DigitalGhost

Does anyone know the cheapest way to withdraw US currency in Canada? I know that some ATM's here dispense the US dollar but I made the mistake of buying foreign currency from my bank when I left the country for a short holiday last year and the cost was outrageous.

Is it better to just withdraw it from an ATM or to buy it using cash from one of those Travelex-type places in Toronto?

Third6

I was the same! The bank ripped me royally off when I went to New Orleans a few months ago.

You're in Toronto right? A bunch of my Canadian friends rave about how good the exchange rate is in Tutti Frutti on the corner of Carlton and Yonge. They have a little exchange bit right as you go in the shop. Might be worth a look anyway.

DigitalGhost

Thanks, I'll look into that.

If you're bank ripped you off on US currency then that pretty much answers my question really. I bought Mexican Pesos from my bank which had to be ordered in to the branch (despite Cancun being a massive tourist destination for Canadians) and they charged me a $60 commission fee on around $300 dollars worth of currency. I took it because we were flying out the next day but that didn't stop me from telling the teller in the branch exactly what I thought of them.

I don't think I will ever understand the banking culture in this country to be honest, or the mobile phone market either for that matter.

MarylandNed

Another option is to use your Canadian bank card to withdraw cash from an ATM when you get to the US. There'll usually be a couple of fees (one from each bank) for the transaction but they are not outrageous and you'll get an honest exchange rate. Make fewer, larger withdrawals rather than many smaller withdrawals to reduce ATM fees.

Novocastrian

Ah, I have no direct experience of this except for many years ago, but my son (who now lives in Regina) drove back to Toronto for the holidays via St. Paul MN. He discovered that his TD Interac card wasn't accepted at ATMs (or elsewhere) in some States. He mentioned North Dakota and somewhere else equally unpleasant at this time of year. Apparently Visa/MC debit cards are the norm there.

DigitalGhost

Cool, I think I will probably just do that to be honest since I'll have my credit card with me as well anyway.

Do you know if the Americans accept payment for the $6 landing tax at the border in Canadian currency?

Novocastrian

What do you think?

DigitalGhost

I'm thinking the answer is probably no considering they're even more xenophobic as a country these days than they were the last time I was there but I was hoping the answer might be yes.

wizzard

As I recall when I walked across the border at Niagara I only had Canadian dollars and they wouldn't accept them so I had to use my Visa to pay the $6US which was pretty annoying.

Watch out using your credit card in an ATM instead of a bank card, they will likely treat it as a cash advance which usually has a way higher interest rate and, if you are ever bored and read the fine print of credit card policies, you will find that they do not apply payments to your balance in an even manner. They apply them to the part of the balance carrying the lowest interest rate first. So say you had a balance of $1,000 at 15% and then did a $500 advance at 25% and then made an immediate $500 transfer to your credit card, they would apply that to the $1,000 @15% and so you'd end up with a new balance of $1,000 with $500 @ 15% and the other $500 still at 25%. So in effect you have to pay off the entire low interest balance before you can discharge the high interest. Not a big deal if you maintain a low or zero balance but tricky if you don't.
I noticed that when looking at those offers for low interest balance transfers. Same deal. So you transfer say $10,000 from various places at the super low rate of say 3%, then they hope you buy something using it at the full interest rate and it sits there accruing the high interest until you pay the entire low interest balance transfer. Which usually takes a while otherwise you would have paid it off instead of transfering it.

I digress.

Usually when I visit the US, I grab some cash from the ATM at the airport in the US and then try and pay for as much as possible with my credit card, which still incurrs exchange rate fees etc. but I prefer it to having a wallet full of cash and you don't have to worry about having a bunch left over.

MarylandNed

Never had a problem doing this.

My daughter (who lives in Canada) is in Maryland at the moment and has had no problems using her TD bank card at ATMs here. I also use my US bank card at ATMs in Canada to get Canadian dollars - most recently 2 weeks ago. I'll be back again this coming weekend.

One thing I forgot to say - it's a good idea to call your bank and let them know of your travel plans ahead of time. This will minimize any chances of the card not working.

Novocastrian

Nor have I, but I've only been to California, Long Island NY and Colorado since 1993.

Ironically I travelled to the US much more frequently when I lived in Germany than since I returned to Canada. I have my reasons for this.

My report referred to ND.

MarylandNed

It's OK...you can talk about your extensive criminal record here if you want to.

Novocastrian

Actually, it's more the extensive criminal record of the US which bothers me.