And none at all that say "I want to return my currency exchange rate gain to the airline, but I don't know how."

My guess is the OP lost 1% each way in addition to the actual movement of the currencies.

Even though many credit cards advertise themselves as "no FX fees" these days, there's still an underlying network fee that always seems to be around 1%

Still, buying in euros was probably the correct move. If the European carrier gave you a dollars-option to begin with (as some do), it was undoubtedly a poor rate for that day, akin to the DCC scam you see in restaurants/bars/shops in some countries.

Thanks for all the responses. Interesting thread to read!

Actually, I disputed the difference with Amex yesterday, and received a credit today. So, the matter is resolved.

Not always ;)

For the record, I don't think the difference between a "correction of an error" and a "simple refund" is automatically black and white. There was actually a 2 hour schedule change on the flights for this refundable ticket, which would have entitled me to a full refund even if it were a non-refundable ticket. That wasn't why I refunded the ticket; the agent just pointed that out to me and thought that's why I wanted the refund. Given that the flight schedule changed, was the refund a "correction of an error" and a "simple refund"? Not so clear.

When the problem is driven by the card processor's FX spread, you will still lose money on a "stable", or even officially fixed, exchange rate. From Visa's exchange rate page:

Credit and refund $1000, using the same daily close, and you lose $2.81

Not FT, but
Delayed foreign credit card transaction refund created “profit” due to better exchange rate - who keeps the profit?

I have a similar situation, I wonder what can you advise in my case.
I bought a ticket with AirFrance / KLM on their American website back in December, paid through Paypal in USD using my British credit card. The ticket was cancelled two days later, so I requested a refund. It took them 4 months (sic!) to issue my refund which is exactly the same amount in USD. However, due to the GBP / USD rate change and different buying / selling rates it cost me some 25 pounds.

I could probably live without them but I believe I am entitled to get the full amount back as this is none of my fault: the changes were initiated by the airline, and taking 4 months (+dozens of emails, phone calls and complaints) is unacceptable in any case.

What are my options? Who can I complain to and what is the appropriate procedure?

You got the same dollars back.

If you want to complain about the delay in getting the refund processed the DOT is your outlet for that. https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm

All it does is get the airline a black mark in the stats of complaints, though had you used it earlier in the process it likely would have sped the refund handling. Unlikely it will get you more cash.

I had a similar issue with Hertz in the UK where I lost $50+ on a currency swing for a fraudulent charge. Sucks, but life goes on.

If you got back the same amount in the currency that you initially paid in you are due nothing further. Exchange rate movements are simply a fact of life. I’m curious, what was (sic) about it?

You chose to pay in US$ and your refund was then issued in US$. The fact that you purchased with GBP or some other currency and then repurchased with EUR is none of AF/KL's concern and the risk (or reward) of the exchange rates is yours to take.

For future consideration, purchasing air tickets with any payment channel other than a credit card is risky for more reasons than this. Nonetheless, when you did not see your refund relatively immediately, contac both PayPal and the issuing bank for your card. You would have seen your refund quite soon.

How is this situation any different than one where your credit card carries a prior balance and thus an interest cost from the date of purchase? Say you buy a ticket on Jan 1, and refund on Jan 20. Even if the refund was due to a schedule change, would you expect the airline to make you whole on the 20 days of interest you incurred? What if it was a refundable fare and entirely at your choice to refund? I think the answer is an obvious No. It's not the carrier's responsibility that you chose to borrow the money for the ticket and thus incurred interest, any more than it's theirs that you chose to pay for the ticket in a currency other than the one that they sold in in and thus incurred a forex cost. In both cases, the financing and payment issues outside of the transaction itself are your responsibility.

In any event, a good part of the US$ loss will have been in charges for foreign exchange, rather than a change in the exchange rate. It seems a curious decision to buy a ticket in US$ when you want to pay in GBP. There are plenty of ways around this, using OTAs, for example.

Thanks everyone! I realise that exchange rates are not the airline's fault. However, I paid for a service which I never received and still was charged a small amount for it, that sounds unfair to me. If they returned the money straightaway, I would not complain, provided they have a valid reason for that.

LondonElite,
I find 4 months of delay with returning my money to me to be unacceptable. Bank transfers are much quicker nowadays, and I am not a money lender.

We had a similar complaint from an American a while back. She complained that whatever airline took too long to agree to pay her the EC261 compensation. In that time the exchange rate went sharply against her, and that the USD amount of EUR 600 was less than it would have been at the time. No one argued with her about that, but it was unanimous that EC261 only pays out EUR, and that while the delay is regrettable, she's only ever going to get EUR.

Your situation is similar. The refund took too long, that is true, but you are not going to get the airline to cover your GBP loss. By extension, they'd have to hedge every payment they ever receive in that case. To put a different spin on it, would you have been willing to pay back any forex profit you made if the exchange rate went in a different direction?

Yes you were charged a small amount, but not by the airline. If anything talk to the bank, they're sitting on the 25GBP

It was unanimous on the part of the ECJ or FT?

In that one it is a pure courtesy or convenience that the carrier pays out in local currency. EC 261/2004 specifies a penalty amount for compensation, refund, or reimbursement, in EUR and the carrier could simply pay out in EUR and leave it to the passenger to figure out how to convert that into local currency and deposit it.

On FX, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. No recourse.