If you’ve ever traveled abroad and paid for something by credit card, you’ve almost certainly been asked “would you like to pay in [local currency] or [your home currency]? For example, if you’re in Europe and using a credit card issued in the United States, you’ll probably be asked if you want to pay in US Dollars or Euro.
I know the correct answer here is probably obvious to most OMAAT readers, but it amazes me how often people get this wrong. Simply put, you should just about always pay in local currency, or else you’re typically just throwing money out the window. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at the topic of dynamic currency conversion.
The same principle applies at ATMs. If you’re trying to withdraw Euro, you’ll be asked whether you want to just withdraw that number of Euro at the standard exchange rate, or whether you want that amount converted on the spot, so that you know exactly how many US Dollars your account will be debited.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
