Save Money on CAD/USD Exchange Rates

A little known fact is that the banks that issue credit cards usually have an inflated foreign exchange rate. For many cards, like the Canadian Tire Options card, for example, that rate is 2.5% on top of the MasterCard exchange rate. So for us Canadians who do a lot of cross-border shopping, or shopping online in US dollars, that can add up.

Can you avoid it? Yes! There are a few cards I know of, available to Canadians, that do not have foreign exchange fees and no annual fee:

1. HomeTrust Preferred Visa
2. ScotiaBank Passport Visa
3. Any card from Brim Financial

Personally, we use the HomeTrust card.