A while ago, Uber quietly flipped a switch that caused a lot of frustration for frequent travelers. They began automatically enrolling customers into “Preferred Currency Pricing” — which means instead of being billed in the local currency when you’re abroad, your rides are charged in your home currency by default.
On paper, this sounds like a convenience. In reality, it’s just a high-tech version of Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), a decades-old trick where merchants (or in this case, apps) tack on a fee to show you a price in your “preferred” currency. Normally, DCC is something you have to opt in to — unless you stumble into a less-than-trustworthy shop or restaurant. Uber turned the tables by making this the default for nearly everyone, without asking.
My Experience Abroad
On my recent trip to London and Amsterdam, I got to see this in action. As soon as I opened the Uber app in London, I received an email explaining that rides would be billed in U.S. dollars instead of pounds or euros, along with details about the 1.5% fee.
To be fair, that’s more transparency than when the policy first rolled out. At least now Uber sends a message when you land in a region where this will affect your bill. But you still need to check your inbox to catch it. A simple pop-up in the app before you book your first ride would make a lot more sense.
Why the “Savings” Pitch Doesn’t Add Up
Uber tries to frame this as a money-saver, pointing out that their 1.5% fee is lower than the 2–3% foreign transaction fee most banks charge. But here’s the catch: that only matters if your bank actually waives the foreign transaction fee when the charge is billed in your home currency.
And that’s not always how it works. As One Mile at a Time pointed out, with many issuers, it’s not just about the currency — it’s about where the transaction is processed. If your ride is processed in the U.K. or the Netherlands, plenty of cards will still treat it as a foreign purchase, even if the amount shows up in dollars.
So while Uber isn’t lying when they say 1.5% is less than what some banks charge, in practice this doesn’t help most people. If you’ve got a card with no foreign transaction fees — and many savvy travelers do — then this setting is nothing more than an unnecessary surcharge.
Bottom Line
Yes, Uber has gotten better about notifying customers about Preferred Currency Pricing. But it’s still a lousy deal, and it should never be the default. If you’re traveling abroad, do yourself a favor: head into your Uber wallet settings and make sure you’ve selected “Always pay in local currency.”
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
I’m glad that Asia has Grab, which allows you to pash cash and that’s what I do.
Thanks for the article. My uber app doesn’t show preferred currency settings in my wallet. I uninstalled the app, then reinstalled it, but still no dice. I hope I get one of these uber emails on my next trip to Europe, and that I can reject their pricing from the email!