Quebec Travel Forum

Hi, We will be on a 13 day coach tour leaving Boston late May and visiting the Canadian cities along the St Lawrence seaway. We will be in Canada for 7 days and wish to know whether shops will accept our US dollars. We are travelling from Perth Australia and would like to arrange currencies before we leave. In the last week the Australian Dollar has risen 5% against the US dollar, very good for travelling.
Mike

Hi Mike, some will and some won't depending on the shop, and whether they are located in a tourist town or not. You will not get a very favorable exchange rate if they do. You may be better off getting some Canadian dollars.

Hi Helen, Thanks for the advice, I want to buy some US dollars whilst the rate is up. The banks will give you an ATM type card with the amount of currency you buy and then you just go to a ATM in that country and their currency comes out. The card has no name on it and you have the password so if you lose it they say you will not lose your money.This is new here but I guess it has been operating in USA & Europe for a while. Would be good for Euros as you could use it in many European countries.

I recall you are off to Italy soon, have a great time, I doubt if anyone could not have a good time in Italy.
Mike

On my trips to Canada, I typically do not worry so much about exchanging money. I use credit cards for larger purchases or where ever available and use cash for small things.

If you are stuck in a situation where you need Candian dollars, as already mentioned by Helen, US dollars are accepted depending on the location. All hotels will exchange, obviously banks will too. An often overlooked exchange is a place like McDonalds. ALL McDonalds and fast food places will accept US dollars and the change they give you will be in Canadian. You can go in, buy a coke, give them $20US and receive $22CAN in change (assuming 1.15 rate)

Hello Mike
I use an ATM card issued by my British Bank both at home and on all my travels. So in Euro-land I get euros, in Poland, Zloty, USA ,dollars, Canada, Canadian dollars and so on. The card does have my name on it but can only be used with the PIN which is known only to me.It is a good idea to let your bank know beforehand if you intend to use debit or credit cards abroad.

Hi I thought this would be the case, I usually use my ATM card when in Europe to obtain the respective currency, but as the Australian Dollar is presently up on the US dollar I thought I would buy a bundle, I will now buy less as it is no point in paying fees to convert to Canadian dollar, plus the inconvenience.

Thank you for your replies.
Mike

Even in smaller towns (like mine) US dollars are widely accepted. The main thing is to find the ones which will give you a fair exchange rate. All banks, most department stores, and many of the smaller places are quite fair. Occasionally you will run into one which goes "at par" -- no exchange. The problem with the debit card is the charge for the machine, the bank fee for the card, and then the bank fee for the foreign transaction. I find this is more than I want to pay. So I use Bank cards sparingly in each country to get cash for several days....Then I use credit cards for almost everything. If you know how much you intend to spend, the credit cards are the best value, cause when you pay on time no interest, no fee for use, and bulk-buying on foreign currencies, so a reasonable exchange rate.

Most of the time, when your not in a touristic town close to the fronteer, they will just accept your american money as if it is canadian money, without any exchange rate and give you back the change in canadian money... It's not in your advantage.