Canadian Exchange

[cjbcam]

So over the last 5 days I've been paying off my trip $1000 at a time. I mentioned this to my dad and he says don't do 1000 do like 1020. If you exchange over 1000 you get a better rate. So I made 2 payments one for 1000 American (cost me 1357 Canadian) and one for 1020 American (it cost 1343 Canadian). Wish I knew this before I started paying off trip. I got $20 American more for $14 dollars less.

 

[lizabu]

So over the last 5 days I've been paying off my trip $1000 at a time. I mentioned this to my dad and he says don't do 1000 do like 1020. If you exchange over 1000 you get a better rate. So I made 2 payments one for 1000 American (cost me 1357 Canadian) and one for 1020 American (it cost 1343 Canadian). Wish I knew this before I started paying off trip. I got $20 American more for $14 dollars less.

Wow...I had no idea. Thanks.

 

[cjbcam]

Wow...I had no idea. Thanks.

Yeah I had no clue either. I wish he had told me earlier.

 

[Scar1199]

Was this just paying off through the Disney site?

 

[cjbcam]

Was this just paying off through the Disney site?

Yes but I guess it works going into the bank and straight up exchanging money. My parents have never been to Disney but they go to Arizona for the winters. Anything you have to pay for if you pay more than 1000 it's a better exchange rate.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

thanks for that tip!!!!

 

[P&L@WDW]

I work at a bank. We advise our clients of this all the time. The levels for getting a better exchange rate are:0-1000, 1001-10000, 10001-100000, 100001+

It usually costs you a few dollars less in Canadian, and you get 1$ more US.

 

[alohamom]

thanks for this

 

[mab2012]

So over the last 5 days I've been paying off my trip $1000 at a time. I mentioned this to my dad and he says don't do 1000 do like 1020. If you exchange over 1000 you get a better rate. So I made 2 payments one for 1000 American (cost me 1357 Canadian) and one for 1020 American (it cost 1343 Canadian). Wish I knew this before I started paying off trip. I got $20 American more for $14 dollars less.

Are you sure the transactions you're comparing were posted at exactly the same time?

Your numbers reflect exchange rates of 1.357 and 1.317. That's a 3.5% difference. That seems more likely a result of currency fluctuation than forex spread. The CAD did spike briefly last Thursday in advance of the US Federal Reserve statement on Friday - perhaps that's the difference you saw?

It's a great tip, regardless. Whether it has an impact will depend on the exchange institution. Different companies (and sometimes even different accounts at the same institution) will have different brackets. The $1000 threshold is more likely at banks than discount exchangers, who have lower spreads to begin with. You're never going to see a *higher* spread on larger amounts though, so it doesn't hurt to try. I would just caution readers of the thread not to expect the kind of results you saw. A PP mentioned a few dollars on a $1000 transaction - that seems like a more reasonable expectation. I wouldn't expect more than a half percentage difference, at best.

Thanks for sharing - this isn't something that a lot of people would think about!

 

[cjbcam]

Are you sure the transactions you're comparing were posted at exactly the same time?

Your numbers reflect exchange rates of 1.357 and 1.317. That's a 3.5% difference. That seems more likely a result of currency fluctuation than forex spread. The CAD did spike briefly last Thursday in advance of the US Federal Reserve statement on Friday - perhaps that's the difference you saw?

It's a great tip, regardless. Whether it has an impact will depend on the exchange institution. Different companies (and sometimes even different accounts at the same institution) will have different brackets. The $1000 threshold is more likely at banks than discount exchangers, who have lower spreads to begin with. You're never going to see a *higher* spread on larger amounts though, so it doesn't hurt to try. I would just caution readers of the thread not to expect the kind of results you saw. A PP mentioned a few dollars on a $1000 transaction - that seems like a more reasonable expectation. I wouldn't expect more than a half percentage difference, at best.

Thanks for sharing - this isn't something that a lot of people would think about!

I did it on the same day. I used different bank cards though. One was a TD visa debit, the other a master card. So most of difference could be the different fees. But it's definitely a better rate switching over 1000. I've done one more 1020 but not on the same day as the other two and exchange was different and harder to compare.

 

[disneyfreak89]

I work at a bank. We advise our clients of this all the time. The levels for getting a better exchange rate are:0-1000, 1001-10000, 10001-100000, 100001+

It usually costs you a few dollars less in Canadian, and you get 1$ more US.

What bank is this? I just emailed my Bank of Montreal Bank and asked them and they said: "Our exchange rates do not differ depending on the amount that you wish to exchange. I am sorry for the inconvenience." So I guess we're SOL.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

I bank at the RBC, and have been told on multiple occasions that I would receive a better rate on $1,001+ than I would on $1,000. No idea if that's actually true or not, and doesn't really matter since I'm transferring into the vacation fund either way.

 

[P&L@WDW]

What bank is this? I just emailed my Bank of Montreal Bank and asked them and they said: "Our exchange rates do not differ depending on the amount that you wish to exchange. I am sorry for the inconvenience." So I guess we're SOL.

I bank at the RBC, and have been told on multiple occasions that I would receive a better rate on $1,001+ than I would on $1,000. No idea if that's actually true or not, and doesn't really matter since I'm transferring into the vacation fund either way.

I work for RBC - Maddysdaddy experience doesn't surprise me!

 

[Debbie]

I set up a transfer of monies from Canadian to American accounts at both Tangerine and BMO, and the exchange rate did not change at all. Guess I'll stick to transferring a small amount every week to offset the fluctuating dollar.