I didn't see any additional DCC in Singapore, Thailand, or Japan although admittedly I had few data points from Thailand. I had some leftover SGD that I opted to change to THB, so outside of the hotel and two fast food restaurants I used cash. The DCC implementation at 7-Eleven ATMs in Japan remains unchanged from a year ago.

More interestingly, I was doing an AAdvantage Hotels stay at a local Hilton this week. Normally I use my Hilton AmEx, but I didn't have it on me when I checked in. The terminals there use Evalon as the payments processor, and when I tapped the Visa card a message that appeared that said something like, "Wait for DCC..." that wasn't present with an AmEx. Since this was a USD denominated card there was no way to test if DCC would appear on the preauth for a non-USD card.

Datapoint: No DCC for me in Norway this past week.

Oh, I meant to post this but forgot, since I was in Singapore basically the same time as you :p

No DCC option, but ATM convenience fees at OCBC (S$8) and Citi (S$3) which happily my account reimburses.

Going to Ireland during the latter half of February and have been making reservations for stuff online. So far, I haven't run into any DCC with any websites that we could tell, which is a bit surprising given that Ireland's had a pretty bad reputation for DCC in the past. Hopefully in-person transactions run just as smoothly once we're there. :tu:

I didn't encounter any DCC during my April 2023 trip with one exception at a pub where the bartender proactively pressed euros. "Don't worry. I've got ya!" The caveats are that I used an Amex for the hotels and contactless for all of the other transactions.

Not exactly DCC but Airbnb is going to start applying an additional 2% fee if you pay with your home currency instead of the host's:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...15e23c7ed9.png

(from the email they sent out earlier today)

On second thought, I've never used Airbnb for foreign stays--only for domestic ones--so I'm not sure if you're even able to pay in the host's currency in the first place. Something to keep in mind, anyway.

Very interesting. I think this would affect gift card users more than credit card holders.

Moderator action
 

Discussion has drifted past the fuzzy boundary between DCC to FOREX rates. I have moved two posts to this thread:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cred...all-cards.html

I tried doing some searches for listings in Ireland just now and it would only show me prices in USD, even after I tried clicking on the globe icon at the top of the page and forcing the currency to Euro (which didn't actually stick as the selection went right back to USD). So yeah, it kinda does look like forced DCC to me (with a minimum of 2% worse rates than had I been allowed to view/book in Euros).

From an ATM in Belfast. The alert from my Schwab debit card showed a $55.29 withdrawal for reference after I declined conversation.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5bba7c95b9.jpg

At least they were honest about the 13.95% markup. Yikes! :eek:

And I thought the Travelex ATM was bad at LHR back in December!

My dad and I were there about a year ago. We were completely cashless for the week, so I had a lot of data points for card use but no ATMs. The only DCC I saw was at Madigans, but the bartender had already opted out on our behalf. The only reason I knew there was DCC was because the guy next to us had the terminal to enter his PIN, and I saw the EU/UK flags appear on the screen. I haven't seen DCC recently in the UK outside of ATMs. I was a bit surprised in Ireland, however, as I expected DCC to be present at every corner. :D

That's a horrific but unsurprising exchange rate.

Belfast is a cool city! Be sure to grab a pint at the Crown - it's the most gorgeous bar/pub I've ever been to.

Yeah, so far there hasn't been any DCC with actual merchants (much like my last trip to the UK pre-pandemic).

Also, something to note with that ATM: they had extremely high presets for cash withdrawals too. The smallest I remember seeing was £100, meaning anything lower (which you can totally get away with given that most everyone takes cards) required a custom entry. I don't know if that would have impacted the transaction fees and/or DCC, though.

Honest Guide talked about this specifically in one video about DCC at ATMs. If you had a card denominated in local currency, I imagine that the withdraw amounts presented would be much lower too.

Spoke too soon about merchant DCC--just ran into it at the pub at Giant's Causeway. I didn't catch the markup but opt-out was pretty simple on the Move/8000s they were using; just push "1" on the keypad for GBP.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I had tapped my card, so as others have mentioned that's no longer a way to prevent DCC.

My hotel tried to DCC on checkout this morning. 3.99% markup but again, easy to opt-out (tap the button with the GBP amount). This was with Google Pay, too, not inserted.

My dad and I stayed at the Hilton in Belfast last year and then HGI and Conrad in Dublin, but since I used my Hilton Aspire Amex, I didn't see any DCC prompts. I'm mostly using either the Hilton Aspire or Marriott Bonvoy Amex, so I have few data points for hotels internationally for a non-Amex. For the limited Hyatt stays I've done internationally, I've not seen DCC (or the reception has opted me out behind the scenes).

The Moxy hotel I just checked into apparently keeps the terminal behind the counter, so I'm not sure what would have happened had I used a card other than the Marriott card. It's actually a bit ironic since US Marriotts pretty much all have customer-facing terminals as a matter of course (even if contactless is disabled on some of those).

A Burger King last night (definitely not first choice but it was one of the few places still open that was serving food) tried to DCC us. The cashier kept the terminal after tapping but fortunately pushed the EUR button after he asked us which currency we wanted to use.

Anyway, it looks like so far on this trip, DCC may be more likely at places that see a lot of tourists. Not enough data points to know completely for sure, though, but at least for us, most places in Dublin didn't DCC.

I don't have the Burger King in Ireland data point, but others have provided one before as a DCC location. McDonald's didn't DCC in Dublin, nor did Nando's.

(Not directly DCC) But just saw this new rort from Euronet ATMs "Cash and balance"

The Leonardo hotel I checked into last night apparently has a 0.35% (?) DCC markup, which is probably the lowest I've seen on this trip. That would almost make it worthwhile if you had a card that didn't charge FTF for USD transactions but did so for others (like apparently my BofA Visa card). Should still decline out of principle, though.

Yikes, that's what I was pushing, so it's probably doing the same for foreign cards too. I guess I'll see what Schwab reimburses me for in a few days.

BTW these are the EUR presets currently:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...37c828bf4f.jpg

Update: based on my calculations I think Schwab reimbursed all of the ATM fees despite me pushing "cash & balance". I was a bit concerned because I remember doing a balance only request in the past that didn't get reimbursed, so I was assuming that I'd only get partially reimbursed for the transactions on this trip.

Also, it looks like Leonardo might only be bothering with DCC for higher value transactions and/or for the actual hotel stay. Just had them do some laundry for me and didn't get any DCC prompts when it was time to pick it up. The hotel restaurant also didn't DCC, though it looked like it was using a different POS system and different terminals compared to the front desk.

DCC from another ATM (Brinks, not Euronet) on the way to Kylemore Abbey. The markup looks to be ~13% as well, though.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6b4d4b5366.jpg

A gift store in Galway that actually promotes DCC:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c0675cb085.jpg

I don't know what the markup is, though. I'm guessing there is demand for it if they're promoting it (even though no one should opt into it)?

EDIT: credit card terminal didn't ask for currency, so maybe not DCC?

I was in Takayama for the Japan Do on Sunday, and there was a shop selling honey that had DCC. I saw another customer who had a Citi AAdvantage card. She did try to do a contactless payment initially, but it failed. When she inserted, the DCC prompt appeared. The shop employee was ushering the customer to make the currency selection, and the customer did select JPY without any prompting. It looked like the markup was 4.5%. I did a tap payment successfully, which defaulted to JPY without any prompting. There was a Canadian in our group who also did a contactless payment, but he had to enter his PIN for the transaction. I didn't require any signature, and the customer with the DCC prompt had to sign.

Taiwan:
Random shop in the Kaohsiung Arena Mall offered DCC on a contactless MC transaction. I didn't even realize until I got the receipt, which showed the checkboxes but fortunately with NTD selected, so thanks, random store clerk!

Howard Resort Xitou, no DCC at the front desk or the restaurants, which was mildly surprising only because Howard Kaohsiung was the site of the egregious DCC posted upthread.

Japan: various DCC dipping my CSR (contactless doesn't work on my card despite having the symbol) but always given control of or shown the prompts and permitted to select on my own. Didn't stop to read/figure out the percentages though.

Indeed, my pic from this evening in a metro station looks substantially the same as yours from Dec 2022 other than the exchange rate, and that the posted DCC fee has crept up to 4%. Quoted 69.56 here vs XE rate of 66.75 and pending transaction at Chase of 66.88.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7834eb1ac7.jpg

Just got DCCed at Armazem Do Bacalhau in Porto. Credit card machine screen showed €18.50, so I tap my Chase business card. However, when the receipt came out, it was billed with a 5% markup as USD 21.06. I was never given or even shown any options. I requested the card to be re-done in EUR but merchant refused. How do I avoid DCC on this tap system in the future? Is it a good idea to dispute the transaction with Chase even though the differrnce is only $1 and to request to be billed in local currency?

I also got DCCed at Pasteis de Belem - similar situation. I tapped my credit card on the machine, wasn't given currency option and €10.10 suddenly came with a 4% markup converted to USD 11.37!

I would avoid tapping and insert the card since 1) currency prompts might appear that otherwise wouldn't with a contactless transaction and 2) there would be a signature slip that you could deface by writing "DCC REFUSED" and taking a photo.

Did you have control of the terminal/screen in view the entire time of the transaction? I'm curious if DCC prompts did appear, which the merchant selected for you.

I would dispute both transactions. While the dollar amount is immaterial, that's unimportant. It's the deceptive business practices of the merchant that are important. In all likelihood, Chase will simply refund the difference, but it's possible that Chase could pursue a chargeback.

This is good timing since I have a trip to Portugal scheduled in August. I will avoid contactless transactions or perhaps try some higher value ones such that if I disputed the charge that the card issuer would be likely to pursue a chargeback.

When traveling abroad, I have gotten into the habit of requesting to have the transactions processed in the local currency as I present the credit card. I don't recall having any DCC issues when I asked.

While this is a good approach, it will not protect against DCC in cases where:

1) Terminals are not configured to provide a DCC opt-out, which appears to be the case here.
2) Merchants force DCC upon the customer, even if a customer requests local currency.
3) Back office DCC happens when a transaction is finalized later. (This can happen with rental car or hotel bills.)

After I tapped my card, the merchant took hold of the machine. I have a feeling the DCC prompt did appear and the merchant quickly selected it.

If you didn't have control of the machine until the receipt printed, I suspect that the merchant selected DCC for you. Regardless, you weren't given the option, and I would charge back both transactions.

There have been implementations that don't show a prompt, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.

To be safe, I would insert your card to generate a signature slip.

The terminals in Portugal definitely show a DCC prompt but the implementation is very tricky. The experience feels designed by the merchant banks to get you to inadvertently go for DCC. I would ALWAYS have them place the reader down on the table in front of you before tapping and keeping it until a receipt has been printed.

The implementation in Portugal (both at merchants and at ATMs) seems to be:

1. Ask if you want to be charged in USD (1) or Euros (2).
2. It then asks again using completely different verbiage: ACCEPT CONVERSION (1) OR REJECT CONVERSION (2).

The 2nd prompt is what may catch you out, because if you don't read it properly, you might assume it's asking you to continue the transaction, but it's NOT, it's still the DCC. Also, if you hand the terminal back to the merchant after just the first prompt, then they can then still (inadvertently or purposely) DCC you.

My experience with this has been that tourist spots have "mistakenly" DCCed me more than others, which make it seem less like a mistake as one would assume they're more familiar with foreign cards than the local establishments where it doesn't happen. In one scenario, a merchant literally saw me hit EUR and I told him EUR please and then he grabbed the machine before the second prompt and out popped a receipt with DCC on it.

And the setup you described is unlikely compliant with Visa/MC DCC implementation rules. I have seen the "are you sure?" prompt in the past on an ATM, but I forget where that was.

At least this is unlike some implementations in China where there is no DCC prompt at all. The terminal just DCCs you.

I know you used quotes around mistakenly, but I wouldn't give any merchants the benefits of the doubt when it comes to DCC. I hope in the above situation you either had the merchant void and rerun the transaction without DCC or promptly disputed the amount.

In the future, I am likely to file complaints with Visa or MC, depending on which card I use, since it appears that they've been following up on merchant complaints with surcharging. I imagine that they might follow up with a DCC complaint as well.

Thanks for the reminder about this. Just checked my Hong Kong hotel bill, and it was not back-office manipulated. (Although last time I was in China, the back office did manipulate and I successfully disputed.)

Congratulations on the successful dispute. :tu:

Back office DCC from hotels is usually less of a problem outside of the US and Canada since the checkout process is more active in the sense that one often goes down to the front desk to settle the bill and release the hold that the reception placed on the card on file at check in. In the US and Canada, especially at limited service properties, it's possible to bypass the front desk completely with an app-based check in. When checking out, it's often possible to use the app, at least for Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt, after confirming the e-mail version of the bill.

Outside of the US and Canada, I always stop by the desk as a best practice to close out the bill.

Yes, that is was I did and my bill was charged in RMD and zeroed-out. When I got back, it all of a sudden was charged in dollars, which resulted in a $60 extra expense. I disputed that and Chase ended up refunding the entire hotel bill (when the hotel did not respond to them), saying that I could not just dispute the $60 extra.