Loonie may go back to 1.28 speculation....

[HappilyEverAfter80]

YES! Paying off the Disney Trip today!!!! Waiting to the last minute and taking the risk has certainly paid off
If the dollar continues to climb next month... my husband will cry because we'll have to stop by the Orlando Premium Outlets

 

[Disneylover99]

I just stopped into the Continental Currency Exchange to buy a bit of American money today and I found out it is "Teacher Tuesday" every Tuesday til September 1st.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

What does Teacher Tuesday mean?

 

[ottawamom]

Purchased some more US$ today for $1.268Cdn / US$. Best I've seen in a few years.

 

[Disneylover99]

What does Teacher Tuesday mean?

https://www.continentalcurrency.ca/offers-and-promotions/teacher-tuesdays/

 

[kuhltiffany]

Hmmm, our PIF date for our cruise isn't until December, I wonder if I should start paying some off now?

 

[mab2012]

Hmmm, our PIF date for our cruise isn't until December, I wonder if I should start paying some off now?

I made a payment today on the August '18 cruise that I'm not even sure we'll take.

I figure I can't lose (well, unless CAD rises and we cancel). If the dollar drops from here, I'll be glad I took advantage. If it rises, I'll make another payment, and I'll be happy for more reasons than just the cruise. Win-win.

 

[FigmentSpark]

That is the question, though... when to take the plunge and pay large chunks down and when to wait.

Last year, I used a USD MasterCard, so I could buy the money at my leisure (still a gamble, though). This year, I'm using Fido MasterCard for the 4% back on foreign FX transactions. But, that means buying, say, today and waiting for the transaction to post in 2 (or more) days to see what rate I get. It's nerve-wracking.

So, $1000 bought today from BMO at 1.284 would have cost me $1284. But the transaction I posted last Thursday for $1000 cleared last night at 1.26046. I got my base (1.5%) points on that and another 2.5% bonus because it was an FX transaction. Then Fido added 2.5% FX mark up. So that $1000 cost me $1291.97, or about $7 more than if I'd bought from BMO today. BUT, I will get 5041.84 Fido points for the transaction or $50.42.

So, I'll live with the stress, I guess.

Yeah, I know no one asked, but I just did the analysis today and had to write it out so it would gel in my brain anyway.

 

[Sue M]

That is the question, though... when to take the plunge and pay large chunks down and when to wait.

Last year, I used a USD MasterCard, so I could buy the money at my leisure (still a gamble, though). This year, I'm using Fido MasterCard for the 4% back on foreign FX transactions. But, that means buying, say, today and waiting for the transaction to post in 2 (or more) days to see what rate I get. It's nerve-wracking.

So, $1000 bought today from BMO at 1.284 would have cost me $1284. But the transaction I posted last Thursday for $1000 cleared last night at 1.26046. I got my base (1.5%) points on that and another 2.5% bonus because it was an FX transaction. Then Fido added 2.5% FX mark up. So that $1000 cost me $1291.97, or about $7 more than if I'd bought from BMO today. BUT, I will get 5041.84 Fido points for the transaction or $50.42.

So, I'll live with the stress, I guess.

Yeah, I know no one asked, but I just did the analysis today and had to write it out so it would gel in my brain anyway.

I'm totally confused!! Why do you have to wait 2 days to find out what rate you get? When I buy USD from my bank I get the rate it is that day, at the moment I buy it.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I'm totally confused!! Why do you have to wait 2 days to find out what rate you get? When I buy USD from my bank I get the rate it is that day, at the moment I buy it.

When I buy on the credit card, at least the Fido MasterCard, they charge me on the posting day, not on the transaction day. So I phone Disney and put money on my vacation. Disney does an authorization and a hold is put for the funds on my card, but no actual money has changed hands (computer systems). That night, Disney (the merchant) will batch up all their credit card transactions and send them on to their bank for processing. Their bank then separates them and sends them to either Visa or MasterCard (or AmEx, etc). The next night, MasterCard sends those transactions on to my issuing bank, in this case, Rogers Bank. When it sees I have a USD transaction, it converts it using the FX rate set by MasterCard for that day, not the date of the transaction. Then the rebates and FX fees are calculated and it's ready for posting to my Fido MasterCard account.

So, 2 days. It's more over a weekend because they don't seem to have Sat or Sun processing. It would also be more if the merchant doesn't submit the transactions on a nightly basis.

Yes, if I buy directly from BMO (my bank), they tell me the rate right away, although only a few years ago, you had to wait a day to find out the exact rate used. They've updated their system.

 

[Sue M]

When I buy on the credit card, at least the Fido MasterCard, they charge me on the posting day, not on the transaction day. So I phone Disney and put money on my vacation. Disney does an authorization and a hold is put for the funds on my card, but no actual money has changed hands (computer systems). That night, Disney (the merchant) will batch up all their credit card transactions and send them on to their bank for processing. Their bank then separates them and sends them to either Visa or MasterCard (or AmEx, etc). The next night, MasterCard sends those transactions on to my issuing bank, in this case, Rogers Bank. When it sees I have a USD transaction, it converts it using the FX rate set by MasterCard for that day, not the date of the transaction. Then the rebates and FX fees are calculated and it's ready for posting to my Fido MasterCard account.

So, 2 days. It's more over a weekend because they don't seem to have Sat or Sun processing. It would also be more if the merchant doesn't submit the transactions on a nightly basis.

Yes, if I buy directly from BMO (my bank), they tell me the rate right away, although only a few years ago, you had to wait a day to find out the exact rate used. They've updated their system.

I have an Alaska Airlines MC that I use, never noticed that my exchange rate is not determined on the date of transaction! I should pay closer attention.
I heard Rogers credit card doesn't charge usd exchange fee, and briefly thought of applying. But I have too many Credit cards! And I get Alaska Airline points using that card, lol.

 

[FigmentSpark]

The Rogers and Fido cards do charge a 2.5% FX fee, but they give you 4% back. On CAD transactions you only get 1.5% back. This is from their website:



What seems to happen, in actuality, is they do a 1.5% cashback and then a bonus 2.5% cashback on foreign transactions. So if you look at your rewards, you see a 'base' and 'bonus'. And because the 2.5% FX fee is done after the actual FX exchange, I think the overall rate becomes higher. I don't know if other cards do it the same way or just add 2.5% to the exchange rate. Anyway, it was $7 difference between buying it today at BMO and the posting price last night. But then, I actually made the transaction last Thurs, so if I'd bought the USD from BMO then, my cost would have been higher, as the rate jumped on the weekend.

 

[Sue M]

The Rogers and Fido cards do charge a 2.5% FX fee, but they give you 4% back. On CAD transactions you only get 1.5% back. This is from their website:

View attachment 256127

What seems to happen, in actuality, is they do a 1.5% cashback and then a bonus 2.5% cashback on foreign transactions. So if you look at your rewards, you see a 'base' and 'bonus'. And because the 2.5% FX fee is done after the actual FX exchange, I think the overall rate becomes higher. I don't know if other cards do it the same way or just add 2.5% to the exchange rate. Anyway, it was $7 difference between buying it today at BMO and the posting price last night. But then, I actually made the transaction last Thurs, so if I'd bought the USD from BMO then, my cost would have been higher, as the rate jumped on the weekend.

Thank you for the explanation!

 

[mab2012]

That is the question, though... when to take the plunge and pay large chunks down and when to wait.

This is why the "small regular transfers" mantra is so often repeated. Of course this doesn't work for credit card payments if the full balance is due at the time of the transaction, but it does work very well for cruises booked in advance.

Last year, I used a USD MasterCard, so I could buy the money at my leisure (still a gamble, though). This year, I'm using Fido MasterCard for the 4% back on foreign FX transactions. But, that means buying, say, today and waiting for the transaction to post in 2 (or more) days to see what rate I get. It's nerve-wracking.

I use the Amazon card, but the same principle applies. And I almost always prefer the no-forex credit card over a cash transfer to my USD accounts, even though I don't precisely control the exchange rate. I can't predict what the exchange rate is going to do in the next two or three days, but I do know that it always gets me the best possible rate at the time the transaction posts. Sometimes I'll lose a bit, other times I'll gain, but I'll always save that 2.5% markup. And this is another reason to prefer small payments where possible. It's rare for the currency to move enough in two days to make a substantial difference on a small transaction. Bigger transactions are scarier.

And because the 2.5% FX fee is done after the actual FX exchange, I think the overall rate becomes higher.

It doesn't matter if they add the 2.5% to the rate, or process it after the conversion. Multiplication is commutative and associative... it doesn't matter which order you do it in or how it's grouped; the result is the same. Given the example above: ($100 * 1.2823) * 1.025 = (1.2823 * 1.025) * $100 = $131.43. It does make a difference whether they process the 4% rebate before or after applying the 2.5% forex charge though, which is what they're really trying to show in that picture. Essentially, the 2.5% forex credit exactly cancels the 2.5% forex charge, and the remaining 1.5% is processed on the converted amount before the forex charge is applied. In other words, your net cost (gain) is exactly the same as it would be if they just didn't charge the forex fee at all (except that you're out that extra bit of cash initially, and if you carry a balance, you can bet they'll be charging interest on that 2.5% forex fee).

In other news, the US Federal Reserve just held on interest rates. CAD is now at 0.8042 (1.2421) and rising. Loving this in advance of my New York trip next week!

 

[TommyJK]

It doesn't matter if they add the 2.5% to the rate, or process it after the conversion. Multiplication is commutative and associative... it doesn't matter which order you do it in or how it's grouped; the result is the same. Given the example above: ($100 * 1.2823) * 1.025 = (1.2823 * 1.025) * $100 = $131.43. It does make a difference whether they process the 4% rebate before or after applying the 2.5% forex charge though, which is what they're really trying to show in that picture. Essentially, the 2.5% forex credit exactly cancels the 2.5% forex charge, and the remaining 1.5% is processed on the converted amount before the forex charge is applied. In other words, your net cost (gain) is exactly the same as it would be if they just didn't charge the forex fee at all (except that you're out that extra bit of cash initially, and if you carry a balance, you can bet they'll be charging interest on that 2.5% forex fee).

I LOVE math (self professed math nerd here).

 

[pigletto]

I bought $440 today for $565.22. So much better than what we paid in May!!! I have another $1000 or so to buy before we leave and $400 US to pay off on our Universal reservation and then we will be done .

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Purchased some more US$ today for $1.268Cdn / US$. Best I've seen in a few years.

Hey where do you buy from? I used to do accurate on Carling but thry closed....

 

[TFC_UNTIL_I_DIE]

Let's keep the CAD rally going - 1.19 would be nice (84 cents) - just my speculation. CAD tends to rally almost as a derivative - oil is the underlying

 

[FigmentSpark]

Looks like it dropped (rose?) a bit just now... back down to 79 cents (1.25). I hope it's just a Friday thing and not a trend.

 

[youngdeb12]

Nope! Closed the day at 0.8041 (1.2432)