Route planning advice - TT 6 month trip

RCWannabe wrote:

I am still wayne_tw wrote:

RCWannabe wrote:


For this trip I am concerned about the following:

How to deal with getting US currency while travelling.

Your Canadian ATM card will work in almost every US ATM. Be sure to notify your bank and credit card providers that you when and where you will be using the cards outside of Canada.

I am trying to find a way to avoid the costs involved with regular transactions with the bank card, I have been warned it is costly if you are doing it alot because they charge a percentage over and above the exchange as opposed to a flat fee per transaction. If I look at the cost of the trip overall and add 2.5%, it adds up quickly.

I am looking in to using a CAA card which is basically a M/C that you prepay. I may purchase my US funds before the trip and avoid the expected decrease in the canadian dollar and if I purchase enought US money I can get a discounted exchange rate or conversion fee apparently, but I won't travel with that amount of cash so I need to find a way to use the money with out having it all as cash. Hope that makes sense.....

So far the primary options seem to be to use a bank card, my credit card, the CAA prepaid M/C or cash.

While others have answered your questions, in different forms, my way of getting cash is different than most. It might not work for you, being Canadian, but might help others in the need of cash funds.

I am a fulltimer in an RV and will be on the road, 5 years in June 2014. I have never had (my entire life) an ATM card or Debit Card, but I do have a Master Card, Credit Card (Capitol One). I don’t like having large amounts of money on me, as I tend to boondock in remote locations and leave my RV for long periods of time. But, it is nice to have funds for different reasons.

The most prevalent bank that I have found around the country is Wells Fargo. If you have the opportunity, open a Wells Fargo Bank account, once you arrive in the USA. Check with your own bank to see if you are able to transfer funds, online, with Wells Fargo. If this is available, go with this bank. If you need to have a local address for opening an account, use a RV Campground you stay at, as many will allow you to use their address for this purpose. Also use the electronic mailing option. I am not sure what requirements a Canadian will need for Social Security Identification, for opening an account in USA. Wells Fargo might be able to answer this for you too.

Here is what I do, for cash, and other US Citizens can do it also. I just write personal checks on my home Bank in Boulder Colorado. Simple as that. Many locations, Albertsons, Kroger Stores, Safeway, Wal-Marts, and the list goes on, will allow you to write a check for the purchase and $20 over. That is how I get my cash and avoid all the hassles of locating an ATM machine, or one that does not have fees or wait for fees to be refunded by my home bank. Not counting the people that hang around ATM machines that might rob you. Also, many locations will allow you to write a personal check, for the amount of the purchase, like; Lowes, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, Stater Bros. and Bed and Bath. There are more, I am sure, but I don’t shop a lot of places. The only thing to get these started is that you need to present a I.D. (Passport), D.L., phone number, depending on the location so you get on their master computer. This is a good time to pick up a Customer Loyalty Card at some locations. If you have already used these businesses in Canada, writing personal checks, you might already have this option available to you, in the USA too.

Follow Jefe4X4’s suggestion in doing some test trips, before your adventure begins. Another thing I suggest, tape a piece of paper to an inside cabinet door, or magnet to a fume exhaust hood, to write down things you need to pick up on the next trip to the store. Later you might forget something you realized you needed, earlier.

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