Two days in Vancouver - American vs Canadian dollars

[bclay]

We'll be in Vancouver for two days.  Will be paying for most things with a credit card but using cash for tips and maybe occasional small expenses.   Should we be using Canadian dollars for these expenses, or can we get away with all American dollars?  

[3rdGenCunarder]

I would get some Canadian money. I'm a firm believer in using local currency. If you tip someone in USD, then they have the hassle of changing the money. That makes the tip less generous IMO. Plus, some cash purchases in USD don't give you a good exchange rate.

[em-sk]

7 hours ago, bclay said:

We'll be in Vancouver for two days.  Will be paying for most things with a credit card but using cash for tips and maybe occasional small expenses.   Should we be using Canadian dollars for these expenses, or can we get away with all American dollars?  

 

Most people are using CDN dollars in Canada and most goods are priced in CDN.   

 

Canada and BC have a decent minimum wage ($15.65) are not as significant in some parts of the US.  However the custom in the service industry is to tip in a similar way to US.  I don't think anyone would be offended being tipped in US dollars, however the currency is not as common and usually requires a trip to the bank to do anything with it.  

 

You will discover most restaurants credit card terminals have a tip option.  Visa and MC are widely accepted.  AMEX/JCB/Dinners has mixed coverage.  Discover not so much.

 

[Woody14]

You will likely not get a very good exchange rate from most businesses if you pay in US cash.  

[martincath]

While cash tips will be much more convenient for the receiver in CAD, almost everything else you can use plastic. In TheBeforeTimes I probably pulled cash out of my wallet once a month in Vancouver; during the 'vid many businesses stopped accepting cash entirely so we've shifted even further to a Plastic-Primary city (except plastic bags of course!!!)

 

If you find that you under-estimated how much local cash to bring, but you don't need like another hundred bucks or more when an ATM even with a fee is likely the best deal, Tim Hortons offers the best exchange rate for USD I've found in Vancouver businesses. They display the current rate on the screens above the counter, give change in CAD, so handing over a US$20 for a double-double is the least expensive way to acquire a small amount of local cash. Many tourist shops, like the souvenir places along Water St, will take USD but pad the rate in their favour quite a bit...

[DirtyDawg]

On 4/11/2022 at 11:23 AM, martincath said:

Many tourist shops, like the souvenir places along Water St, will take USD but pad the rate in their favour quite a bit...

I wouldn't call it 'pad the rate in their favour quite a bit'. I'd call it; 'they add in a shipping and handling fee' . The poor soles have to ship the US cash off to the bank and handle all those loonies and toonies they get all the way back to their shops. 💰 

😁

[xlxo]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:50 PM, bclay said:

Will be paying for most things with a credit card

I hope you have Visa and/or Mastercard.  American Excess is not popular for a lot of Vancouver businesses with the higher merchant fees.

 

Note, Unlike Alaska... Vancouver welcomes Loonies, Toonies and plastic currency that you can see through.

Edited April 23, 2022 by xlxo