How do I top up an Istanbulkart with cash or a foreign bank card without paying double currency conversion?

From messages by 3 participants in 1 source · Last activity: 71 days ago

TL;DR

For Istanbulkart vending machines, using TRY 200 notes is most cost-effective because the fee is TRY 2 per banknote inserted. When paying with a foreign card, decline the machine’s currency-conversion offer.

What the community said

If an Istanbulkart machine offers to charge your card in its home currency, decline it. This is dynamic currency conversion at the terminal’s own exchange rate; choose payment in Turkish lira instead.

Pay in TRY

For cash top-ups, use a TRY 200 banknote, the largest denomination accepted by the machine. This keeps the insertion fee to a minimum.

TRY 200 banknote

The machine charges TRY 2 for every banknote inserted, regardless of denomination. One TRY 200 note is therefore cheaper than several smaller notes totalling the same amount.

TRY 2 fee per banknote