CC conversion

[Semi Retired]

Which is best for Canadian CC holders? Have cruiseline convert by its universal rate OR have your CC convert to its rate.

[GUT2407]

Which is best for Canadian CC holders? Have cruiseline convert by its universal rate OR have your CC convert to its rate.

Let your bank, credit card, do it.

[traveler279]

I find I get a better rate from my CC. Our Canadian bank has a touch less avarice than the cruise lines.

 

 

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[Semi Retired]

What I'm trying to figure out.

When you do online checkin and mark "pay by CC", your asked how you want your total to be converted....by the exchange rate RC uses, which then will be charged to your card in CDN... OR ....RC charging US to your CC and letting your card do the exchange rate. Conclusion: would bloomburg international have a better exchange than our current exchange between US and CDN?

 

 

I just answered my own question: googled Bloomburg international and US to CDN is 1.3318...then googled my bank CC and US to CDN is 1.3732. CONCLUSION: this tells me its best to use RC exchange process. With either way, I still get a 3% service charge to do the exchange.

[John Bull]

: googled Bloomburg international and US to CDN is 1.3318...then googled my bank CC and US to CDN is 1.3732. CONCLUSION: this tells me its best to use RC exchange process. With either way, I still get a 3% service charge to do the exchange.

You're reading Bloomberg as one USD gives you 1.3316 / 1.3732 CAD ?????

That means a US dollar is worth a lot less than a CAD

I don't think so :rolleyes:

You're reading Bloomberg the wrong way round.

An easy mistake to make ;)

 

On Bloomberg, one US dollar will buy you 1.3318 Canadian dollars.

So one of your CAD will cost you 75 US cents.

 

With your credit card one of your CAD will only cost you about 73 US cents (one divided by 1.3732).

So you need less CAD to settle your on-board account.

 

Same on every cruise ship I've sailed.

As others have posted, always leave your on-board account in ship's currency and allow your CC to convert.

(if you've already agreed to the ship converting I'm pretty certain you can cancel that)

 

Some credit cards don't have a foreign currency charge - get one of those and you save yourselves another 3%.

We have a couple of those cards, which we use for all foreign transactions. Sorry, can't tell you which Canadian cards are free of a foreign transaction charge but hopefully a Canadian will chip in.

 

JB :)

[lamchops]

 

Some credit cards don't have a foreign currency charge - get one of those and you save yourselves another 3%.

We have a couple of those cards, which we use for all foreign transactions. Sorry, can't tell you which Canadian cards are free of a foreign transaction charge but hopefully a Canadian will chip in.

 

JB :)

 

I have researched Cdn credit cards and the one I chose was the Amazon.ca card. There is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. They give you $20 for Amazon to sign up. 1% cash back and 2% on Amazon purchases.

 

The cash back gets credited every time you reach $2000 in purchases. (Cruise/airfare)

 

You get charged the process days exchange rate and nothing else. I have had it for a couple of years and use it for my travels and day trips for cross border shopping.

 

My regular credit card becomes my travel backup as you should have 2 when traveling. (Carried separately)

[LHT28]

let them bill you in USD

 

I have a TD USD VISA CARD & buy USD when the exchange rates are good stockpile USD in my USD ACCOUNT at TD

You can also just pay cash to the ship on the last night & avoid the CC charges

 

Find a Canadian CC without the hidden FTF

[Semi Retired]

I know what I mean....a US dollar will cost me an extra 33 cents compared to an extra 37 cents.

And, I don't need any more cards, as we have 9 already. Probably won't be able to get accepted for another.

Cash payment for settling account?...not us, as we don't have that much on hand after spending other places. So, CC it is for settling ship account.

[John Bull]

 

You can also just pay cash to the ship on the last night & avoid the CC charges

 

The problem with paying cash in a currency different to ship's currency (eg CAD on a USD ship) is that you may be fleeced on ship's exchange rate - that's certainly the case when using ship's exchange bureau to buy shore spending money.

The alternative of changing a home currency into ship's currency ahead of the cruise at a local bank or exchange bureau will almost certainly give better value, but not as good as using a CC - and you need to have a good idea how much you'll need to change.

 

Unless home currency is the same as ship's currency (eg an American on a US ship), paying in ship's currency by credit card is the way to go.:)

 

JB :)

[LHT28]

The problem with paying cash in a currency different to ship's currency (eg CAD on a USD ship) is that you may be fleeced on ship's exchange rate - that's certainly the case when using ship's exchange bureau to buy shore spending money.

JB :)

I should have been more clear

 

I take USD in cash for spending in the USA or Caribbean ports so if I need to pay the shipboard account I use the USD cash

 

since I have a USD CC I just use it .... no worries

[traveler279]

Cash payment for settling account?...not us, as we don't have that much on hand after spending other places. So, CC it is for settling ship account.

 

 

We prepaid grats, drink packages, and had OBC to burn off. Our final bill was $37. So for us, settling the final bill was doable.

 

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

In my experience, the bank will always beat the cruise line for conversion rates.

[FlyerTalker]

And, I don't need any more cards, as we have 9 already. Probably won't be able to get accepted for another.

And of the nine you don't have one that doesn't charge a foreign exchange fee?

[MicCanberra]

And of the nine you don't have one that doesn't charge a foreign exchange fee?

I have 3 Credit cards and two of them do not have the fees.

[martincath]

I have researched Cdn credit cards and the one I chose was the Amazon.ca card. There is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. They give you $20 for Amazon to sign up. 1% cash back and 2% on Amazon purchases.

 

The cash back gets credited every time you reach $2000 in purchases. (Cruise/airfare)

 

You get charged the process days exchange rate and nothing else. I have had it for a couple of years and use it for my travels and day trips for cross border shopping.

 

My regular credit card becomes my travel backup as you should have 2 when traveling. (Carried separately)

Bing! +1

 

Despite having a US bank, debit, and credit card we have found that our Amazon.ca card is used for dang near everything in US in the last 18months, once our stock of better-priced US $ was exhausted (like other posters, we transferred funds CAD-US when rates were better). It's also our main travel card and UK-relatives-prezzie-buying-online card - nobody else in Canada offers both zero FTF AND a cashback, for free!

 

Even if you never use it to shop on Amazon it's a damn useful card (we have a 2.75% cashback BMO card that we use for all Canadian purchases, with 2.5% FTF, which still gained us a teeny bit of net cashback for US purchases but the Amazon card has now replaced it for all non-CAD transactions).

 

Edit - to OPs question, agree with all of the above advice. NEVER accept a Point of Sale 'convenience' currency change. I always take note of the rate being offered, reject it, then check what the actual exchange rate of my CC is on the next statement - average uptick for the 'convenience' is 4% and if you have a credit card with a worse FTF than that, you need a new credit card!!!