Where to get Canadian dollars from USD

[Meadbh]

For the OP, I wouldn't worry too much about this in Canada but I'd be careful pretty much anytime I was out or OECD countries.

It happened to me in Paris, France. France is an OECD country.

 

[mpeirce]

We have also had situations where, in spite of calling them ahead of time, a card's fraud prevention software shut a card down in the middle of a trip.

Also slightly OT, sorry, but...

After purchasing airline tickets recently we got the following email from Citi (Costco Visa):

Hi, XX. Based on your airline ticket purchase(s) on your Citi® card, it appears that you're traveling soon. To make things easier for you, we’ve added a travel notice to your account to help prevent possible purchase interruptions. If you'll be visiting other states or countries not included on your airline ticket during your trip, you can update your travel notice in Citi® Online (Services>Travel Services> Manage Travel Notices). If you have an Apple device - you can also update it in the Citi Mobile® App (Services> Card Management> Travel Notices).

I checked and they had it right - even included the stopover airports in case we grab lunch and charge it.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

One tip when using ATM's abroad is reviewing the symbols on your bank cards and credit cards which will give an idea which interbank networks they'll work on like Plus (Visa's network), Cirrus (Mastercard's network), etc. The ATM's will many times have corresponding symbols indicating which interbank networks the ATM is connected to. You may want to bring with you a card on the Plus network and another one on the Cirrus network.

 

[Brat]

I've used TravelX in Portland. Excellent rates and if you save your receipt you can convert any cash you don't use.

 

[audreyh1]

Sure, but a backup card doesn't necessarily need to have No Foreign Transaction Fees. It's just for emergencies and for that I can eat a fee.

I try to minimize the number of cards I have. And I only used the BofA card for foreign travel.

If something goes wrong early in a trip - card lost, stolen, or fraudulent charges showing up and card needs to be blocked, I would expect difficulty getting a replacement card while traveling overseas. So it might not be just a couple of times emergency use.

 

[gauss]

I have AAA Auto Club membership in effect. Back in the day, you could purchase Travelers Checks from the local AAA office denominated in foreign currency.

This was a tool in my toolkit in addition to those already mentioned.

I also have at least one no-foreign-transaction fee ATM debit card that I have used inside a foreign bank at the teller window.

When travelling, especially Internationally, I try to have two or three options in place in case something doesn't work out as planned.

-gauss

 

[Koogie]

Just drop by my house...

I'll make you a nice cup of coffee while I exchange your worn out old US greenbacks for shiny, bright loonies and toonies.

Do you know what "at par" means ? ...