Forex Transaction Charge

[Liski]

I'm just about to make a payment for some flights on singaporeair.com - is it best to be charged in SGD or AUD?

 

[markis10]

I believe Westpac recently changed rules so you get charged regardless, so I would just get SGD.

 

[basso]

Aye, they did make a change in March. So, if you go with AUD, you will get hit by a 3% or 3.5% charge, depending on whether it is the Visa/MC or Amex. It is also likely that you will get hit with a poorer exchange rate if you let the merchant do the conversion. In these situations, you are nearly always better off being charges in the local currency.

 

[Liski]

Thank you to both of you. Just did the charge in SGD on the Westpac for the SQ flights (loving the triple bonus offer). I then used my new 28D card to pay for other flights on FlyDubai and it's already showing in pending transactions and it comes up a few dollars cheaper then what I calculated on xe.com - not bad.

 

[basso]

At least you actually got a choice (although online seems to be okay at giving choice). A lot of places just pre-select AUD for you, and you need to fight them to get it charged in local currency.