For those who got on/off your cruise in Vancouver, what did you use for CAD currency?

[PittsburghNative]

I was looking at private vendors in Canada to do a post cruise excursion and I just realized I have no idea what I should bring before/after my cruise in Vancouver to make purchases. What do you use? Do you use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees? Do you convert USD to CAD and get physical money? Am I losing money if I pay for a Vancouver excursion using USD, whether in cash or debit card?

[wheezedr]

I travel to Vancouver regularly for family events.  Other than cash I take out of ATMs for gifts to nieces and nephews, I rarely ever get Canadian dollars.  I use my CC for virtually everything.  In a real pinch I could use USD and suffer the poor exchange I might get.  If you want to get Canadian dollars just use your ATM card at any local bank. 

[martincath]

7 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

...Am I losing money if I pay for a Vancouver excursion using USD, whether in cash or debit card?

In cash, yes, always; at the very least the rate will be padded by enough above current interbank rates to make up for the cost to the tour vendor of exchanging it back or the woollier cost of 'sitting on it' until they next visit the US and can buy enough stuff that they want/need using USD cash.

 

Debit (or an FTF-free Credit card) in theory should give you the fairest exchange rate, as long as you avoid 'pay in my own currency' options which always pad the price by ~4% in my experience (worse than the typical 2.5% FTF).

 

Two things to note of relevance to Vancouver: first, that many private tours are already priced in USD so check which currency they specify, and if they list both CAD/USD this lets you figure out what the exchange rate they're using is; and second that with the exception of VERY small purchases (<$5) you can pay with Credit/Debit just about anywhere - in fact we now have a few No Cash restos which only accept plastic! So unless you plan to hand over wads of cash because it makes you feel good you will very rarely NOT have the option of paying with plastic (even the transit system now allows 'tap & go' card payments with Visa & MasterCard).

 

For large sums - e.g.a private tour that weirdly-enough only takes cash, hitting an ATM is definitely the cheapest way to acuqire CAD of say $100+. If you just feel the need for a handful of small denominations to tip for bellstaff and whatnot, hand over a US$20 in Tim Hortons and you'll get change back in CAD (while plenty of other tourist-oriented shops also take USD cash, Timmies uses the best exchange rate I'm familiar with).

[DaveOKC]

I always take some Canadian Dollars with me for small purchases.  Most places US is fine, but if you use public transit you have to use Canadian or your credit card (like on the Skytrain to/from airport).

 

 

[PittsburghNative]

Thanks for the replies! Oddly enough, I have looked at 3 post-cruise tours from three different vendors and none of them accept USD. I assume I can just pay CAD currency with a US credit card?

[martincath]

As long as they accept credit at all, your only problem will be if you're one of those 'I only use a Discover card' people as it's heavily-weighted to Visa/MC up here; even AmEx is notably less-accepted (we actually binned our AmEx entirely after moving to Vancouver as the proportion of businesses taking it was even lower than in Toronto).

[wheezedr]

Also be sure to pay in CAD and let your bank convert to USD.  That is true anywhere in the world.  You should always  decline having the vendor do the conversion as your best rate will be from your own bank.

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, PittsburghNative said:

Thanks for the replies! Oddly enough, I have looked at 3 post-cruise tours from three different vendors and none of them accept USD. I assume I can just pay CAD currency with a US credit card?

Concur with Martincath, if planning to use a CC bring a VISA/MC, as they are the most commonly accepted cards. We use VISA and rarely find anywhere that doesn't accept it.

 

If provided the option, request billing in CAN $ and let your bank make the conversion.

 

When we go to the US, we always purchase US $ from our local bank and also have a US account with a debit/credit card. If you are only making a single visit the account is not worth it, but small amounts of CAN cash is recommended for small purchases.

[PittsburghNative]

14 hours ago, wheezedr said:

Also be sure to pay in CAD and let your bank convert to USD.  That is true anywhere in the world.  You should always  decline having the vendor do the conversion as your best rate will be from your own bank.

 

I’m a little confused. Should I not use my credit card to pay for a tour that only accepts CAD?

[wheezedr]

Not at all. Vendors may offer to do the conversion, you should decline that offer so that the vendor bills your account in the local currency, in this case CAD.   Then your bank, which will give you the best available rate, will do the conversion.  

 

As I stated this approach is true anywhere that you are buying things in a foriegn currency.  You can always ask for the price of something in both currencies and occasionally they may misconvert and offer a better deal in USD.  That has happened to me , especially in Mexico, but has always involved cash , not CC purchases.

 

You might also want to download a currency converting APP like XE.

[Langoustine]

When shopping overseas, a merchant may ask you if you would like to convert your credit card transaction from the local currency into U.S. dollars. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). And while it may sound like an enticing offer, this conversion is very expensive for the cardholder and should be avoided.

Generally, when overseas merchants make this offer, they will use a conversion rate that is far higher than the actual going rate – as much as 7 percent higher – and pocket the difference as a fee. They get away with it because many customers are not checking the math at the point of sale.

Some customers incorrectly assume that if they do the currency conversion this way they can avoid the foreign transaction fee that 90% of credit cards charge. On the contrary, the credit card company will generally charge the foreign transaction fee in addition to the merchant charge related to Dynamic Currency Conversion. The credit card company is simply charging the customer for a transaction made abroad, not for the actual currency conversion.

[hallux]

This is all GREAT info, thank you!

 

Curious - if you're doing a tour and want to tip the guide, that should be done in CAD, right? I was planning on just using a CC (might have one that waives the fees) for everything.  At the least, my bank will refund the ATM fees I would pay if I hit one to grab some cash for the tip (they did when I was in Mexico City, no fee from my bank AND they refunded the fee the ATM bank charged).

[martincath]

CAD is the best option, though Vancouver guides will certainly take USD - since it sounds like you can take out CAD while only paying interbank rates, I'd do that (otherwise, if you want to just hand over USD you should pad the exchange some in the guide's favour to reflect that they will have to pay to exchange it or wait until a future US trip to spend it).

[BruceMuzz]

On ‎2‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:47 PM, PittsburghNative said:

Thanks for the replies! Oddly enough, I have looked at 3 post-cruise tours from three different vendors and none of them accept USD. I assume I can just pay CAD currency with a US credit card?

When I disembark a ship in America, I use US dollars to pay for things.

When I disembark a ship in Canada, I use Canadian dollars to pay for things.

It shows respect for people when you bother to use their currency in their country.

 

Its very simple. you should try it.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I use my credit card and get cash back from Safeway off my debit card.

[Dan G]

there is a food court across from Canada Place.  If you buy a coke at McDonalds and pay with USD you will get change in Cdn.  They give a fair exchange.  Lately the USD is worth about $1.30 Cdn so be aware of what the 'real' rate is before you leave.  Tours that accept CC will allow a tip in CDN $.  I work all summer in Canada and its generally more polite to tip in CDN however tourism understands people are getting off a ship and only in Vanc for a short time.

[musik07]

We are only in Vancouver from 3:30pm to embarking the ship the next day. We are not planning on changing any money since we are more than likely going to eat dinner, stop for some last minute necessities (wine, drug store items) and then will crash. Will we be able to use credit cards in taxis? If not what do you recommend? We are planning to taxi to our hotel (Hyatt Regency Vancouver Downtown) and then taxi to the port as my Mom is not great with pulling luggage long distances, so we will need to navigate the taxi payment twice. 

[martincath]

All local taxis accept credit cards (well, Visa & MC - definitely not Discover and I can't recall any firms with an AmEx sticker offhand). Occasionally you'll get a driver who plays the 'my machine is broken, can you pay cash?' game - so just ensure as you get into the cab you state clearly that you have no cash and will be paying with credit (magically the machines tend to start working again when it's 'take credit or no fare' - but once in a blue moon someone might actually have a technical problem... so take a different cab if they say at the start of the ride they need cash payment).

[musik07]

Thanks martincath! I figured it would be so but I wanted to confirm. My no foreign transaction fee card is a visa so I should be fine! I don't see myself spending more than dinner, a cab and the two bottles of wine. So converting cash seems like a frustration. I may buy something small and get some change for tips but that is all!

 

[Peckishpixie]

Many Canadian banks have partnerships with American banks so you can get Canadian cash from an ATM for free. I use bank of America, and I can take out cash from Scotia bank without paying a fee.  I travel to and from BC about once a month, and I almost always just use my credit card but I do get $40 or so for tips, parking, or so I can buy the Canadian Slurpee, which is 1000 times tastier than the American version. 

[PittsburghNative]

5 hours ago, Peckishpixie said:

Many Canadian banks have partnerships with American banks so you can get Canadian cash from an ATM for free. I use bank of America, and I can take out cash from Scotia bank without paying a fee.  I travel to and from BC about once a month, and I almost always just use my credit card but I do get $40 or so for tips, parking, or so I can buy the Canadian Slurpee, which is 1000 times tastier than the American version. 

 

Good to know! I have Bank of America too.