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Summary
A few timely reminders on how to avoid extra charges on your credit and debit cards whilst travelling in euro-land.
Credit Cards Watch out when using your credit card abroad
Author: Michael Challiner
Going on holiday or business to Spain, France
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Many restaurateurs and retailers in these countries now have the facility { cheap mortgages } to get you to authorise your bill in euros but then they recharge your card in sterling. That sounds innocent but there's a sting in the tail. The retailers charge you an additional service fee of up to 4%! The system is called dynamic currency conversion (DCC).
DCC guidelines from Visa say that UK cardholders should be offered the option to either have their card charged in euros or to have the transaction changed into sterling before it goes through. It seems that in practice, few of us are being offered the alternative. Many retailers are charging us in sterling automatically - and with the extra 4% fee!
The language barrier might explain the lack of explanation but we are a { cheap life insurance } little more cynical! Even where permission is sought, we doubt whether many restaurateurs or retailers will clearly spell out the additional service fee. After all it's an opportunity to make a bit more profit!
Our advice is that when abroad in euro-land always ensure that your transaction is processed in euros. That's because some UK card operators such as Nationwide, Saga and Lombard Direct will convert euros to sterling at no charge. Others, such as cards from our high street banks, will charge 2.75% as a foreign currency loading fee - but even that's less than the retailers' 4% DCC.
In fact even with a 2.75% foreign currency loading fee, { motor insurance } it'll still be cheaper to use your credit card rather than converting sterling to euros before leaving the UK or converting it abroad at the bureau de change. That's because the exchange rates applied by Visa and Mastercard are often much better than you'd get for your cash and travellers cheques whilst abroad. And please don't be fooled by the commission free advertising outside the bureau de change. They might not charges commission but their currency rates are never cheap - after all, how else do they make a crust?
And another bit of helpful advice. Unless it's an emergency don't be tempted to use your plastic to withdraw euros. That's because as with all cash withdrawals, interest will be charged from the minute the euros leave the cash dispenser. Remember, there's never any interest free period on cash withdrawals.
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