For the über-Road Warriors - those who spend their lives on the road

Expenses are expected to be submitted within a specific number of days, depending on your company’s policy, after your business trip.  It could be that business expense reimbursements have to be submitted before the credit card bills arrive.  

And when that happens, I do hope that your miscellaneous expense – for those who went abroad -- isn’t missing that currency conversion fee that most credit cards add to overseas transactions. 

A lot of newbie business travellers (who were not properly informed by the accounting department) have failed to declare this and have unknowingly paid it out of their own pockets. 

Card conversion fees vary from 1 to 4 percent.

However, how do you calculate conversion fees in advance if you still have yet to receive your credit card bill?

If you have online access to your credit card then that should immediately solve the problem.  Most credit card companies only need a couple of days to update their records.

Another option would be to check out the currency site, Oanda.  Oanda has a foreign exchange calculator with an option to add a conversion fee.  It may not be the exact computation but it is, in my experience, rather close to the real value. 

For small business owners, it would be best to read the fine print before you head overseas.  Compare rates and use the one which charges the least fees.

FlyerTalk has an interesting thread regarding the best card for foreign exchange. Some answers may have gone off topic but there some gold nuggets out there.  Worth checking out, I assure you.

What has been your experience? Which credit card would be best to use when abroad?

[photo source: Bank of Punjab]