Money, Money, Money...

[Ken_Breadbox]

You'd kind of expect America, consumer culture that it is, to make it absurdly simple to get at your money. And yet...
Well, let's take gas stations to start. You have to prepay, which necessitates some kind of crystal ball...let's see, how much will the car take to fill it this time? They won't take your credit card at the pump, and forget about debit (unless you're lucky enough to have chosen the correct Canadian bank). So you go in and give up your credit card (violating your cardholder agreement and leaving you wide open to being skimmed/scammed). Or you pay cash. Which is fine--we did it for hundreds of years, right?--except the machines that *dispense* said cash won't recognize your debit card unless you're lucky enough to have chosen the correct Canadian bank. (Finally, we stumble on a disadvantage to joining a credit union. Didn't think there were any.)

Then you get to the World. Presto! Your credit card works, but you still have that maddening debit problem. There are ATMs oh-so-helpfully scattered all over the property, and the only ones that will work for us are at a couple of resorts, none of which are anywhere near the one we're staying at.

Sigh...

 

[Tower]

Then you get to the World. Presto! Your credit card works, but you still have that maddening debit problem. There are ATMs oh-so-helpfully scattered all over the property, and the only ones that will work for us are at a couple of resorts, none of which are anywhere near the one we're staying at.

I can empathize with your frustration Ken. For those times we drive to the USA, a stop at Walmart is almost customary. I find it quite easy to make my purchases there on debit and get up to $200 in cash back with no transaction fees. (at least that has happened in the past) The rest of the way, we use credit and we have no real problems.

 

[Gigi22]

We have 'issues' too--I think we may be the only people who still buy traveller's cheques, and take credit cards and some cash with us. We only cash the traveller's cheques at hotels or on cruise ships, never any problem with them. TA has advised us to get a prepaid credit card instead--would that even work in the US, if you bought it in Canada?

 

[Ken_Breadbox]

I can empathize with your frustration Ken. For those times we drive to the USA, a stop at Walmart is almost customary. I find it quite easy to make my purchases there on debit and get up to $200 in cash back with no transaction fees. (at least that has happened in the past) The rest of the way, we use credit and we have no real problems.

*slaps self*

Cashback. Ha. Never even thought of that.

Which is odd, because I work in a grocery store and one of the biggest pet peeves at the front end is the myriad of people who traipse in two seconds after we open, believing we're a bank.

Thanks for jogging my brain.

 

[tribus121]

Most Canadian debit cards will work at walmart and they dont charge any extra for cash back I deal with TD here and my first stop after crossing the border is to stop at a TD bank machine in the US with no transaction fees ( Only for Canadian TD customers ) When traveling for work we used pre payed credit cards to pay for gas in the us

 

[drag n' fly]

We bank with a credit union. We can use almost any atm of the major US banks but a lot of places do not accept our card for debit transactions.....sucks I know we use our cc a lot down there.

 

[wdwmike59]

Since we bank with PC Financial, we are used to our debit card not working in the US. Never had a problem with our credit card. We also always use travellers cheques when we go to WDW because of the exchange rate problems, especially if something has to be reversed off your CC. We pay for the room with the TC's at check-in and then we make a payment every other day on the room so it doesn't get out of hand and we stick to our budget.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Well, not to sound too snippy, but this is what I tell all the Americans who complain about the same thing when they travel to Canada...It's a foreign country, if you knew you were coming here, why didn't you buy currency before you arrived? Never assume that your debit card will work in a foreign country! I would never think to travel to the UK and assume that my debit card would work at their stores...just because we are right next door does not negate the fact that we are NOT the same country...sorry you had such a frustrating time, though!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

I lived in the US for awhile and suffice it to day that their banking system is different. For the most part their debit cards are "check" cards and therefore at most places you don't input a PIN number. (Walmart is one of the exceptions). The money is taken right out of their account, but they sign much like a credit card transaction.

We bank at CIBC and our Canadian debit works at most bank machines. Only a few exceptions.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Just put your credit card in the pump. That way you dont even have to go inside the station.

 

[glendalais]

Just put your credit card in the pump. That way you dont even have to go inside the station.

Some U.S. Gas Stations, particularly in the South, won't allow foreign-issued credit cards to be used at the pump. In these cases, only Credit Cards issued in the United States with U.S. Zip Codes encoded can be used to pay outside.

 

[bankr63]

Some U.S. Gas Stations, particularly in the South, won't allow foreign-issued credit cards to be used at the pump. In these cases, only Credit Cards issued in the United States with U.S. Zip Codes encoded can be used to pay outside.

We tag-team at the US stations. DW goes inside with the CC while I pump the gas. That wat the card stays in our control, but the attendant is usually satisfied enough to enable the pump (at least we've never had a problem). Most stations near WDW in Orlando are used to us Canadians, and know the routine. And don't blame the stations, it's the gas companies that are enforcing this, it is becoming more common across the US, so even NY state is getting to be a problem.

M Ross

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Some U.S. Gas Stations, particularly in the South, won't allow foreign-issued credit cards to be used at the pump. In these cases, only Credit Cards issued in the United States with U.S. Zip Codes encoded can be used to pay outside.

We found that at one gas station otherwise my wife goes in to the station and waits for me to fill up We then put a cash deposit and get that back and put it on the credit card in the office.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Our last trip back I had a bunch of Canadian cash left in my wallet and I wanted to use it up, there was not one store or gas station between Savannah and Fredonia NY, that would take it. Was quite frustrating but at least we had a CC to back us up... where in states other than touristy places can we make a currency exchange?

 

[glendalais]

Our last trip back I had a bunch of Canadian cash left in my wallet and I wanted to use it up, there was not one store or gas station between Savannah and Fredonia NY, that would take it. Was quite frustrating but at least we had a CC to back us up... where in states other than touristy places can we make a currency exchange?

Most banks, even in the most remote areas, should be able to exchange foreign currency into US Dollars for you.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Yes they can! But they wont unless you are a customer of their institution, and to be a customer you need to have a US adress. I got that reply from 5 different banks while going through the States. I also tried using their check cashing establishments with the same results. Maybe I just picked the wrong ones I dunno...

 

[chasbos]

You do not need to have a US address to be a customer of a US Bank. I have an account with the Royal Bank in Boca Raton, Florida (my Royal Bank here set it up for me, but my US branch is in Boca Raton)

I had to send people money in the US for suite rentals and rodeo entry forms for my kids last May and I was getting sick of having to get money orders and paying $6.00 each for them, so I asked my bank what I could do about it.

We go to the states for holidays, shopping, and rodeos 7 or 8 times a year and I wanted an easier way to get $$ if I ran out and also to get gas in the states that do not accect Canadian Credit Cards in there pumps.

They set me up with an account that I can write cheques on and have a Visa check card - so now it is real simple. On our flight to Vegas last week it was a cashless flight but I could just swipe my Visa Check card and no fees or exchanges for using my Canadian Visa!

The account costs me nothing as long as I have $750 in the account - which is never an issue. I really, really like have another account in the US!

 

[snickerboo]

Where is this with the CCs and the gas? Seriously, I have never had that problem in the Detroit area! We use our CC at the pump the same as we would here. I also have never had trouble with a US bank machine and we travel to the US extensively. I just used my Canadian CC for an entire trip and the only place I had trouble with it was Dillard's where he just called Mastercard and they gave him a code for the machine and we were off and running. I often charge on trips and just pay the bill when we get home. My dh travels all over the world & uses CCs and bank machines with no problems. He never brings foreign currency with him. We bank at one of the majors. Is that the difference?

 

[chasbos]

It is not that they cannot use their Credit card while away - it is in the machines that require verification of who you are to prevent fraud, like at gas pumps.

Michigan and Florida are usually good (lots of Canadian visitors) - I have not had problems in those states. But once you get down into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California - they will not take your Canadian CC in the gas pumps because it asks for a zip code and we only have postal codes.

This is the only place that I have had problems - any store is glad to take your Canadian CC. You can always pump your gas and then go in and pay because they will take your card no problem then.