Best Way to Buy Canadian Dollars

[Drivenow]

Will be travelling to Alberta and BC for 10 days

Which is the best way (i.e. best rate) I can purchase Canadian Dollars with my US Dollars?

[canadafan]

If you are travelling via Vancouver BC then try VBCE for good cash rates.

[John___Angela]

Grey Mountain wrote:
I always take a bunch of shiny yellow rocks. The natives will trade most anything for shiny yellow rocks.. I got no use for them. Can't eat 'em, and they are too soft to make stuff out of.

GM

🙂

[bsinmich]

I use the ATM at the Credit Union. They usually have lower fees. I usually have a couple hundred Canadian dollars around to start a trip. I try to avoid credit cards in Canada because of the fees plus most don't take Discover or Amex.

[Grey_Mountain]

I always take a bunch of shiny yellow rocks. The natives will trade most anything for shiny yellow rocks.. I got no use for them. Can't eat 'em, and they are too soft to make stuff out of.

GM

[2lazy4U]

Would make a much prettier and more interesting currency, for sure. 🙂

[Grey_Mountain]

Alternatively, take a whole bunch of bangles and beads and trade with the natives.

GM

[2lazy4U]

tonymull wrote:
US dollars are widely acceptable especially when the rates are as close as they are now. Kind of irritating that canadians will accept US dollars but we won't do the same for them....arrogant are we not??

Not necessarily. The dollar usually is higher than the loonie, so if one wishes to take Canadian money in the U.S., unless they do a conversion, they'll lose money from the transaction. And with the way the rates change daily, doing the conversion is hard.

So, if you come to my burger joint in Montana and try to pay for that dollar drink with a loonie, right as of today, I'll lose about 10 cents on the deal. The Canadians usually stand to gain, so of course they'll take your dollars.

[Grey_Mountain]

Use the ATM. Check to see if your credit card has a foreign transaction fee.
I cannot get cash back on my debit card in Canada. It's treated like a credit card.

GM

[tonymull]

US dollars are widely acceptable especially when the rates are as close as they are now. Kind of irritating that canadians will accept US dollars but we won't do the same for them....arrogant are we not??

[atreis]

Use an ATM for cash, credit card for most things.

[2lazy4U]

I got CA money from a bank in Kalispell before crossing. It's been my experience that most places in Canada will take American dollars, but they treat it like Canadian loonies and don't give you any exchange rate diff. IOW, you buy a hamburger for a loonie and give them a dollar and they don't give you anything in change, even if the exchange rate is lower for the loonie.

At the time, the rate was .93 loonie to dollar. The bank gave me .97 exchange.

I thought that was a big ripoff, but not sure of any better way to do it. They were nice enough to not charge me a bank fee, even though I wasn't a member.

My bank charges a fee for using my debit card in Canada. Feels like a ripoff all around to me.

I still have about $250 in loonies and I guess I'll have to go back up there to spend it so I avoid the exchange hassle (j/K).

[GordonThree]

I found a credit union in Canada that "bought" my American currency at a favorable exchange rate. There was no conversion fee, compared to previously doing the same at a Canadian bank, and paying a service fee.

I don't know if all credit union do the same, this was just one I found randomly nearest my location while messing with my Garmin navigator.

[enblethen]

Some banks do charge a foreign transaction fee. Check with your bank!

[Harvard]

pugslyyy wrote:

sch911 wrote:

Fizz wrote:
Go to the first Walmart you see after crossing, buy something and get cash. This will keep you till you find an ATM.

X 2

Use your debit card and get cash back at checkout...

Does the debit card charge you a foreign transaction fee?

Walmart will not charge a fee BUT you will still be on the receiving end of a difference between the Actual Exchange Rate, the BUY Rate and the SELL Rate.