Choosing a USD saving account

[rewok]

Ok, with the Canadian dollar being so high, and since we have a bit of spare money right now, I'd like to put some money away in US dollar, since I don't think it will hold so high forever. It would be useful for our next year vacation, Disney maybe, but surely across the border. However, I'm not sure how to go about that. What happens when you take money out of this account? Do you get screwed on conversion fees, or do you get USD directly?

I've looked around a bit for whatever is offered everywhere, but I'm very undecided (while I'm usually financially savvy!). Our regular banking is with National Bank, and they have a US account, but if you have less than 2500$ in it, you have a 1$ maintenance fee (I HATE banking fees!), and the interest is negligible. However, I could withdraw money directly in US$ at the cashier (for another 1$ fee...)

Then there is ING which offers a no fee account, with a 3% interest rate. But I can't get US$ directly out of it, it would be converted back into CAD$ when going onto another account. The posted exchange rate seems decent, with about 1.5% conversion fee included.

RBC does offer Easy US banking, but it's only available to their customer, and I don't want to switch banks, I have great no fees account where I am.

Any advice out here from others who have done this?

 

[Wazzo]

RBC does offer Easy US banking, but it's only available to their customer, and I don't want to switch banks, I have great no fees account where I am.

Hello!

I just emailed RBC about this, and they told me the following:

"I can confirm that if you only want to open a US account, you do not need to open other accounts. To open a US account, please book an appointment at your local RBC Royal Bank branch."

I specifically asked if I could have a US$ account and NO other account with them, and they said yes. Strange that you got a different answer!

 

[bjohn]

My main bank is Bank of Montreal, I have a US checking account that has has no service charge as it is covered under my plan. I have also setup a US dollar account with Manulife Bank and linked it to my BMO account.

The Manulife US interest rate is currently 4% daily interest. (Calculated daily pd monthly). No service charges in or out and no penelty if you withdraw mid month.

When I need US cash I transfer funds fron Manulife to BMO. It takes 2 business days.

You will need to calculate the amount of US you plan on having on hand to see if it is worth the time to setup.

 

[rewok]

Hello!

I just emailed RBC about this, and they told me the following:

"I can confirm that if you only want to open a US account, you do not need to open other accounts. To open a US account, please book an appointment at your local RBC Royal Bank branch."

I specifically asked if I could have a US$ account and NO other account with them, and they said yes. Strange that you got a different answer!

I think I made a small mistake, I was talking about RBC Access USA, which gives you a "real" no-fee US account with a US ATM card. This is setup in part with their US branch I think. They specify it is only for RBC Canada customer:
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/RBC:RzDT9I71JsUAAdAC6-U/usbanking/faqs.html

They also have a standard US account.

 

[rewok]

My main bank is Bank of Montreal, I have a US checking account that has has no service charge as it is covered under my plan. I have also setup a US dollar account with Manulife Bank and linked it to my BMO account.

The Manulife US interest rate is currently 4% daily interest. (Calculated daily pd monthly). No service charges in or out and no penelty if you withdraw mid month.

When I need US cash I transfer funds fron Manulife to BMO. It takes 2 business days.

You will need to calculate the amount of US you plan on having on hand to see if it is worth the time to setup.

This Manulife account looks pretty good, since you get your money directly in US$, and accumulate interests. But it gets a bit complicated, since you need a US$ account at a "real" bank as well (most of those have fees). It would be for around 2000$, so if I to pay many fees, it wouldn't be worth it.

I guess there's no easy solution to that, maybe I'll just get some USD and stuff it under my pillow till next year!

 

[Ham Ham]

I would like to know how to have a USD account and be able transfer money into it from my CND account with out losing 2% for the conversion fee.

Maybe there is no work around.

 

[rewok]

Well, I checked on that last night, and I think I'll settle with Scotia or CIBC, both of which offer a no-fee account if you have a balance of 200$ (pretty reasonable). There is not interest (or 0.05%) offered, but it's better (or should I say safer? ) than stuffing it under my pillow! Scotia has 2 free transactions per month, with extra ones at 0.60$. CIBC charges 0.75$ per transaction, no free ones, but has the convenience of ATM with US$. I think I'll go with Scotia because of the free transactions, anyway right now I have to go at the counter to withdraw US$.

To get interests, I could link it with another account like bjohn suggested. In that case, I could set this up with ING, it's pretty easy and you can do it online.