You're in Europe.

@ninotravels

12.4K followers · usually 868 views a post

Views

2.6K

Likes

102

Comments

5

Shares

28

Why it worked

The video addresses a common and costly mistake travelers make, offering a clear and actionable solution. The use of a relatable scenario (paying for a meal) and a direct explanation of the financial benefit makes the advice valuable and easy to understand.

Summary

This video explains a common mistake travelers make when paying with credit cards in Europe. When presented with the option to pay in local currency (Euros) or your home currency (USD), choosing USD incurs an additional markup fee from the merchant. It is more cost-effective to select the local currency and let your bank handle the conversion, saving you 4-6% on the transaction.

Structure

1Introduction to the problem in Europe
2The credit card machine prompts a currency choice
3Choosing USD seems logical but incurs a markup
4Selecting local currency (Euros) is more cost-effective
5The savings from choosing local currency

On-screen text

Travel Smarter ✈️ 🧠 Part 4: Credit Card Transaction Fees 80,66 USD 1 EUR = 1,2056 USD Incl. 3,50% mark-up Euro? USD? 66,99 EUR Local Move/5000 e-pay

Original caption

Part 4 of my Travel Smarter ✈️ 🧠 series is all about this small mistake I see travelers making all the time! #travelsmarter #traveltips ##traveltip #creditcardtips #travel

More from @ninotravels

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

Transcript

You're in Europe, you're about to pay for the amazing meal you just had. Server brings the credit card machine over to you to pay. And it asks you this one question that might cost you quite a bit of money. This is part four of my Travel Smarter series. I'm sharing with you travel tips as a travel advisor and someone who takes 12 trips a year. They bring over the credit card machine and you're paying for your bill. To scan to pay, it's going to ask you whether you wanna pay in the local currency or your home currency. For example, if you're in France and you go to pay, it's gonna ask you if you wanna pay in euros or dollars. American. As an American, you might look at this and say, Dollars. That's what makes sense. But they actually include a markup fee on top of the conversion rate so that you can pay in US dollars. You should select the local currency in euros. In this case, your bank will then charge you the conversion. The conversion. It might not seem like a big decision, but in hindsight, it actually costs you between 4 and 6% every time you accidentally select the country's currency.