Where do you exchage your money?

[Susie63]

We are just wondering what the cost for exchanging C$ to US$ and what are those fees. I am looking at exchanging $1000 if the $ hits par this week and I am wondering what it will cost me.
TIA

 

[wannago2disney]

if you have a casino/slots (not sure what you have in Alberta sorry) they usually have a very good exchange rate...that is where we ususally exchange our money. If you do it at the bank, I believe that they add approx 4% for the cash rate. (unless you are or know a bank employee who would do it for you. I hear that they get a better rate). Another option is to open a US dollar bank account at your local bank. This is what my inlaws have done and they said that the exchange you get is better....something to do with realtime and the market value....when the dollar is doing well, they go online and transfer some money into it....they were told that there is no restriction on how much you can take out either once it's time for vacation or what have you. If it were me exchanging, I would call around to see where the best rate is before I left home and that way you would know that you are getting the best rate available in your area

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

I bought $500 US yesterday at CIBC ( have a US Account there) and it cost me $538 canadian. Besides the exchange rate I think the banks add 2.5% or something like that to what they charge you. I've read that ING provides a better rate for exhange, but you'd have to open an online bank account. I checked their website this morning and for the $500 I bought yesterday it would have cost me $528 canadian ($10 less). I'm thinking I might open an account with them and just transfer back to my CIBC account when I need the money.

I hope the dollar reaches par this week

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I've got a USD account with a local credit union. I find that it's easy to put money into the account, and always have money it, be it saving for the next DL trip, or keeping it on hand if a sudden trip to the USA comes up. I can take out the money any time that I want, and find it convenient to save for a future trip to the mouse.

 

[twokids0204]

Does anyone know if you can open a US$ savings account with ING?

I am looking to convert some $ as well just to sit until the US$ soars again. But I don't want to pay addiitonal service charges.

 

[Susie63]

What about traveller's cheques from CAA? I am a member and I guess that is one of the perks. Do they charge the extra % for converting?

 

[sammi]

We have always bought our TC's from CAA up until this past June when we were told they cannot sell TC's anymore only bank can.

 

[Gigi22]

We were just at CAA (in Ont.) and were told that Ontario CAA offices no longer offer this service. Our CAA TA told us that we could still purchase US traveller's cheques in a Quebec CAA office.

 

[elayjosh]

Does anyone know if you can open a US$ savings account with ING?

I am looking to convert some $ as well just to sit until the US$ soars again. But I don't want to pay addiitonal service charges.

Yes I have a US saving account with ING.
When I want to buy US dollars I just call and they transfer it from My Canadian account to my US account instantly.

 

[Calgary DISHeads]

Great post - I have various currencies due to international business travel ( which is no more due to economy) - ie: rupees, dirhams, singapore dollars and thought my best bet would be the orlando airport currency exchange. Is there somewhere convenient between departure gate and ME?

 

[Debbie]

Does anyone know if you can open a US$ savings account with ING?

I am looking to convert some $ as well just to sit until the US$ soars again. But I don't want to pay addiitonal service charges.

Yes I have a US saving account with ING.
When I want to buy US dollars I just call and they transfer it from My Canadian account to my US account instantly.

You have to have a US$ account at your bank, and then you can set up a US$ account to transfer back and forth to ING. The transfer rate from an ING CND$ account to the ING US$ account has been a wee bit better than the regular banks, too, I find. (so, I transfer from my basic ING to the ING US. When I need the money, I then transfer from the ING US to my BMO US.) That sounds confusing, but it really isn't.

 

[Tiggs14]

We have a US dollar bank account with Scotia and hubby works for them so we get a better exchange rate than the public does.

ING does have a better rate but it'll take a bit of legwork to be able to take advantage of it.

 

[Sue M]

I exchange at CIBC. To find what the exchange rate is I go to XE.com on line.

 

[robinb]

Why even exchange cash at all? Why not just use credit cards and take out money as you need it from the ATM? That's what we do when we travel internationally. We did it in England, France, Mexico, Japan and China. We even did it when we visited Ottawa this past weekend .

 

[Tiggs14]

We don't carry much cash either. We take cash for tips (luggage services, ME, airport shuttle in Buffalo etc.)

Other than that we don't use case. We went down with $100 US and came back with $40...that's how much we don't use cash! We're like that a home too though. Everything goes on the credit card. It's a great way to track spending as well.

Why even exchange cash at all? Why not just use credit cards and take out money as you need it from the ATM? That's what we do when we travel internationally. We did it in England, France, Mexico, Japan and China. We even did it when we visited Ottawa this past weekend .

 

[disneyfreak89]

Why even exchange cash at all? Why not just use credit cards and take out money as you need it from the ATM?

Hi Robin!

The bank fees are horrendous when withdrawing cash from an ATM outside of Canada. We haven't done it in years, but I recall the last time we did it, the bank attached to the ATM charged us a $2 fee, then our own bank charged us something like $4 fee, then the bank exchange rate w/ their added 2-4%, it was outrageous!

We used to use our Canadian MC when in the states, but realized they added on an additional 2-4% exchange fee, so we switched to a US MC. We try to convert money at home while the exchange rate is good, then keep it in our US bank account for use later.

We do however plan to use our Canadian MC IF our money goes to PAR by the time we go on vacation. We figure it will be to our advantage then instead of using the US MC and have to worry about the dollar dropping before we get home to exchange/pay it off.

We also like to bring 'some' travelers cheques so we're not carrying allot of cash around either.

 

[Salinger]

Yup, as Disneyfreak said, ATM fees for Canadians in the US are usually horrendous. As well, if you just use your credit card, you are at the mercy of the exchange rates at the time you are there. We all know how quickly it can change. A sudden spike, and you can easily have an additional 6%-7% or more added on to everything you buy just in exchange differences while you're still there.

I do what several other people on here do. I have an ING Direct USD account (which not only has the best exchange rates, but also the best interest rate for a USD savings account).

When rates are good, I transfer over some from my CAD account every so often, so you don't even really notice it. When I need the cash, I just transfer from ING into my CIBC USD account and can then withdraw from a CIBC ATM that dispenses USD. They're pretty easy to find.

 

[disneyfreak89]

When I need the cash, I just transfer from ING into my CIBC USD account and can then withdraw from a CIBC ATM that dispenses USD. They're pretty easy to find.

Really? CIBC dispenses USD? If that's the case, why can't Bank of Montreal do this for us then? Its such a pain to wait for the bank to open at 10am just to withdraw some US cash!

 

[Salinger]

Really? CIBC dispenses USD? If that's the case, why can't Bank of Montreal do this for us then? Its such a pain to wait for the bank to open at 10am just to withdraw some US cash!

Yes, it's very convenient. I can't even remember the last time I went to a teller for a transaction.

I don't want to mislead you, not all CIBC ATM's dispense USD, you just have to look for one with the US flag for withdrawals. (just be sure its for withdrawals as most all their ATM's allow deposit in USD). There are A LOT of them near me though, so it's really great.

Here's where you can find a CIBC ATM that dispenses USD:

http://cibc.via.infonow.net/locator/inter/?LOC=en_CA

Just click on "withdraw US$" under ABM.

The thing I like about the CIBC USD account is there are no monthly fees or minimum balances. It's just a $0.75 charge to make a withdrawal. I only withdraw 2-3 times a year when I go to the States, so it's very cost-effective for me.

 

[poffles]

Yes, it's very convenient. I can't even remember the last time I went to a teller for a transaction.

I don't want to mislead you, not all CIBC ATM's dispense USD, you just have to look for one with the US flag for withdrawals. (just be sure its for withdrawals as most all their ATM's allow deposit in USD). There are A LOT of them near me though, so it's really great.

Here's where you can find a CIBC ATM that dispenses USD:

http://cibc.via.infonow.net/locator/inter/?LOC=en_CA

Just click on "withdraw US$" under ABM.

The thing I like about the CIBC USD account is there are no monthly fees or minimum balances. It's just a $0.75 charge to make a withdrawal. I only withdraw 2-3 times a year when I go to the States, so it's very cost-effective for me.

How do you find the exchange rates at this bank compared to others? Do they charge more for online transfer to the US account versus going into the bank to do the transfer. At Scotia Bank they charge more for me to transfer online (.02 per dollar) versus going into the bank which baffles me and pisses me off at the same time. Makes it even more inconvenient.