How to get the best Exchange rate?

[CrystalS]

On msn.ca the exchange is showing at 0.8507 right now.
I know that banks and such will take off a bit, so I won't get the 0.8507 from them, but are there any other ways to get as close to amount listed on msn.ca?

If it makes any difference I'm in BC and I bank with CIBC

Thanks for any help

 

[SandraC]

I just shoot the dice and hit the bank when it's convinent. A couple bucks here and there don't matter in the end. Enjoy your vacation! Blessings, Sandra

 

[bunnyfoo]

Do you have a friend or family member who works at the bank? Ask them to buy US$ - they should get an employee discount which should be pretty close to the posted MSN rate.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You get better rates by transfering money online.

 

[minnie56]

I just transferred a chunk and it cost me $1.19 for every USD..pretty good!

 

[CdnDisneyNut]

Going to NYC in a 1 ½ weeks.
I might pick up my cash this week. The rate has been improving all week

 

[Leafsgirl36]

How do you get better rates from transferring online? I use Scotia Bank and they charge an extra $.02 to transfer from my Canadian account to my US account. Would love to know how to get around paying the extra $.02

 

[daver]

Going to NYC in a 1 ½ weeks.
I might pick up my cash this week. The rate has been improving all week

We opened a US bank account through our bank. Whenever I go online to pay bills, I finish, then transfer the change in my account to make it an even amount. So say I have $58.50 in my account after all transactions, I transfer $8.50 to the US account. Some months I transfer $50.00 - $80.00. I don't miss it and it adds up over time!

 

[bunnyfoo]

How do you get better rates from transferring online? I use Scotia Bank and they charge an extra $.02 to transfer from my Canadian account to my US account. Would love to know how to get around paying the extra $.02

I think the idea is that you can watch the rates as they change throughout the day and buy when you see the right rate. If you're checking the rates on the computer or phoning into the bank and then driving to the bank, the rate may be different by the time you get to the branch.

I've also read about people buying US$ through sites like XE but don't know much about them.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I think the idea is that you can watch the rates as they change throughout the day and buy when you see the right rate. If you're checking the rates on the computer or phoning into the bank and then driving to the bank, the rate may be different by the time you get to the branch.

QUOTE]


Right....also not all banks charge for the online exchange.

 

[OntFamily]

I just transferred a chunk and it cost me $1.19 for every USD..pretty good!

This is very good. After charges/fees you paid the equivalent of $0.84 USD = $1 CDN.

 

[minnie56]

Good! Happy to hear I did well!

 

[davidsprincess]

Another option is traveler's cheques. You pay way less when you buy them versus what you pay when you buy the cash.

 

[SmileDisney]

We have a foreign exchange store 25 ft away from my bank. It always has better rates than my bank (TD Canada Trust) and they post their rates online so it is easy to compare.

It might be worth checking to see if you have one of these places in your area. For me it makes sense to walk the extra 25 ft!

 

[bunnyfoo]

The rates are lower today! I picked up another $200.

Too bad about the rising gasoline prices

 

[granolacruncher11]

I have a USD account at TD Canada Trust and I cannot transfer from my Canadian account to my US account online. Does anyone else bank there and do you have this problem?

 

[theweave]

I have a USD account at TD Canada Trust and I cannot transfer from my Canadian account to my US account online. Does anyone else bank there and do you have this problem?

Do you mean using Easy Web? Yeah you can do it! My dad does it all the time and I do with the business accounts. On your Easy Web screen... let me go see.......

Click on Make A Transfer, right below that it will say "Foreign Exchange (Canadian/US).. click on that. Than a screen will come up that will ask you to select the From account first (Canadian for you) than it will reset and you can than select the US account. It will reload again, and than you can put in how much you want to transfer and indicate whether that amount you put in will be in CDN or US... so you can say "Transfer $500 USD from CDN to US account", and it will show you on the next screen how much it will cost you before you say yes to it.

You probably just missed the Foreign Exchange part on the screen! Now you know how to do it!! Let me know if it works or if you have troubles!

Enjoy the low rates of exchange now!

 

[granolacruncher11]

Ohhh, I see. Thank you so much, so much easier than hoofin' it to the bank each month! I LOVE these boards!

 

[wannago2disney]

another option, if you have a nearby casino/slots, they sometimes do better rates than the bank....we got 1.16 earlier this week.