I’ve never used my credit card here in Taiwan, but have had it just in case. I want to purchase some airline tickets online through KLM.com, and notice that their prices are listed in NT dollars. When using a US credit card, does anyone know how either KLM or Visa charges? Are there currency conversion fees or poor exchange rates? This is actually applicable to anyone that has used their credit cards from back home to buy anything here. Thanks.
I’ve used my card here often. It depends on your card. You may get charged for international use and the day of purchase what ever the rate is you will charged at that currency rate. Check the Visa website. I assume that you a checking the prices in chinese. If so, try checking in English then it may give you a US price.
best of luck
It depends on a lot of factors. First, where will KLM issue the tickets? If you buy online this might be anywhere. It also may depend on which country web site you book the tickets on if KLM has separate sites for each country they operate in. It may be that the prices are quoted in NT$ but are issued in the Netherlands and billed in Euros. You might be able to book tickets via a US web site to get billed in US$.
Next it also depends on your card issuer, and not so much Visa, as to how they handle the exchange. Traditionally credit cards charged about 1% for the exchange, about the same you pay for exchanging cash. However lately a lot of US cards have bumped this up to 2-4%. You should check with the card issuer to find out what their rate is.
Another thing to consider is that a large foreign purchase like an airline ticket may trigger a fraud warning. You might want to inform your card issuer ahead of time to avoid the charge being declined.
It varies by bank. Didn’t your bank give you a user guide when you got your card? Their T&C may be on their website.
The frequent travelers at flyertalk.com have spent a ridiculous amount of time discussing this.
Much of their experience is distilled into this table showing the percentage that each bank’s card tacks on to the inter-bank exchange rate.