BA.com Currency Change
Aug 27, 2016, 7:44 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Channel Islands, UK
Programs: BA Blue
Posts: 576
BA.com Currency Change
This probably has been answered before, many times, but.... Is there a way of getting BA.com to show me GBP instead of USD when looking at tickets originating from the USA?
I know it shows you the price in GBP/other currency at the end, and I know you can do Google for an approximate exchange rate. But I would like to know what exactly the price is in GBP before I purchase.
Cheers
I know it shows you the price in GBP/other currency at the end, and I know you can do Google for an approximate exchange rate. But I would like to know what exactly the price is in GBP before I purchase.
Cheers
Aug 27, 2016, 7:48 am
#2
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 65,781
Online no. It's a nuisance, and other IAG airlines manage to handle it (Vueling offers about a dozen currencies to play with on a nice drop down menu). However you should be able to call up and get a price quoted in Sterling. There are a few reports recently that this is not always offered, but it is in my case. If you are buying with BA Amex this is particularly important since the exchange rate used by Amex is close to outrageous, for a US based corporation with significant dollar and sterling reserves.
Aug 27, 2016, 8:18 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,500
Edit: HOWEVER - they (US line) may not quote you in GBP. Call the UK line in that case. Even though you're talking to the same people, in the same place, the line you call determines POS!
Aug 27, 2016, 8:25 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,721
I don't know how well this works if you want to buy an ex-US ticket but pay in GBP. However, my experience of buying ex-EU tickets but paying in GBP is that the GBP price quote given by ITA on the same day is exactly the GBP amount which BA charges, correct to the penny (before the offline fee and UK credit card fee are added, of course). I suspect that this is because a common set of exchange rates is being used by the industry. So this might be a workaround for you if the ba.com "Currency calculator" link on the firm price quote page isn't close enough for your purposes.
Aug 27, 2016, 11:57 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, VFC Gold, Marriott Silver, Hertz PC, DYKWIA
Posts: 184
And they use perfectly fair exchange rates. In the past, c-w-s said they use an industry-standard rate (set by IATA?)