Barb

I'm curious why some of the conversions from Euro to US $ I'm seeing from some of the hotels are different than I am getting on Expedia's converter. What's the accurate way of doing the conversion. i.e, a hotel in Naples quoted 92 Euro per night - wouldn't this be $80 US.? The exchange rate right now is .0869600, but the hotel says it's $89 US. per night. Am I missing something?

Jim

Barb,<BR>I wouldn't worry about what the hotel says the Dollar rate is, you'll be paying in Euros and your credit card will reflect the true rate when you pay it.

Patrick

This is nothing new, Barb. Hotels have never been known for giving good rates, whether it was the old Francs, Lira, or whatever, or the new Euros. I've made a few charges on my credit card (mainly hotel deposits) and I seem to be getting a rate of about 89 to 90 cents to the Euro, that is including any charges the credit card company gets for the transaction.<BR>One hotel in Dubrovnik actually showed their rates in both Euros and US dollars. When comparing them, they were giving an "exchange" rate of about 93 cents to the Euro. Not so good.

Bertram

Don't beleive any of the exchange rates on the Internet. They are quoting the rates banks use on huge, huge transactions between each other. Your actual exchange rate on the Euro right now is more like $.90 = 1 Euro. In other words, if your hotel rate is 92 Euros, figure on a 10% discount which is around $83.00. I used to get all hyper when I'd see the Deutschmark dropping to 2.30 to a dollar (and even talked my wife into taking a last minute trip 'cause the rate looked so great), but when I'd exchange money in Germany, It would be less than 2.20 to a buck. The best thing to do is use your credit card as often as possible because their exchange rate is much closer to what you'll see listed on sites such as XE.com or oanda.com.

Suzanne

When I use my charge card on a day I know it is a good exchange rate (in Europe), I have noticed that the rates that are charged are the ones on the day that the bank received the bill from the store. Is this right? It is maddening if you know when the rates are fluctuating.

Barb

That's great if you can use your card, but there are hotels and restaurants in Italy that do not accept credit cards. I'm certainly not going to stress over it, but it makes it hard to make a budget prior to leaving for a trip.

fran

It's about 15 cents difference,,just charge it, the bank will take care of it why worry about 15 cents ,consider the euro as a dollar and be pleasantly suroprised when your visa bill comes! <BR>don't sweat the small stuff!