spending money for 2 people in Canada for 3 weeks.

enthusiasticsaver

Any advice from anyone familiar with Canada?  We have a trip booked for this September (rearranged from 2020 and 2021) for my husband and I to travel from East to West Coast of Canada.  Many things already paid for.  Accommodation for whole trip and flights (internal and overseas), transfers and some excursions. Essentially what we need to pay for while there is food, alcohol/drinks, some travel and entertainment.  Budget my trip reckons around $60 Canadian dollars per day per person so I am leaning towards taking £400 (minimum order in Post Office) for Canadian dollars in cash so approx Can $600, loading the Post Office travel money card with the equivalent of £1000 which is  Can $1550 and using our Starling current account card/and or credit card for anything else. Starling has free foreign exchange but our credit cards dont. 

Is this reasonable or is there a better way I haven't thought of?  Is the Post Office travel money card a good idea? I know Canada is like UK and gradually moving towards cashless but I thought we should have some with us. 

400ixl

You really do not need cash in Canada other than small amounts for tips for the likes of hotel cleaners, porters and valet parking. May be just as cheap to get a small amount of cash out from an ATM in Canada with the Starling card as you will just pay the ATM fee which should only be a few dollars.

Personally I would get a fee free credit card like the Halifax Clarity card and use that for pretty much everything with the Starling card as the backup. Credit cards are better for security as any cloning is better protected than a debit card and although becoming much less likely is still a risk in North America. It is also better for using for car rental or hotels where a hold gets put on a balance of the card. This can take longer than the term of the holiday to drop off in some cases so don't use a money card for this (otherwise you cannot spend the money on it and may not be able to until you return).

Stopped using pre-pay cards years ago as there are very few benefits over travel credit / debit cards these days unless you are on of those fascinated by trying to beat the exchange rates over time.

eDicky

If you have a Starling Bank account there's no need to think about buying cash at the Post Office and loading their card at such dismal rates. The Starling debit card will give you the ideal MasterCard rate when used for purchases or ATM withdrawals (if required, you're unlikely to need much cash at all). For backup choose another fee-free card, or using your regular cards will cost hardly more, if anything, than exchanging cash.

TELLIT01

I would never travel anywhere, in the UK or abroad, without enough cash on me to pay for my needs over a couple of days.  There is always a chance that a card will be declined or damaged.

daveyjp

I'd have at least one free FX credit card.  Daily spend will depend on food and drink expectation.

Also agree its worth having a few hundred dollars just in case.  If cards are being used with no issues you can spend it towards the end of the holiday.

400ixl

TELLIT01 said:

I would never travel anywhere, in the UK or abroad, without enough cash on me to pay for my needs over a couple of days.  There is always a chance that a card will be declined or damaged.

Thats why it is best to have a credit and debit card from different banks / card providers. Chances of multiple banks and card providers have an issue at the same time is so low, and lower than you losing cash. You are also only insured for a fairly small amount of cash on any travel insurance policy.

Much more convenient to live in the 21st century these days.

enthusiasticsaver

The cash will be split between my husband and myself so I wont be carrying £400.  Like others I am reluctant to travel anywhere without at least some cash even in the UK.  Sometimes we have been to places where card systems have crashed or signal is not good enough. I do hear you on the pre paid travel card so will check on rates.  Being a belt and braces type of person though I like the idea of having multiple ways of paying for things.  I did apply for the Halifax Clarity Card a few weeks ago  but for the first time ever I was declined presumably because I am early  retired and living off mine and my husbands occupational pensions with back up from private investments. Certainly no other issues on my credit file as my only other credit card is paid off in full each month.  Or maybe they don't want customers who don't carry a lot of credit. 

Peggio

I was in Canada the first 2 weeks of July and I spent less than $100 cash, most of shops now do not accept cash or do prefer Credit card. Some stalls at the food market in Vancouver were Credit card only. 
The cash was required only for 2 campings without rangers (I could have left the credit card detail in the mailbox  but I preferred not to). 
I found the food way more expensive than London: dinner in Bannf, normal restaurant, no posh places, 1 starter shared + 1 main (steak) and 1 beer above £50/each. Same in Jasper and Vancouver. So £60/day may be not enough.
Mastercard by Virgin (no fees) accepted everywhere, Amex 80% of the places  

Brie

Haven't managed to get to Canada to visit my family since before the first lock down but in the past I've taken almost no cash with me and have simply taken money out of my RBS account via an ATM as that's where you'll get the best exchange rates.  My situation is obviously very different to you but I might get out $100 for a 10 day stay.  Most of that goes on tipping waiting staff when we're out, parking, maybe buying a coffee.  But the vast majority of any money I spend is on a fee less Santander credit card.  I have a Barclaycard and my RBS debit card as back up.  

As others have said be prepared for expensive meals relatively.  OK so Tim Horton's (best donut shops in the world, bar none) you can get a coffee for $2 - so less expensive than Costa in the UK.  And you'll want some Timbits (donut holes) to go with that which is $1.99 for 10 - depending on location of course.  

Which brings me to 2 things. 

Pennies are no longer used in Canada and haven't been for a few years.  So if something costs $1.99 you pay $2 and get no change.  If it costs $1.91 you normally pay $1.90 but I wouldn't be surprised if some people round everything up.  (Us Canucks are nice but not stupid and we've been scamming the Yanks for years when they didn't know there was such a thing as Canadian currency.)

And unlike the UK there is different taxes charged depending on what province you are in.  There is the federal GST (goods and services tax) which should be the same across the country.  And then there is PST (provincial sales tax) which is different in each province.  Last time I was there GST was 8% and in Ontario PST was 7%.  So you see something you want to buy for $10 and you will be charged $11.50.  ($10 + 15%).   

And be aware of whatever the local alcohol laws are.  When I last lived in Toronto (granted a long time back) there was still dry areas of town so a restaurant won't sell you beer/wine/liquor but you can generally take a something in with you and pay corkage.  Of course you then have to find somewhere that sells and again it's different by province.  Quebec sold beer and wine in corner shops even when I was young but in Ontario you still need to go to an LCBO store (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) to get liquor/beer/wine.  There's also The Beer Store  - another government run chain that does exactly what it says on the label.  But you can now also get some wine - usually just local ones - in some supermarkets or specialty shops or at the vineyards.  

And if you are on a bus or taking the train between cities do take a book or something to amuse yourself.  It's a big country which a lot of people from the UK just don't understand until they are there. Over 5,000 miles wide though I doubt you will be travelling quite that far.

But enjoy yourself too - if you are going to Toronto do get a bacon sandwich from St Lawrence Market.  If you head down to Niagara Falls wave to my mom as you go across the Welland Canal (which is a bit of a marvel really considering it's how boats get past the Falls).  The Niagara wineries are excellent - particularly if you enjoy German type wines.  The icewine produced is among the best in the world.  Montreal, in my opinion, is just another big city but Quebec City is charming.  And assuming you get to Vancouver - Granville Island can be fun - a market with crafts, food, entertainment.  And the VAG is an excellent art gallery and I do recommend going in if only to see the Emily Carr paintings that are on permanent display.  And if you get over to Victoria on Vancouver Island hopefully you'll see whales on the crossing.

Have fun!!

enthusiasticsaver

Thanks all for the advice.  Do taxis over there prefer cash as many over here still do?