| Bob Brown |
May 19th, 1999 03:40 PM |
On the European forum there has been a long running discussion under several threads on the best way to carry money to a foreign country. Even though we don't need a passport, Canada is a foreign country, albeit one that uses English, except the Province of Quebec. <BR>The arguments have run as follows: <BR>1. Use your ATM for currency. (I have and had no problems in Canada.) <BR>2. Use your credit card for a better exchange rate, although some banks and card issuers now charge an accursed "conversion fee", aka extra profit for the bank. <BR>3. Carry small denomination travelers in Canadian funds. These can be had at most AAA offices at no charge and at favorable exchange rates. <BR> <BR>Changing currency from USA form to Canadian form normally incurs a 5% penalty at best. <BR> <BR>Most border towns will accept the money; we have usually held onto our excess Canadian dollars until we drove back into Canada and used them to buy gas. Often we returned to the USA at a border crossing where there was a VAT refund center at the border. If we did not spend all of the refund inthe duty free store, we bought gas and even food on the USA side of the line. <BR> <BR>From my own personal experience, Canadian Banks impose a $3.50 fee to convert checks from American to Canadian funds. American Express checks from AAA seem to be a good way to go for me because buying Canadian money from my bank socks me with a 5% loss over the wholesale bank conversion rate.
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