Money/Debit Cards in Canada

We are going to spend some time in Canada, and I was wondering what the best game plan was for paying for things to avoid lots of fees. Is cash better? We have B of A, if that helps.

If you go to a foreign country and want to use an ATM card for a withdrawal, make sure you check with your bank before going, to see what kind of PIN you need IN THAT FOREIGN COUNTRY. It has been quite a while so I'm not sure which country I had this problem in (either Canada or Japan) but when I tried to use my card that was in the network the particular ATM was supposed to be a part of, it was still rejected. Turns out that ATM cards in that country (or at least for that network in that country) need 6-digit PINs, while I had always had a 4-digit PIN. When I finally ascertained that this was the problem, I got my bank to give me a 6-digit PIN, which I still use in the U.S., too, because the same machines that accept 4's will accept 6's, just, apparently, not vice versa.

You can use Scotiabank without an ATM fee. You do have to pay the currency exchange fee though - 3%.

We were just in Montreal last month. We made sure our credit card companies and banks knew we were traveling. I used my ATM card with the usual PIN number - no problem. There will be a foreign currency conversion fee along with the transaction fee. Call your bank for their policy. With the current exchange rate I didn't worry about the fees. I took out $100 Canadian one day which converted to $85 U.S.

Thank you!

We've been in Montreal for a few days--the exchange rate is very good right now ($1CND = US $0.77) and we've been using our debit card for everything, which converts everything to that day's exchange rate. Haven't had to use any Canadian currency--might be a good idea to let your bank/credit card company aware of your trip. We didn't and all was fine, but YMMV. Enjoy!

I was in Toronto in February. My experience was that if your debit card doesn't have a chip on it you have to use the credit card option instead of debit.

Just to be clear, I was using my debit card in an ATM machine, not for purchases.

Was just up in Ontario - ATM was no problem for cash and used AmEx Platinum since no foreign transaction fees. Check your credit cards to see which ones may not charge foreign transaction fees - for instance, I believe that cards tied to frequent flyer accounts often have no foreign transaction fees.

It's a good time to go, 1.00 USD is now $1.30 CAD!

Helpful link... http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/top-credit-cards/no-foreign-transaction-fee-credit-card/

My wife and I were just in Montreal and used our credit card for at least 90% of our purchases. Everyone uses those handheld credit card readers. I withdrew $100 Canadian just to have it on hand. With the exchange rate as it is, most people will accept US$ when you don't have anything else (but I recommend against that since they aren't really going to try too hard to give you a fair rate).

And you should definitely make sure that your card doesn't charge transaction fees. Have a great time!

lanky said:
Was just up in Ontario - ATM was no problem for cash and used AmEx Platinum since no foreign transaction fees. Check your credit cards to see which ones may not charge foreign transaction fees - for instance, I believe that cards tied to frequent flyer accounts often have no foreign transaction fees.
It's a good time to go, 1.00 USD is now $1.30 CAD!

I had a platinum Amex. They didn't charge a foreign transaction fee but I remember them stating in the agreement that all cash draws from the credit card incur a 3% fee plus the current interest rate from the day of the draw.

Sorry, I should have clarified - I used my regular bank ATM card (Plus network) to take out cash and used my AmEx for credit purchases. My bank did charge me fee equal to 1% of the withdrawal amount.

BG9 said:

lanky said:
Was just up in Ontario - ATM was no problem for cash and used AmEx Platinum since no foreign transaction fees. Check your credit cards to see which ones may not charge foreign transaction fees - for instance, I believe that cards tied to frequent flyer accounts often have no foreign transaction fees.
It's a good time to go, 1.00 USD is now $1.30 CAD!

I had a platinum Amex. They didn't charge a foreign transaction fee but I remember them stating in the agreement that all cash draws from the credit card incur a 3% fee plus the current interest rate from the day of the draw.