Since going permanently work from home, my driving has gone down quite a lot but I still go down to states to fill up maybe once or twice a month.
Canadian dollar and shopping in the 🇺🇸
- Thread starter EnergizerBro
- Start date
Of course, depending on where you live away from the border. Have you factored in the cost to drive down there, the exchange rate difference and whatever other costs added when you return?
I am sure very few do.
And, the fx rate your credit card company charges, always a few points above what a currency exchange house charges which is always a few points above the 'published' rate.
Yes factoring in all costs the saving comes down to only $15 per trip but I get two things out of it:
(1) Shopping for things you don't get in Canada and picking up parcels
(2) I like driving anyways so this gets me a free drive sort of as there are some savings made in gas. Better than me driving around lower mainland for no purpose haha. Obviously I am not including car wear and tear but I would do random long drives over lower mainland anyways on weekends so it doesn't matter.
You will never get the exchange rate that you see on Google thats for sure. Knightsbridge, VBCE, etc will give you the best possible rate but on a transaction worth $100 you aren't making that much of a difference.
The exchange rate charged by your credit card is determined by the network (Visa, Mastercard or Amex). These rates are usually better than what your bank will give you. And I use a Mastercard which most of the times has the best rates out of the three. And it is a no fx fee card so I don't pay 2.5% in foreign exchange fees either.
Now given i also have a wise account with their card and could use that for even better rates or use my US bank account with USD that I earned in it but just using a Canadian no fx card is easier for me as again the difference on a $100 transaction in conversion fees is not much. The major difference comes from the fact that gas is cheaper in US and less taxes on it. You can use GasBuddy in conjunction with usgas.ca to do the conversion for you and see if it makes sense in your case depending how far you live from the closest land border crossing.
Sorry Seeksteady, but prices going up is the very definition of inflation. There has been tremendous inflation in rental car prices. The fact that is due to reduced supply as a result of Covid doesn't really mater. It's inflation. The length of the term is also not particularly relevant. One can look at inflation over a variety of time horizons. Relevant to this thread, the point being that going to the US to shop is even less worthwhile if you are planning to rent a car.
It's not a spring break phenomenon.
Rental Car Pricing Statistics: 2023
Rental car prices have experienced a massive spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they’re generally still high.
By Sally French and Sam Kemmis
Updated Mar 8, 2023 12:57PM PST
Edited by Meg Lee
You don't understand the picture you're citing. The value of the dollar, or of any currency is only minimally tethered to the cited experiences in rental car prices.
IF instead you compared a random mid-week day in a random town for rental car prices 5 years ago, vs. today... OR a random weekend day in a random town 5 years ago vs. today... the $$$$$ difference would be minimal. Ergo, "inflation" is NOT significant in connection with the costs of auto rentals... even in these times when costs for nearly everything else are rising.
And it is wholly incorrect to say "there has been tremendous inflation in rental car prices", when there has been approximately NONE in "most markets on most days".
Just because your uncle Fred went to Hawaii (when everybody else went to Hawaii) and he just had to have a car (and for which he was caused to pay $235 per day) does not have any connection to the big picture of rental car prices... which have been minimally impacted by "inflation".
Let's keep the Trudeau bashing out of this. Politicians are all the same, give or take.
While [technically] gas prices in the US are cheaper than in Canada, it's not usually a bargain for cross border shoppers unless you live in a border town like Sumas in the Fraser Valley or Surrey/White Rock in Metro Vancouver.
This conversation would render its ugly head each time the Canadian dollar would take a dive. It's become worse now with greed and shrinkflation.
I still have a spreadsheet which I use to prove to friends and family in BC that it's not worthwhile to fuel-up in Blaine or Bellingham. Currently, they're losing up to $3.50 Canadian driving round trip to Bellingham to fuel-up taking into account distance to and from. The time (spent) isn't factored in. There are apps you can download which do the same thing, give or take.
The reality is prices in Washington State haven't kept up with the fluctuations and dropping of the price at the pump in Metro Vancouver. Long gone are the days where you can save by filling-up, buying some dairy, eggs, and picking up your parcel.
It's the same-old, same-old. Nothing has changed and it likely never will: shoppers will continue to boast/brag to others how much they "saved" buying this or that in the US. Sometimes they'll actually do math and have the right numbers, but their math is usually wrong. To put it in "Perb language", in their mind they believe their lovely lady is aroused and satisfied with great pleasure for 30 or 45 minutes in their company. On a rare occasion, maybe they're right. And just like on rare occasion, you might get lucky at the casino.
Yeah but the stop at Edaleen Dairy for their delicious Soft Icecream makes it so worth it, the Pilot on the east side of I-5 Main st Ferndale exit has the best prices $3.74 today, I have seen it at $3.65 not long ago.
If you are heading out to Bellingham (or if u are already around Ferndale exit then only need to go a little farther) then I have found the 76 at lumi Island to be the best prices always. The Arco near Bellingham airport also has decent prices. But yeah the pilot near Ferndale seems to have decent prices too
rental car prices over the three year covid period in Mexico went from $55/day (2019) to almost $105 for the same vehicle a month ago. gas has tripled in Mexico too.
