Accept or Decline Conversion at ATMs in Philippines - What should I choose?

I made the same mistake my first time in the Philippines. Used an ATM at NAIA Terminal 3, accepted the conversion thinking it would help me avoid extra charges, but nope, I paid more. The screen even showed the “guaranteed rate” but it had a huge markup. Wise later confirmed it was DCC and that I should’ve declined. Since then, I always decline conversion and the rate is much closer to what the app shows. Rule of thumb: always choose local currency (PHP) and decline the ATM’s offer.

Just got back from Palawan and faced that screen every time I withdrew cash. Used my Monzo card and luckily remembered from a travel group to Decline the ATM’s conversion. If you accept, the ATM uses its own inflated rate, not the mid-market one your card would use. I did a side-by-side test once, accepting cost me around 400 pesos more on a 10,000 peso withdrawal. It’s confusing, but just remember: Decline is actually the better deal.

I used my US Chase card in Manila and saw the same thing: Accept conversion to USD or Decline. I picked Accept and immediately regretted it when I saw the exchange rate was way worse than what I saw on Google. They even showed the markup, something like 8.5%. I now know to always hit “Decline” so my home bank handles the conversion at a better rate. Philippines ATMs, especially RCBC and Security Bank, almost always offer this DCC trap.

This happened to me last month in Cebu using a Revolut card at a BDO ATM. The screen asked if I wanted to accept their conversion rate to GBP and I clicked “Accept” thinking it was safer. Later I saw I got charged around 7% more than the actual exchange rate. That “conversion” is dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and it’s basically a scammy way for the ATM to make extra money off tourists. The correct option is always “Decline” let your bank or card provider do the conversion.