Canada Post Cash Passport Prepaid Mastercard

[CanadianMerida]

Since COVID began, I've been using less and less cash and I think cash-less is the way of the future. I'm now wondering if there is a way of getting around taking out US cash when travelling to Florida. I don't want to use my Canadian credit card in the US because of exchange rates and possible fees, but I recently heard about the Canada Post Cash Passport Prepaid Mastercard. Has anyone used one of these in Florida before? Or does anyone have suggestions on going cash-less for my next Florida trip?

 

[efrant]

As far as I can see, you load that card with CAD and then change it to the currency that you want. However, when you convert that CAD to USD in your card's wallet, it's converted at an exchange rate which isn't disclosed, but I would bet us 2.5%-3.0% higher than the actual exchange rate. So, there is no real benefit to using that card vs. your Canadian card.

The best option to avoid fees is to use a Canadian card that doesn't charge you a foreign transaction fee (FTF). There are only a few cards in Canada that fit the bill, including: 1) any Brim MC; 2) HSBC World Elite MC; 3) Scotia Passport Visa Infinite; and 4) Scotia Gold Amex. All of those cards do NOT charge you a FTF, AND they also give you rewards on top of that.

There are also other cards that don't charge the FTF but also don't give you rewards (e.g., Home Trust Visa), and there are also a few cards that charge you the FTF but provide rewards to just offset it, or marginally higher (e.g., MBNA Amazon Visa, Rogers World Elite MC).

Using any of these cards will give you the best exchange rate you can get at any given time. If you want to speculate on currency movements, and buy USD "when the rate is good" and keep it in your USD account, then you could also consider a Canadian USD card, but those cards don't provide any rewards, and when you buy USD when you think "the rate is good", you are still paying a FTF to buy that USD. Unless of course you have USD income/assets, or have a very cost effective way to purchase USD, which some do.

 

[Debbie]

As far as I can see, you load that card with CAD and then change it to the currency that you want. However, when you convert that CAD to USD in your card's wallet, it's converted at an exchange rate which isn't disclosed, but I would bet us 2.5%-3.0% higher than the actual exchange rate. So, there is no real benefit to using that card vs. your Canadian card.

The best option to avoid fees is to use a Canadian card that doesn't charge you a foreign transaction fee (FTF). There are only a few cards in Canada that fit the bill, including: 1) any Brim MC; 2) HSBC World Elite MC; 3) Scotia Passport Visa Infinite; and 4) Scotia Gold Amex. All of those cards do NOT charge you a FTF, AND they also give you rewards on top of that.

There are also other cards that don't charge the FTF but also don't give you rewards (e.g., Home Trust Visa), and there are also a few cards that charge you the FTF but provide rewards to just offset it, or marginally higher (e.g., MBNA Amazon Visa, Rogers World Elite MC).

Using any of these cards will give you the best exchange rate you can get at any given time. If you want to speculate on currency movements, and buy USD "when the rate is good" and keep it in your USD account, then you could also consider a Canadian USD card, but those cards don't provide any rewards, and when you buy USD when you think "the rate is good", you are still paying a FTF to buy that USD. Unless of course you have USD income/assets, or have a very cost effective way to purchase USD, which some do.

Just a clarification. Home Trust Visa is a 1% cashback card. I use it especially for my cruise costs. I won't be getting much back this year.

 

[efrant]

Just a clarification. Home Trust Visa is a 1% cashback card. I use it especially for my cruise costs. I won't be getting much back this year.

The Home Trust Visa used to give 1% on non-CAD purchases, but no longer, at least as far as I know.

Here is the link: https://www.hometrust.ca/credit-cards/preferred-visa-card/

(Yes, they give 1% back on CAD purchases, but there are other cards that give more than that, and that isn't really what the OP was looking for).

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm not up on all the details of this sort of thing but here's my take on it. If you have been exchanging money at the bank for USD you have been paying a fee. So using your Canadian credit card you are still paying a fee. I think the difference would be very minimal, if at all.

I've also decided this past year that I will be changing my vacation cash habits. I used to transfer cash into my USD account on a weekly basis and then take the cash with me on vacay. I opened a basic savings account that all that money is now going into. I will use my credit card to pay for everything and then pay the bill from my new account when the time comes. My main card gives air miles so I will be perfectly happy to earn the extra miles. My only concern is the fact that not using cash will unleash my vacation splurges to a whole new level

 

[efrant]

I'm not up on all the details of this sort of thing but here's my take on it. If you have been exchanging money at the bank for USD you have been paying a fee. So using your Canadian credit card you are still paying a fee. I think the difference would be very minimal, if at all.

For most Canadian credit cards, you are correct: there isn't much difference between exchanging money at the bank, or using your credit card in the U.S. But the cards I mentioned in my post are different. Many people don't realize that they can save 2.5%-3.0%+ on all their non-CAD purchases just by using one of those cards, just by not having to pay the extra fees embedding in regular credit cards' exchange rates.

 

[tinkerone]

Buy your US weekly/monthly and you will get dollar cost averaging. It's a good bet on US dollars. You may pay $1.35 for your money today, $1.25 next month, $1.40 the month after. Overall your cost is $1.33 and your not guessing how much it will cost you at the time you need the funds. Get a US credit card, charge all your purchases and when you come home you have the US money banked to pay it off.
The problem with waiting is you may get a good rate but you may not as well. Dollar cost averaging is usually a very good bet.

 

[dancin Disney style]

For most Canadian credit cards, you are correct: there isn't much difference between exchanging money at the bank, or using your credit card in the U.S. But the cards I mentioned in my post are different. Many people don't realize that they can save 2.5%-3.0%+ on all their non-CAD purchases just by using one of those cards, just by not having to pay the extra fees embedding in regular credit cards' exchange rates.

For me 3% is just not worth the trouble. On $5000 that's only $150 and then even less if there is an annual fee on the card. I can easily save more than that in other ways.

 

[DavidL]

The fees involved with that Canada Post Prepaid Mastercard are pretty hefty. $15 to buy the card. $3 to reload. 1.5% for spending domestically... Inactivity fees if you don't use it for a month. No real savings to be had in my opinion.

 

[samsteele]

My only concern is the fact that not using cash will unleash my vacation splurges to a whole new level

This. When I had free dining, I took US cash to pay the tips and avoided using the magic band or my visa to just charge away. I budgeted for just what I needed plus a $200 emergency cash float only for emergency eg cash for taxi to get to airport if absolutely necessary.

WDW knows how easy it is to rack up purchases when guests don't have to physically open up the wallet and count out cash.

One product that helped curb spending was purchasing the disney gift card on the wristlet at Food & Wine. I loaded it with my oop trip limit and that was it. When it was gone, it was gone. That meant only 1 charge on my US visa for the whole trip and no pre-shuttle surprise reviewing my charge to room bill. That gift card can be a great budgeting tool providing you don't reload it

 

[dancin Disney style]

This. When I had free dining, I took US cash to pay the tips and avoided using the magic band or my visa to just charge away. I budgeted for just what I needed plus a $200 emergency cash float only for emergency eg cash for taxi to get to airport if absolutely necessary.

WDW knows how easy it is to rack up purchases when guests don't have to physically open up the wallet and count out cash.

One product that helped curb spending was purchasing the disney gift card on the wristlet at Food & Wine. I loaded it with my oop trip limit and that was it. When it was gone, it was gone. That meant only 1 charge on my US visa for the whole trip and no pre-shuttle surprise reviewing my charge to room bill. That gift card can be a great budgeting tool providing you don't reload it

I’ve been to WDW so many times now that I can tell you within $200 what my final expenditures are going to be. We don’t deviate from the usual too often. We have all our favourite must do’s. However, something seems to come over me when I’m down there and I book a few last minute dinners and tell my DD to buy whatever she wants. Fortunately for me DD doesn’t jump on the offer every time. Those splurges are built into my budget for the most part. So far I only really went overboard on DD’s 18th birthday. We FaceTimed her dad while in MK and he told me to take her to the jewelry shop and let her choose something nice. So that was a bit pricey.

 

[CanadianMerida]

Thanks for all your suggestions! As far as currency rates, I'm not really one to shop around for good exchange rates. When buying my US cash, I usually just go through my bank. I just want to avoid taking out physical cash and go for more of a touchless option. I'm also pretty good with budgeting. I don't overspend very much, and don't buy very expensive merch or dining while on vacation.

From the suggestions I've seen here, I'll probably either look into an American credit card through my bank or just go with my Canadian credit card. I have a Visa, but has anyone had issues with getting your Canadian credit card accepted at places in Florida? I'd hate to try and buy something and my card gets denied because it's Canadian.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks for all your suggestions! As far as currency rates, I'm not really one to shop around for good exchange rates. When buying my US cash, I usually just go through my bank. I just want to avoid taking out physical cash and go for more of a touchless option. I'm also pretty good with budgeting. I don't overspend very much, and don't buy very expensive merch or dining while on vacation.

From the suggestions I've seen here, I'll probably either look into an American credit card through my bank or just go with my Canadian credit card. I have a Visa, but has anyone had issues with getting your Canadian credit card accepted at places in Florida? I'd hate to try and buy something and my card gets denied because it's Canadian.

No issues using a Canadian card anywhere in the USA. On VERY rare occasions I’ve been asked for my ID which they just compare the names. I don’t think that’s happened to me in a couple of years though.

 

[DavidL]

We've had 99.8% success with our Canadian credit cards in the USA/Orlando. The only 3 places where we've run into issues is the gas pump at the 7-Eleven near the Disney Resorts, a Ponderosa Restaurant (a few years back), and at a Dairy Queen restaurant. Other than that, we use our Canadian card for everything.... We always have US cash on hand as backup plan in case the card doesn't work.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We've had 99.8% success with our Canadian credit cards in the USA/Orlando. The only 3 places where we've run into issues is the gas pump at the 7-Eleven near the Disney Resorts, a Ponderosa Restaurant (a few years back), and at a Dairy Queen restaurant. Other than that, we use our Canadian card for everything.... We always have US cash on hand as backup plan in case the card doesn't work.

Most US gas pumps require a zip code. All you have to do is use the 3 numbers of your postal code and add 2 zeros.

 

[DavidL]

Most US gas pumps require a zip code. All you have to do is use the 3 numbers of your postal code and add 2 zeros.

Yes, I've used the 3 numbers of postal code followed by 2 zeros at most pumps. It is just the pumps at 7-eleven that don't seem to work. (I've tried more than 1 7-eleven with the same result - it must be their system..) The trick works everywhere else perfectly