Using US Credit Cards at Canadian Gas Stations

[Tom-NC]

Hi,

You all should use Capitol one Credit card as there is no transaction fee when you use it in Canada as most other cards charge to change currency.

[SWag]

No transaction fee with Amex as well, but, it's not as widely accepted in Canada as it is in the US.

[hclark6345]

We just got home from a 5 week trip through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I figured gas price in U S Dollars was about $ 3.70 per gallon.
We paid cash in Canadian dollars. We used our credit union debit card at ATM machines to get cash. Unlike credit cards, our credit union debit card does not add a foreign exchange fee.
Our debit card does not have a chip, but it did work in all the ATMs we tried.

[what next]

Just got back from Canadian trip. If your credit card has a chip no problem. No one excepted a swipe anymore. You stick card in slot and leave it in, read instructions it will tell you when to take it out. My buddy did not have chip in his card every gas stop was a big hassle. We were on motorcycles stopping for gas every 180 miles on 10,000 mile trip. My card did give me the correct exchange rate but yes it had a small transaction fee for everyone.

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Originally Posted by normandlegra

Salut Jacques, on se retrouve sur différents forums... j'aime bien celui-ci comparé à l'autre F...
Au plaisir de se rejaser

Translation:
Hi Jacques , we find ourselves on different forums ... I like this one compared to the other F ... Hoping to rejasers

Yes, this is a better forum. Welcome to IRV2. Wonderful answers here.

[Miramichi]

I would recommend that you shop for a suitable card for travel. Here is a link to start but possibly a call with our financial institution would be in order to see if they offer a competitive product.

https://get.com/travel-credit-cards/

If you do elect to utilize your current cards the. I strongly recommend you call your bank to inform them of depart/return dates, type, amounts and volume of expected transactions.

As stated by other helpful people already, find one with a chip as Canadian retailers utilize that security feature almost everywhere. The U.S. is a wee bit behind in adopting the chip. We have a travel AMEX and it still doesn't have a chip which makes it a pain to use in Canada or Western Europe.

Have fun while here! What areas are you expecting to travel to?

[lakewoodpaul]

Originally Posted by JDT

We did a trip last fall entering Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, MI and exiting into Vermont. I used a credit several times for fuel, restaurants, Wal-Marts, etc. with only one problem at a fuel stop that activated a fraud alert. It really wasn't but took a call to get the card unfrozen. Some cards will charge up to a 3% foreign transaction fee so you need to check that. We have a GM MasterCard that does not charge any fees so we used it exclusively.

on those lines, Discover card advertises no foreign transaction fees but Good luck finding a gas station in Canada that accepts Discover cards

[normandlegra]

Originally Posted by Tom-NC

Hi,

You all should use Capitol one Credit card as there is no transaction fee when you use it in Canada as most other cards charge to change currency.

It is the same with "no transaction fee" if I use any of my my Canadian credit cards in the States, Capital One or not !
We'll just pay the for the currency's difference.

[luckyd]

The problem Canadians have when using credit cards at the pumps in the USA,
is that the pump asks for a zip code. Sometimes a "made up" one works but most times you need to leave your card at the till, fill up, and then go in to pay.

I have noticed in the last few years this is getting better, but there are still lots of stations that ask for the zip code.

[Murf2u]

Originally Posted by luckyd

The problem Canadians have when using credit cards at the pumps in the USA,
is that the pump asks for a zip code. Sometimes a "made up" one works but most times you need to leave your card at the till, fill up, and then go in to pay.

I have noticed in the last few years this is getting better, but there are still lots of stations that ask for the zip code.

It depends on your bank, most now offer either the 'standard' use just the digits and add 00 to the end, so L4C 2X5 would become 42500, or for added security some allow you to choose your own 5 digit code.

All you have to do is call your credit card issuer and ask.

[BrianGlenn]

Originally Posted by Murf2u

It depends on your bank, most now offer either the 'standard' use just the digits and add 00 to the end, so L4C 2X5 would become 42500, or for added security some allow you to choose your own 5 digit code.

All you have to do is call your credit card issuer and ask.

X2.

Much easier experience now that I figured out this works for my cards.

Canadian credit card buying gas in US.

Brian

[Bob&AnnaMari]

Thank you all for answering my questions on using credit cards in Canada. Boy, was I way too concerned. Everything is smooth as glass using Master Card in Alberta in all the establishments where we normally use credit cards. In fact everything about entering and traveling Canada has been easier than I was anticipating.

The one surprise I did encounter when authorizing my cards for Canada was the different surcharges different Master Card issuers charge for handling the transaction. USAA only charges a 1 percent handling charge while Sam's Master Card wants 3 percent. Needless to say we are using our USAA card only. A pleasant surprise was to see that we get 1.33 exchange rate with the Master Card while we only got a 1.26 exchange rate at the bank when we exchanged some US Dollars for cash transactions. So, using a credit card is a clear winner for larger purchases.

Again, thanks to all who provided information on this subject. You were all a great help and have made our trip more enjoyable.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Bob&AnnaMari

Thank you all for answering my questions on using credit cards in Canada. Boy, was I way too concerned. Everything is smooth as glass using Master Card in Alberta in all the establishments where we normally use credit cards. In fact everything about entering and traveling Canada has been easier than I was anticipating.

The one surprise I did encounter when authorizing my cards for Canada was the different surcharges different Master Card issuers charge for handling the transaction. USAA only charges a 1 percent handling charge while Sam's Master Card wants 3 percent. Needless to say we are using our USAA card only. A pleasant surprise was to see that we get 1.33 exchange rate with the Master Card while we only got a 1.26 exchange rate at the bank when we exchanged some US Dollars for cash transactions. So, using a credit card is a clear winner for larger purchases.

Again, thanks to all who provided information on this subject. You were all a great help and have made our trip more enjoyable.

All the better rate means is the exchange rate has changed since you were at the bank. Exchange rates can change often and by quite a bit depending upon how the money market moves.

[Skip426]

X2, on the exchange rate, changes faster than you can blink. Your bank or C/Card company will charge the highest/lowest of the day , whatever puts the most in their pocket.