Buying things in USD

Hamster

Hamster

Hamster

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Is there any way of avoiding bank/paypal charges incurred when being charged in USD for products bought online from international sellers?
 
Banks don't give you the best exchange rates, but if your bank charges you a direct FEE to buy in a different currency I suggest you change your bank.

Just buy with your card and take the f.ex rate given.
 
valkynaz said:
No.

No business is going to provide the service of currency exchange for free.
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This is completely wrong - there are various products which WILL provide the service of current exchange free of charge for what the OP wants, ie purchases. By now I sound like a broken record but a credit card such as the Halifax Clarity offers exactly this.

Sin_Chase said:
Banks don't give you the best exchange rates,
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This is also untrue - most of the time you WILL get the best exchange rate you can hope to get as a consumer anywhere from your bank - the exchange rate your bank uses will almost always be either the Visa or Mastercard rate, which is one of the best possible rates you can get - it beats other forms of foreign exchange by quite a margin.

but if your bank charges you a direct FEE to buy in a different currency I suggest you change your bank.
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You've really got this the wrong way round. Standard operating procedure for a bank is to, as explained above, use the excellent Visa or Mastercard rate but then apply fees to the transaction. Almost every bank will charge you a foreign transaction fee (Typically 3% or so) on purchases made in foreign currency. Aside from the small handful of specialist products I mention above, this is standard with all banks.

You'd be moving banks constantly if you moved bank to avoid it!

Just buy with your card and take the f.ex rate given.
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Or get a decent product tailored for overseas spending to avoid the fees.
 
[TW]Fox - Thanks. At the moment most USD purchases are via paypal and I have my Barclaycard (Visa credit card) linked to I get the charges. I will have a look into getting the Halifax Clarity card.
 
Applied for the Halifax Clarity card and hopefully it will be in the post soon. Thanks again Fox :)
 
[TW]Fox;24397021 said:
Or get a decent product tailored for overseas spending to avoid the fees.
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Agreed. I had a Nationwide CC for a long while and did a lot of US transactions on it. Now using an MBNA card, need to check but I think there's no transaction fee on this too.
 
Good on you for asking and good choice with that card, I have a Post Office credit card myself which doesn't charge a free when using abroad, but yours is is a great choice too. Be warned, even if you use that card via Paypal (or any other card for that matter) NEVER let Paypal use their own FX rate, it's terrible and a complete rip-off. When going through the Paypal process, simply pay in the foreign currency and your credit card will be charged accordingly at the credit card FX rate. See http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/12n47q/lpt_if_your_bank_doesnt_charge_exorbitant/ for more info
 
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One example of a USD transaction from me - I bought a perpetual license for AnyDVD HD which was £80 IIRC and on my bank statement there was an extra line item that said international charge £2.

Going through Paypal though, I've always paid one amount (exchange rate + commission together), unless I get stung for customs as well then it's 2 amounts.
 
lhw455 said:
Good on you for asking and good choice with that card, I have a Post Office credit card myself which doesn't charge a free when using abroad, but your is is a great choice too. Be warned, even if you use that card via Paypal (or any other card for that matter) NEVER let Paypal use their own FX rate, it's terrible and a complete rip-off. When going through the Paypal process, simply pay in the foreign currency and your credit card will be charged accordingly at the credit card FX rate. See http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/12n47q/lpt_if_your_bank_doesnt_charge_exorbitant/ for more info
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Excellent post, thank you :) I can see from that link that you can change the setting in ebay but is it possible with any online retailer through paypal settings?
 
Hamster said:
Excellent post, thank you :) I can see from that link that you can change the setting in ebay but is it possible with any online retailer through paypal settings?
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Yes it is, whenever you are paying in a foreign currency via credit card, there is a slightly hidden option during the checkout process - I think it's called conversion options or something to that effect, it's not that hard to spot. Clicking it results in the image below, always choose the second option and you'll be happy, especially for larger amounts.

http://imgur.com/Eu6Q8jU
 
I've just tried to pay for something and can't for the life of me find the currency conversion options:

2pspzpl.jpg


Clicking on 'Pay Now' completes the payment.

This is with signing into my paypal account. If I don't sign in and start off the transaction via credit/debit card I get the option to change currency but have to enter all my details without them being saved by paypal.

1) Is there any way to save all my credit card details so that I don't have to re-enter every time?
2) If I pay via credit card, do I still get Paypal's buyer protection?
 
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Ive very rarely used Paypal for things like this but in future if you want to pay by wire transfer for larger costs and fix the exchange rate there are sites that allow this. Some have a small fee (HiFx and XE.com) but I've heard currencies direct offer this for free.

I've personally used HiFx and when comparing the rate to other sites it seemed pretty good. It also shows the breakdown of exchange rate and what the fee will be rather than combining it.
 
For international purchases in foreign currencies I've always used my American Express card. They seem to offer the best rates possible.

That'll do nicely.
 
wingman said:
For international purchases in foreign currencies I've always used my American Express card. They seem to offer the best rates possible.

That'll do nicely.
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No, that's not the best way either. American Express charge for foreign use.

I don't really understand why people continue to recommend products that will charge when products exist that do not.
 
Common sense really but it appears that my Barclays Visa does all of the conversion rather than paypal, otherwise I would only see £ on my Visa statement. Going to try not to make any large purchases until the Clarity card arrives though.
 
Hamster said:
Common sense really but it appears that my Barclays Visa does all of the conversion rather than paypal, otherwise I would only see £ on my Visa statement. Going to try not to make any large purchases until the Clarity card arrives though.
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Not sure why you didn't get the option, but see http://thebackpackr.com/paypal-currency-conversion-which-should-i-choose/ for what I'm referring to, works for me whenever I purchase something in anything other than GBP. Is the Visa a debit or credit card?

**edit** works for me, see http://imgur.com/j1OseJ1
 
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