Pod Insights The Clark Howard Podcast 02.27.26 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Exposed: Tiny Hotel Rooms Sacrifice Privacy About this episode Friday - Clark Stinks day! Christa shares Clark Stinks posts with Clark. Submit yours at Clark.com/ClarkStinks. Also today - In newer limited service hotels, rooms have gotten much smaller - at the expense of privacy. Clark explains the trend and the criteria he checks before booking. Clark Stinks: Segments 1 & 2 Micro Hotel Rooms & Privacy: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Charles Schwab Review: Pros & Cons - Clark Howard Fidelity Rewards Visa vs. Schwab Investor Card® from American Express: Which Is Best? Innovative Toll Solutions - Open Roads Federal Trade Commission - File A Complaint Best 529 Plans by State: How Clark Howard Picks the Top College Savings Plans The Surprising Thing You Need To Check Before Booking a Hotel Room The Best Day and Time to Book a Cheap Flight - Clark Howard Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees in 2026 Does Your Travel Credit Card Check These 4 Boxes? - Clark Howard Clark.com resources: Episode transcripts Community. Clark.com / Ask Clark Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
0:30 Speaker 01 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
0:42 Speaker 02 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
0:49 Speaker 03 It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. What are you running away for, Krista? One way I always learn something is through our Clark Stinks segment where each week you tell me what I have gotten wrong. And after some of your questions, I want to tell you what you need to know about a change sweeping the hotel industry and how it might not be something you're going to be that comfortable with coming up later in this podcast.
1:33 Speaker 03 But without further ado, let's hear how I stink.
1:36 Speaker 04 I should have never encouraged you to speak. You must think I'm pretty stupid. You should be ashamed of yourself. Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.
1:43 Speaker 05 Maybe you're right, pal.
1:49 Speaker 05 Okay, Curtis in California says, Clark, you stink so much your breath could probably start a windmill in an old Dutch painting. Just kidding. You've extolled the virtues of the Schwab debit card for a long, long time, and I finally got one since they don't offer a credit card. Now you're saying I shouldn't use any kind of debit card. What gives?
2:09 Speaker 03 Okay, what a great question. Okay, so first of all, Schwab does offer American Express series of products for people who want credit cards that give them rewards that go into a brokerage. It's kind of like how Fidelity has credit cards that give rewards. The debit card, the advantage of it, somebody who hates debit cards, why do I carry a Schwab debit card? Because I can use it to get cash anywhere in the world, be free. And that's why I have it. Do I ever use it for a purchase of anything? No way.
2:51 Speaker 03 Because debit cards don't have the protections that you have with a credit card. So Curtis, in my case, this is something we always have to deal with in life, is judging the risk of something versus the benefits of it. So in my case, I would never routinely use a debit card to buy things. Not going to happen. But it's worth the risk to me in order to be able to get cash anywhere I go without having to worry about any fees, to carry a card that could be a problem for me if it was used in a different way or somebody stole the number and duplicated the card.
3:34 Speaker 05 Okay, SJ in Utah says, Clark, you stink like kimchi left out in the sun. Huge fan, listen to every episode, even though it's only three days a week, but we know Clark needs his time. But enough is enough. In the YouTube version, Clark moving his hands left and right and body is dizzying like a clown. This is to the point that I have to have to only listen to the audio version, not the YouTube show, because it's so distracting. I know Clark likes other people's perspective, and here's my suggestion. I want Clark to try Plant Anchor. It's a concept that most anchors use, place their hands on the table like a planet in orbit, and only use it occasionally and intentionally. You are welcome.
4:12 Speaker 03 Thank you. Okay, you gotta say something funny about that. All right. So, early in my TV career, this is going back, I've been in TVs for 36 years. And early in the career, in my career, the consulting firm, the TV station used, had a session with me. And they said, here's what we want you to do. We want you to take a piece of paper and wrap it, you know, so that you're holding the piece of paper with one hand. So that then at least you'll only be moving one hand, not two. And it's like, okay, because it's really distracting for the viewer that you're always moving your arms. And I did that for like a week.
4:58 Speaker 03 And it's just, you know how there are people who talk with their hands? And as best I know, I have no Italian blood in me, but I talk just like an Italian, you know, being very expressive.
5:10 Speaker 05 It does crack me up when you sit at an anchor, like you'll sit sometimes and do an interview on TV and it looks weird to me because you're just like sitting and you don't move very much. And it is, you gotta let Clark be Clark, man.
5:23 Speaker 03 No, no, no, no. It's a very valid point and it's come up, obviously, in television.
5:30 Speaker 05 It's why you wear a headset. People ask, why does he wear a sportscaster headset?
5:33 Speaker 03 The reason, because if I had to, okay, so.
5:37 Speaker 05 I use a standard mic.
5:39 Speaker 03 If I'm having to stand just like this the whole time? Oh, my goodness. It would be just, I don't know what would happen. So I can never sit still. Can you imagine what I was like for a teacher in elementary school?
5:55 Speaker 03 Because, you know, some kids are like always moving like they're sitting on a seat that's a stove top. They can't sit still. Imagine me.
6:05 Speaker 05 All right, Duff in Colorado says, "Just the faint scent of leftovers on their last day of palatability. In response to the issue of a lack of a nationwide toll transponder, there is a workable provider. Innovative Toll Solutions provides a nearly nationwide transponder for commercial truckers, I think limited to the continental U.S., and there are a handful of toll bridges not supported yet. They have introduced a consumer programming product that's called Open Roads, which is targeted to RV travelers. However, I don't see any reason why someone with a regular vehicle couldn't use it. It isn't the most user-friendly interface and requires an actual phone call to be set up. However, once you're rolling along, a new car, which they call a tow vehicle, such as a rental car, can
6:47 Speaker 05 be added and removed on your individual portal. There is a small service fee, but for an even moderate traveler, the simplification and cost savings on preferred toll rates and fees might make it worthwhile."
6:58 Speaker 03 Well, I appreciate you bringing this up, and I'm gonna check this out and see if it gives us a viable way to give people who rent cars frequently to have a device where they don't get ripped off by the car rental company every time they rent a car and go through tolls.
7:17 Speaker 05 Molly in Texas says, "Zelle is safe with Navy Federal." And then she linked to Navy Federal Credit Union's zero liability policy. It does say even on apps like Zelle and Venmo and Cash App. The Navy Federal operator that I called laughed at me and said Navy Federal has protections that would give me all funds back if they were stolen. And P.S., I love the show, Clark. You don't ever stink.
7:40 Speaker 03 Well, maybe I do, but I'm a Navy Federal member myself, and I don't have the issue, but I'm gonna go read what Navy Federal actually says. And if they go beyond the lame lack of protections that are provided under the law, then I certainly need to say that here on the podcast. So, thank you for giving me the heads up on that.
8:06 Speaker 05 Barbara in Arizona says, "Clark, I think you missed the mark on the lady who couldn't get the father's cable service turned off. I think the mention about the TV on your side is great, but what about contacting the FTC and filing a complaint? I used this recently, and boy, did I get a result within a week, and I couldn't be happier."
8:25 Speaker 03 Really? Wow. Okay. I'm really surprised because the FTC normally tracks complaints, but even in their information on their site, they say they don't get involved in individual issues. So maybe they forward complaints that they receive to the organization and I'm getting more homework today.
8:52 Speaker 05 I know.
8:53 Speaker 03 I'll check on that, too.
8:54 Speaker 05 Okay. Matt in Maryland says, Clark, you stink worse than my Baltimore Ravens this past season. Kidding, of course, but I think you missed the mark with the listener that wrote in asking if there would be any harm putting his emergency fund into a Roth IRA instead of a savings account. You correctly stated that retirement accounts are meant for long-term growth and that using a Roth for an emergency fund could potentially encourage the bad habit of pulling from the account that's supposed to be for your future financial security. However, you forgot to mention the most important part, the risk. Emergency funds are meant as a source of funds that can be accessed reliably at any time. What if the market takes a dive right before you need access to them? It could be disastrous.
9:34 Speaker 03 You are completely right. Money that is for potential emergency use needs to be in a simple savings account because you can't afford market risk, as you stated. And as for the Baltimore Ravens, wow, their season was crushing to me because they were likely odds-on favorite from preseason prognosticators to be in the Super Bowl, and they did not have a super season. So.
10:04 Speaker 05 I also want to read the end of the end of Matt's post. He said, I love the show. Appreciate all you do. I'm debating a trip to Atlanta for the Ravens Falcons game next season. If I end up going, I'll keep an eye out for you in the water fountain line.
10:16 Speaker 03 Ah, here's something you need to know about Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They sell certain food items at street price. Like, an unlimited soft drink is two bucks. Hot dogs, two bucks. I think is popcorn two bucks too? I'm trying to remember. They have a, they have a whole menu of things that are extremely affordable when you go to a game. And it's something that a lot of other teams and venues could learn from, that it's just not nice to rip people off on concessions, which is funny. If you ever go to an event outside
10:55 Speaker 03 the United States, they don't have that mentality. They don't rip off their captive customers in a venue or an arena typically.
11:05 Speaker 05 Okay. Bruce in Florida says, I've learned way too much information from you to say you stink, but you gave some bad advice when you said products that you find should be kept cool on a shelf and out of a cooler. I think it was like, if you find something that should be in the refrigerator, you said that you handed it to the clerk, right? And then they could decide if it should go back in the cooler.
11:26 Speaker 03 Yeah.
11:26 Speaker 05 As a former grocery store manager, you should never put that food back in a cooler for sale. You have no idea how long it's been out of temperature. While it might be fine if someone buys it and consumes it right away. Every minute it was out of its recommended temperature, it's allowing bacteria to grow and thereby reducing the length of time it is safe to consume. I understand the thought of not wanting to waste food, but it's better than making someone get food poisoning. Keep up the great work.
11:51 Speaker 03 Okay. Thank you. It drives me nuts when I see somebody abandon a refrigerator to frozen item, just dropping it anywhere in a supermarket or in one of the warehouse clubs and spoiling that sale for that store. And you're bringing up the danger that that item could have already gotten spoiled to be dangerous to a consumer. And so I guess we need to go back to the source and that's you and me. When you're shopping, if you pick something up and you later decide you don't want it, get some extra steps in your day. Take it back to the refrigerated case or freezer case where you found it in the supermarket
12:34 Speaker 03 or the warehouse club. Put it back there so that you don't waste that product.
12:39 Speaker 05 Okay. Chantel in Washington, the first part of her post I did talk about the other day on the show. Which is that she talked to her car insurance agent and they said that she's covered for rental cars. And we said, why? You don't want to have to use that with a rental car. But it's her second part. She says, another thing you have failed to mention about saving for college relates to how old you should you will be when your kid goes to college. If you're 55 plus, you can withdraw from your 401k without penalty. 401ks are not counted against your student when applying for financial aid. If someone isn't maxing out their 401k, I would recommend saving for college by augmenting the 401k contribution rather than doing a 529. You have to report the 529 on the FAFSA, but not your 401k. One of our kids
13:22 Speaker 05 isn't going to college, and I wish we had done this. People manage their 401ks much more closely than 529s. And I think it would grow much better than the money in a 529. What are your thoughts?
13:32 Speaker 03 Okay, so it's up to an employer whether they use the 55 exception or 59 and a half. It's more common, as you said, that 55 is the age at which you pay tax, but no penalty with many employers with their 401k plans. And doing that as an alternative to the 529. I would say that was true up until the point that the pressure valve was implemented by Congress with 529s that with a kid who doesn't go to college, that the 529 money can tax free become Roth IRA money
14:14 Speaker 03 for them up to $35,000. So the 529 plans, because you in many states get an upfront tax benefit, and they grow tax free, and you spend them tax free. And then if you don't need them, they can then transition tax free into a tax free Roth IRA.
14:38 Speaker 03 I still love the 529 plans, even if college is uncertain. But you do give another alternative, but then you don't have that money for your own retirement later on, if you did need it. It's, it's a mixed bag. I mean, getting these priorities right, what do you save for yourself? What do you save for your kid? And I'm sorry, this is not anti-child. Your first priority as a parent is to make sure you've properly funded your own retirement, even if it means you can't save sufficiently for a kid's college.
15:20 Speaker 03 And shock of shock, horror horrors, they gotta pay for it, go to a cheaper school, get a scholarship, whatever it is. But you gotta know, there are no scholarship plans for your retirement. Thank you so much, everyone who posted. And what's interesting, today's Clark stinks completely different than last Friday's Clark stinks. The content very, very different. I love the diversity of what we hear about on Clark stinks. Coming up ahead, I want to talk about big changes going on in the hotel business and
16:02 Speaker 03 how they may or may not affect you as a traveler.
16:07 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now, then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
16:37 Speaker 01 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
16:49 Speaker 02 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
16:53 Speaker 06 Low energy, unfocused, foggy? You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero Powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body. With a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration, no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade: Hydrates Better Than Water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration. Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist.
17:21 Speaker 07 This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just $15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song like "All I Want..." Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're gonna stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com/switch.
17:40 Speaker 06 Upfront payment of $45 for three months. $90 for six months. Or $180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50GB may slow when network is busy. See terms.
17:52 Speaker 07 When you shop pickup at Kroger, you can expect the savings you love and fresh groceries selected just for you. Our associates are committed to getting every detail right. Carefully handpicking your items, checking for quality and freshness, and packing your order with care. Because bringing you fresh, quality groceries is what we do best. And right now, enjoy $20 off your first online order of $75 or more. Restrictions apply. See site for details. Kroger: Fresh for Everyone.
18:22 Speaker 03 As we know, the cost of building housing has gone crazy high in the United States.
18:31 Speaker 03 And it's affecting every form of housing, apartments, single-family homes, townhouses, and something you and I might not really think about, hotels. So there's a move going on in the hotel business with architects that specialize in building hotel rooms that are ultra-small. So in the same footprint, a hotel can have far more rooms, or on a smaller piece of land can have the number of rooms they would have had with a traditional
19:08 Speaker 03 design of a hotel. So architects are employing all kinds of techniques to, and these are the interior architects, I guess it would be specialized that way, not the people who designed the whole building. But they are reimagining how the hotel room is laid out. They're eliminating dressers, closets, eliminating anything that doesn't have to be there for a night's sleep. And so now, I travel so much that I've learned, I'm looking at the
19:49 Speaker 03 square footage, I mean, how obscure this is, I'm looking at the square footage for a hotel room before I book it. Because, I mean, you're talking about them getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Historically, hotel rooms were 300 to 320 square feet. Today, hotel rooms are being built with the first digit being a 1, as little as maybe 150 square feet. More like, if you've ever been on a cruise ship and you stayed in an inside cabin... In a really, really small space, that's the size of the hotel rooms.
20:30 Speaker 03 And the bathrooms on those cruise ships are kind of like magical because in a space a little larger than what the toilet is, toilet room, bathroom on an airplane, they're able somehow to get a shower, a toilet, and a sink all in that space. And so that's one of the things that people have been freaking out about with hotels with the new designs because some of the hotels are now being built with the bathroom not being private. And I've seen a number of stories about it lately. I've experienced it myself.
21:11 Speaker 03 So if privacy, when you're going off the bathroom or showering, whatever, is important to you and you're traveling with someone else, that's something you want to know before you go stay at a place because it's weird to think about. A lot of the other things are just fine. I mean, the smallest hotel room I ever stayed in in my life was in Japan when I was in a 70 square foot hotel room. And it had the smallest bathroom in a hotel by far I had ever seen. And it was very, very odd because the sink, the shower, and the toilet were all like one unit.
21:55 Speaker 03 I can't even begin to explain that to you. It was not great. So why are you doubled over laughing?
22:05 Speaker 05 It's just funny.
22:06 Speaker 03 You were with, you were.
22:08 Speaker 05 I never saw it.
22:09 Speaker 03 You didn't see it because you were in the same hotel and you had a big room, but I went for this cheap one.
22:15 Speaker 05 Yeah.
22:15 Speaker 03 We were on a staff truck.
22:16 Speaker 05 Yep, yep. I stayed in a tiny room in Iceland that had a similar thing, but, but it wasn't one unit. I mean, the shower head was like right next to the toilet, though. There was no shower curtain or anything. It was just, yeah.
22:29 Speaker 03 Yeah, I think the same kind of idea. I mean, it was, it was like all like one little, it looked like. Prefab that they just put right in there and it was all three things together. And so just know that the spacious hotel rooms of yesterday are still out there from either the luxury end of the market or hotels built that are older. But the new big sweet spot of the hotel business, the most profitable part is limited service hotels. And they're the ones that are putting their designs into the shrink ray. And you just gotta be prepared for that.
23:13 Speaker 03 And when I travel by myself, I don't really pay that much attention. I just want a bed. But I remember the first time I was ever in one of these was on a trip to New York when I was going up to meet with our book publisher. And I opened the door of the room and I'm looking around and where's the rest of it?
23:34 Speaker 05 Yeah.
23:34 Speaker 03 I'm just trying to find where's the rest of the room? And the bed was really small and it was shoved up against one wall. And there was on the other side, there was just enough room to kind of almost walk sideways to get in the bed. And I was, I kept trying to figure out, how does housekeeping make this bed? So that is the future of the hotel business, it seems.
24:01 Speaker 05 Okay, we'll go to some questions. This one's from Larry in Colorado. I was wondering what Clark thinks about using pocket Wi-Fi when traveling. I travel from the US to Japan sometimes for many weeks at a time and I've used pocket Wi-Fi. All I have to do is join that Wi-Fi service once and I'm good to go. It provides Wi-Fi wherever I go and I have unlimited data if I choose and I can use my Telo phone service to make and receive Wi-Fi calls. Since Telo lets me call so many countries, including Japan, landlines for free, we can even call Japanese phone numbers when we're there. No need to set up on an eSIM or try to figure out which one to buy. I've noticed that it helps to speak Japanese so you can get cheaper pocket Wi-Fi services, though.
24:44 Speaker 03 Yeah, okay. So Pocket Wi-Fi I'm familiar with. And if you remember what this was, because people used to use it in the United States, like people traveling around in an RV or something like that. It's a separate device that sets up your own hotspot and has its own cellular access. And it's data only. And there's a lot of back and forth arguing among people. Whether particularly in Japan where Pocket Wi-Fi is really popular. Are you better off doing an eSIM? Are you better off doing Pocket Wi-Fi? And the big dividing line seems to be if you're in a lousy, stinking rotten contract
25:30 Speaker 03 with AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile where your SIM is locked on your phone. Then Pocket Wi-Fi is a simple, easy, but potentially more expensive option than doing an eSIM. If your phone's unlocked, you're a free agent and you can do whichever you want. But Pocket Wi-Fi is a viable option, especially if you're traveling with kids and they're on their tablets. It gives them access with Wi-Fi available wherever you're traveling on a trip.
26:06 Speaker 05 Gail in Oregon says, "My family, my husband and I and our two 24-year-old sons were invited to a wedding in Delhi, India over the week of Thanksgiving of this year. We'll be traveling from Portland, Oregon. We'd like to fly Premium Economy or Business Class if we can find a really good deal because of the length of the trip. Do you have any advice for us on when to book this trip or other general advice on traveling to India?" We get lots of these, like people are planning trips to many, like Scotland, I got one. Like there's, you know, people want to know, like, when do I figure out and how do I book international travel?
26:39 Speaker 03 International, you book further ahead than domestic for a good deal. But we're talking about... Gosh, almost nine months from now, eight and a half months, almost nine. You're too early likely, not if you were using points, which you didn't say, but if you're using dollars, it's too early because airlines don't know yet how to anticipate what demand is going to be that far in advance. And so you're not in a sale cycle. So the question of premium economy versus business, you're going to find that fares to India in business class are going to be somewhere around four grand and premium economy will be half of
27:24 Speaker 03 that or less. Business class is usually two and a half times more than premium economy. Premium economy, if you're not familiar, on most airlines is a domestic first class seat. And in many cases, it is identical. It's the same exact seat that may be on an airline's domestic first class. So you don't get lie flat, you don't get your own compartment, but you get a comfortable seat with extra legroom. And I think premium economy for many people is a much more affordable thing. On a flight, as far as India, though, gosh, you're talking about a long, long, long way. Figure 20 plus hours of travel
28:08 Speaker 03 time from the US West Coast to Delhi. That first class type seat is not going to feel that comfortable once you get to about hour 12 and beyond. One thing, since you're in Portland and it's about two and a half, three hours to Sea-Tac, there's a lot more competition internationally out of Seattle than there is out of Portland. And I think your flights are going to be a lot better. I think it's worth with a family of four, you do the drive up to Seattle and go from Seattle on the trip. I would set up alerts on Google flights
28:48 Speaker 03 for both business class and premium economy notifications on Google flights. And your sweet spot is probably going to be somewhere four to six months out from the travel. But if a really hot deal pops up, Go ahead and buy it.
29:06 Speaker 05 Um, I was gonna ask too, I'm not sure how the flight paths go. You, you know way more about that, but is there another city they should look from too? Like, should they fly to the East Coast first, or would they be going out of, or maybe look at LA or somewhere, some other airport for the actual longer flights?
29:21 Speaker 03 So that's a lot more work. I mean, Seattle, Portland are so
29:25 Speaker 05 Yeah.
29:26 Speaker 03 relatively close that for international.
29:28 Speaker 05 Since when are you afraid of more work for trying to find a deal? And I mean, you're always telling me to look out of New York and other places.
29:34 Speaker 03 Right.
29:35 Speaker 05 And I did go to India. My cousin lived there years ago. My mom and I went and I found a deal on Qatar Airways, um, at the time.
29:43 Speaker 03 Which is considered in surveys to be either the first or second best airline in the world.
29:47 Speaker 05 And, um, so that's
29:48 Speaker 03 Were they?
29:49 Speaker 05 Oh, it was incredible. They were great. Yeah. I mean, you, you stop over in Doha and then we went on to India. So.
29:56 Speaker 03 And Krista is right. Everybody in the eastern half of the country always say for an international trip, check fares out of New York in addition to where you live or near where you live. But the, the travel involved in getting to New York, it's quite a bit
30:14 Speaker 05 Right.
30:14 Speaker 03 more hours. Uh, it all depends, or you mentioned LA. I mean, it's up to you how much you're willing to do to save money because it's times four. I mean, it's possible you might find a deal going out of an airport you haven't thought about where you can go in business class for something close to what you'd go in premium economy. That would be worth it.
30:38 Speaker 05 Yeah. And just fly coach to that airport and then the day before or whatever. Yeah.
30:43 Speaker 03 Fly international.
30:44 Speaker 05 Jeffrey in Georgia says, I'm trying to find out why no one has actually done a piece on the exchange rate on charge cards like Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Which one is better for the consumer as we travel? We see the varying rate between all three cards and we find that we end up using Visa, but then when I research it, some say MasterCard is better. I'd like some input from you with your expertise.
31:06 Speaker 03 So Jeffrey, this is gonna really annoy you. With American Express, they've got their system for setting exchange rates. Visa, MasterCard, it's up to each issuer how they process and most cards will have junk fees on top of the exchange rate. So you want to get one that charges no foreign currency exchange fees, which are often three to 5%. But then what you want to see in the terms for your credit card, again, one Visa could be one way, another, another way, same thing with MasterCard. You want to see that they use banker's buying rate.
31:50 Speaker 03 Often it'll be a BBR plus one or something like that. So banker's buying rate is the exchange rate being used for massive transactions between big institutions. And so you and I as consumers with a credit card may have one that says banker's buying rate, or it may say banker's buying rate plus some transaction fee. And that's different than a foreign currency junk fee, believe it or not. So I hope I'm not making your eyes glaze over with this explanation. If you're doing an extensive trip, you know, for a period of time, you're doing more expensive
32:35 Speaker 03 things, finding out upfront for each card issuer you have, what their process is for converting, you know, a foreign transaction is really important. And this gives me an opportunity once again to point out, beware of the scam that is so hot now, where you go to buy something, could be a meal, could be at a store, whatever, where on the device, the, where you ring up your transaction, where you tap to pay, it will give you an option that they're treating as if it's a benefit, or may even default to it, that you have to override to clear your transaction in dollars.
33:21 Speaker 03 If you get taken by this scam, you're paying as much as 10% more for your purchase when you clear it in dollars instead of local currency. Always clear in local currency.
33:36 Speaker 05 And then Kay in Wisconsin says, Clark, just wondering, you have dogs and you travel a lot, what do you do with your dogs when you're gone so much?
33:44 Speaker 03 Okay, so Kay, if we're going on a trip that we can drive, we do. Uh, one of our dogs is really, um, high strung.
33:55 Speaker 03 And is not a good traveler on an airplane. The other one, it could chill all day long on an airplane. It's really funny how dogs have their own personality. So it means we default to driving even distances that are mind numbing to me to have to drive. If we are flying somewhere and we can't take them, we have a house sitter who stays with the dogs. And that's how we handle it because every dog has its own personality, just like every human does.
34:38 Speaker 03 And so the most difficult dog in the bunch is the one that you have to adapt to. That's right. Dogs don't adapt to us. We adapt to them, at least in my world. I hope that you have a fantastic weekend in front of you and that you do something really, really wonderful, enjoyable. And all weekend long, we're there for you at Clark.com, Clarkdeals.com. And I want to mention again that our whole thing is to connect to you wherever you want to be connected to. Pretty much any social media, we're there.
35:17 Speaker 03 YouTube, we're there with YouTube Shorts, as well as this show, the podcast, our newsletters, which you can subscribe to for free at Clark.com/newsletters. Our one-on-one advice that we offer where you can get information, guidance for free from our team at the Team Clark Consumer Action Center. Any way that we can serve you. And if you're in one of the markets where you see me on the evening news, on television, or you hear me on radio, whatever way it is that you like to have knowledge, it gives you more control of your wallet and your life, we want to be there for you.
36:02 Speaker 03 And it's all about you learning ways to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. See you Monday.
36:15 Speaker 01 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
36:27 Speaker 02 Pricing and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
36:30 Speaker 07 Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big game. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com.
36:37 Speaker 06 With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experienced overwhelming satisfaction. Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and a sudden urge to host the watch party again. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week.
Previous 02.25.26 Buying & Selling Gold / Why Simple Appliances Win Next 03.02.26 Buy Now, Pay Later aka Pay-In-4 / Ask Your Pharmacist Page updated November 6, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
