High Exchange Rates for Credit Cards Used Internationally (WaPo News Article)

I have 2 no foreign transaction fee cards and have always gotten the official rate. I think WaPo is getting things mixed up with the DCC.

I will agree with the above that the WaPo author is confused (or perhaps completely mistaken). I can't comment on your two specific cards, but I have a CapOne Quicksilver MC, an Amazon Visa though Chase, and an AAA Visa through Community. None of these charge the foreign transaction fee. I have checked purchases made on these over time, they all have converted with the average interbank rate for the day of the local currency (euro, GBP, other). Never seen an inflated rate. My ATM cards have a slightly higher percentage to pull cash, so these cards are actually better for two reasons -the exchange rate is less, and I still get my cash back rewards.

I think this situation is way too complex for the WaPo author to explain using the extremely short sentences now required by our populace.

You can always do a test for yourself - check your first purchase online and see if the dollars then charged equate to the daily exchange rate, given fractional deviation as it is dynamic. My CapOne record shows me the exchange rate used, and note that it does move slightly during the day.

The exchange rate for credit and debit cards are set by the network -- generally Plus or Cirrus.. That rate is always within 1% or less of the official interbank rate. After that the card issuer is free to add any additional fee they want but all must be disclosed. Maybe it is just another "travel writer" guessing how things work.

PS -- Just read the article -- what a feather weight! But this explains it --- Amy Rose Dobson is a freelance reporter writing about finance, real estate and travel. And there is no place for feedback. We have a digital subscription to the WP so will see if I can get a response in somewhere.

PPS -- I solved the problem. It was written by AI !!!

I saw the article earlier & gave up on it quickly. Fluff & nonsense. I expected better

Mark, I agree with you. Surprised that it was not fact check. Unless it was in the Sunday edition where they are often just looking for filler.

That writer was off base. I use my Chase for all travel purchases and the exchange rate is as Frank said. We also use a Cap 1, same thing.

What you have to watch for is the business offering you a fixed rate. That will always be much higher than your bank gives you. Just yesterday Ryanair offered me an exchange 6-cents per dollar more expensive than my bank rate. I said no. Ryanair said Are you sure you don’t want us to do this. Again No. So that’s what you watch for.

Just reviewed my credit card bill for April. We spent 29 days in Italy in April. No fees; no charges. Exchange rates fluctuated between 1.06+ to 1.08+. Most were 1.07+ dollars to the Euro. Pretty much at exactly what the listed exchange rate was running; no more than a penny off.

Significantly better than getting Euros from a bank ATM. With fees and exchange rate mischief by the two bank ATMs that we used (with different cards from different US banks but with similar results), getting euros ran about 1.16 with reasonably large withdrawals (150 to 250). We needed the cash for one guide who wouldn’t take anything else and we anticipated one or two other items, where cash ultimately was not needed.

RS claims cash is king, but that’s just outdated IMHO. We got gelato with credit cards, not to mention just about everything else from gas to meals to metro tickets, admissions and clothing. Farmers markets and guides are different. They don’t want to fiddle with credit cards (or pay taxes?).

Bottom line: Credit card was 9% cheaper … plus the cash back on the card brings the marginal difference to something over 10% less, if you pay your credit card completely every month and don’t incur interest charges.

I was in Poland the first two weeks of April. Had a CapitalOne Quicksilver and Barclays AARP Travel Rewards card - no foreign transaction fees on either. Just got the bills. Exchange rates were close across the two cards on the same post date, e.g. 3.96 PLN on 4/5, which also matches the interbank rate on Oanda.

I had a slight preference for the Barclays card - the CapOne card was a bit balky a few times with 3DS authentication, although that could have been the vendor's implementation. Barclays encourages you to designate a PIN when setting up the account - it was requested for a few transactions and worked fine. But the CapOne card has worked well on prior trips.

DCC is ubiquitous in Poland - had to choose on virtually every terminal transaction - in some cases the merchant just selected local currency for me - some seemed annoyed at having to deal with it.

As for cash in Poland - I used a USD 100 bill to purchase 391 PLN in Warsaw at a Kantor - very close to the interbank rate - transaction cost me approximately $0.75. So cash does not have to be more expensive.

I just returned 5/8 from Prague-Koruna, and Vienna-EURO. I used CitiBank and BofA credit cards with no foreign transaction fees throughout the trip. I reviewed both accounts after returning and did indeed receive the current exchange rate, within a penny or so in most cases! There were no issues using either card.

m out of the US at least six months or the year and usually more. I try to use as little cash as possible.

All of my credit cards are nor foreign transaction fee. They come from four different banks including American Express. As long as I allow the the bank to do the exchange rate and not DCC or someone else, I have always gotten very near the going rate for that day.

I looked at the article and I think it's mostly clickbait for Revolut and Wise.

Sadly, editing, at even legitimate publications, barely ceases to exist. These kind of pieces are fluff and not written by a staff member. They are filler and not fact checked.

Fred

...Significantly better than getting Euros from a bank ATM. -- I am sorry but that doesn't make sense. Something else was going occuring. You were either not using a bank ATMs or backing into dynamic conversion. Private ATMs are also problem. But a debit card at a bank owned ATM will always give the best exchange rate. You need to provide more detail of your experience.