Currancy Question

[spirit rev]

Most of our ports of call on our CA/NE cruise in October are in Canada. Would we wise to have some Canadian cash instead of only US cash with us before we leave or just exchange it when we reach our first Canadian port - which will also be Canadian Thanksgiving?

 

Thanks for any advice you might have.

[Putterdude]

While not legal tender in Canada you will find that you US$ will be widely accepted in the Canadian ports you visit. However you will not likely get any exchange (right now the two dollars are within pennies of each other) and for the most part your change will be in $CDN. So no it is not necessary to rush out and get Canadian currency...may I also say I delighted to learn that you know the date of our Thanksgiving.:)

[Acey]

Most of our ports of call on our CA/NE cruise in October are in Canada. Would we wise to have some Canadian cash instead of only US cash with us before we leave or just exchange it when we reach our first Canadian port - which will also be Canadian Thanksgiving?

 

Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

I wouldn't bother exchanging any money - credit cards are widely accepted along with $USD currency. You will get a fair exchange rate at the cash register; however your change will be in $CAD. Currently one $USD buys $1.023 $CAD - because of the bank fees vendors incur to switch to $CAD (usually around 3%) - the $USD at this level will be treated as par.

[maryann ns]

If you do need Canadian cash (and you will if you use public transit) there are ATMs everywhere.

[cruising g-mom]

When we are in Quebec City, will the funicular accept US dollars? I ask because when we were in Stockholm only their money was accepted for the ferry, and we had to quickly find some proper money. Otherwise we always used our credit cards. Thanks.

[spirit rev]

Thank everyone who replied. It has been my experience that shops and stores in Canada are much more likely to accept US$ than are shops and stores in the US. Thank you to our northern neighbors for your hospitality.

 

Acey - thank you for the wise thought about paying fees, etc. for exchanging cash.

 

Putterdude - I subscribe to a professional e-mail chat and over the years the Canadians who participate have "educated" us folks outside of Canada about several of your holidays and when they are.

[martinimadam]

If you're thinking about using a credit card, you may want to check with your bank. Mine adds a 3% service fee for foreign transactions. Just fyi in case you didn't know....

[Obtuse1]

If you're thinking about using a credit card, you may want to check with your bank. Mine adds a 3% service fee for foreign transactions. Just fyi in case you didn't know....

 

Good point , something to remember. The banks (in Canada anyway) also charge 2 - 3% if you exchanging money, so it works out to nearly the same to buy currency or put it on most credit cards.

 

Worth asking about.

[cruising g-mom]

When I balance the charge by my credit card with the rewards that we get from them for using it, I come out just fine so the credit card usage is no problem for us. However, I would still like an answer to my question. Will I be able to use US dollars at the funicular in Quebec City?

[Langley Cruisers]

However, I would still like an answer to my question. Will I be able to use US dollars at the funicular in Quebec City?

 

If someone doesn't answer your question, it may be that no one knows. :)

 

Having said that, when we rode it I saw a sign that said they accepted both US and Canadian dollars, so the answer is yes. You can also walk it using the sidewalks on the roads; it really wasn't that bad. We had an overnighter there in 2008 and got off the ship both days - used the Funicular one day and walked up the next.

[cruising g-mom]

Thank you for your quick reply to my question. That being the case I won't have to exchange our money. I hope I did not sound sharp or impatient with my question. That wasn't my intent. That's the problem with written communication...without the facial expressions that we can read, sometimes things come across differently than expected. :-)

[lovemylab]

You may want to have some Canadian cash for small purchases. This can easily be obtained from an ATM. Otherwise, just use your credit card.

[PennyAgain]

I'm just home from Montreal. On cash registers in places that serve visitors there were nearly always signs that said they give $0.95 Canadian for eash US $. I was getting short on Canadian cash so I used US$ at places like Tim Horton's and sandwich shops. Worked just fine.

[abc66nyc]

I was told that banks will charge a fee when you use the atms for the exchange and also for use of atm machine. My local bank will exchange USD to CAD without fees. Why pay more when you do not have to with such a low exchange rate? Also the 3% charge on credit card use is charged by the merchant to do the exchange and not the credit card company. Beware! Also know what exchange rate is so that you know whther you are getting a good rate from merchant in USD/CAD.

[Putterdude]

I was told that banks will charge a fee when you use the atms for the exchange and also for use of atm machine. This is true with most bank and private ATMs.

 

My local bank will exchange USD to CAD without fees. Banks often don't charge their clients a fee but there is a difference between what they buy the foreign currency at and what they sell to to you at and the spread is how they make their money...still others charge both a fee and the spread.

Why pay more when you do not have to with such a low exchange rate? Also the 3% charge on credit card use is charged by the merchant to do the exchange and not the credit card company. I have never heard of a merchant charging a fee for using a credit card...in fact many bank and credit card company contracts with merchants prohibit this.

 

Beware! Also know what exchange rate is so that you know whther you are getting a good rate from merchant in USD/CAD. As the Canadian dollar closed at 97.7 cents today, I wouldn't be expecting any exchange on my US dollar.

 

However I would want to know what kind of fees are charged by my bank on foreign credit card transactions. Beyond that I would probably use my US$ in Canada, they are widely accepted, one of the few exceptions would be on public transit.

[Ephraim]

To clarify... I am an innkeeper in Montreal. When I process a charge is it 100% in Canadian dollars. Visa International and MasterCard International both charge the banks 1% on top of the exchange rate. Most banks charge 2% more than that (the lowest I've heard is 0% and the highest I have heard is 3%).

 

I am prohibited from charging anyone a fee for using a credit card. It's part of the merchant agreement. (We can offer a cash discount, though... just not the other way around).

[Keith1010]

If you do not want to pay international fees on your credit card get a Capital One Credit Card. They are one of the few credit cards that do not charge an international fee.

 

Keith