On Board Dual Currency Sales Discrepancies

[Mutant Lemming]

Why is it that on many airlines and Eurostar you get much better value paying in sterling than in euros (tonight's eg - a beer on Easyjet flight Hamburg to Gatwick 6 Euros or £4.50) . Have also found this to be the case on Eurostar and Ryanair too. The £ - Euro rate has been about 1.09 / 1.10 but it seems you get a much better rate buying onboard in sterling than Euros.

 

[grid56126]

Why is it that on many airlines and Eurostar you get much better value paying in sterling than in euros (tonight's eg - a beer on Easyjet flight Hamburg to Gatwick 6 Euros or £4.50) . Have also found this to be the case on Eurostar and Ryanair too. The £ - Euro rate has been about 1.09 / 1.10 but it seems you get a much better rate buying onboard in sterling than Euros.

Costs to the business of foreign exchange faffing presumably. They need a margin, to make some profit.

In the very dim and distant past I worked at a ticket office in a large terminal station on London and we had a daily list of exchange rates that were easily outstripped by the Bureau de change, which considering their mark up was poor and was in the days when commission was so normal it was never questioned, shows how poor they were.

Some clerks would advise people to go and change there, others just took it and a few would put the Stirling equivalent in the balance and get a few pints and often more by seeing the Bureau guy who gave us - sorry them - favourable rates for sending custom their way.

 

[edwin_m]

I presume it's because they pre-print the magazines with all the prices in, and also because they don't want to be faffing around with small change. So they choose nice round figures in all their currencies. The prices are presumably high enough that they make a profit regardless, though it may be that they have a contingency to re-print their price lists in a hurry or even stop accepting some currencies if Brexit leads to more big currency fluctuations.

 

[Puffing Devil]

I presume it's because they pre-print the magazines with all the prices in, and also because they don't want to be faffing around with small change. So they choose nice round figures in all their currencies. The prices are presumably high enough that they make a profit regardless, though it may be that they have a contingency to re-print their price lists in a hurry or even stop accepting some currencies if Brexit leads to more big currency fluctuations.

This.

And many US airlines are now cash free. It won't be long before that migrates over here then all prices will be in the currency of the airline.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This.

And many US airlines are now cash free. It won't be long before that migrates over here then all prices will be in the currency of the airline.

Unless of course DCC (Direct Currency Conversion) makes them a load of money.

Suggestion: never, ever say yes to "do you want to pay in pounds" when abroad. Even the greediest banks generally offer a better rate. It isn't offered for a laugh!

And if anyone e.g. a waiter tries to be "helpful" by pressing it for you, hand back the terminal and insist on paying in the country's currency. It is a breach of the merchant agreements to insist on using it.

 

[scotrail158713]

This.

And many US airlines are now cash free. It won't be long before that migrates over here then all prices will be in the currency of the airline.

BA domestic flights are already cashless, which I presume means short or long haul ones are too. (I’ve only been on their domestic flights so don’t know about the others)

 

[cactustwirly]

Unless of course DCC (Direct Currency Conversion) makes them a load of money.

Suggestion: never, ever say yes to "do you want to pay in pounds" when abroad. Even the greediest banks generally offer a better rate. It isn't offered for a laugh!

And if anyone e.g. a waiter tries to be "helpful" by pressing it for you, hand back the terminal and insist on paying in the country's currency. It is a breach of the merchant agreements to insist on using it.

It depends on what you're paying with, if you're buying something small, then the price savings will be wiped out by the Foreign Currency fee on a Debit Card.

 

[Puffing Devil]

It depends on what you're paying with, if you're buying something small, then the price savings will be wiped out by the Foreign Currency fee on a Debit Card.

Double whammy in many cases - even with DCC the charge may show up as a currency transaction.

It pays to be prepared and find yourself a card that does not rip you off with foreign transactions.

 

[cactustwirly]

Double whammy in many cases - even with DCC the charge may show up as a currency transaction.

It pays to be prepared and find yourself a card that does not rip you off with foreign transactions.

That's why I have a Revolut card for foreign travel

 

[Puffing Devil]

That's why I have a Revolut card for foreign travel

Smart move. Back it up with a Halifax Clarity and you're good to go!

 

[bussnapperwm]

It depends on what you're paying with, if you're buying something small, then the price savings will be wiped out by the Foreign Currency fee on a Debit Card.

That is unless you bank with Starling. With them you can pay in whatever currency and they use the daily exchange rate with no fees. (I bank with them and some of my purchases are in USD - mainly my Demand Progress and Dropout subscriptions)

 

[Bletchleyite]

That is unless you bank with Starling. With them you can pay in whatever currency and they use the daily exchange rate with no fees. (I bank with them and some of my purchases are in USD - mainly my Demand Progress and Dropout subscriptions)

It also isn't true of banks that don't charge a minimum forex fee for purchases, which is most of them now, to the point that those who do deserve a kick from loss of custom. DCC is generally such poor value that those that charge the likes of 2% come nowhere near the cost of it.