Thoughts on traveling with money
I’m creating a checklist to share with everyone but in the meantime I thought I’d get you thinking about traveling with money. Specifically Canadian dollars.
On the cruise ship, you don’t need to worry about money. Everything extra that you purchase is charged to whatever credit card you provide. But when you are in port, if you want to eat, shop, etc, you’ll need to either use your credit card or Canadian dollars. The benefit of using cash is that your credit card may charge an international fee.
While you could choose to change your money when you arrive in Montreal, I suggest you do it while you’re home. At my bank I can purchase Canadian dollars with no extra fee. I usually have to “order” the m
oney because they don’t always carry the amount I need at that location. So make sure to do this about a month before the cruise. Or in the past I’ve gone in once a month and obtained smaller amounts to build up to the total amount I want for the trip. Now, what happens if you get too much in Canadian dollars and you don’t use it? My bank will purchase it at whatever the going rate is for that day. However, they will not purchase coins
.
Other suggestions from the Facebook group:
Follow us:HWR: AAA also can order Canadian money for you. Call all your credit cards and find/use the one that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. I was surprised to find that two of my credit cards don’t charge this fee. I left the others at home.
AW: I don’t buy foreign money in the U. S. Fee is too high. I use my debit card and get cash away from the airport. Most international airports have ATM’s that give out their money, Euro, if applicable or U. S. dollars if you need it. The international fee on DEBIT cards is very low. Check with your bank to see what they will charge you.
CGC: I’ve always waited till I got into town to use the ATM as I got a better exchange rate away from the airport. My bank ATM doesn’t charge a fee so that helps also.
