LOCK: Opinion on US exchange rate (solved)

[Spidey]

Hi,

I am going to the US tommorow until Aug 8, 2004. Whenever I go to the states, and the last time was a long time ago, I feel I always get hosed when it comes to buying American money. Im sure we all are. Here are a few scenarios, which one do you think would work the best and save the most money.

1. Exchange my money at a Canadian bank (BOM) into US. They said today $135 Canadian gets you $100 US.

2. Wait till I get to the US, and exchange my money at a bank there.

3. Use my credit card for everthing down there and let Mastercard worry about it.

4. Leave the money in my account and use Interac to pay for everything, getting the daily rate.

Now I dont plan on paying for every little thing with either Interac or MC. But major things like hotels, gas, clothes, etc, etc. I will be carrying some Canadian and US money with me for incidentals.

Thanks

Ken

[t_garp]

Get your USD here!!!!

Unless you are a VIP customer who pays no fees, you will get dinged a service charge of 2-5$ per Interac transaction in the US.

As for your credit cards most cards charge a hidden 2.5% administration fee on USD converesions. (there are a few class action law suits about this against VISA)

Buy your money here it is always cheaper...

Based on my experience from working at a Bank for 4 years...

[ericw]

Try xe.com if u r planning to exchange a lot of money. Dont do it at TD, CIBC, Royal, etc, they charge about 4000 points difference (approx. 4%).

Try to use your credit card as much as possible. if yours is CDN based CC, u have to pay 1%-2% extra conversion and transaction fee.~ still not too bad.

dont use interac. as far as i know, u have to pay about $3.00-$5.00 per transaction. ~ just use CC instead. Why not?

After all, if u need some cash, try to get it IN Canada. Canadian dollar is not that useful and convenient outside Canada.

[Spidey]

Get your USD here!!!!

Unless you are a VIP customer who pays no fees, you will get dinged a service charge of 2-5$ per Interac transaction in the US.

As for your credit cards most cards charge a hidden 2.5% administration fee on USD converesions. (there are a few class action law suits about this against VISA)

Buy your money here it is always cheaper...

Based on my experience from working at a Bank for 4 years...


Well I talked to the bank and my account doesnt have those fees. Only interac fees would be if I go over 50 of them, and then I get charged the .50 cents a pop.

I never realized the admin fee for CC. Last time I ordered from the states it didnt have it. But if its hidden I guess u dont know

[kmare]

Hope you dont have too much trouble crossing the border on your way back! The Canadian customs inspectors are threatening us with 6 hour crossing delays. They are crying that they ONLY receive $48K a year, and are paid a lot less than their US counterparts.

Well, guess what? we all make less than our US counterparts. If you or I don't like it we can always move down there. Oh, except we are talking about unskilled customs inspectors who really should only be making about $6.50 an hour.




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[Spidey]

Hope you dont have too much trouble crossing the border on your way back! The Canadian customs inspectors are threatening us with 6 hour crossing delays. They are crying that they ONLY receive $48K a year, and are paid a lot less than their US counterparts.

Well, guess what? we all make less than our US counterparts. If you or I don't like it we can always move down there. Oh, except we are talking about unskilled customs inspectors who really should only be making about $6.50 an hour.


Oh crap, I hope not. I have 3 kids and sitting waiting for that long wont do. All I know is keep my mouth shut and just talk when spoken too. Last time I went I made some funny comment, pissed them off and had my car searched, us searched, etc etc.

[ericw]

I never realized the admin fee for CC. Last time I ordered from the states it didnt have it. But if its hidden I guess u dont know

On your statement, the fee should be charge in USD, and billed in CAD. The hidden fee is just there:) If you look into the ex rate by calculating USD/CAD, you would find you actually paid about 2% more than the offical rate.

[Spidey]

On your statement, the fee should be charge in USD, and billed in CAD. The hidden fee is just there:) If you look into the ex rate by calculating USD/CAD, you would find you actually paid about 2% more than the offical rate.


Well maybe just hotels and gas on the CC, and convert Canadian to US here. I think thats the route I will take. Hotel is only for 3-4 nights round trip. Plus my wife and I pay for it, not just me, since its all "our" money now

[Cough]

since its all "our" money now

Since you have 3 kids I suspect its been "our" money for a while :D

On the ABM withdrawals, even though you may have a "no fee" deal with your bank, most US banks/machines charge you $1 or $2 per transaction.

[Jim123]

One thing I found helpful was to set up a US Dollar account at my bank (RBC). Whenever I get MIR's in US dollars I deposit them there and then withdraw cash when I go to the US. Saves on the double conversion charges.

Tips for crossing US border:


Have proper ID (Passport is best)
Answer questions honestly
Don't volunteer anything (extra information, observations, jokes, etc.)
Be polite (you are Canadian, eh?)
Remove sunglasses, hats, etc.
Turn on interior lights at night

[Spidey]

One thing I found helpful was to set up a US Dollar account at my bank (RBC). Whenever I get MIR's in US dollars I deposit them there and then withdraw cash when I go to the US. Saves on the double conversion charges.

Tips for crossing US border:


Have proper ID (Passport is best)
Answer questions honestly
Don't volunteer anything (extra information, observations, jokes, etc.)
Be polite (you are Canadian, eh?)
Remove sunglasses, hats, etc.
Turn on interior lights at night


The account sounds like a good idea. Unfortunatley too late to do that now. Maybe I will consider it for future trips.

Thanks for the tips on crossing. They always look twice at people with kids, because of kidnapping, etc.

[Drew_W]

The US dollar thing is a great thing to have. Considering the exchange rate was 1.40++++ a few months ago, and dropped below 1.30 a few weks ag...it's nice to be able to store currency and not lose out because the Canadian dollar gets more valuable.

For me the benefit is that I eBay only in US dollars.

Buy low, sell high. This is currency trading...it's investments. And so the banks, credit cards, whatever, are going to take their commission on the transaction. 2% is sort of the norm...it's what I'm used to getting at banks. And what I was used to getting via PayPal. Exchange at 1.35, PayPal charges you 1.37. Then when the exchange dropped to 1.28~1.30....PayPal was still charging ~1.35. Ugh I hate them so much. We could start a whole other thread about them though.

But yes, the less converting back and forth you do, the better it will be.

[RudeDoggy]

For people talking about comparing the rates on xe.net or what you see on the daily 6 o'clock news, keep in mind that those rates are an average of buy and sell rates. Of course when you are buying/selling currency, the rates will be higher/lower, benefiting the organization that is doing the exchange for you.

e.g. The rate you see at xe.net is $0.75 USD = $1 CAD. If you want to buy $75 USD, you will probably have to pay more than $100 CAD. If you want to sell $75 USD, you will probably get less than $100 CAD.

I say go with CC. You will get dinged the least amount in terms of conversion. And depending on when the transaction gets posted, you will have different exchange rates (can help/harm you). I would get some money exchanged here however at your local bank since you will need to have at least a bit of cash in USD.

[zero hour]

That hidden fee on credit card isn't actually a hidden fee. It's just that the exchange rate you get is the rate banks and credit card companies charge you for buying/selling currency. They have to make a profit on this transaction. The other way to make money on currency exchange is to charge you a flat rate as offered by some currency exchange stores.

I would recommend using your credit card since they have better rates than most places. If you are in need of cash, use the ATM machine. Based on my experiences, the exchange rate wasn't too bad.

[Pete Jones]

Right now, (well, yesterday, actually.) the cibc machines are dispensing cash at a rate of $1.30 CDN for $100 U.S. -- that's not too bad. You will get dinged hard if you use a U.S. ATM.

As for other purchases, overall, the credit card is probably your safest best. Aside from the convenience factor, do you really want to carry a huge wad of cash with you that might get lost or stolen?

--Pete

[Spidey]

Well the daily rates do flutuate. Thursday I converted my money and it cost $135 Canadian for US, about .73 cents conversion. My wife waited until we got to Cranbrook, BC because she didnt get direct deposit till then, and she got almost .75, so about $130 Candain for $100 US (rounded off)

Other than that things are good, except US drivers DO NOT know how to use passing lanes down here.

See ya

[Spidey]

Bump