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Good day,
I trust you are surviving March break:shock:. I was wondering if any knew the best place to go to convert CND to USD. I really don’t like going to the banks because of the fees and such. Has anyone used another facility? I saw that Western Union does them but I don’t anyone that has ever tried them.
Its been a long while since I’ve been in the states and I don’t know if I will far any better down there.
Thanks
The last time I used a money exchange, it was in St Stephen, NB. Not sure if it's even around anymore.
My only suggestion is that if you use a bank, go to one where you do business regularly. Not being a client of CIBC, they charged me more for an exchange than my own bank.
OP, someone on here mentioned that they had an US ING account, now TangeriNG.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZumbaQueen
When the Canadian dollar better than the US dollar, they buy more cheaper US dollars.
When they are ready to travel, they convert their US dollars, to Canadian and use the increased Canadian dollars to purchase US currency or use their Canadian debit card in the US.
Sometimes just using your Credit Card or Debit Card to withdraw cash at US ATM gets you the best rate.
Have a Positive Balance on your Credit Card before you do that - so you don't pay Interest on the cash advance right from day one - there is NO 21 day grace period on Cash advances - Interest starts from Day 1, unlike other purchases with you Credit card where you get a grace period to pay off the bill before interest starts.
Lot of Credit Cards & Debit cards they only charge 1.5 % to 2.5 % - Foreign exchange Markup when you use them to purchase at retial or to withdraw at US ATM.
Sometimes there is a $ 3 to $ 5 fee in addition to the 1.5 % to 2.5 % - Foreign Exchange Markup. So withdraw large amounts every time you go to the US ATM to avoid paying this ATM fee each time.
But sometimes this $ 3 to $ 5 ATM fee is waived off, if your bank debit card and Credit card is part of the same Exchange network as the ATM machine from which you are withdrawing. But you will still pay the 1.5 % to 2.5 % FOREX markup.
Don't go out of the way to get a better exchange rate - in most cases its going to be a 1-2 cent difference in your bank exchange rate and some shady Money exchange place. You will spend more in time & gas.
So even if you are exchanging $ 1,000 CAD you will only save 10 bucks or so. Not worth it, unless you are exchanging huge amounts.
Plus you have to worry about counterfeit notes, at least your bank the notes will be legit.:biggrin: . We are used to Canadian currency, we can easily spot a fake Canadian bill , its a lot harder with USD if you don't use them daily - they all look the same to me ..ha ha.
Use credit cards in US wherever possible, and the rest by cash.
For FOREX transactions - Rogers & Fido Mastercard are the best !
https://rogersbank.com/en/notification
Both of them give 3 % cash back if you use them abroad for foreign transactions at retail stores etc. So if you travel to US frequently, not a bad card to have. Plus NO annual fee.
Several major malls have Continental Currency storefronts. Not a location in Vaughan but maybe near a mall where you visit elsewhere? https://www.continentalcurrency.ca/branches/
Getting the best rate only really matters if it's a lot of money, so especially if you're a snowbird exchanging between seasons. I've heard good things about knightsbridgefx.com but haven't used them myself. I prefer to just stick with my Rogers credit card for what really ends up being no exchange fees.
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