If you pay by VISA, you are going to pay 2.5 points above the rate. If you charge $1,000 USD at 1.02, you will be charged $1,045 CAD. In Vancouver use the Bullion Exchange. vbce.ca is their website. It's by far the best rate. I use NBC for my banking and the Bullion Exchange was about 4 points lower. What I've done is get a USD credit card at TD CanadaTrust and I buy USD when the rates are low, like now and keep it in my USD account. That way I always know my exchange rate/external value and I can buy large amounts during these times. When I go to the States, about once a month, I pay for everything with my VISA and bring only about $200 cash.
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