So I have a large trip to Europe coming up in a a few week, which includes a car rental in Germany for 10 days. I paid for the flights using my Amex Explorer, which activates the international travel insurance - and the Amex cover seems fairly reasonable.
However, the T&C's state that in order to activate the Loss Damage Waiver cover, I would also need to pay for the entire rental amount using my card, which would be in EUR. I reached out to Amex, and for foreign transactions, they first convert any foreign transaction to USD, then back to AUD. Then add a 3% on top of that. The nice lady on chat says the rates they use are the same as OANDA (for the foreign -> USD, and then USD -> AUD) conversions.
Has anyone used their Amex overseas and worked out if the rates are reasonable?
My initial impulse was to use another card that wouldn't charge forex fees, but it would mean looking for additional insurance that would cover the car rental. My rental is around EUR 424, which would mean around ~$20 AUD in charges by Amex. Seems like it would be cheaper to pay the surchage than shell out for extra insurance.
However, the T&C's state that in order to activate the Loss Damage Waiver cover, I would also need to pay for the entire rental amount using my card, which would be in EUR. I reached out to Amex, and for foreign transactions, they first convert any foreign transaction to USD, then back to AUD. Then add a 3% on top of that. The nice lady on chat says the rates they use are the same as OANDA (for the foreign -> USD, and then USD -> AUD) conversions.
Has anyone used their Amex overseas and worked out if the rates are reasonable?
My initial impulse was to use another card that wouldn't charge forex fees, but it would mean looking for additional insurance that would cover the car rental. My rental is around EUR 424, which would mean around ~$20 AUD in charges by Amex. Seems like it would be cheaper to pay the surchage than shell out for extra insurance.
