Here is an example of the cost of DCC. This was in Canada, paying with a US credit card.
Restaurant Bill: $113.34 CAD
DCC offer shown on the credit card reader: $87.17 USD
I declined the offer and paid the bill in CAD.
Credit card charge on my Capital One Visa card (no foreign transaction fee): $83.82 USD
OK, it was only $3.35 savings, but that is 4%
You are a wise man Sam.
In Spain, it seemed most of the DCC offers I saw, were in the range of 4-5% as well. That was just my quick math in my head, didn't bother to write down notes to calculate exactly.
In the UK and wherever I was last I recall cashiers offering to make the exchange for me, and I know better (former banker) and always refused. So, is DCC now automatically on the credit swipe machine/or the spot you sign the bill? Sneaky, someone is making a lot of money!
Thanks for the heads up, I'll watch for this on my upcoming trip.
The machine terminal vendor makes some and the merchant gets the rest of what's skimmed off. The terminal flips to DCC when it recognizes a foreign credit card. You don't get DCC if you tap, which has a fifty€ limit.
The machine terminal vendor makes some and the merchant gets the rest of what's skimmed off.
To be honest, I don't know the terms of the transaction, but in my experience, most merchants are as annoyed as I at the offer, and would tell me to pick euros without prompting, sometimes even selecting euros for me. Publicly, by the banks, it is presented as a "convenience" for the traveler, so there probably are some merchants who believe the hype. But overall, I do not get the sense that a merchant has pressured me or gets any cut off it.
The terminal flips to DCC when it recognizes a foreign credit card
True, your credit card has quite a bit of information about you in that strip or chip.
You don't get DCC if you tap, which has a fifty€ limit
Not in my experience, or at least in Spain, tapping would bring up a DCC option on occasion, and I was able to use "tap" for purchases over 50 euro, the only difference is I would sometimes be prompted to punch in my PIN (My travel credit card is true chip and pin, with pin priority) It varies by country, the credit card processor, your card requirements, and even the type of merchant.
I suspect some retail employees don't care about pushing DCC because the money goes to the owner of the store/restaurant/hotel rather than to them. In some cases, management seems to have directed staff to try to get that extra money by fair means or foul. I had problems in Spain (multiple times), Hungary and Poland with people who unilaterally imposed DCC on me in 2017 and 2018; I'm happy to report that on more recent trips (2019 and 2022) the offer was sometimes there, but no one was pushing it.
I think the concern is a tad overhyped.
I think everyone here actually reads the machine before paying and if it shows Dollars, then the button to the local currency is always pretty obvious, and life goes on with a smile.
If I make a mistake, then using Sam's post, I am out $3.35 on $4,000 trip .... just not going to let that rile me up as the choice between coffee and to pastry at the cafe on Andrassy ut or at the Cafe on Vasvari Pal utca is about the same $3.35 cost difference.
Its the ATMs that tend to be notorius about the DCC, but sometimes I like the convenience of the Euronet ATMs despite the DCC and the Fees (amazing experience opportunity but no cash to pay .. wait ATM! .... no, its a Euronet ATM ... skip the amazing experience because of $5 in fees? .... nope not happening).
Just know the rules of the games, read the receipts and the CC machine displays and enjoy.
Mister E, hotels are on the DCC train, too. If you pay for a multi-night stay at a 3- or 4-star hotel in dollars, you have lost far more than the cost of a coffee at a Budapest cafe.
As I said, things improved on my two recent trips, basically because of so many tap-to-pay terminals. These days, the customer has more control of the transaction than he used to. These are the experiences I had in 2017 and 2018:
A convenience-store clerk in Warsaw reached around the mounted credit card terminal to press the "dollars" button before I had time to figure out what the screen said; it was in Polish, which does tend to slow one down. That was a very small overcharge, but it was annoying. I was the only customer in the store, so it's not like I was holding anything up.
A server in a restaurant near Lake Balaton ran the lunch tab through in dollars after I had specifically requested forints. My table was one of only two occupied at the time. The server claimed not to know how to void the transaction. I remained at the table and complained until she eventually handed me cash to roughly cover the difference. Yes, I am stubborn.
Two hotels in Spain ran the multi-night hotel bill through in dollars--one without asking my preference and the other after I had specified "euros". They, too, claimed not to know how to void a transaction. I waited them out and--amazingly enough--they eventually figured out how to do it.
I think there were one or two other incidents that I'm not remembering at the moment. Of course, these things happened over the course of 8 months in Europe, so not frequently. But I was an informed traveler who tried to head the problem off before it occurred. Someone not paying attention could lose a lot of money.
I just booked Eurostar Tickets from London to Paris. On the US based Eurostar site, the two tickets were about $583 round trip; I went in through the UK-based site and paid $61 less by paying in British pounds with a no-transaction fee card.
Shopping at Galeries Lafayette the other day, using my US credit card, the DCC that popped up was a substantial difference.
I would suggest physically holding the CC machine when you tap your card, then after the lights flash reading the screen .. especially on large purchases.
I doubt that the waiter gives a flip if you pay in dollars or Euros; not like he makes anything off it and I suspect most don't have any idea of the cost difference.
Saving money on a European website vs a US website probably isn't about DCC, just the owners rounding up and covering their own exchange rate charges; but is a good idea to use the local sites when you can.
Hotels? Interesting delima if you received a quote on the reservation in dollars.
If you pay in dollars not sure what happens and if you pay in Euros you have to accept their rate as they quoted you in dollars?
Never paid enough attention to it to notice or paid through a US vendor like Hotels.com and on a two week trip that could cost $75 or more!
Note that under both EU and Visa / MC credit cards rules, the currency choice is the cardholder's. If you don't get the choice, it's grounds for a chargeback. MC rule section: "Once the Cardholder has decided which currency they would like the transaction to take place in, the Merchant must honor the Cardholder’s choice."
