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-   -   DCC: Dynamic Currency Conversion (2017-2025) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1815666-dcc-dynamic-currency-conversion-2017-2025-a.html)

tmiw Feb 3, 2024 1:03 am

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.

nas6034 Feb 4, 2024 6:10 am


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 35965953)
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.

mia Feb 4, 2024 11:11 am

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

tmiw Feb 4, 2024 5:08 pm


Originally Posted by nas6034 (Post 35968719)
Very interesting. I think this would affect gift card users more than credit card holders.

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).

tmiw Feb 23, 2024 9:55 am

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

Rare Feb 23, 2024 10:04 am


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 36024609)
From an ATM in Belfast. The alert from my Schwab debit card showed a $55.29 withdrawal for reference after I declined conversation.

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

Majuki Feb 23, 2024 12:59 pm


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 36024609)
From an ATM in Belfast.

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

M60_to_LGA Feb 23, 2024 4:56 pm


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 36024609)
From an ATM in Belfast. The alert from my Schwab debit card showed a $55.29 withdrawal for reference after I declined conversation.

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.

tmiw Feb 23, 2024 11:26 pm


Originally Posted by Majuki (Post 36025108)
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

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.

Majuki Feb 24, 2024 1:13 am


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 36026305)
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.


tmiw Feb 24, 2024 9:49 am

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.

tmiw Feb 25, 2024 4:37 am

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.

Majuki Feb 25, 2024 2:38 pm


Originally Posted by tmiw (Post 36028639)
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).

tmiw Feb 25, 2024 3:02 pm


Originally Posted by Majuki (Post 36029803)
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).

tmiw Feb 28, 2024 4:42 am

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.


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