I will be visiting British Columbia next month and am looking for advice on how to best handle currency exchange-especially the initial exchange when I start my travel.
What is the best way to convert US to Canadian ? As I understand it, once I am there using my debit card in a local ATM is the best way to obtain cash. Is that still correct? Almost all my trip is paid for, so I am just looking for ways to obtain small amounts ($100 or so) of cash. I know I will need more than that for the entire trip, but don’t want to carry more than that at any one time.
Check what the fees actually are on international usage is for the debit card. It’s a bank by bank consideration on whether the general rule of thumb applies in your case. In some cases, it may not a great option due to high fees.
Whenever I go to the States, I just use the cash machines. I’ve never felt ripped off by charges, but it may depend on your own bank fees. We even have some banks that you can take out money in US $, so I assume they’re competitive with other money-changing systems.
Credit card acceptance is near universal, with contactless (credit card or Apple/Android pay) a near second. Other than our local hipster ice cream place or money for my kids school cafeteria, I rarely carry cash anymore.
Just curious if you will be doing any driving? They have some pretty tough penalty’s that you should be aware of. I had a guy on my crew coming back from vacation in B.C. and he got caught doing over 40 km in a construction zone. Vehicle impounded for a week plus a pretty hefty fine.
Yep. In my province, fines triple if you’re speeding in a construction zone.
We had a case a few years ago where a young woman, first day on her job on the road crew, holding the “slow/stop” sign, got creamed by a driver going 100 km. Hadn’t bothered to slow down at all. She was killed. He was convicted of dangerous driving causing death.
When in a construction area, or passing a Mountie who’s pulled over someone, please slow down.
My experience is that places somewhat close to the border will take USD, though usually straight up - so if something costs $5CAD & you want to pay in USD it’ll cost you $5 instead of the $3.77 that is current conversion rate. A big percentage penalty but for small purchases it’s not much money.
Yes, that is what I remember as a kid from family vacations along the North Shore of Lake Superior (Duluth to Thunder Bay area). Either US or Canadian dollars were accepted by businesses on either side of the border. But there was usually an exchange rate adjustment – the total you paid was a bit different than the price marked.
The odd thing was how that rate changed. When you were in Canada and paying in US dollars, the exchange rate meant the price was a little bit higher. And when you got back to the US and were paying with Canadian dollars, the exchange rate was different and so the price was again a bit higher.
Funny how quickly the exchange rate could change, too. When you were in Thunder Bay Ontario the Canadian dollar was higher, but 2 hours later in Grand Marais, MN the US dollar was higher. And that in the evening, when all the currency exchanges were closed! Seems like a minor tourist trap ‘fee’ collected by these businesses. (It’s worth it to see that scenery.)
Yes, for small amounts use your debit card in a local ATM. Whatever they charge, it will be far less than the airport cash money changers. If you needed to change many thousands, there are specialists who will do it competitively, but for a few hundred in spending money just use an ATM.
If you want to figure out what you’re actually being charged when you change money, ignore any deceptive notion of “commission” or “commission-free”. Obviously someone can rip you off with a rate that’s 7% away from the interbank rate, and pretend you’re getting a good deal by not charging you a “commission” as well. Just look at the net exchange rate that you realize, which should be measured against the wholesale interbank rate that fluctuates 24 hours a day - that’s easy to find online in real time, e.g. here:
In general, using credit cards for all major expenses is the best way to go. I believe that the basic exchange rates for converting foreign charges are set by the Visa, Mastercard, Amex networks - and they are very competitive, less than 1% away from interbank rates in my experience even much further afield than Canada. I think they have made a business decision to use competitive exchange rates to encourage people to use their cards more, since they make money from their other usual fees. Your particular card issuer may then charge you a percentage for foreign transactions, which you should be able to find in their T&C. If you travel abroad a lot and have good credit, it’s not difficult to find a card issuer that charges nothing at all for foreign transactions.
You seem to be assuming that exchange rates fluctuate around parity. You realize that they don’t, right? USD/CAD has been around parity in the past, but it’s about 1.33 now. So if you’re buying something and your choices are to pay USD $1.00 or CAD $1.30, the price in CAD is less.
Although there are currency futures that trade on exchanges, they have never been a major part of the foreign exchange market, which does trade 24 hours a day (except weekends). And you can get big moves any time of day. Although, as you say, it’s far more likely that you were seeing a “tourist tax” being levied under the guise of fluctuations. It’s easy enough now to check online where the wholesale interbank rate is trading in real time, and whether you’re getting a good deal should be measured in percentage terms against that.
In what province do the RCMP conduct traffic stops? I’ve only ever spent time in Ontario, and only the OPP tend to pull anyone over, at least on the freeways, and even then, it’s a signal to even faster, because, you know, they only ever work alone and it’s obvious he’s busy with a client right now.
Yes. The tl;dr version for this thread is that you can assume everyone in the Visa/Mastercard/Amex networks uses pretty much the same forex rates, which are very competitive. But you should check which is the best of your credit cards to use, since card issuers often levy a percentage charge on foreign transactions.
It’s my experience that businesses close to the border will accept both, in a reasonable approximation of the standard rate, rounded in the direction favorable to them, to the nearest easily-calculated value. Like, if an American dollar is worth 1.28 Canadian dollars, a Canadian merchant will accept it as if it were $1.25. Sure, you could say that they’re ripping you off, but is three cents worth the time spared finding an ATM if you need one?
From here: “The provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador maintain their own provincial police forces—the Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec, and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary respectively . . . The other seven provinces and the three territories contract police services to the RCMP/GRC”.
Thanks all.
I appreciate the input.
We won’t be doing any driving. Darn, we are taking the train from Vancouver to Banff, it would be fun to drive for a while!
All the major expenses have been paid up front-I just need a bit of change for incidentals and tips.
Is it the case that tipping (at least in the “well-traveled” areas) mimics the practice in the US? ie 15-20% of the bill?
Tipping practices are the same as the US. If you pay by credit card, they will bring the reader to the table and it typically gives you three preset options or you can enter your own as % or $.
Well, that should be quite the experience for somebody from Louisiana. Very scenic trip especially with the fall colors to enhance everything. Fortunately, the worst of the crowds should be behind you in September.
