If a European Merchant Offers You the Option of Dynamic Conversion, Don't Accept It

The latest gimmick in an endless battle to overcharge the tourist is something called Dynamic Conversion. It's the "helpful" offer of a European merchant to convert the bill you've incurred in Euros into U.S. Dollars, right there, on the spot. In other words, instead of signing a credit card slip made out in Euros, you agree to let the European merchant perform the conversion, and give you a credit card slip made out in dollars.

The choice is always yours, and you should always turn down the offer. It's far better to let Visa or Mastercard conduct that conversion rather than the local merchant; you will invariably get a better exchange rate. Would you believe that Ryanair is now enjoying a 7% increase in their income from those passengers who let them convert a Euro charge into Dollars?