Hi;

Many businesses will accept American currency as a courtesy to American tourists. Businesses that choose to accept US dollars set their own exchange rate, so you may find the rate different from store to store. You will receive your change in Canadian funds. Coins, as a general rule, are accepted at face value…at par.

Automated equipment, i.e. vending machines, public transit machines, parking meters, etc - basically anything where you insert coins / bills... will only accept Canadian currency.

Most places will take credit cards.

For some money saving tips, read the traveler article “Canada – Banks & Money” here on TA.

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g153339-s601/Canada:B…

Best Regards

You will have no problem using U.S. dollars, however the exchange rates at individual businesses may vary. I would exchange my U.S. funds into Canadian funds before leaving the U.S.

I agree with travelrrr. It will be so much easier if you have your bank in the United States order you Canadian currency. I would give them as much notice as possible as it could take a few days.

Best wishes.

We just got back. We used credit cards for most things like hotels, restaurants, shopping, entrance fees to some museums, gas etc. For 4 days there we took out $160 Canadian dollars from an ATM and this was enough for small purchases, bus fares, museums that don't take credit cards.

We just checked our bank web site for locations of ATMs that we could use without extra fees. I recommend printing out a list of ATMs and their street addresses you can use from your bank's web site as the ATMs in and around Quebec city aren't as obvious (out in the open) as in the US.

Two more thing about credit cards, 1) check to see if your credit card company has and extra surcharge on foreign transactions. We used CapitalOne Visa and this doesn't have extra surcharge (The surcharge can be 1% to 2% of the price charged). 2) Another good idea is to tell your credit card company you'll be traveling to Quebec city so they won't put any fraud locks on your card while you're there (since many have automated programs to check for unusual purchases).

Note that if you do pay with US currency and get change back on your purchase, the change will be in Canadian money. I guess some US tourists expect US money back, but it just doesn't work that way!

The best way to go is to use credit cards as suggested. The ATM's are usually good with the exchange rate, which today is $1.00 US gets a $1.10 Canadian. Definately have cash for little purchases as well as gratuities, but use Canadian, not US. Enjoy!!

JDP

We just got back and I saw a lot of people spending US dollars with no questions from the merchants in many different places. Saying that however. There is a bank with an ATM I used several times right in the center of the Old City, Just by the church and park. using Cad. dollars just takes the worry away. and if you pay attention you will walk away with only a few souvenir coins. I had one dime.

While travelling I use the credit card at every oppertunity but you will need Can. dlls. to take that wonderful carriage ride around the city.

sdrg

We went to our bank and got Canandian money before we left for our trip.(had to call a few banks to find Canadian money) They exchanged our money, but said they would take back paper money only, no coins. Canadian $1 and $2 are in coin... so we spent all of our remaining money before we left. We were glad we had local currency, it was just easier.

It certainly is easier with Canadian currency. Remember, as the dollar gets stronger some merchants will not want to give you the correct exchange as they make more Canadian back when they do exchange it. For a simple 1.00 item if you pay in US currency, and no currency conversion is made, they can covert that to 1.10 Canadian. Also, with the economic crisis, the exchange rates are literally changing daily. Stay with Canadian currency, and your credit card, and get a bit more for your US dollar which is hard to do almost anywhere these days.

In response to JDP ** Remember, as the dollar gets stronger some merchants will not want to give you the correct exchange as they make more Canadian back when they do exchange it.** this is very true and it works both ways.

In July when the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US dollar, we crossed the border from BC to golf in the US for the day. This particular golf course is accustomed to having Canadians pop over for a game, so they keep a spot for Canadian money in the cash drawer. When I went to pay for our lunch the clerk actually tried to charge me extra for exchange (even though the US was less than the Cdn)and then gave me Canadian change! Business is business! Of course I made a small objection and she didn't charge the exchange. It's always best to use the currency of the country you are in. It's polite too.