USD account or Visa or what?

[Sue M]

I have a CIBC USD checking acct. Every pay day, now when rates are so good, I put $ into it . I am going to Hawaii this summer, renting a condo. I can pay the condo with my USD checks.
Then we are going to WDW in Jan 2011. But I pay for WDW pkg with my Infinite Aerogold Visa, because I want the points. For spending $ there I take $ out from my USD acct. and bring it with me.
Sadly the CIBC interact/debit card doesn't work in the States for retail purchases, only can use it in bank instant tellers. I go to a Wachovia or any bank rather then one of those bank machines that charge a high fee for using it.
It would be nice if we could buy those pre-loaded US Visas here to take with us. I don't want to get a USD Visa. At CIBC, they have an annual fee, and I already have a Visa Infinite with fee!

 

[disneymath]

I have a USD Bank Account and a USD Visa (both through CIBC). The bank account is a great place to transfer money into when the exchange rate is good. It's also a convenient place to deposit any cash we may have left over at the end of a trip - no use converting it back to CAD and getting dinged with fees a second time. We've had the account for years.

I've only had the USD Visa for a about a year now ... it just seemed like a good idea since we seem to be doing a major Disney trip a year. I've paid it off from the USD account (when the exchange rate wasn't great) and by having money from my savings account converted (when the exchange rate was decent). So far, it's working for us.

One thing about bank exchange rates ... the fee they charge you diminishes with the amount of money you are converting! (At least at CIBC it does.) I called for the exchange rate one day and was told a certain rate. When I asked them to convert a little over $1000, the teller then told me the rate was actually a slightly lower amount.