Tried this out for the first time a couple of weeks ago - US ride charged to my CAD Amex. Appreciate that Uber breaks down the conversion fee and rate on the receipt itself:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...587c37ed7f.png

Does this make sense in your situation? Many credit cards now in the US have a 0% FTF. Those that still have a FTF will charge regardless of the transaction currency, so it's not in a US cardholder's interest to have Uber apply the conversion if the payment is processed internationally. I know many other non-US cards still have a currency exchange fee, which might be higher than the 1.5% that Uber charges.

Thanks for reporting all the details. It's good to know how this works!

The card I used has a 2.5% foreign exchange fee (no fee for foreign transactions in CAD), so it makes sense in this particular case.

I typically use a USD card for US transactions but was curious to test out the functionality.

Thanks for the follow up and providing the data point for the thread!

Just planning a trip to Canada and I am a US Uber customer.

Am I missing something?
If I charge the CAD Uber fare to my account to be charged in USD I will pay a rate based on Barclay's selling rate which is about 4-5% over the true rate plus a 1.5% Uber fee?

If I charge it on my credit card which has no FX fee and uses the true exchange rate then I save it all. Why would anyone with a no FX credit card or even
one that charges 2-3% ever want to charge their "Preferred Currency?"

Added:
And if I use a credit card like Costco Visa it give me 3% back on travel or Spark card with 2% back. I am sure others have more options.

it depends on what card you have. some people may not have a credit card with no FTF, so 1.5% is cheaper. but this is also a sneaky move by uber because it defaults to your local currency, allowing uber to earn an extra 1.5% from customers who have cards with no FTF and did not realise this.

I was unaware of the option. I just got home from a trip and found I was set to GBP which is the last country I used Uber in. I am confident I never knowingly set this up. Changed back to "no preferred currency".

Have the Uber App and have added purchased Uber gift cards in US $. Will be in Merida, Mexico and Buenos Aires in coming months. Can I use the $ that I have loaded into the Uber app to take Ubers in these cities...I have read that Uber gift cards, credits, can only be used in the country purchased but wondering if anyone has been able to use them successfully when traveling internationally? I have a Capital One Venture card and understand it has "No foreign transaction fees" so guess would use that card if the pre-paid gift cards don't work? Welcome any advice on how to minimize transaction fees and save $ as see myself using Uber quite a bit while in these places.

I was able to use my Uber balance in Colombia. That balance originally came from US gift cards. I didn't bother to check if there was a conversion fee. The fares were pretty low in Colombia, and the extra 1.5% would not affect my decision to use Uber.

Thanks for that info. How recently were you able to use your balance? I'm wondering if things have recently changed as the Uber website says "You can only use gift cards in the country that they were purchased in."

Oops, I need to apologize -- I was looking for info earlier in my credit card statements. But when I checked the Uber invoices, I discovered that the Colombian ride was indeed charged to a credit card (not the one I had expected). There were no conversion fees, only charges in COP currency.
Please disregard my earlier data point.