Currency Conversion

[aj2703]

Hi,

I have booked via the French website over the phone. Does anyone know what they gauge the currency conversion rate on at the time of paying..?

 

[Jonjo]

That is something your bank or credit card company calculates. DLP will just charge you the Euro price.

 

[aj2703]

That is something your bank or credit card company calculates. DLP will just charge you the Euro price.

Hi,

Many thanks for that .

I am thinking of ways to save money. Do I have to pay through my bank..?

What I am wondering is, would it be viable to maybe use a front loaded card that might give a better conversion rate then my bank..?

Or does anyone else know any other tricks..?

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Your credit card company (be sure you have a card without foreign transaction fees) has to give you the best rate available at the time of the transaction. Because of this, it's always best to use a credit card. I don't know if you are in the states or not, but if so, I have found that the Venture card by Capitol One is a good travel card b/c of no foreign transaction fees. Of course, I think more and more are getting on the band wagon. I also believe they have finally came out with a chip card, which will make travel for US citizens easier, too. I know my Citi card finally did, which while I didn't have any problems with my swipe card in 2014, the chip would have made life easier in Paris and Iceland, especially.

 

[aj2703]

Hi,

I am in england. I also don't have a credit card. Had one but paid off a long time ago

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Hi,

I am in england. I also don't have a credit card. Had one but paid off a long time ago

Gotcha. I would find out from your bank what they charge for the foreign transaction fees then and go from there. May be worth getting a credit card to use to avoid fees and then turn around and pay off the balance (that's what we do!). My bank actually charges a pretty hefty fee for using my debit card out of the U.S. Good luck!

 

[Ware Bears]

The cheapest and easiest way to pay is to use a fee free credit card, if you're from the UK two of the best cards to have are the Halifax Clarity or the Post Office. It won't be the end of the world if you don't have one and have to use your debit card, you just have to bear in mind that your bank probably won't be using such a good rate as mastercard (which is what Halifax Clarity and Post Office use) and that they will load it by up to 3%. You'll probably have saved more than this by booking your holiday under the deal you did though so don't worry too much about it.

I believe the pre-loaded cards give you a better exchange rate than debit cards but not as good as the fee free credit cards. I've never had one myself so don't know too much about them, apart from be careful as some of them charge an annual fee and also a non-use fee if it goes dormant.
There's a whole sector on money saving expert dedicated to overseas spending, there's sure to be info about pre-loaded cards on there.

And lastly, you might want to consider paying off the balance early if you have the money ready for it - the euro/sterling exchange rate has been pretty stable for the last few months but is creeping near 1.40 again.