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Best way to get Canadian currency


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We will need CAD when we arrive at YVR to pay for a taxi as well as to spend in town where we will stay 2 nights prior to our cruise. We can get it ahead of time at our local American bank but it will entail additional costs that we would like to avoid. Are there ATMs at YVR and are they had to find?

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While I encourage the acquisition of local currency when traveling, you don't need CAD to pay for cabs. They'll happily take credit cards and even US cash (though with their unofficial exchange rate, they'll probably screw you worse than your bank on that!)

 

Just in case you have some kind of reciprocal banking arrangements that make certain bank ATMs cheaper or free - you can wait until you get downtown to withdraw the money from the appropriate one rather than being stuck with the limited airport selection. Or go to a local ForEx here in Vancouver, e.g. VBCE who have a couple of downtown branches and usually excellent rates.

 

You could also try a 'cash by mail' ForEx service in advance - these tend to offer better rates than banks as they have reduced overheads, and no inconvenience of having to go into a branch for you...

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There are 2 RBC ATMs on the departure level of the international terminal. You will arrive at the international terminal arrivals level. Immediately on leaving the secure area there is an escalator and elevators to level 3 . Return to arrivals level for your taxi. RBC ATMs will dispense C$ at a good rate. Much better than the currency exchanges which are a rip-off.

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As others have mentioned, there are a couple of Royal Bank (RBC) ATM's at YVR. RBC is a one of the largest banks in Canada.

 

Local currency exchanges in town are actually very good (vs the airport ones which I think are also run by RBC which have pretty bad rates even though they say no fee) . VBCE as mentioned is a good one on Pender Street is only a few blocks away from Canada Place. They'll do swaps on hard currency and via bank/debit card.

Another one I'd recommend is Charlie's Currency Exchange on Granville Street near Robson beside the Burger King. They only do hard currency swaps and have a slightly better rate than VBCE. It's kind of a small hole in the wall but they're legit.

 

Just a couple of thoughts on currency exchange:

ATM's are an easy way to getting hard currency. You get the standard foreign exchange rate but typically with a 2-3% premium/fee built into the exchange rate. You also have to consider if your own bank charges a flat fee (eg. $2.50) for using your bank card at a foreign ATM and whether or not the ATM's bank charges a fee (I don't think they do in Canada).

 

Credit cards give the standard daily forex rate of the day which is the best rate but only if it does not have the dreaded 2.5-3% forex fee. A few more cards, particularly in the States have dropped this fee. Credit cards in Canada have gone the way of chip and pin technology too. I'm curious if you don't have a chip on your card, if you just have to do the slip and sign method.

 

Whatever you do, don't pay with US cash with a merchant as the rates they'll give will be horrible.

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Charlie's and downtown VCBE are walkable - depending what you're doing downtown, you may find one or t'other closer to where you plan to be already. Walking Routes here. You'll find ATMs for all of the major banks within about a half-mile or less - TD, CIBC, Scotiabank, HSBC, BMO, RBC. Good advice above to check what (if any) FTFs apply on credit cards, also check whether ATM fees with debit cards might be refunded if you use particular banks. Google Maps does a pretty good job marking bank ATMs, so search in the above map to see the closest one to where you're planning to spend time, not just the one nearest your hotel.

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Martincath....you do such wonderful work for those of us on CC and are a wealth of knowledge on Vancouver. We pretty well know our FTF's on our credit/debit cards. We are spending 2 nights in Vancouver prior to our cruise so will be walking around. We are planning to get to one of your BC stores for a wine stop. I will keep your map for reference.

We will plan to use a credit card at YVR for a cab downtown.

Thank you for your help......

 

Judith

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Just to add, if you decide to do the ATM route, there should be Scotiabank (another big 5 bank in Canada) ATM's in most 7Elevens. There's one a few blocks down Robson and another down Beatty near the Hampton Inn. But as mentioned, if you're walking around downtown, you're bound to come across one of the major banks' branches / ATM's too.

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  • 2 months later...

I just wanted to ask this question, I know it won't be exactly what we would be giving the taxi driver and I will double check currency rates before we leave, but I want to get a general idea. If we are going from YVR to L'Hermitage the fare should be in the 35.00 range?(CAD). I just checked the Bank of Canada currency calculator, if we gave the taxi driver $35.00 US dollars, that should be enough for the fare and a decent tip? Just want to make sure we aren't shorting the driver. We won't get CAD until after we get to the hotel. Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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I just wanted to ask this question, I know it won't be exactly what we would be giving the taxi driver and I will double check currency rates before we leave, but I want to get a general idea. If we are going from YVR to L'Hermitage the fare should be in the 35.00 range?(CAD). I just checked the Bank of Canada currency calculator, if we gave the taxi driver $35.00 US dollars, that should be enough for the fare and a decent tip? Just want to make sure we aren't shorting the driver. We won't get CAD until after we get to the hotel. Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

$35 USD is going to be approximately $47 CAD at today's rate.

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To make currency conversion easy, I have downloaded the "XE Currency" app to my iPhone. I highly recommend it as it makes it easy to estimate what your CAD charge will convert to when the charge is billed to your credit card

 

We used it last October while in Canada. It is free and very easy to use. We plan to use it again next month while in Vancouver.

 

Kathy

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fyi.....

  • YVR to L'Hermitage is CAD$31 (USD$24). It's a fixed price. Feel free to give the driver a tip for your luggage.
  • the Canadian dollar is called a "Loonie".
  • Currently it's around 75 cents US for a Loonie. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/chart/CADUSD=X
  • With the currency collapse.... Just give yourself a 25% discount for any CAD price you see.
  • Pay attention to the bill.... there's a GST (and possibly PST) surcharge at restaurants and retailers.
  • if you pay by credit card... there may be a currency surcharge.

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Is $31 total or per person? Just trying to figure out when I need to multiply things by the number in our party!

 

 

It's $31 total. It's a set price. That's why it's good idea to take the taxi from the airport. Rather than paying per person on the Sky Train.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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Oh. What's the surcharge for person #5? Or does that mean we can't take a cab?

No surcharge - but with luggage, even minivans become impractical for more than 4 (seats 5 & 6, if they even have a seat 6, are both flapdown jumpseats in the trunk). So 6 people means zero luggage, and 5 means all your luggage better be stackable vertically into the space one person fits in, with carryons all held on laps. In other words - very uncomfortable, and perhaps impossible.

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