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A friend was in Chile recently and only has a debit card and was asked to pay a fee to use their debit card which was larger than a fee for a credit card. Fees were as much as 18%. Has anyone else experienced this?
Asking as Revolut Visa is a debit card and after using it a couple of weeks ago in Italy, I think it I will be my go-to card when out of the UK.
@masaccio – it’s quite common in lots of countries to charge at least as much for foreign debit cards because they cost as much to process as credit cards. In more touristy places they sometimes build it in to stop people complaining, but the fee is there. Some of the so called fee free FX cards actually cost the same or occasionally more than the fee charging ones.
The only cards that don’t attract a fee in Chile are Amex.
The only cards that don’t attract a fee in Chile are Amex.
Amex remarkably popular vs other cards in Argentina as well (plus better MEP rate that covers the 3%) and huge Centurion lounge at EZE.
The only cards that don’t attract a fee in Chile are Amex.
Seems odd to me but hey ho. I’ll use the Amex then unless the fee is low enough that the 3% Amex loading makes it unfavourable.
it’s quite common in lots of countries to charge at least as much for foreign debit cards
Maybe so @JDB, but 18% sounds like a complete rip-off to me and totally unjustified.
it’s quite common in lots of countries to charge at least as much for foreign debit cards
Maybe so @JDB, but 18% sounds like a complete rip-off to me and totally unjustified.
Yes, while there can be fees for debit cards, the original story is clearly erroneous. The 18% almost certainly relates not to any fee, but to the IVA/VAT exemption on hotels which applies to only to tourists paying with a foreign credit card. Theoretically a debit card isn’t allowed so you would have to pay the VAT (actually 19% currently I think). There is also the issue of unscrupulous accommodation providers charging the equivalent of the VAT as some sort of other charge they keep rather than paying it over to the government. We have read a few similar stories here about people in Argentina being stung ‘tourist’ dollar prices to take advantage of the slightly complicated exchange rate system and to keep the huge currency advantage for themselves rather than allowing the tourist to have it. Fortunately it’s very rare.
I think you are being a bit unfair @JDB in calling my friend’s report erroneous. Whether the 19% is an explicit fee or missing out on an IVA rebate, the outcome is still the same: pay one rate with a credit card, or pay massively more with a debit card. In their case, they had no credit card so had to suck up what they say as a fee.
I think you are being a bit unfair @JDB in calling my friend’s report erroneous. Whether the 19% is an explicit fee or missing out on an IVA rebate, the outcome is still the same: pay one rate with a credit card, or pay massively more with a debit card. In their case, they had no credit card so had to suck up what they say as a fee.
@masaccio it’s simply wrong to call it a ‘fee’ as that implies a charge by the merchant. There was probably a misunderstanding or language barrier, but no additional fee was charged – your friend paid the same price as a Chilean resident.The government has a very generous scheme in place which requires the tourist to pay either with foreign currency or a foreign credit card. That scheme (and the terms) has been in place for more than ten years and most hotels make it very clear how it operates at the time of booking.
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