Crossing the border and money exchange

D

Don and Brenda

New member
I will be headed to Sidney, Canada in a few weeks to spend a couple of days. Will be leaving the boat at home. How does everyone handle day to day small purchases. I will use credit card for meals and such, but the small things of a few $ and such. Use US $ or exchange to Canadian money.
 
If the purchases are few and small it is easy to use US and take a bit of a hit. If we need more C$ we use our debit card at a Canadian bank and 'charge' what we need. The exchange has always been good on our travels anywhere and there is no extra exchange cost with our debit card.
 
If memory serves, the fee for ATMs is a bit stiff when converting using your debit card. I would either go into the bank, or exchange here before going north. Have a good trip! Wish I were up there.

Steve
 
Some credit cards have an additional charge for converting currency. This is when you use your credit card to pay. You won't see it until you get the statement - then you have to look for it. You may need to call your card company to find out if yours does this.

I try to find a bank that will exchange some cash.

Steve
 
We use a credit card when travelling outside of Canada for major purchases, but hit the bank earlier to pick up a supply of the appropriate currency. Credit cards work really well, but it's also dang nice and convenient to have the local currency in hand, and a bit simpler for the folks where you're shopping.

Doug & Fran
 
When I went to use the ATM today at the credit union here in Madeira Park (Pender Harbour) I was pleasantly surprised that there was no transaction fee!

Warren
 
We generally buy Canadian currency $100 at a time at our local bank and put it in a ziploc bag in the boat. When we cross the border our U.S. currency goes in the bag and the Canadian comes out. When it has been spent we refill it. If you spend U.S. currency in Canada you normally get Canadian in return so you will accumulate a stash. When we make purchases in smaller towns and stores they don't always have the current exchange rate. Sometimes it is just even up sometime they will be very generous. For large purchases we use a credit card and have never had the slightest difficulty.
 
One note about using a credit card in Canada: we found in BC, no one would accept Discover Card (it frequently has a good "cash-back" offer when buying fuel). Like others, we exchanged a couple hundred dollars at a back in the US before heading over... made sure we had plenty of Loonies and Toonies (twonies?) for the showers in Canadian marinas.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Its been our experience that Canadian merchants in Eastern Canada are always willing to accept US currency, but American merchants refuse to take Canadian $ (except Starbucks). Seems the Canadians value tourist dollars more than Americans.
 
Don,
If you set a savings account with HSBC an internet bank. They have decent rates by comparison. They will furnish you with an ATM card that works almost anywhere in the world. They have an added feature as the ATM card carries no fees for withdrawals. Sometimes you will see charges but they are always credited. ATM's will spit out the currency of the country you are in. Easy internet transfers from your regular bank. HSBC is worldwide never had a problem with them.
D.D.
 
Thanks guys and gals

I knew I could count on this group of brats for some great feedback. This will only be a short trip, however the idea is to start getting across the border to explore more, next trip will be with the boat.
 
I lived in the U.S. for a few years and, in that time, I opened an account with Bank of America. It was just by happenstance that I discovered on the internet one day that B of A and Scotiabank in Canada have some kind of partnership arrangement.

One of the benefits of B of A and Scotiabank being in cahoots is that you can use your B of A ATM card at any Scotiabank ATM in Canada without paying a service charge to either bank. Similarly, you can use a Scotiabank card at any B of A ATM without getting charged.

I still have my B of A account and I have used the ATM card at other bank ATMs in some fairly obscure places around the world. It works, but B of A charges $3 or so for the privilege, and usually a local service fee also attaches.

There are probably other banks that are in bed together under similar arrangements and, perhaps the whole world - excluding me - is aware of the details. In fact, it may be that what I am reciting here is so open and notorious that other C-Brats will be shaking their heads and wondering why I bothered with this post. To me it came as a revelation that I could use my B of A card in Canada w/o charge.

If you use the card to withdraw in Canada, as Dave said, the ATM will spit out the local currency. You can withdraw any amount you like, in increments of $20. If you tell the machine you want $100, you will receive $100 Canadian. When you go online and look at your account balance, you will see that your U.S. bank withdrew from your account the U.S. equivalent. So, if a Canadian dollar costs 90 cents U.S., you'll see that $90 got taken from your account. My experience has been that when you use a B of A card at Scotiabank, the exchange rate is fairly decent, sufficiently so that it's not worth shopping around for a better rate.
 
We used our credit card most of the time. If we purchased items for cash, we used US dollars. Sometimes we got an exchange, more often we didn't. We used the quarters and loonies we got in change for laundry and the showers. We still have a few dollars of quarters and looneys in a bag we take with us each time we revisit Canada.
 
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