Questions and Answers

I just returned from a trip to Belize where the USD is accepted everywhere at an exchange rate of 2 Belizean dollars for 1 US dollar. I took plenty of cash but used my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay at some higher end restaurants, car rental and my hotel bills. When I returned to the States, I learned that Visa charges Chase an exchange rate fee that is then passed onto it’s card members, but that Chase allegedly doesn’t add any additional fees. I ended up paying about $16 in fees for using the card instead of of just paying cash. Was wondering if anyone has any thoughts or bad experiences using their supposedly No Foreign Exchange credit card abroad?

Did the fees show up separately on Chase’s bill or did you calculate the exchange rate yourself and found it to be higher?

Also, were you charged in Belizean dollars or USD?

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 20643, member: 29″]Did the fees show up separately on Chase’s bill or did you calculate the exchange rate yourself and found it to be higher?[/QUOTE]
On the Chase bill each item showed up separately with a different exchange rate. All were 9 digits long but different each time.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 20648, member: 79″]Also, were you charged in Belizean dollars or USD?[/QUOTE]
I was given a receipt in Belize showing Belizean dollars.

Exchange rates fluctuate a little bit on a daily basis. so I;m not surprised you had different rates. However, they shouldn’t have been too far off from one another, given that forex rates dont change too much on a single day.

Do you remember if you were asked when paying with the card whether you wanted to pay in USD or Belizian dollars?

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 20652, member: 29″]Exchange rates fluctuate a little bit on a daily basis. so I;m not surprised you had different rates. However, they shouldn’t have been too far off from one another, given that forex rates dont change too much on a single day.

Do you remember if you were asked when paying with the card whether you wanted to pay in USD or Belizian dollars?[/QUOTE]
No I don’t recall being asked that. What concerned me the most is that Belize and the US have a set 2:1 exchange rate. Always been that. I pay for a $5 Belizean item with a $5 USD and I get back $2.50 in change. Why am I getting charged an exchange rate by Visa? Had I known, I probably would have brought more cash and not used the card…

what rate is Chase using?

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 20655, member: 29″]what rate is Chase using?[/QUOTE]
Every time I used the card it was a little different. 0.504444444, 0.504391534, 0.504411057, 0.504397163, 0.504425658, etc.

Oh. Well that’s normal and is the current market rate. While it’s pegged to the USD 2:1, there are always minor fluctuations, which is what youre seeing.

When dealing with cash, its much easier to work with the 2:1 without fluctuations simply because it’s easier math.

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 20657, member: 29″]Oh. Well that’s normal and is the current market rate. While it’s pegged to the USD 2:1, there are always minor fluctuations, which is what youre seeing.

When dealing with cash, its much easier to work with the 2:1 without fluctuations simply because it’s easier math.[/QUOTE]
Yah, kinda realize that now…

Also, at a $16 difference, you had to have charged about $1700USD and if thats all for dining and hotels, that’s 3400 points. At Lucky’s valuation of 1.7 cents per point for Chase UR, that’s worth $58. Or if you redeem points for paid travel via Chase’s UR Travel portal, it’s $42.50 so I say you came out ahead.