Help me people who are good at this Canadian dollar thing

[LoveMMC]

So we are going in August. Paying 2800 us.

I check daily- last week 2800 us was 3988. It bounced to 3954. Today it is 3850.

Would you 1) pay it RIGHT NOW 2) pay half now and keep watching 3) wait till I book flights this month then pay. Husband isn't helping - just saying you do what you think.

 

[youngb1978]

I would pay at least half off...who knows what it will do..we booked our trip in canadian funds but I am trying to decide if I should keep exchangin money every week or pay if trip then exchange..the dollar is all over the place

 

[Disneylover99]

I always wait until the last minute to pay and I end up paying extra every single time. So you don't really want my advice.

 

[migel]

Wow, I just checked and the dollar is up over 73 cents this morning. I might consider cashing in today. The last I read the hope that countries agree to slow their production of oil wasn't going well. And if Iran starts pumping gas with their sanctions lifted, the dollar may slide lower that the 68 cents a week or so back. But then again, things change daily. Hard decision, but considering the dollar's up 4+ cents, it's worth considering.

 

[mshanson3121]

So we are going in August. Paying 2800 us.

I check daily- last week 2800 us was 3988. It bounced to 3954. Today it is 3850.

Would you 1) pay it RIGHT NOW 2) pay half now and keep watching 3) wait till I book flights this month then pay. Husband isn't helping - just saying you do what you think.

I would pay it now. They're expecting the dollar to drop again.

 

[sherilaine]

The U.S. dollar is having some bad news this week - so that is why the CAD is doing better, not so much oil. It helps but it's not the reason for the 73 cents we saw this morning.

It is a tricky dance because if the dollar closed up today and you pay today, the exchange is calculated when it's POSTED to your credit card, not the day you actually make the call and do the transaction - so that could be a few days out and anything can happen between now and then. I am certainly watching it and may call to pay at least half of our hotel and then I don't feel awful if we wait and it's down to 65 cents in a month when we go to check out!

 

[isabellea]

It's a gamble but I would pay at least half today.

 

[bankr63]

Dollar cost averaging is your friend in an unstable market. Divide the amount into a number of payments (in C$) that you can afford over the period of time (say 6 monthly payments of C$670). Then pay them off regularly between now and then on a regular date (first or fifteenth of month); don't try to play the rate game. Some payments will do better than others, but in the end you will get roughly the average exchange rate between now and then. When the dollar is lower, you are paying a bit less of the US$ amount, when it is higher, you are paying more of the US$ balance. You may still have a small amount owing at the end, but you have still played the game as well as any other average prognosticator.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

http://www.profitconfidential.com/f...y-worst-is-still-to-come-for-canadian-dollar/

if it were me, I'd pay down what I could now

 

[dis_guy]

Dollar cost averaging is your friend in an unstable market. Divide the amount into a number of payments (in C$) that you can afford over the period of time (say 6 monthly payments of C$670). Then pay them off regularly between now and then on a regular date (first or fifteenth of month); don't try to play the rate game. Some payments will do better than others, but in the end you will get roughly the average exchange rate between now and then. When the dollar is lower, you are paying a bit less of the US$ amount, when it is higher, you are paying more of the US$ balance. You may still have a small amount owing at the end, but you have still played the game as well as any other average prognosticator.

Yes, yes, and yes!

 

[cjbcam]

I agree with the pp that said divide and make multiple payments. They were projecting the dollar to get worse however with reports that came out about the us (that were unexpected) the US dollar is sinking now so who knows.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Trying to figure out a similar situation and "best" (least?) way to pay. I figured it would be easiest to pay with my Amazon credit card (no conversion fees, just converted to US). So I did a $1000 payment and got the bill today. Exchange rate used was 1.46925, cost $1469.25 CAD (Date of 1/21). That seems totally outrageous, was it really that or are they using an inflated rate instead of charging an extra fee?

 

[Raimiette]

Trying to figure out a similar situation and "best" (least?) way to pay. I figured it would be easiest to pay with my Amazon credit card (no conversion fees, just converted to US). So I did a $1000 payment and got the bill today. Exchange rate used was 1.46925, cost $1469.25 CAD (Date of 1/21). That seems totally outrageous, was it really that or are they using an inflated rate instead of charging an extra fee?

Nope, unfortunately that's about right for January 21. I checked onada.com's historical currency converter (https://www.oanda.com/solutions-for-business/historical-rates-beta/hcc.html) and it came up with a rate of 1.4432. So only just barely higher.

EDIT: I actually picked up $100USD today (from a normal currency exchange but I have a preferred customer card so I don't get charged extra fees) and it cost me 140.32CAD so it's a little better now but not much.

EDIT 2: I should add that the average person will never receive the mid-market rate (the conversion rate you'd see on oanda or on google if you were to check - the true rate if you will). It will always be boosted by the bank/currency exchange/credit card company. With the Chase Amazon Visa you're saving on the forex fees (yay!) but you're still going to get a larger rate (in this case the rate set by Chase Bank for the day) which will generally be on par with your bank here in Canada minus the extra forex/bank fees.

EDIT 3: Finally (lol sorry) I will add that in my experience it's good to shop around if you're looking to pick up US money. At the very least get the rate your bank is offering and bring it to a third party currency exchange. The currency exchange has always beat my bank's rate without a fight.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Thanks! Neat site to see rates, I haven't used that one before.

Just trying to figure out the best way to pay off my cruise balance, so buying US money as cash isn't an option. I have an Amazon card and DH just got the Marriott Visa, but it looks like they have the same exact way of figuring out exchange rates. Guess we'll just have to figure out which has the better rewards…or is there another payment option that would be better to consider?

Nope, unfortunately that's about right for January 21. I checked onada.com's historical currency converter (https://www.oanda.com/solutions-for-business/historical-rates-beta/hcc.html) and it came up with a rate of 1.4432. So only just barely higher.

EDIT: I actually picked up $100USD today (from a normal currency exchange but I have a preferred customer card so I don't get charged extra fees) and it cost me 140.32CAD so it's a little better now but not much.

EDIT 2: I should add that the average person will never receive the mid-market rate (the conversion rate you'd see on oanda or on google if you were to check - the true rate if you will). It will always be boosted by the bank/currency exchange/credit card company. With the Chase Amazon Visa you're saving on the forex fees (yay!) but you're still going to get a larger rate (in this case the rate set by Chase Bank for the day) which will generally be on par with your bank here in Canada minus the extra forex/bank fees.

EDIT 3: Finally (lol sorry) I will add that in my experience it's good to shop around if you're looking to pick up US money. At the very least get the rate your bank is offering and bring it to a third party currency exchange. The currency exchange has always beat my bank's rate without a fight.

 

[Raimiette]

Thanks! Neat site to see rates, I haven't used that one before.

Just trying to figure out the best way to pay off my cruise balance, so buying US money as cash isn't an option. I have an Amazon card and DH just got the Marriott Visa, but it looks like they have the same exact way of figuring out exchange rates. Guess we'll just have to figure out which has the better rewards…or is there another payment option that would be better to consider?

Yeah, that's the right idea. the Marriott Visa and the Amazon Visa are both run by Chase bank so the exchange rate will be the same for both cards. Unfortunately other than credit cards there aren't many more options to pay for things online/telephone. Paypal is an option online but they do charge a forex fee so the Chase Visas work better.

As for which one has better rewards, the Marriott Visa has better rewards hands down. The points only expire after 24 months so there should be plenty of time to use up your earned hotel nights.

 

[bankr63]

As for which one has better rewards, the Marriott Visa has better rewards hands down. The points only expire after 24 months so there should be plenty of time to use up your earned hotel nights.

I would argue that point. As someone with years in the Credit Card industry, I can tell you that the majority of loyalty type rewards go unclaimed. So, yes, Marriott on paper offers better rewards as a percentage back on spend, but Chase/Marriott knew that the majority of these rewards would go unredeemed when doing the calculation. Furthermore, you have to take a trip, to a Marriott hotel (not always the best value) to use the reward paying all the other costs associated. Also, don't forget to deduct the $120 annual fee for the Marriott card from your earned rewards.

The Amazon card gives cash back, immediately, at a very low trigger level. Basically they redeem near 100% of the reward offered. It is also really nice to get the bill at the end of the vacation, and find that Amazon has already reduced your balance by $20/40/60.

I will always pick cash in pocket over the opportunity to spend more money in the future.

 

[dsneygirl]

I would argue that point. As someone with years in the Credit Card industry, I can tell you that the majority of loyalty type rewards go unclaimed. So, yes, Marriott on paper offers better rewards as a percentage back on spend, but Chase/Marriott knew that the majority of these rewards would go unredeemed when doing the calculation. Furthermore, you have to take a trip, to a Marriott hotel (not always the best value) to use the reward paying all the other costs associated. Also, don't forget to deduct the $120 annual fee for the Marriott card from your earned rewards.

The Amazon card gives cash back, immediately, at a very low trigger level. Basically they redeem near 100% of the reward offered. It is also really nice to get the bill at the end of the vacation, and find that Amazon has already reduced your balance by $20/40/60.

I will always pick cash in pocket over the opportunity to spend more money in the future.

DH just bought our park passes on our Amazon Visa. There was $40 back immediately.

 

[Raimiette]

I would argue that point. As someone with years in the Credit Card industry, I can tell you that the majority of loyalty type rewards go unclaimed. So, yes, Marriott on paper offers better rewards as a percentage back on spend, but Chase/Marriott knew that the majority of these rewards would go unredeemed when doing the calculation. Furthermore, you have to take a trip, to a Marriott hotel (not always the best value) to use the reward paying all the other costs associated. Also, don't forget to deduct the $120 annual fee for the Marriott card from your earned rewards.

The Amazon card gives cash back, immediately, at a very low trigger level. Basically they redeem near 100% of the reward offered. It is also really nice to get the bill at the end of the vacation, and find that Amazon has already reduced your balance by $20/40/60.

I will always pick cash in pocket over the opportunity to spend more money in the future.

Yes, I agree you'd actually have to USE the points to get a better deal than the Amazon Visa lol. I implied that when I brought up the expiry time. I don't personally own a Marriott Visa (I have an Amazon one) because I don't like annual fees and rarely stay in hotels.

Speaking specifically to the OP's situation though the annual fee doesn't really factor in since the OP's husband already has a Marriott Visa and will be paying the annual fee regardless of if they use the card or not. Since they already have the card I assumed (perhaps improperly) that they got it because they stay at Marriott hotels (otherwise why would you get a specific hotel branded card?). Given that it's implied they'll stay at a Marriott owned hotel in the next couple of years and since you earn hotel stays in general much faster than the $20 credit on the Amazon Visa it's a no-brainier. Also, this isn't factoring in the bonus hotel nights you get with the Marriott Visa just for making your first purchase with the card (the last time I checked it was 4 free nights, it may have changed now).