Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I assume THAT exchange also comes with an 8.5% commission? If so, they should be sued for lying about the words "for free". >>> No, they give you back the 8.5% commission, making it truly "free." But what's deceiving is that there's an 8.5% commission at all, when most customers probably don't even realize there is any commission built into the rate, let alone a huge one. Of course, if you try to change foreign currency into US dollars at the airport booth and don't have a receipt showing that you originally got it there, then they charge you the 8.5% plus the $4.95. It's really quite clever how they do it. They know people are likely to have more cash on them than they are changing, and the proposition of "you're already paying the flat $4.95 fee, so you might as well change it all, and we'll change any leftover back at no charge" probably catches a lot of people off guard. I think I'm in the wrong business <<< I suppose it's up to us to do our research (as SuperDry did...thanks!) or else just lump it when we get the raw end of a deal. >>> Yea, every time I end up hosed by something like this, I put the cost down as "tuition" for a lesson learned. The reason I have all of this fresh in my mind right now is that I'm researching it for an upcoming visit of my posse to TDR (the biggest ever so far - OLC really should pay me a commission), and one member of the group particuarly does not like getting ripped off in this manner. I had a vague idea of what was good and what wasn't, but was surprised at the details. BTW, here's another factoid for you: just for grins, I looked into what the deal is in the opposite direction. The only place I personally have seen yen being turned into dollars in the US is at the casino cage in Las Vegas casinos. I called around a bit, and found out that their typical commission is 6% (as if the odds on the casino floor weren't enough). And many retail banks in the US don't even deal with foreign currency exchange to walk-up customers at any price. So a visitor the US would be wise to get their US dollars before getting here, unless they're going to someplace like Manhattan where there might be a competitive marketplace for foreign exchange.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< This last item (ATM withdrawal from US checking account) is the one I'm not certain on, but I'll run it down the next time I'm there and will report back. >>> The results are in. From Wells Fargo, I was charged an exchange rate that had a 1% commission built into it, plus a $5 fixed foreign ATM charge. I would expect that the 1% commission would be the same for most US banks in a similar situation, with the foreign ATM fee varying depending on the bank and account type (and being $0 in some situations). <<< It's funny, Japan is so expensive in a lot of ways, but some things that travelers use are downright cheap compared to the US. ... Another thing that's cheap are telephone calls from a hotel room. >>> On my recent visit, I placed a 3-minute call from the MiraCosta to the US direct dial billed to the room, and the total charge was 100 yen, or about US$0.30/minute. That same call from most US hotels to Japan would have been $10/minute.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>The results are in. From Wells Fargo, I was charged an exchange rate that had a 1% commission built into it, plus a $5 fixed foreign ATM charge. I would expect that the 1% commission would be the same for most US banks in a similar situation, with the foreign ATM fee varying depending on the bank and account type (and being $0 in some situations).<< Possibly most banks would charge, but I use my debit card from my credit union and has never been charged a fee.
