$ to Ł help

stephy · 31 Aug 17, 08:53 PM

Im booking our universal hotel tomorrow and i just wondered if i book direct with the hotel what exchange rate would be used?

loldis · 31 Aug 17, 09:00 PM

The rate is set firstly by your card provider (e.g. Visa) then secondly your bank may add forex fees on top of that, typically around 3% for most mainstream cards. So I can't tell you exactly without knowing your bank's fees, but here is an example from the Visa calculator:

Currencies fluctuate every day. The rate shown applies to transactions processed by Visa Europe on 31 August 2017 with a currency conversion fee of 2.99%

100.00 United States Dollar = 79.98 Pound Sterling

ETA: Visa calculator site for reference, Mastercard and AMEX will have slightly different rates visaeurope/making-pa...exchange-rates

stephy · 31 Aug 17, 09:15 PM

Didn't realise it was that complicated. Thank you. I just thought a certain exchange rate was used on the day of purchase

Scully · 31 Aug 17, 09:17 PM

Or you could get a revolut (or similar) and pay in dollars...

loldis · 31 Aug 17, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by Scully

Or you could get a revolut (or similar) and pay in dollars...

You still have to get dollars into your Revolut account, so there's the same forex calculations in there. Just hidden behind a prettier interface.

pokerbanter · 31 Aug 17, 09:43 PM

Theres no currency conversion fees with Revolut & you are given the mastercard rate for exchanges which is pretty much top of the line exchange rates. Much the cheapest way to pay I would imagine & certainly cheaper than using a credit card or bank card to pay

Guest · 31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM

If you use topcashback then there was 12% off Hotels.com.
That is who I booked through. There was no difference in the price of the two.

loldis · 31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM

That was my point, you're still using the Mastercard exchange rate. The PP could be interpreted as you open an account and magically have dollars. There's still an exchange happening - fees or not.

There are several credit cards that don't have forex fees either - Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Travel for example. So you don't necessarily have to go down the prepaid route to get a decent deal.

sprocket · 1 Sep 17, 11:00 AM

Consider booking with Expedia or someone like that. We found them a lot cheaper. We booked Expedia and used their price matching policy several times afterwards and ended up saving a fortune.

31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM	#7
	31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	If you use topcashback then there was 12% off Hotels.com. That is who I booked through. There was no difference in the price of the two.

31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM	#8
	31 Aug 17, 09:57 PM loldis Imagineer
loldis Imagineer Join Date: May 17 Location: Sussex	That was my point, you're still using the Mastercard exchange rate. The PP could be interpreted as you open an account and magically have dollars. There's still an exchange happening - fees or not. There are several credit cards that don't have forex fees either - Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Travel for example. So you don't necessarily have to go down the prepaid route to get a decent deal. Edited at 09:58 PM.