Which channel should you choose for foreign travel credit cards and what should you pay attention to?

When traveling abroad, we can spend whatever we want? Most people use credit cards, but which channel should we choose? What should I pay attention to? Today, the editor will compile some information for you! Help everyone choose the right credit card for consumption.

Which channel should you choose for foreign travel credit cards?

Try to choose the UnionPay channel to swipe your card

When paying with a credit card abroad, sometimes the store will ask you whether to choose UnionPay or UnionPay. Other channels, such as visa, master, AmericanExpress. Why?

Overseas card payments and UnionPay transactions will not incur handling fees. If you go the route of an international organization, the currency used is the currency included in the card itself, such as USD (RMB-USD dual currency card), and there will be no handling fee. When repaying the loan, you need to pay back US dollars or deposit RMB to purchase foreign exchange.

If the currency of the card itself is not swiped, such as Japanese yen or Korean won, international organizations will charge a 1.5% exchange fee when doing currency conversion. Since overseas consumption by credit card will be settled in US dollars, if the consumption amount is not US dollars, there will be an exchange fee between the two currencies. The exchange fee is 1.5% of the transaction amount. Foreign exchange fees will be charged by the bank on behalf of the international organization. If the consumption amount is in US dollars, no exchange settlement fee will be charged.

What does it mean?

For Chinese cardholders who use UnionPay channels to swipe their credit cards overseas, the bank will not charge any other fees.

If your credit card is a dual-currency card that supports both UnionPay and visa (or master), then you pay in US dollars when you pay. Regardless of whether it is handled through UnionPay or Visa (or Master), the bank will not charge any other fees.

But if you travel to Japan and stay in a B&B, the B&B does not support UnionPay channels, only Visa. When you pay for the room, the visa company will charge an exchange fee of 1.5%. The room rate is 10,000 yen, but what you actually paid is 10,150 yen, which is 150 yen more.

When you apply for a full-currency credit card, the bank will not charge any other fees regardless of the currency used when swiping the card.

: Things to note when using credit cards abroad

1. Unlike debit cards, which convert foreign currency into RMB for deduction based on the real-time exchange rate, credit cards do not convert the amount into RMB for debit on the day of consumption. The consumption amount will be converted into RMB and deducted only on the repayment date.

What do you mean? For example, you bought a bag in France for 1,000 euros on March 6. On that day, the exchange rate between the euro and the yuan was 7.8:1. Do you think this bag is worth 7,800 yuan? It's not. The repayment date of your credit card is 5/23, and the exchange rate between Euro and RMB is 7.9:1, so the actual price of this bag is 7,900 yuan instead of 7,800 yuan. But if the RMB appreciates during the repayment period, the exchange rate between the euro and the RMB will be 7.58:1. Congratulations. The current price of this bag is 7580 yuan, saving you 220 yuan.

Of course, in most cases, the fluctuations in the exchange rate during the two-month period are very small and can basically be ignored. However, if the RMB continues to depreciate and the consumption amount is particularly large, you need to consider how to hedge. For Chinese tourists shopping abroad, they can save money if the RMB appreciates, but lose money if it depreciates.

Be sure to pay attention to this information when traveling abroad. I hope it will be helpful to you. In addition, when traveling abroad, do not expose your property easily and be sure to protect yourself.