A question for travel to Canada
Do I need to exchange my US dollars for Canadian currancy? Or is US currancy readily accepted up North?
Thanks. Looking forward to meeting our friends in Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Thanks. Looking forward to meeting our friends in Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
slide in sideways, BBQ sandwich in one hand, cold beer in the other,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "Woo Hoo what a
ride"!
Unknown
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
slide in sideways, BBQ sandwich in one hand, cold beer in the other,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "Woo Hoo what a
ride"!
Unknown
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Depending on what you intend to do, you might not need any Canadian money. You can use a credit card most places. You can probably buy public transit tickets with a credit card. If you are going to ride in a taxi, you will need Canadian money. I find it easiest to just get a few bucks Canadian out of one of their ATMs.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
for the least they could possibly do
Good luck and see you soon
Great advice, never thought about notifying the bank beforehand. Probably should do the same with my cc as well.
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
slide in sideways, BBQ sandwich in one hand, cold beer in the other,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "Woo Hoo what a
ride"!
Unknown
LOL
I know they are not playing East of Montreal but you gotta check out good ol Newfie first... then NS. Two awseome party provinces.
Cmon September...
Portland 11/02/00 Vancouver 09/02/05
Boise 11/03/00 Gorge 1 07/22/06
Seattle 1 11/05/00 Gorge 2 07/23/06
Seattle 2 11/06/00 Vancouver 09/25/09
2- to get cash, use your bank debit card at a bank atm machine
3- if you are using your credit card to pay for things- hotel, meals, etc- check to see which one had the best terms for foreign transactions. capital one is the best in my opinion. they do not charge a foreign transaction fee on purchases. most of the others charge like 3% extra every time you use your card.
if you are spending several days in canada, it might be worth it to get a rebate on the tax you pay for your hotel. we did this for the 2005 tour. check out this website for instructions:
http://www.visitorstocanada.com/visitortaxrefund.html
1. While a lot of places do take American currency, they screw you on it. 99% of the time the exchange rate they give you isn't the same as the actual exchange rate - i.e. you get less CDN for your USD. These rates are usually much worse than what the bank offers you.
2. At all banks in Canada - at least all i've been into lately - the exchange rate is $0.03/dollar above or below the actual exchange rate. i.e. if the exchange rate is 0.95 CDN = 1 USD, and the bank will give you 0.95 CDN = 1.03 USD when you buy, and 0.95 CDN = 0.97 USD when you sell back. So try not to have any left over.
3. IF you have a US credit card, foreign transaction fees are usually 3% of the final purchase price, depending on the card.
So, depending on your situation - it may be worthwhile to go with one or the other.
Also, as others have said, notify your credit card company! they will cancell your card at any and all opporunities because they're the ones on the hook for fraud! you don't want to get stuck on vacation without access to funds!
Agreed,... of course you should have canadian cash,..just when you're in the busy beer line at the concert, you whip out your american cash and they look at you sideways,..avoid that frustration.
great advice... I was about to post something similar
SAVE YOUR RECIEPTS-Canada charges GST and VAT (taxes) and if you reach a certain amount in the taxes, you can go to the Duty Free shop, turn in your receipts and get all the taxes refunded to you. Last time I was there the minimum was like $27, I had $25, but the lady told me the receipts were good for 18 months and I could come back, spend more, and turn them all in together.
Don't know if it's worth your effort, but I figure $25 is like dinner/lunch.
- Christopher McCandless
<font color="red"> So much music, so little time.... </font>
How long ago was that - I believe that was phased out around 2007. We used to take advantage of that all the time as we live closer to Montreal, Ottawa than any US major cities - the phasing out of GST refund put a damper on our Canadian shopping, together with the 3% foreign transaction fee on CCs. But yeah, we just go to Scotia bank or Canadian Trust ATM and withdraw Canadian funds once we get there, and I always have some lying around anyway. But whether they take U.S. funds or not, I think it is kind of more polite to use the currency for the country you are going to.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
coins are....i used to get a ton of canadian coins when i lived in Toledo. outside of border regions it's no where near as common.
US cash is the currency of the world.
I've spent plenty of US cash up there (mostly at food places), but it's been close to a decade since my last real canadian trip.
And watch out for folks pedaling Canadian Tire Money.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
Yep, best to do it now before it take's a dive in the day's to come.