Use Canadian money everywhere in Canada?

[sylteach]

Do we need to get our money exchanged here in the US, or should we just take Traveller's checks and ge the Canadian money somewhere in our first Canadian port? What are our options for places to get the money-banks only?

[PennyAgain]

Forget traveler's checks. They are hard to use in Canada as most merchants are suspicious of them. Too many fraud situations. You can change money at home, at the airport and also using ATM's in Canada.

 

Notify your bank that you will be using your ATM card outside the US or it might be shut off when you try to use it. Likewise with your credit cards.

[Sally Forth]

Forget traveler's checks. They are hard to use in Canada as most merchants are suspicious of them. Too many fraud situations. You can change money at home, at the airport and also using ATM's in Canada.

 

Notify your bank that you will be using your ATM card outside the US or it might be shut off when you try to use it. Likewise with your credit cards.

 

Also watch the ATMs. Look for ones with bank logos or attached to bank branches. They charge less and are less likely to cause problems with your card.

 

Viv

[sylteach]

Is it hard to get Canadian money here in the states? Just order it through our bank?

[Keith1010]

We do use an ATM machine to get some Canadian money. At the same time we have been able to use USA money for many items in Canada without a problem.

 

Keith

[6rugrats]

I am guessing that the closer it is to the border, the easier it is to use US$. I have never been able to use anything but CA$ in Nova Scotia.

 

Use the ATM, but be aware that for most banks, on top of the ATM fee they will charge, you will pay a foreign conversion charge. So, try and estimate how much money you will need, to limit the trips to the ATM and the extra $$ in fees.

 

Forget Traveler's Checks as advised.

[KroozFoolz]

We used US$ in Saint John and Halifax with absolutely no problem. I did try to have close to the exact amount (to the dollar) to minimize the Canadian change I received back. Returned with less than $1 in change. Lot easier than exchanging for CA$. Everyone was so nice!

[Maraprince]

I am guessing that the closer it is to the border, the easier it is to use US$. I have never been able to use anything but CA$ in Nova Scotia.

 

Use the ATM, but be aware that for most banks, on top of the ATM fee they will charge, you will pay a foreign conversion charge. So, try and estimate how much money you will need, to limit the trips to the ATM and the extra $$ in fees.

 

Forget Traveler's Checks as advised.

 

 

Forget the ATM's as well! Convert about $20 into Canadian money for use to pay for food and taxi fare. Everything else should be paid for with a charge card (Discover cards are NOT accepted in Canada) or use US dollars and try to get as possible to the cost to cut down on the amount of Canadian coins you will get as change.

 

If you plan to go back to Canada or know someone who is going, don't even bother to change any currency since whatever Canadian coins you get will be used again.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[yogi2929]

I seem to get most of my Canadian coins in my change here in Southern California.

 

We have discovered that the major tourist shops will take American and give a good exchange rate. In Victoria, Murchie's and Roger's Chocolates were giving exceptional rates.

[Captain Canuck]

1. what is the difference between a Canadian and a canoe.....a canoe might tip..

 

-agree forget the travellers cheques...hard to use most places

 

-you can use US $ in a lot of places..but you will mostly get hosed on the exchange rate....its about 7% right now. would not be surprised that most places would offer you par

 

-also agree about using credit cards as much as you can. you get a decent exchange rate and no worries about carrying a lot of cash

 

-an atm will cost you a few bucks over your bank charges...watch the charges though...atm on the ships charge a lot...machines in walmart and outside banks are better. as charge is per transaction I would get the max in one transacton...but then I plan to return to the US so always like having some US cash

 

-if you have any left over you can send it to me

[Putterdude]

You will have no problems using US$ in any port city in Canada, any city that gets a lot of tourists or a city close to the border. However as pointed out above, with the two dollars being so close to one another you likely will not get any exchange plus you will likely get your change in CDN$. What you have to decide is the loss of any exchange worth standing in line at your bank and paying transaction fees worth the effort.

[JAMS1]

We usually take $100 in Canadian cash from our bank, then use our credit card for everything else. The rate is much better than the debit card. The most reasonable place we have found to use our Debit card has been the grocery store.

 

We have had wonderful visits to Canada. its an interesting beautiful country

Canadians have been very friendly.

Have a great time!

[DanJ]

I am guessing that the closer it is to the border, the easier it is to use US$. I have never been able to use anything but CA$ in Nova Scotia.

 

.

 

I'm surprised to hear that, as any time I ever went into the marketplace at the cruise ship terminal in Halifax, the vendors had everything priced in US$.

[sylteach]

Thank you for the info!!! Much appreciated!

[Maraprince]

I'm surprised to hear that, as any time I ever went into the marketplace at the cruise ship terminal in Halifax, the vendors had everything priced in US$.

 

 

Halifax will take any combination of US and Canadian money to pay for your purchase. They are the most accommodating of the Canadian ports in that respect.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[6rugrats]

I'm surprised to hear that, as any time I ever went into the marketplace at the cruise ship terminal in Halifax, the vendors had everything priced in US$.

 

I have never been to the cruise ship terminal in Halifax, and imagine things there are priced in US$ because of the huge influx of tourists passing through. For just regular stores in Halifax, everything is priced in CA$.

 

We have a house on the South Shore, so I was talking about being there. While a tourist area because it's on the Lighthouse Route, never seen anything priced there in US$. Would a store accept them? Don't know, never tried. Always use CA$.

[sunraiser]

We just use ATM card. Looking for the machine that accepts the logos that indicated in the back of you ATM card. We withdrew three times from ATM machines, their rate is much better than in the states. Each time I withdrew the money, the machine charged about $5 service fee. Therefore I withdrew $500 (max. allow per day for my card), and still $5 service fee.

 

You will have to call your ATM Card to find out how much it charge to use the ATM card in foreign country. Instead of exchanging canadian fund in the states, I got better deal to get it from Canada ATM machine.

[RickT]

Why don't you get some Canadian $ from your local bank or foreign currency exchange. You won't waste any time trying to find a bank or ATM when you get to halifax, and you'll probably be assured a better exchange rate.

[GTJ]

Discover cards are NOT accepted in Canada.

 

There are a few places in Canada where Discover cards are accepted, especially around Niagara Falls, Ont. But it is true that you will likely not get very far in the country with only a Discover card.

[gooch47]

No problem for us. We usually have plenty of Canadian Dollars from the Caesar's Casino in Windsor, ON. :o

 

But I am surprised to hear that US$ are so widely accepted.

[6rugrats]

No problem for us. We usually have plenty of Canadian Dollars from the Caesar's Casino in Windsor, ON. :o

 

But I am surprised to hear that US$ are so widely accepted.

 

I am not sure they are in most of Canada, but it appears they are accepted in the high tourist traffic areas.