Pricing Issue -- Buying Rail Tickets from Loco2.com

Yes, I recently bought a ticket on Loco2 and selected payment in euro with no issue.

Thanks for the warning.

It's not just Loco2. I ran into a number of websites for food tours, etc. while planning my recent trip that suggested they would be happy to let me pay in dollars. I declined the offer.

I've only paid with Euros when using loco2. I figured it was just like any other situation when you're given the option to pay with USD as opposed to Euros - say no to that!

they would be happy to let me pay in dollars.

I'm sure they would.

Since I don't travel out of the country very much I am not understanding why you would want to pay in Euros if you live in the states and will end up paying the bill with dollars anyway. Would someone please explain this rationale to me? I understand that the you pay less with Euros as the exchange rate right now is $1.12 to 1.00 Euro but still you would use dollars to pay the bill.

Marybeth

Companies that are offering the convenience of paying in your local currency are charging a fee for the "courtesy," which will almost certainly be higher than your bank will charge. Also, many of us use cards which do not charge any foreign transaction fee, so extra silly to choose dollars.

@Marybeth -- when you pay in Euros, your credit card company does the exchange into dollars at the current inter bank rate -- when you pay denominated in dollars, the selling company gets to choose the rate they will use to change their Euro price into your dollar price (often/usually at a rate favorable to themselves.)
Sites like booking.com will show a price denominated in dollars (or whatever currency you choose) for ease of comparison, but your contracted amount will be in the local currency.
By choosing to pay in dollars, you are locking in an exchange rate. If it is important to you to know precisely how many dollars it will cost you even if it's for a service you may not use for weeks or months, then paying the extra charge may make sense (it's like a currency future)

If you enter the amount in euros in a currency converter, just search Google for one, you will see what the current conversion to dollars is, which is what the card will charge you as the charge goes through (assuming your card does not charge you that additional 3% foreign transaction fee). You can then see how much the seller and their site is charging you for the convenience of having the transaction done in dollars by them (and if your bank does charge that 3% transaction fee, they still will since this is a foreign transaction, changing it to dollars does not make it local.)

The lowest penalty I've seen for choosing to pay in dollars was about 3.5% in one or more of the former Iron Curtain countries. I've seen up to at least 7% extra in western Europe, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if some places ding you for 10%.

Commercial enterprises are in the business of making money; this is just one more way for them to do it.

if your bank does charge that 3% transaction fee, they still will since this is a foreign transaction, changing it to dollars does not make it local.

I just want emphasize this. Understandably, people new to travel and foreign currencies assume that if they're being charged in dollars, it's not a foreign transaction, and there will be no foreign transaction fee. Alas, that's not how the credit card companies work.

So, marybeth, you always want to be charged in local currency, and let the bank or credit card company do the converting. This is true for ATM withdrawals with your debit card as well as credit card purchases, and is true on line as well as in person. Dynamic Currency Conversion (the formal name for processing your transaction in your home currency rather than local currency) is becoming more widespread and sneaky. For instance, it may be phrased "as would you like to lock in a rate of US $XXX.xx?" Anytime you see US dollars in Europe, Just Say No.