Quote:
Originally Posted by Hanni
Thanks! I'll check out the Wise card. The Canada Post one looks like it still exists, I couldn't find any through the big banks though.
It is very difficult to find information on exchange rates for different cards.
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I would say that if a card's website / promo material doesn't go completely out of their way to brag about zero or low foreign exchange fees on their front page, there's close to a 100% chance it's the standard 3% that *nearly* every major bank, prepaid card, and credit card are taking from a person any time a purchase is made in foreign currency or they are withdrawing from the ATM in a foreign country. Sometimes it's 3.5%, sometimes it's 2.5%, but the average is 3%. They usually hide this info deep in the terms and conditions.
It's probably a lot easier just to focus on the cards that do offer zero (or close to zero) foreign exchange fees, because there are relatively few of them compared to the vast ocean of cards that charge the typical 3%.
In some cases you have to dig a little deeper to see how they're claiming 'no foreign exchange fees'.
For example with the Rogers cards you're getting cash back of 3% on foreign exchange purchases, which is equivalent to the typical foreign exchange fee.
Actual Credit Cards
Amazon Prime Rewards Mastercard
Rogers Platinum Mastercard - no annual fee
Rogers World Elite - no annual fee
Home Trust Preferred Visa - no annual fee
Scotiabank Gold American Express
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
Scotiabank Platinum American Express
Wealthsimple Visa Infinite - stay tuned, looks interesting, currently in testing
Prepaid Credit Cards
(Buy things just like you would with any credit card, but also useful for withdrawing from the ATM in foreign countries and avoiding fees).
Besides ATM withdrawal, I like to use these in other countries for things like restaurants, transit, small purchases, etc.
For things like a rental car and major purchases, you likely would still want to use a normal credit card (insurance, etc).
Wise Prepaid Visa
EQ Bank Prepaid Mastercard
Wealthsimple Prepaid Mastercard
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Article: "What is the best way to exchange money or pay for things in a different currency?"
https://yycdeals.com/what-is-the-bes...erent-currency
^^ This article needs a bit of updating (Brim is useless now, HSBC World Elite is discontinued) but the rest of the info should still be solid.
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