www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Someone told me to have the hotel charge my credit card in colones rather than dollars. Is that a good idea?

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-Si dice mentiras, te meto la verdad-

The hotel will charge you in colones, but your bank will convert it to dollars at the current exchange rate AND add the international currency fee of 3-4%. BOA credit cards recently raised theirs from 3 to 4%, I got a letter.


NO, because they will quote you in dollars then may convert to colones using a bad exchange rate. When your bank converts it back to dollars at the current exchange rate, you may take a hit on the spread between the hotel's exchange rate versus your bank's.

It's always better to get charged in dollars. You may avoid the currency fee, but they will still hit you with the int'l transaction fee.

It's best to just pay in cash.

Credit cards do get banged with the international transaction fee, so I use cash to pay my hotel bill. If the bill is calculated using US $, I pay $. If quoted in colones, pesos, etc., I pay with the local currency. It keeps things simple.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

Ditto.
Most hotels quote their rates in $$.
Many also give a discount for cash.
Thus, I pay with US cash!
Simple!

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

at banks there is a buy and sell rate to the exchange of colones.

if paying with colones, i was made to understand that many hotels will charge based on a conversion using the higher of the rates (giving more colones per dollar than the bank) and thus lowering your cost by about .02% (calculated based on the spread being about 11 colones per dollar at the present rate)

oops ...

the above is based on paying cash. and i think it is actually a 2% savings. actually worth it i guess.

How did you come to that conclusion? The bank "buy" rate (compra) is what they will pay to buy dollars. BCR rate today was 583.00. The bank "sell" rate (venta) is what they charge to sell you dollars. BCR rate today was 592.50.

So under your scenario if you pay in dollars the bank will give the hotel 583.00 (the lower rate) to convert that to dollars not 592.50 (the higher rate). Why would they do that there is no advantage to the hotel?

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

irish,

sorry about the delay. you know. i have been over this in my head and now i cant make what i wrote make sense either. i do know that at a hotel i went to in alajuela, i was told it was a better deal to pay in colones and they pointed to the sign with the two rates, and said we give the better rate blah blah blah. i didnt end up staying there so really didnt think about it much til i regurgitated it sortof above. but obviously without thinking. unless the hotel just preferred colones so therefore gave a discount, which doesnt make sense either, i cant in good faith stand by my earlier statement.

radarman, i am not an accountant thank God.

If ya gotta worry about it, do ya really got the money to play? hmmm

3% to 4% on lets say a $1,000 hotel bill is only $30 to $40 extra. Its just part of the trip.

Thank you Mark for summerisng it. Right on. I pay my bill down in colones then put the rest on the card. I "attempt" to put my daily
hotel rate away each day. Some times it work sometimes the little
head gets in the way.
Thanks
Bobshere