When did exchanging money become such a rip-off? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

When did exchanging money become such a rip-off?

RockerGuy said:
That's why I have an American credit card. Can't afford to get scammed.
Click to expand...

For a few years when I started driving commercially and spent a lot of time in the USA (more than I was in Canada) I had a US bank account with a US card. Not a credit card, just a regular USD account tied to my Canadian TD account. I could transfer money back and forth at a very competitive exchange rate and then take it out at a US ATM as needed. This was before the days of debit for the most part (especially in the USA, it was unheard of) so this was the best solution.

Times have changed. 5 years ago it was still hit and miss even trying to use debit for purchases so we carried cash more often, but I'd say debit is now an option at 95% of locations so we always opt for that. At the 5% remaining that debit won't work at, our debit cards also work as Visa's when necessary, so we run it through as Visa instead.

No matter what option, we still carry little to no cash.
 
I have a td US$ credit card. No fees as long as I keep a minimum of $3000 in my account. Comes in handy when making purchases online
 
RockerGuy said:
Comes in handy when making purchases online
Click to expand...

My TD Debit Visa solved that issue for me. Works like a Visa online (and anywhere in the USA, Canada is a special case) and money comes out of our chequing account instead of racking up debt on a traditional credit card. The only "actual" credit card I have anymore is an AmEx, and I rarely use it.
 
inreb said:
Still trying to figger out what the problem is. If a Canadian $ is worth .7 of a US $ and they want 1.45 Canadian $'s in exchange for 1 US $ then you would multiply .7 x 1.45 to see what you're paying in US $'s to buy US $'s. So .7x 1.45 = 1.015
Click to expand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse_function

I'm guessing that will get a "Huh what?", so.....

iphone-newcalc-2nd_zps6vieiopp.jpg
 
TO Bandit said:
I guess I'm just angry.
Anyway, I went on the Bank of Canada web site and they say that the cash rate is 4 per cent, so it costs 1.41 for a USD. If you're exchanging a ka-billion dollars, then the official rate is 1.36.
Click to expand...

You're still wrong.

The actual exchange is 1.41, but if you give US cash to your Canadian bank the exchange they'll give you for the conversion is 1.36.

The actual exchange is 1.41, but if you're buying US cash at your Canadian bank the exchange rate they'll charge you is 1.46
 
I distinctly remember crying out in GR.10 math class "When will we ever use this????" I couldn't have know the answer will come four decades later, could I?
 
TO Bandit said:
So my dollar is really only worth 55 cents. Our dollar was actually almost 71 cents when I went to do the exchange, so they are making 16 cents on every dollar.
Click to expand...

caboose56 said:
You're still wrong.
Click to expand...

You're right but I thought the crux of the matter was his original assumption by way of jumping to conclusions was that his personal dollar pile was assigned a 55% valuation to equivalent US greenback.
 
inreb said:
You're right but I thought the crux of the matter was his original assumption by way of jumping to conclusions was that his personal dollar pile was assigned a 55% valuation to equivalent US greenback.
Click to expand...


An assumption that was reached by using something that is not actual math.
 
inreb said:
I distinctly remember crying out in GR.10 math class "When will we ever use this????" I couldn't have know the answer will come four decades later, could I?
Click to expand...
...on a motorcycle forum, no less.

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
 
caboose56 said:
An assumption that was reached by using something that is not actual math.
Click to expand...

Agreed, not actual math or even intuitive math. From here it looked like roid math.
 
+1 for contintental currency. My ex worked there and i know the owners daughter too. Best exchange rates hands down

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
 
PrivatePilot said:
My TD Debit Visa solved that issue for me. Works like a Visa online (and anywhere in the USA, Canada is a special case) and money comes out of our chequing account instead of racking up debt on a traditional credit card. The only "actual" credit card I have anymore is an AmEx, and I rarely use it.
Click to expand...
Is that in US funds?

Is the transactions unlimited?
 
RockerGuy said:
Is that in US funds?

Is the transactions unlimited?
Click to expand...

Same as debit transactions I detailed in an earlier response, you get the interbank transfer rate plus a 250 basis point (2.5%) surcharge on each transaction. When I'd be paying that much (or likely more, this thread being case in point) for a currency conversion in the end anyways, and then left carrying around a risky wad of cash, it seems like a no brainer to me to just use plastic everywhere.

AFAIK it's unlimited transactions, at least on the service plan we're on. YMMV.
 
FWIW I had lunch at Wendy'd and their receipt shows $CDN and $US. Their conversion rate is 15%. I don't know if US stores take our funny money and if what they would charge.
 
nobbie48 said:
FWIW I had lunch at Wendy'd and their receipt shows $CDN and $US. Their conversion rate is 15%. I don't know if US stores take our funny money and if what they would charge.
Click to expand...

big malls near the border often post the exchange rate, I know Syracuse does at Destiny USA, and I can use my debit card in most stores.
 
Use your card and you pay in USD which then gets exchanged by the bank instead. Trying to use CDN$ on the US side typically becomes difficult or impossible once you're more than 20-30 minutes from any border crossing, and if you do manage to find a place that takes it they'll kick you in the balls on the exchange rate. The same goes for americans trying to spend USD here - acceptance is much better (ie, every Tim Hortons across the country accepts it and shows a currency exchange rate on their menu boards), but they too kick you on the exchange rate. Last I noticed I think Tims, for one example, was only offering 18%.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom