get a no-fee US$ credit card (e.g. i use TD USD VISA)# ?. G8 j" U/ l- w: a; P2 n/ N
find someone who are willing to exchange with the XE rate : ]0 D7 z& Q5 `+ O7 jdeposit your USD either to your US$ credit card or any US denominated chequeing/saving account$ Y5 d' k7 U1 D& D
go to the US and have fun (with thousands of dollars of bills to pay of course)% m A: r$ i: Y$ I5 C" a
pay your money when you get home( x" w$ _% T' j) }" `
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the rule of thumb is: the less you get your service from the banks, the less you will have to pay# K w& K( {! S. N
$ s) }1 W5 V$ C6 ]If you can't find someone who's willing to trade with you - you can trade with your bank with some costs depending on how much you trade. The worst is to swipe your CAD credit card in the US. Both VISA/Mastercard and your bank will skim profits every time you swipe your card.