To Canada from US. Need tips on how to handle currancy exchange.

Use the ATM's. Best exchange rate and withdraw funds as needed.

If you have USD everyone will accept it. It is almost par anyhow. But as wrldtrvlr says, use ATMs for any new cash.

Thank you for the info. Are the ATM's available at the Vancouver airport for easy access? I assume ATM's will we be easy to find in every city we go to on the trip. Thanks again !

do not assume everybody is going to accept US Dollars....and even if they do you are subject to a poorer exchange rate than if you used an ATM andf yes they are readily avail at YVR

imagine what would happen in the US if someone handed a merchant CDN currency

Quite right about everybody not accepting US currency. It can be a headache for shopowners, restaurants, etc. - some hotels might accept it but I wouldn't count on it. ATMs are available at the Vancouver airport and just about everywhere else.

Thanks for the tips. It will make our trip much easier.

Also - check your credit cards to see which ones apply an international transaction fee. My Capital One card does not; my Chase and Bank of America cards do. It can really add up. Another thought - notify your credit card companies that you will be traveling in Canada, or they may see those transactions as potential fraud and put a hold on your account.

By and large, I've noticed that ATMs are more populous in Canada thatn the US - banks will have a whole row of ATMs, often in enclosed foyers, whereas most banks by me (Florida) only have a single ATM, on an exterior wall or a drive-thru lane.

Thank you for telling me to notify my credit card company. I'll definately do that. It's also good that the ATM's are readily available. Thank you for your good advice.

So with my Bank card I would be able to use any ATM that is readily available?
Also, good to know about that 'international transaction fee'. So if book a hotel on my Chase credit card there would be an international transaction fee applied? I'm going to have to follow up with chase on that.

You should be able to use nearly all Canadian ATMs (officially ABMs in Canada) if your card is part of the Cirrus or Plus networks.

You should be aware, however, that the so-called "white-label" ABMs have additional fees and you should avoid them. Stick to one of the ABMs of the six major banks (RBC, BMO, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank, National). There are other bank ABMs such as Desjardins, Alterna and HSBC, but they are not as readily available as the big six.

Whether or not you are charged an international transaction fee depends on your own bank's policies. Similarly, your own bank may or may not charge fees for using an ABM from a different bank. What you will be charged by the Canadian bank is a "convenience fee" of $1 to $2 per transaction. White label ABMS can charge up to $5.

Dukey wrote "imagine what would happen in the US if someone handed a merchant CDN currency"...in New York City, I paid for something and mistakenly used a Canadian quarter...the person gave it back to me.