Which CC is best for international transactions where a refund might be involved

[fiscal]

Hi,

I had an interesting situation, that I had not previously given much thought to, where a rapid refund was involved.

I booked some accommodation for 270GBP and paid with an ANZ QFF Gold Visa. The company contacted me within the hour with apologies that the accommodation was not available on that day, and said they would immediately refund the transaction.

That was all good until I looked at my statement. The ANZ charged me a 3% fee to convert the purchase transaction, a 3% fee to convert the refund transaction, and both transactions were converted using the cash rate at the time.

In effect it was like I walked into the bank, and asked for 270 GBP, and once in was my hand, I said I want to change it back, so I was charged two fees, $12.97 and $13.89 and the cash conversion cost me $30.80.

So, the refund cost me $57.66

Had I realized, I would have said, hold the money for a day or two until I can sort another date out.

What cards are out there that may have treated me more generously?

 

[serfty]

If you aren't worried about reward points then the 28° card is fee free and arbitrage free. If a debit VISA can be used then the Citibank product has similar attributes.

With such a transaction as you experienced, the only issue would be currency exchange rate fluctuations.

 

[markis10]

Dont forget the Citibank Visa debit card as another alternative, interestingly this is one case where the Qantas or Virgin prepaid cards would have saved you $$$, as no currency variations would have occurred, however its also a fairly rare (thankfully) occurrence.