Paying Amazon.co.uk with Irish debit card - € or £ ???

Chorus_suck

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Spocker

It's usually always better to pay in the local currency (£ in this case) when using a card - the banks FX rate is (nearly) always better then the retailers/merchants

delahuntv

exchange rate is crap at prsent (and no sign of it changing)

Today's sell rate is about 1.47 on credit/debit cards. My guess is amazon would be about 1.50.

stronglikebull

Most, if not all, Debit card operators apply a fixed fee for non-Euro currency transactions. AIB and Bank of Ireland charge 1.75% with a minimum charge of €0.45. Depending on the amount, it may work out more expensive to pay in Sterling than Euro on Visa Debit.

Amazon's exchange rate today is 1 GBP = 1.47714405 EUR

At that rate, you'd definitely save by paying Euro today. I have never found Amazon's exchange to be as bad as people make out. Usually a little poorer than Bank, but not often by much. It's worth checking at every purchase though.

foggy_lad

Also if you buy regularly from Amazon Warehouse deals or other sellers who send out used and damaged goods you will be charged by your bank a second time when they process the refunds.

If your order is likely to be sent out in one or two deliveries then sterling is best but if there is a possibility of multiple deliveries and also returns then pay in euro

henryporter

Also have a look at amazon.de or amazon.es - you might get better prices for the same items. If its books, try easons online or the book depository, cds try jpc.de. I haven't bought anything on amazon.co.uk since Greece sank the euro, it's just too expensive.