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Email this6:32 am
January 3, 2013
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This is a really interesting comparison. Thanks for taking the time and posting the results. I have been always using Amazon Visa for any international purchase including online purchases.
Can't we rely on the exchange rate mentioned on both Master Card and Visa for the comparison purposes?
I just checked and found below for Jan 5. However, I am not sure if the mentioned rates are the daily average or the day close rates. But interestingly Master Card rate is higher than Visa.
https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/
CAD Canadian dollar 1.401600
United States Dollar to Canadian Dollar
January 5, 2016
1 USD = 1.398560 CAD
8:46 am
October 21, 2013
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This is a hard one to figure out, but it seems to me that we are always at the mercy of the constantly fluctuating exchange rate, no matter how we make our purchases. For that reason, I would be inclined to go with Yas' logic.
Is there some way to ask them if these figures represent a close rate or an average rate or even an opening rate? I would assume it to be a close rate in the absence of other info, and that there is a genuine difference, as discussed by djino on another thread, between MC and Visa (and also Amex).
Somebody might know (Norman1?) what these rates actually represent. I'm wondering if they represent the cost to the card company of buying/selling currency at the moment in time, in other words they reflect the currency exchange market. If so, good luck on ever pinning it down. It would be like riding with Uber - the price could vary with demand.
As far as I know, Visa is still the larger company. Perhaps they get better rates for higher volume of currency exchanges?
Some fascinating reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterCard Note especially the section on Australia. However, I skipped over most of the rest due to time considerations so am not sure what-all is there. No doubt there are similar articles explaining Visa.
6:07 pm
April 6, 2013
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Loonie said
...
Somebody might know (Norman1?) what these rates actually represent. I'm wondering if they represent the cost to the card company of buying/selling currency at the moment in time, in other words they reflect the currency exchange market. If so, good luck on ever pinning it down. It would be like riding with Uber - the price could vary with demand.
....
I had a look at the MasterCard Currency Conversion Tool. The text suggests that the rates shown there are the exchange rates MasterCard sets for all the transactions settled between the merchant's acquirer bank and the cardholder's issuing bank on a particular day.
The MasterCard rates reflect market exchange rates. But, they are not necessarily the actual exchange rates the banks involved actually get when they convert the currency.
Footnote #12 of the article Society for Computers and Law: How Card-based Merchant Acquiring Really Works suggests that the merchant's acquirer bank later receives payment from the cardholder's issuing bank in the currency of the credit card and not in the local currency of the credit card charge!
12:04 pm
December 23, 2011
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Just did a bit of shopping in Burlington, Washington, Tuesday Feb 16. Using Amex and Scotia Momentum Mastercard (x Sears Mastercard).
Rate 39.06% 12:24 PM Scotia Mastercard
Rate 42.62% 02:18 PM Amex
3.56% less using Scotia Mastercard. Savings of the 2.5% for sure and perhaps some fluctuation of the dollar is also reflected.
9:15 pm
October 21, 2013
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All I can say is...
Holy Cow, kanaka!
8:11 pm
July 10, 2011
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So is amazon visa free or are they baking the exchange rate instead of advertising 2.5%.. i have a tang. Will pick up amazon soon..
2:16 pm
October 21, 2013
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I believe Chase, which offers the amazon card, would have no control over the exchange rate that the amazon card charges. I think that is determined by Visa. It's more a question of which one (Visa, MC or Amex) offers the better currency exchange rate on a regular basis.
The currency exchange FEE, the 2.5%, is separate.
10:00 am
February 25, 2016
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Not sure if it can help
Just find there is a "Rogers Platinum MasterCard"
https://rogersbank.com/en/card_details/rogers_platinum_mastercard
- "Earn 1.75% cash back on all your purchases everywhere MasterCard® is accepted"
- "No foreign transaction fees"
Maybe it's better for Rogers users?
9:49 pm
October 21, 2013
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The Rogers card is a pretty good deal for Rogers customers. It's straightforward.
It was a better deal when it paid 2%, which was just a few months ago!
It's also a pretty good card to use for expenditures in the category "Other", where it's difficult, if not impossible, to get more than 1% return without paying an annual fee.
You would want to be very committed to Rogers though, as you can't use the credits for anything else. If you switch from Rogers services, you lose your credit.
7:28 pm
February 17, 2013
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Tried again just for the heck of it last Saturday. Went to Wally World in WA and charged two items, one on each card, costing $4.09 USD. Went home and checked the pending transactions to find that Tang pending charge was $5.61 and Amazon's was $5.55. On Monday morning Amazon posted it at $5.55 for an exchange rate of 1.35696821, but it took Tang until Monday afternoon to post it for $5.63 at an exchange rate of 1.376528117%. Once again, dollar fluctuation came into play, but this time Amazon turned out to be the better bargain, even before posting. Wally's is not in one of my "preferred" categories, so it's only a 1% rebate, so this time, Amazon clearly comes out ahead, with what would have been a bit of a saving on a charge of a few hundred dollars worth of gas/groceries/merchandise.
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