Little Kopit
TheMaritimes.ca
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bee_46 wrote:l our credit card company to let them know we were traveling in Canada. Now I just hope Hurricane Earl misses us as we are sitting on PEI and he is expected to arrive tomorrow.
Here ya are: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/hurricane/track_e.html Canadian Hurricane Centre (part of Envirnoment Canada - our Federal Weather Agency) is saying it won't be a hurricane when it gets here. It's saying 60 knots, but I'd guess "Cloudy. Rain at times heavy beginning in the morning. Risk of thundershowers late in the morning. Amount 20 to 30 mm. Wind southeast 30 km/h gusting to 50 increasing to 70 gusting to 90 in the morning. High 22." as from Charlottetown forecast: http://weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/pe-5_metric_e.html
Back on topic: Bank of Canada Exchange Rate table As of Friday closing over $0.96 US$ or up from earlier in the week. If you exchange at a bank you will get less this weekend than you would have during the week. It's been fluctuating quite a bit all summer.
& I, I took the road less travelled by.
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Anml_341
Ontario
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When visiting another country, I think it is always polite to use the currency of that country when paying in cash and I would encourage you to convert your American money into Canadian and then if you have any remaining at the end of your trip, convert it back to American. Using a credit card, others have covered this topic very well.
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bsinmich
Holland, MI
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We have gone to Ontario all my life and just got back last month. In previous years I would change US cash for Canadian at the bank. This year all of the banks have added a transaction fee so you get back less then par. This year the thing that worked best for me was just going to the ATM at a Credit Union and making a withdrawal in Canadian funds. I got the exchange rate for that day and the service charge was only 1.5%, vs. a 3% charge on the credit card for a foreign transaction. Amex is not widely accepted and Discover is only at a few places.
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AKsilvereagle
North Pole, Alaska
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Since I do not own a credit card and refuse to pay for somebody elses retirement with nickel and dime fees that can occur.... In my 25 years visiting or travelling thru Canada I always have purchased products via Canadian cash or American cash if I run out of Canadian cash until I arrive at another bank, it was always the cheapest way to go in the past, but not always so nowadays - especially in the far north portion of Canada in the old days, many places would not touch an American credit card but that has changed now.
I do have a Visa debit card for any potential emergency however I have not ever used it within Canada to this day, as other posters have stated that different banks/institutions have their own policies and various fee rates.
Few banks in Canada will give you an honest deal close to the current exchange rate with a small fee, other banks won't be as generous although in the past 12 years within Dawson and Whitehorse I only dealt with CIBC or RBC for exchanging US currency.
Arrived on Canada Day Holiday Weekend in Dawson as the banks were closed for the four days, so I was glad I had $340 Canadian left over from last Sept 2009 to last me until I arrived in Whitehorse....Diamond Tooth Gerties only offered $.95c CAD to $1.00 USD as I said forget THAT, as my made my Dawson budget at $250 CAD and the remaining $90 CAD was to estimate purchasing fuel in Carmacks, which would for sure carry me enough to Whitehorse.. as I actually spent only $64 when I arrived there.
This year however the rules changed with Royal Bank of Canada in Whitehorse as I planned to exchange $2000 USD and they shined me on with their new policy of $1000 CAD maximum exchange if the customer is not a member with an account, so I exchanged the $958 USD ($1.0429) and recieved $1000 CAD with the $3.00 fee back in July.
Went down the street to CIBC in Whitehorse and they only would exchange $100 USD maximum, however they did give me the current rate of $1.09 and recieved $109 CAD, so that told me RBC didn't give me such a great exchange rate deal like they normally done in the past, so I got burned for an extra 3 percent by RCB of what they used to charge me which still isn't so bad compared to buying Canadian currency from an American bank where they will really burn you for 6 to 8 percent, or spending American currency at some establishments in Canada where they will match dollar for dollar or exchange with a small percentage return.....At least I had an extra 4 percent of purchasing power when I did spend currency so I felt I did not lose out as much, but still - the banks in Canada have now changed when dealing with foreign currency as people are wanting to avoid card fees too.
Two weeks later arriving back in Whitehorse, I was going to exchange another $1000 USD/CAD to have onhand, until RCB told me the official exchange rate is currently at .99c USD/$1.00 CAD as the teller even advised me to go to Walmart and buy a stick of bubble gum with a $100 USD bill 10 times as they would give you a better deal as they give back Canadian Dollars change at the current market rate with no fees involved, so I bought three of those great killer deal $20 phone cards to keep onhand, at three different transactions with a $100 USD bill LOL - so I am set temporary for the next Canada trip in the future.
I asked the teller at RBC if I were to open an account with them on how beneficial would it be to me, and she stated it would be WAYYYYYY beneficial to my advantage as the exchange rate would be higher with no $3.00 fee to get charged with, along with no minimum balance and no inactive bank fees to worry about either.
So I said great - I will go ahead and open an account, and I ended up not opening an account at this time because you have to make an appointment to see a bank rep in which the next open time slot was like two and a half weeks, so I said forget it as I will be back home and working by then, however I can call to make an appointment in the future as that is what I will definately do, and I plan to check out CIBC to open an account with them too as they have a branch at most major towns all along the far north of Canada.
If you want to spend Canadian cash upon visiting Canada, it is best to purchase and resell at a Canadian bank, compared to an American bank like one poster has said in another topic that it was like an American bank didn't really want to deal with Canadian dollars.
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Crackerssouth
Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 07/26/2010
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AKsilvereagle wrote:
I do have a Visa debit card for any potential emergency however I have not ever used it within Canada to this day, as other posters have stated that different banks/institutions have their own policies and various fee rates.
Few banks in Canada will give you an honest deal close to the current exchange rate with a small fee, other banks won't be as generous although in the past 12 years within Dawson and Whitehorse I only dealt with CIBC or RBC for exchanging US currency.
If you want to spend Canadian cash upon visiting Canada, it is best to purchase and resell at a Canadian bank, compared to an American bank like one poster has said in another topic that it was like an American bank didn't really want to deal with Canadian dollars.
That's very unfortunate, seeing as Canada has the most secure banking system in the civilized world. None of our banks have closed, declared bankruptcy, or asked for Government bail-outs, ever. Over 700 American banks have closed, that's scary. Go ahead, open an account (any branch), no fear of losing your money, plus you'll save on all those fees.
Experience is the result of too many mistakes
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Little Kopit
TheMaritimes.ca
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One of the traditional differences between US banks and Canadian banks is that Canadian banks cover wide regions are are often national. Thus, they can think frequently of international transactions.
Many US banks have been one town only outfits. & they don't think beyond that to giving a good international transaction.
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Grey Mountain
On the rez somewhere in Indian Country
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I usually carry several buckets full of shiny yellow rocks. Haven't found an establishment yet, in Canada or the US, that wouldn't take them.
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snowyowl.13
PEI
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We have both Canadian and American bank accounts and cards. We do it that way because we spend about 5 months per year in the US and we find that it makes things simpler. We transfer money to the US accounts when exchange rates are most advantageous. We use RBC in Canada and RBC Bank in the US. They have a call centre that does transfers for us. It's all very efficient and pain free.
US dollars will be accepted almost anywhere in Canada (with a somewhat arbitrary exchange rate) but don't bother trying to spend Canadian dollars in US businesses.
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RobertRyan
Australia
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Quote:One of the traditional differences between US banks and Canadian banks is that Canadian banks cover wide regions are are often national. Thus, they can think frequently of international transactions.
Similar to Australia, where our Banks were posting substantial profits during the GFC. Like Canada, they are national Banks that have International connections and business.
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Supreme Oppressor
Grande Prairie, Alberta
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Quick note about credit cards: many now have security tracking to detect fraud & theft. A call to the credit company telling them you are going on vacation may prevent the card from being declined due to suspicious activity (purchaces away from your usual area)
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