Amazon Currency converter on UK site?

[JAYSONE]

Is it cheaper to use the currency converter that Amazon offers? Or is it cheaper to just pay in GBP and let your credit card do it?

FWIW- I would purchase using an Capital One Visa, so there wouldn't be any extra fees on top of the purchase price.

Thanks for the advice.

[Louisville Slugger]

Usually a credit card company charges some sort of currency conversion fee, typically 1 to 3 percent of the order total, once converted.

I went to Amazon.co.uk just now and added Total Recall [Blu-ray] to my cart.

Order Total: GBP 9.02
Payment Total: USD 15.12**

According to Google.com 9.02 British pounds = 14.47 U.S. dollars.

$15.12 - $14.47 = $0.65 added.

($0.65/$14.47) * 100 = 4.49%

Looks like Amazon.co.uk is adding in a charge somewhere in there.

So if a credit card company charges 3%, then most likely your order will be $14.47 * 1.03 = $14.90, but I really don't know what tools the credit card company uses to compute the currency conversion and not to mention it fluctuates all the time.

The difference between the total that Amazon gives you in USD versus what your bank or credit card will charge will amount to a very small number.

Personally I let Amazon do the conversion, but it really depends on your Credit Card Company and or bank. Find out how much your credit card company charges to do a currency conversion and then make your decision from there.

[jw]

Its almost 3%, Its cheaper to let Visa do it as Amazon's rate seems to be on the low side vs the CC one. However on £9.02/$15.00 its only pennies so it doesnt matter much

[JAYSONE]

Thanks for the input guys.

I guess I saved a few using my Capital One Visa; looks like they don't charge a conversion fee and absorb the visa fee.

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

Usually a credit card company charges some sort of currency conversion fee, typically 1 to 3 percent of the order total, once converted.

Personally I let Amazon do the conversion, but it really depends on your Credit Card Company and or bank. Find out how much your credit card company charges to do a currency conversion and then make your decision from there.

Here's a link to different cc's conversion fees if anyone is interested.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/cred...on-fees-2.aspx

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by JAYSONE

Thanks for the input guys.

I guess I saved a few using my Capital One Visa; looks like they don't charge a conversion fee and absorb the visa fee.



Here's a link to different cc's conversion fees if anyone is interested.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/cred...on-fees-2.aspx

One caveat: As shown in the linked article, some banks assess "conversion fees" on ALL foreign transactions--even if in U.S. dollars. Amazon may be able to get around that (the one time I used the Currency Converter the charge came from Washington State), but if your bank does this, be careful using the Currency Converter as you may pay "conversion fees" to BOTH Amazon AND your bank.

Generally, the Currency Converter is only cheaper if your bank charges a 3% or more conversion fee on foreign-currency purchases ONLY (not U.S.-dollar foreign purchases), or if the dollar declines by 2-3% or more during the short lag from placing the order till it's posted to your account. Otherwise, its only advantage is "locking in" the U.S.-dollar price, as well as the exchange rate on any returns (they credit your card at the order's original exchange rate).

If you don't want a Capital One card, I suggest Charles Schwab's High Yield Investor Checking; its Visa debit card has no explicit conversion fees, though they may pass on Visa's 1% fee. (And that's among its lesser features.)

[Clark Kent]

My Capital One Mastercard charges no conversion fee. You are almost always better off using the conversion rate of your credit card than Amazon's website.