That helpful prompt offering to bill you in your own currency abroad is a markup with a friendly face, and it is always the worse choice.
Dynamic currency conversion lets the shop's or machine's bank set the rate in its own favor, on top of any foreign transaction fee your card already charges.
The rule and the tactics:
- Always pay in the local currency; your card network's rate sits close to interbank
- Independent testing found DCC cost more every time, from 2.6 to 12 percent
- Carry a card with no foreign transaction fee, usually 1 to 3 percent
- Draw cash from a bank's own cash machine, not a standalone one like Euronet
- Skip airport kiosks, where the spread runs 5 to 10 percent off mid-market
Read past the big green button and press the other one.
