Travelling Abroad | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

For frequent travelers to USA best arrangement is to maintain CDN & USD accounts at TD in Canada.

TD operates branches throughout Eastern US, so by maintaining a USD account in the US, TD transfers are instant and seamless at no charge.

As a Canadian client in a US TD bank, you are entitled to a US based credit card.

Mary said

The key word is “proper”. When one answers all the questions honestly one assumes they are covered. Right? Nope! Where is there an honest insurance company in Canada?  

The standard is higher than that: One has to answer all the questions correctly.

Insurance company will suspect fraud if one says no pre-existing conditions on the questionnaire, one collapses in Cancun a week later, and the hospital finds elevated blood sugar from undiagnosed diabetes.

For credit card transactions, I use Fido MasterCard. They charge 2.5% forex fee but then give 3% back at the end of the year, so you end up with 0.5% net cash back. Another option is Home Trust Visa which doesn't charge you any forex fee at all.

For cash withdrawals, I use Tangerine's no-fee checking account. Tangerine is a member of Scotiabank's Global ATM Alliance which allows you to withdraw money fee-free in a number of countries including USA, UK, Germany, Spain, France, India, Chile, Australia, etc. In countries where there is no Global ATM Alliance bank, the fee for withdrawal is $2 (which is the lowest in the country). Just Google "Global ATM Alliance" to see the list of countries and participating banks.

I avoid exchanging money at banks, airports, hotels, currency exchange kiosks at all costs. The exchange rate is often punitively high to the point of gouging.

Also, be aware of Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC): it happens when you are paying with your Canadian credit card in a foreign currency. The terminal machine will ask you if you want to:

1) pay in CAD using the local bank's exchange rate, or
2) pay in local currency.

Always pick to pay in local currency. If you choose to pay in CAD, the exchange rate could be far greater than what your Canadian credit card would charge you (in one instance in Europe, I would have paid 6% in forex fee had I chosen to pay in CAD instead of EUR).

Travel insurance-wise, there are myriad of options to choose from, but make sure that the policy you purchase is comprehensive (at least $1,000,000 in coverage) with features such as air ambulance/transportation to Canada, etc.

Safe travels!

In my experience, the travel health policies offered by the banks are the worst.
A few years back I was about to make an unexpected trip and phoned around to the banks as they were the only places open that time of day. I had them read the conditions to me. One condition was that they would not be responsible if you had any pre-existing condition, whether known to you or not. I considered tat policy completely worthless and didn't buy it. How can I be responsible for what I don't know, have no symptoms for and has not been identified by my doctor? I said this to the person on the phone, and she agreed with me.

One piece of advice that I have read is that you should only deal with someone who is "licensed to sell insurance". You can ask them this and they have to give an honest answer. If so licensed, apparently they are supposed to give you best possible advice as to what to buy in your circumstances. Get their full name, especially if dealing on the phone, so this can be followed up if necessary. In the past, the bank employees who would sell you this were not so licensed. This may have changed.

My plans are like almost everyone's else already mentioned:

1. CC is my first choice. It used to be always Amazon Visa. Now it will be Home Trust Visa or Fido Master Card.

2. Some countries are not as cashless as we hope. These are almost all countries outside Western Europe/NA. If I am heading to one of those countries, I go with using my Tangerine debit card and withdraw cash from an ATM. Tangerine would be either free or $2. The other banks will charge as well.

In conclusion, it depends on the country and spending. Do your math and see what works better. Sometimes (rare) it ends up being cheaper to buy currency in Canada than withdrawing from an ATM.

Hope this helps.