Credit Card Tip While in Canada

[cruisebie]

Glad you found it helpful. The Canada/New England itinerary is wonderful. If you do excursions through HAL check out Fun with Falcons it was one of the better ones we have done.

 

 

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I probably will be doing some HAL excursions since I'm so last minute with this booking. Fun with Falcons sounds interesting. Which port is that offered in?

 

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[Crazy For Cats]

I probably will be doing some HAL excursions since I'm so last minute with this booking. Fun with Falcons sounds interesting. Which port is that offered in?

 

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It was in Charlottetown. We all got to hold a falcon and later feed a hawk. Bring your camera if you do this to take pictures and video.

 

 

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[cruisebie]

It was in Charlottetown. We all got to hold a falcon and later feed a hawk. Bring your camera if you do this to take pictures and video.

 

 

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That sounds awesome! I will definitely look for that one. Thanks for the tip!

 

 

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[Sopwith]

I’d love to know which currency exchange outlet you are using that offers you a rate 4-5% better than the official Visa or MasterCard rates.

I just checked the rates quoted today. To buy US$ the currency exchange I use is 2.8% better than my bank’s rate. When you add on the 2.5% hidden commission Visa skims, the difference is over 5%.

 

Yes, some cards are touted as “no fee”, but you really need to read the fine print.

 

Another point to note if you’re using a stand-alone currency exchange: they make their money in two ways: (1) the spread between their buying rate and selling rate, and (2) some (most) will charge a flat transaction fee, typically $3-5. You need to factor this in. The one I use doesn’t charge the transaction fee.

 

And never, ever use a currency exchange at an airport unless you’re prepared to get hosed both ways.

[Cruise Junky]

I just checked the rates quoted today. To buy US$ the currency exchange I use is 2.8% better than my bank’s rate. When you add on the 2.5% hidden commission Visa skims, the difference is over 5%.

 

Yes, some cards are touted as “no fee”, but you really need to read the fine print.

 

Another point to note if you’re using a stand-alone currency exchange: they make their money in two ways: (1) the spread between their buying rate and selling rate, and (2) some (most) will charge a flat transaction fee, typically $3-5. You need to factor this in. The one I use doesn’t charge the transaction fee.

 

And never, ever use a currency exchange at an airport unless you’re prepared to get hosed both ways.

 

Just an FYI, your credit card doesn’t use the sucky bank rate, it’s usually xe rate plus 2.5%

[iancal]

We buy our currency from an FX store in Calgary. A few trips ago who should I meet n the line? An employee of the bank that we deal with. She told me that bank employees get a discount at this FX store, and that the rate is much better than the employee rate at the bank where she works. Plus, she said they get a better choice of note denominations.

 

The auto club also sells currency but the last time I checked they used the Royal Bank fx rates. No cheese there.

 

We use a credit card that does not charge an the extra 2.5 percent hidden adder than most bank cards charge. Our foreign charges typically come across at within the third decimal of the ex.com rate. It will never be exact becasuse of when the transaction actually gets posted.

[caribill]

 

Yes, some cards are touted as “no fee”, but you really need to read the fine print.

 

I assume the Capitalone cards available to USA residents are not available to Canadians.

 

These cards have no foreign exchange fee and use the actual big bank exchange rate with no markup. So what you see that day as the official exchange rate is what is used when the charge clears.

 

So with a Capitalone credit card I can charge in local currency and know I will be getting the best exchange rate possible.

 

And with a Capitalone debit card I can get local currency at an ATM at the best rate possible. Only fee involved is what the ATM owner charges to use the ATM.

[Cruise Junky]

I assume the Capitalone cards available to USA residents are not available to Canadians.

 

These cards have no foreign exchange fee and use the actual big bank exchange rate with no markup. So what you see that day as the official exchange rate is what is used when the charge clears.

 

So with a Capitalone credit card I can charge in local currency and know I will be getting the best exchange rate possible.

 

And with a Capitalone debit card I can get local currency at an ATM at the best rate possible. Only fee involved is what the ATM owner charges to use the ATM.

 

It used to be but not anymore. But in Canada if you’re getting the big bank rate, you’re getting ripped off. You should be getting the XE rate with no fees. Otherwise you’re no better off than paying the 2.5% on most cards.

[iancal]

In Canada, since the withdrawal of the Chase Bank Canada cards, we are now using the Home Trust Visa card. It does not add the 2.5 percent surcharge to foreign transactions.

 

We also have the two Capital One cards-Aspire travel and Costco. Both of these cards DO charge the 2.5 percent so we never use them for foreign transactions.

 

Canadian banks are notorious for high fees and for hidden fees. You really do have to look hard to find the right card.

[bennybear]

We are missing our Chase Marriott card without the 2.5% extra fee. We have replaced it with a home trust and a Scotia Bank that has no forex fees and offers some travel insurance and six lounge passes. Thankfully there are options.

[Cruise Junky]

We are missing our Chase Marriott card without the 2.5% extra fee. We have replaced it with a home trust and a Scotia Bank that has no forex fees and offers some travel insurance and six lounge passes. Thankfully there are options.

 

Hi - which scotia card has no forex fees? I bank with Scotia. Currently using their Gold Travel AMEX card. - Never mind - google is my friend, found it :)

[Sopwith]

Just an FYI, your credit card doesn’t use the sucky bank rate, it’s usually xe rate plus 2.5%

I just checked the last US$ transaction charged on my Visa card, July 24: the rate charged was 1.3499. The EX rate that day was 1.3172, so the difference was 3.27%, so yes, a bit better than 5%.

[bennybear]

Hi - which scotia card has no forex fees? I bank with Scotia. Currently using their Gold Travel AMEX card. - Never mind - google is my friend, found it :)

 

Good, you found it, for others Passport infinite visa.

PS. Enjoy Crete one of our favourites

[Cruise Junky]

Good, you found it, for others Passport infinite visa.

PS. Enjoy Crete one of our favourites

 

Thanks, one of our favourites too. Two More Weeks :)

[daisy-mae]

I also moved to Home Trust Visa after Chase packed up and left, and have been satisfied with the service so far (save for the fact that there is a very short turnaround time between the receipt of the statement and the payment due date - but Canada Post may bear part of the blame, and I know that I can check my balance online)

 

Once upon a time I had a TD US dollar card with a $25.00 annual fee that was waived if I charged a minimum of $2000 per year. One year I fell slightly below the threshold (we're not big spenders and do carry cash for some purchases) and was dinged the service fee. I cancelled the card when the annual fee rose substantially, since the amount was almost equivalent to what I would be saving on the currency exchange mark-up.

[Fouremco]

I cancelled the card when the annual fee rose substantially, since the amount was almost equivalent to what I would be saving on the currency exchange mark-up.

Good point. The previously mention Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card has an annual fee of $139, versus $0 for the Home Trust Preferred Visa and the Rogers World Elite MasterCard.

[iancal]

I did a 61.50 USD charge today that came accross on Home as an 81.18 CAD charge. No details as it is pending.

 

This means that is came across at 1.5 percent higher than today ex.com rate.

[Fouremco]

I did a 61.50 USD charge today that came accross on Home as an 81.18 CAD charge. No details as it is pending.

 

This means that is came across at 1.5 percent higher than today ex.com rate.

So, with the 1% cash back with that card, a net difference of 0.5%.

[iancal]

Yes. That is correct. We did not renew our auto club membership since the Home Card comes with some auto club coverage.

[bennybear]

Good point. The previously mention Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card has an annual fee of $139, versus $0 for the Home Trust Preferred Visa and the Rogers World Elite MasterCard.

 

True, but there is pretty good medical and cancellation insurance as well as six lounge passes. So as always have to see what works best for each individual situation and try to compare apples :)

[Cruise Junky]

Good point. The previously mention Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card has an annual fee of $139, versus $0 for the Home Trust Preferred Visa and the Rogers World Elite MasterCard.

Like those lounge passes. I get 4x on gas, groceries, entertainment on my Scotia Amex. With an annual fee of $99. The insurance is the same. May look at switching to the Infinite card. Will have to do the math.

[Sopwith]

If you’re relying on credit card insurance make sure you read the fine print. Some of the ones I’ve looked at have fairly low limits. You need to be aware of the exclusions as well.

[Fouremco]

True, but there is pretty good medical and cancellation insurance as well as six lounge passes. So as always have to see what works best for each individual situation and try to compare apples :)

I couldn’t agree more. J.D. Power released a report on satisfaction with Canadian credit cards earlier this week, and surprisingly, at least for me, the PC Financial card came out on top.

[daisy-mae]

"and surprisingly, at least for me, the PC Financial card came out on top"

A journalist analyzing the results speculated the high satisfaction rate can be attributed to the Optimum Loyalty plan which allows card holders to redeem their points quickly and easily and for items that they actually need (rather than having to wait a longer period to buy airfare, for example, or use mail order for redemption as is the case with Air Miles)

[iancal]

There is a big difference between a card being the most popular or having the highest amount of customer sat vs. a card being the most financially advantageous.