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#21
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Beware - credit card rip-off
"simon" wrote in message ... In message , Andy Pandy writes There is a new "facility" you may encounter when paying by credit card in a foreign currency. The POS terminal identifies which country your credit card is from and conveniently converts the local currency into your home currency. Your credit card is then billed in your home currency rather than the local currency. Might sound helpful, but the catch is that the exchange rate at which the conversion is done is almost certainly a lot worse than your bank would use if you got billed in the local currency. The retailer usually gets a cut of the exchange rate markup so it's in their interest to bill you in your home currency. They are supposed to ask you which currency you want to billed in, but it practice it doesn't always happen, and the default is to bill you in your home currency. But you are perfectly entitled to insist you are billed in the local currency, after all the product or service will have been priced in the local currency. Don't let retailers rip you off in this way! -- Andy Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash. The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques. Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully received. Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to wholesale money market rate with little mark-up. Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash. Alec |
#22
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Beware - credit card rip-off
Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash. The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques. Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully received. Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to wholesale money market rate with little mark-up. Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash. Alec Thanks Alec. I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? Simon. |
#23
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Beware - credit card rip-off
simon wrote:
I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? I know this is crossposted to other groups, but I think I can safely say that the travellers' cheques question is just about the only thing that regulars in rec.travel.europe agree on: they are not worth the hassle. Use credit cards and ATMs for the best deals. We need now to add the proviso that you watch which currency your CC transaction is denominated in. -- PB The return address has been MUNGED |
#24
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Beware - credit card rip-off
"simon" wrote in message ... Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash. The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques. Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully received. Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to wholesale money market rate with little mark-up. Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash. Alec Thanks Alec. I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? If you want some readies as an insurance again ATM malfunction etc, take about £100 worth of Aus$ cash from a larger branch of M&S (no commission, good rates). Also it's a good idea to take an ATM/cash card linked to another account in the unlikely event of losing your original card or having it swallowed by a rogue machine (it can take a while to get a replacement). Alec |
#25
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Beware - credit card rip-off
In message , Alec
writes "simon" wrote in message ... Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash. The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques. Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully received. Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to wholesale money market rate with little mark-up. Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash. Alec Thanks Alec. I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? If you want some readies as an insurance again ATM malfunction etc, take about £100 worth of Aus$ cash from a larger branch of M&S (no commission, good rates). Also it's a good idea to take an ATM/cash card linked to another account in the unlikely event of losing your original card or having it swallowed by a rogue machine (it can take a while to get a replacement). Alec Cheers, Alec. Simon. |
#26
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Beware - credit card rip-off
On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 11:19:35 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
wrote: simon wrote: I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? I know this is crossposted to other groups, but I think I can safely say that the travellers' cheques question is just about the only thing that regulars in rec.travel.europe agree on: they are not worth the hassle. Use credit cards and ATMs for the best deals. We need now to add the proviso that you watch which currency your CC transaction is denominated in. Its certainly not like that here in rec.travel asia. We've spent terabytes of bandwidth arguing over that one. |
#27
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Beware - credit card rip-off
"Padraig Breathnach" wrote in message ... simon wrote: I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? I know this is crossposted to other groups, but I think I can safely say that the travellers' cheques question is just about the only thing that regulars in rec.travel.europe agree on: they are not worth the hassle. Use credit cards and ATMs for the best deals. We need now to I am not a "regular". However, your claim is groundless. For instance I will use traveller's cheques on my holiday next May and June. My plastic cards are not backed up decently when they get lost. I do have them along with me though. As you said, paying is beneficial by credit cards. For instance in Mexico you need cash too. |
#28
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Beware - credit card rip-off
Padraig Breathnach wrote:
simon wrote: I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with travellers cheques? I know this is crossposted to other groups, but I think I can safely say that the travellers' cheques question is just about the only thing that regulars in rec.travel.europe agree on: they are not worth the hassle. Use credit cards and ATMs for the best deals. We need now to add the proviso that you watch which currency your CC transaction is denominated in. In any case, be sure to have some extra cash or TCs for if/when the ATM network fails. (We had problems in Turkey--bad phone lines--and in Sweden--general ATM failure.) -- Evelyn C. Leeper http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper Separate is not equal. The right time to do the right thing is always now. Those who say "wait" usually mean "never." --Bonnie Tinker and The Rev. Cecil Prescod |
#29
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Beware - credit card rip-off
"Alec" wrote in message ... Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash. As I understand it, the rip-off comes in converting foreign currency to Aus$. So you want the charge slip to show the local currency. I went to England cold turkey (without traveler's checks) for the first time last year. No problem, just hit the ATM in Heathrow. In case of emergency, I have a pin number for getting cash from my credit cards. If the whole electronic banking system breaks down, I doubt I'd have enough in traveler's checks to cover. So maybe just get a little extra from your first ATM and secrete it away for temporary emergencies. Marianne |
#30
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Beware - credit card rip-off
Miguel Cruz wrote:
Bizarrely, I still see huge clumps of people at exchange booths in airports everywhere - even Americans in the DEPARTURE section of US airports, where it makes the least sense - In what way- the cost? Practically, it's where people tend to have the spare time, waiting around- thinking about the trip, and what they're going to do for currency, etc. On the very few occasions I've exchanged money, it's been at the airport, usually just a small amount for a taxi or something at the other end. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.net usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
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