Ready cash

pappcam wrote:

Russell Clifton wrote:
If you plan to stay in a provincial camp ground, they do not take bank cards. From what I have read, it's not unusual for the bank card machines to be down at the gas stations, so you better have some cash or you will be waiting for service to be restored.

The provincial campgrounds in my province accept cash, debit or credit. Canada is made up of many provinces.

......

So do our provincial ones here in Quebec as well as an Ontario park that we used to camp at a lot.

soos wrote:
We carried several hundred dollars cash. Just before coming back into the US for the last time, we spent most of the leftovers putting fuel in the truck, eating out, etc.
we had a fair amount of trouble with our debit card. we had not told chase we were going to Canada. Even after we did, we had issues.
Sue

Yep you need to notify your credit card companies that you will be in Canada or they won't work. You can give them the dates and still sometimes they don't go through. I usually do this for 2 or 3 cards to make sure. Nothing like trying to call the bank when you have one bar of service out in the boonies. The number is on the back of all your credit cards.

None of the Provincial Parks I've been to in BC take cards unless you reserve online.

Russell Clifton wrote:
If you plan to stay in a provincial camp ground, they do not take bank cards. From what I have read, it's not unusual for the bank card machines to be down at the gas stations, so you better have some cash or you will be waiting for service to be restored.

The provincial campgrounds in my province accept cash, debit or credit. Canada is made up of many provinces.

Also, it is very unusual for a debit machine to be down anywhere in Canada. In fact our money system is more modernized than you guys down there.

I have a pet peeve with people assuming many things about Canada, especially when it's false.

We try to not use our cards for smaller purchases.

After having one of my cards hacked before it changed my attitude.

We carried several hundred dollars cash. Just before coming back into the US for the last time, we spent most of the leftovers putting fuel in the truck, eating out, etc.
we had a fair amount of trouble with our debit card. we had not told chase we were going to Canada. Even after we did, we had issues.
Sue

Northern B.C., Yukon and NWT do NOT have reliable infrastructure. Whether that be internet, telephone, cellular service or electricity. Failures are common.

In addition to the two instances I told of above, the internet went down for four days at our place. The service provider insisted nothing was wrong on their end, then whoops, yup, a faulty switch was found and it took three additional days for them to get a new one.

Northern Canada has its problems with old systems that fail and aren't so reliable. We simply don't have the population base for service providers to feel motivated to invest in improvements. The regulatory agencies usually have to force the upgrades, as they did this past winter for 911 service. Most of Yukon doesn't have a proper 911 service, yet most other jurisdictions just take it for granted.

Just carry some cash. Why not?

We traveled four months through the U.S. and Canad. From Vancouver to Ottawa we never paid for any major purchase such as gas, groceries, big ticket items with cash. We used our Mexican debit cards without any issues. Small change was carried for coffee or a snack. Very easy traveling around the world now with no cash or very little. You can do all of North American (Canada, U.S. and Mexico) with cards. We do.

In Arizona this year Chase switched to chipped cards. Canadian cards were rejected. We moved on down to Great West. No problem, no fees.

If you plan to stay in a provincial camp ground, they do not take bank cards. From what I have read, it's not unusual for the bank card machines to be down at the gas stations, so you better have some cash or you will be waiting for service to be restored.