hotels abroad have not done this.

uclacolumbiaunc

If an airlines charges 400 Euro to my Amex card, how does the conversion work?

1. The airlines merchant bills 400 Euro to AmEx card -> AmEx determines the conversion rate -> AmEx posted the converted USD amount to my AmEx card statement using AmEx's determined conversion rate.

OR

2. The airlines merchant determines the exchange rate to convert 400Euro to USD -> charge the converted USD amount to my AmEx card -> AmEx posted the converted USD amount to my AmEx statement.

I feel the converted USD amount is a few dollars higher than what most exchange rate websites show. Who do I inquire in this situation (AmEx or Airlines)?