Just posting as a cautionary for those traveling international, particularly Europe.

Companies have figured out that they can charge you in US currency and then add a fee to "convert it back" to local currency. The fee is anywhere from 1.5% to 7%.

I first noticed this with an Avis rental in Italy a couple years ago. I noticed my bill was higher than expected, and when I called, they told me it was because I was billed in US dollars and they charged me to convert it back to Euros.

I thought at that time I changed a setting in my Avis Preferred profile to designate charging in local currency, but I just got ripped off again in Paris. I picked up my car, the rental contract was already prepared (because I'm "preferred"), so instead of going over it with me, they just emailed it to me. When I finally looked at it, I saw I "agreed" to being billed in US dollars. When I dropped off the car, the guy (who was very nice) said there was no way he could change it. Their website says they can charge up to 7%.

Google searching tells me there is basically no way to avoid this with Avis. Evidently, it's part of the T&C when you sign up for a preferred account.

We also took 2 Ubers while in Paris, and Uber also defaults to US currency. The app tells you it's for "your convenience". Their fee is only 1.5%, and you can go into your preferences and change it (for the second Uber ride I did).

Not sure how many other companies are running this scam, but if you're traveling to Europe and have the choice, make sure you always pay in local currency (sometimes the cc machine will ask when you pay).

Euro is also crushing the dollar right now so you got that to deal with too.

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Euro is also crushing the dollar right now so you got that to deal with too.

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It's almost back to Obama I levels, huh?

Thanks for raising this.

I was also surprised when I was faced with the decision to charge in USD, or EUR when I was in Germany in May. During my 5 year hiatus from International travel, I had forgotten about this.

I also forgot to charge stuff against my Capital One card instead of my American Airlines card so I picked up $150+ in foreign exchange charges.

Always charge/ATM in local currency, always!

Just to follow up a bit more - the vast majority of places (restaurants, shops, bars) will default to local currency without even giving you a choice.

The merchants that abuse this are the large international ones - ie, Uber and Avis (and probably every other rental car company).

1.5% on a $40 Uber ride isn't much, but I changed it on principle. Up to 7% on a 530 euro rental car is a lot, and I'm hot about it. Especially because I thought I already addressed this in my Avis preferences.

I even confused myself using the Airfrance app yesterday. I was moving my seat (new seat had a fee), and even though the price was in US $, it still asked what currency I wanted to pay in. I hesitated for a moment, but I think US was the right choice there (haven't checked my cc yet to confirm).

Anyway, it's confusing - probably purposefully so.

Most ATMs also charge a % fee in addition to the ATM charge. It cost me almost $250 to get 200 euros. We even used a bank ATM (sometimes those are more conversion-friendly).

USAA refunds international ATM fees but probably a conversion.

Car rental chains have made it incredibly hard to pay in local currency unfortunately. Not sure what will get their attention, such a scummy business overall.

There is a travel advocate that I follow, and by far the most complaints/problems about being ripped off are related to rental car companies. They are worse than airlines.

I've rented a car at Frankfurt a few times so I know the games the Turkish Mafia plays.

If you buy the insurance, you can turn the car in and walk away. If you don't get the insurance, you're going to have to wait while they go over your car with a fine toothed comb and threaten to charge you for every scratch which you'd be surprised how many you can't see on a black car.

Otherwise, there were lots of the standard BS fees you see in major US cities that add 25-30% to the price. This is what it looked like for my 4-day, 450 Euro rental of an Audi A6 that ballooned to 787 Euro by the time insurance, taxes and fees were added:

Quote:

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GEBHR FR PREMIUM-STANDORT (24.90%) 132.75
RFI 4 Day(s) @ 0.50 / Day 2.00
MEHRWERTSTEUER (19.00%) 126.51

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When I rented a car in Saudi Arabia, I have no idea what I was charged, or anything. I speak very little Arabic and the rental car guy spoke almost no English. The local National rental car counter in Dammam appeared to be run by some sort of franchisee.

They wanted me to sign paperwork on-line down in the lower part of the airport where the Wi-Fi was sketchy at best. Eventually Sadik hooked me up with Wi-Fi on a hotspot off his iPhone - sketchiest thing ever.

I have no record of the rental in my National account.

Looking at my Credit Card bill, I see a transaction for $353 USD (full amount for the week long rental of the Toyota Corolla) on the date when I picked the car up from "Enterprise" in Makkah. Since I'm not a Muslim, I can't even travel to Mecca but I get it. That must be where the head office is for their local company.