[aianus]

As somebody who travels a lot credit cards are much, much cheaper than cash. It's not even close. Banks / exchange shops have commissions (baked into the exchange rate) from 2.5% to 5%.

My credit card charges $5 flat fee to take out cash, gives spot forex rates, and gives me 1% cashback on purchases. So if I take out $500 cash and spend $500 directly on the card I pay zero fees versus the $25-$50 in fees I'd spend dealing with $1000 cash.

[roel_v]

What card is that, and with which bank, if any? I don't have any cards with a flat fee (both Mastercard and Visa).

[aianus]

Amazon.ca rewards Visa card from Chase: https://www.chase.com/online/canada/amazon-ca-home.htm

I was wrong, it's 1% per cash advance with a minimum of $5. I've never taken more than $500 in cash out at a time so that's how I remembered it. Also, the above calculations assume you overpay the card beforehand so you don't incur interest charges.