Aer Lingus Currency Conversion

glaston

I booked a one way flight from Aberdeen to Dublin with Aer Lingus yesterday, the price was in sterling; £34.98.

At the last step of the online booking process the exchange rate was given as 1.2575 and I was given an option to accept a "Guaranteed Amount You Pay", of €52.79. I didn't accept the offer!

As far as I know the actual exchange rate yesterday was about 1.21 and I presume 1.2575 was the Aer Lingus rate, but this would still only convert to €44.
€52.79 equates to an exchange rate of 1.5

I always presumed rate they displayed was the one used in the Guaranteed amount calculation, obviously not?

Thoie

glaston wrote: »

I booked a one way flight from Aberdeen to Dublin with Aer Lingus yesterday, the price was in sterling; £34.98.

At the last step of the online booking process the exchange rate was given as 1.2575 and I was given an option to accept a "Guaranteed Amount You Pay", of €52.79. I didn't accept the offer!

As far as I know the actual exchange rate yesterday was about 1.21 and I presume 1.2575 was the Aer Lingus rate, but this would still only convert to €44.
€52.79 equates to an exchange rate of 1.5

I always presumed rate they displayed was the one used in the Guaranteed amount calculation, obviously not?

There's a very even £7 between the £34.98 and the €52.79. They didn't add on a last minute credit card charge, or travel insurance, or seat booking charge or something, did they?

Visa give an exchange rate calculator here to show what exchange rate they're using, I presume other cards do the same.

Jet Black

Sounds like admin, credit card or seat fee. They use their own exchange rate but there is no way it would be that bad. I know Amazon and Papal offer to do the exchange so you know what you are paying in euro. It's usually a slightly lesser rate than allowing your card/bank to do the exchange for you.

L1011

"Admin Fee
Charges as follows: €7 / £7 per person, per flight. Flights originating in the USA and infants are not subject to the admin fee."

There's your price difference between the initial and final price...

glaston

Its not an admin fee.
The cost was broken down as follows:

1 Adult
Fare (pp) £4.99
Taxes and charges £22.99
Cost (pp) £27.98
Admin Fee £7.00

Total £34.98

Its not a card fee either. The booking clearly stated:

Pay by credit card: £34.98
Pay by debit card: £34.98

I've often checked exchange rates for online purchases but this is the first time I checked the actual calculation.

sandin

Official mid market rate was about 1.21 Unless you send large currency amounts and deal with a currency trader you won't get near that rate.

Consumer rate in banks last Monday was just under 1.25 + commission, so aer lingus rate was close enough to the rate you'll see on your card statement.

ScottSF

Visa give an exchange rate calculator here to show what exchange rate they're using

I also refer to the visa website to check the actual rates. It is a very useful reference for when traveling and using your credit card abroad.

As for accepting the "Guaranteed Exchange Rate" I never ever accept it. I have never found it to be better than what your credit card will give you for currency conversion. The same goes for at hotels when they offer to do the currency conversion for you to EUR before processing the payment.

I see it as a big money make for hotels because it can be confusing and the best choice unclear to consumers. Of course your exact credit card terms may vary so I encourage everyone to look into it for themselves.

From what I know the AIB Visa card for example charges 1.5% for Pounds to Euro which isn't bad. The guaranteed rate is always more from my experience.