Something I noticed recently with Agoda, and maybe some of you have seen this already.
There is a pay later option that pops that you can select which will DR your card at a closer date to the booking.
The thing is this is based on their conversion when they finally bill you.
There was about a $5 AUD difference on a $100 booking.
So I just cancelled a few of my bookings, and rebooked to pay upfront.
sounds like the below issue is answered here and maybe not currency FX related.
It is more I believe they are using a different currency conversion.
If I plug in the currency charge vs master card or xe it is significantly different.
yes, i would expect their own conversion would be high but not by ~5%.
At time of purchase it was more or less in line.
I always assume that any site doing conversion for me will have bad rates and always pay in the local currency of destination and rely on my commission free credit card to convert using bank rates.
sounds like the below issue is answered here and maybe not currency FX related.
Sounds about right
Australian dollar has been tanking
The money was always going to be deducted at the exchange rate at the time.
You wouldn't complain if it went the other way (AUD became stronger and it cost less).
They use Bloomberg rate to convert.
Yes when you choose pay later they include a 5% surcharge that is not immediately clear upfront. For example, they will tell you the booking is 250 SGD weather you pay now or pay later - but the amounts actually charged, even if the exchange rate is exactly the same (in this case: $287.54 vs $301.92). The other issue is that the booking is later updated to include the inflated price (surcharge included) so it is not even immediately obvious that a surcharge is included.
The issue is covered here in more detail.
thanks shifty. i should read better.
Isn't that how all OTA companies do it? Pay Later always means you are taking on the currency risk.