Current exchange rate?

[ski ww]

16 hours ago, rucrazy said:

$1.00 USD = 1.23 Canadian Dollar

https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=CAD

I think you got that backwards, the other day it was 0.81Canadian for a US $

[ski ww]

8 minutes ago, ski ww said:

I think you got that backwards, the other day it was 0.81Canadian for a US $

 What I meant to say was one Canadian dollar gets you 0.81 US

[iancal]

Currency can make a difference.  We delayed a trip to South Africa for one year a number of years ago.  

 

 By the time we went the SA rand had dropped in value by 15 percent.  We saved that and more on our safari and on our two week self driving trip.

 

I do not expect CAD to advance more that a few cents vis a vis USD.

Edited May 3, 2021 by iancal

[Darwould]

Today Holland America have advised my TA their exchange rate is US to Canadian exchange rate  1.3319.   

This answers the original question. 

XE.com mid rate today is 1.2296 My bank quote on credit card at:  Client Buys (Pays CDN): 1.2657   which is about 3 percent.... that agrees with a previous comment.  

I am just booking a cruise with their Canadian Value of $14,200... If I can pay HAL in USD I will save about $700.00.   I like my Canadian TA... but may be worth buying it in the US to save that...   Since the Cruise is two years from now... it's hard to say what the rate will be then when the bulk of the payment is due.  It won't be the same as now! 

Has any Canadian been able to have a Canadian TA charge them in USD?  HAL is not offering to do that with mine. 

[rodndonna]

6 hours ago, Darwould said:

 If I can pay HAL in USD I will save about $700.00.   I like my Canadian TA... but may be worth buying it in the US to save that... 

 

Can a Canadian TA not do your charges in US$ or Canadian$? I used an American TA for the last booking and was given the option of whether I wanted it in Can$ or US$.

 

Worth checking if you like your TA.

[iancal]

Keep in mind that $700 is not a saving or a higher fare until such time as you make final payment.  That is when the exchange rate will really count.  We typically buy inside the final payment window so this has not been an issue for us.

 

If you use the right US on line TA chances are you will also get a TA provided OBC as well.   

 

The last time we had a Canadian TA quote a cruise she was gave us the price in CAD and in USD.   The prices were both high by $500 so we went with our usual on line TA at the time.

Edited May 4, 2021 by iancal

[OVgirl]

When we've used a Canadian TA, we could have the cruise charged in CA$ or US$.

[ski ww]

We have an American TA and she gives us the price in Cdn $

[iancal]

Todays Visa exchange rate (it can change slightly during the day), with no bank surcharge is 1.227.  

 

This is the exchange rate that Visa will use for USD purchases on CAD Visa cards.

 

If you have card with no FX fees enter O for the bank fee.  Most Canadian bank cards have a fee of 2.5 to 3 percent.  They charge it both ways-debit and credit.

 

You can calculate the bottom line by inputting the numbers.   

 

As an example, a USD charge of 11,495  with NO bank credit card fee would translate to  approx.  $14,200 CAD today.   IF the card had a 3 percent fee, the charge show up on your card as  $14,626.   That difference of $426 is attributable to the bank service fee.  This is why we use a no FX fee credit card!

 

https://www.visa.com.pe/content/VISA/usa/englishlanguagemaster/en_US/home/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

Edited May 5, 2021 by iancal

[Darwould]

Thanks for all the good info.  HAL finally came through with a matching USD price through my Canadian TA.  Now to sort a couple of details, and we've got a deal.    Darwould

[iancal]

The other things Canadians should be aware of is depositing larger USD or other FX cheques.  

 

Never take the cheque, deposit it and accept the 'over the counter' bank exchange rate into a CAD account. 

 

 Call the bank, ask for a better exchange rate quote.  Our experience is that you will always get a better rate, contingent on you making the deposit within so many hours or by end of day.