Nowadays banks usually allow you to block DCC (dynamic currency conversion) and it is definitely worth it if you travel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_currency_conversion

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alister 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Thank you for telling me what it's called!

On the positive side, it seems that Wise must block it because I never see the DCC "choice" when using a Wise card.

As a negative point, I've noticed that AirBnB, which used to use reasonable conversion rates, has just recently started to use exorbitant currency conversion and not allow you to pay in the local currency of the country you're traveling to (so you can let your own credit card do the conversion at a lower rate). I.e., if you try to book a property in Brazil in BRL (literally clicking on the price to pay in BRL), the charge will nevertheless go through in USD (or whatever currency is your own) with AirBnb doing the conversion at the rate they choose.

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odysseus 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Where do you block it? I don’t see an obvious option at any of my banks or that article.

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imp0cat 2 hours ago | parent [-]

It is usually an option in your bank's app. It depends on the bank though, obviously. If it's not there, you have to be vigilant while using your card (always select the local currency when given the option).

	▲	noname120 38 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I don’t know a single bank in Europe that provides this option Edit: Perplexity says this: > cards cannot block DCC offers because the merchant terminal identifies your card’s country of origin from the card number and offers DCC accordingly. Always manually decline at payment to let the card handle conversion at better rates
	▲	shawabawa3 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I checked and it doesn't look like any UK banks have this option - at least I looked at about 5 different banks websites and all have pages suggesting you always select to pay in local currency but none of them have any information on disabling this behaviour Gemini confirms it's not a thing, and not really possible (the terminals just detect the country from the card number)