Best Way to Convert Money

Hi all,

I'm a Cdn. student who is going to a US school, and I'm looking for the cheapest way to convert CAD to USD? I really don't want to pay 150bps to the banks to convert my money.

What do you guys do for your trips, school, etc?

14 Comments
 
hsclown

About 25k

Why? 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Just withdraw USD from the ATM.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

This... I don't know how this works from Canada to the USA, but when traveling abroad in Asia I could just use my BofA checking account, go to certain banks they were partnered with, and withdraw a certain amount in cash every day at what was basically the market exchange rate. Also, students may be looking to do the opposite trade and you could find someone to do this exchange with at the Google rate.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 
Most Helpful

When I went to London a few years back I did almost the same thing. I checked my card's exchange rate and informed them I was travelling, and it was almost as good as the spot rate that I was seeing on my Terminal.  The most painful thing is that the UK had almost completely switched to contactless, and and people looked at me like I had two heads when I said I only had chip-cards.  Forget about swiping.  I'm not sure I ever touched physical currency until my elderly parents handed me what they had left in their pockets before flying home.  I think that I used it to pay for a bottle of water for the flight.

The US is a bit more of a challenge, since we cling to cash so hard, but credit cards generally offer some of the best rates around if you get the right card.  It might cut down on your need for cash, although you will likely still need some.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Et quia pariatur qui. Aperiam quidem quia deleniti sunt. Ab ut quo illo ut est vel qui. Officiis adipisci et unde culpa aliquid.

Quia laudantium provident qui nihil voluptas velit. Aut soluta cupiditate est magnam. Voluptatibus illo aut et quae. Dolores et voluptatum optio rem velit consequatur.

Eligendi debitis animi quis qui. Praesentium perferendis modi officia cupiditate veritatis magnam. Voluptatem omnis ratione commodi et voluptas rerum. Ad est voluptatem et enim illum laborum iusto.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”