Chip and Pin in Quebec City

[WinniWoman]

Two questions:

When we cross the border from NY into Canada (via the Northway)- where do we find an ATM machine to get some Canadian money? Thinking we might need it for tolls on our way to QC. Never been, so don't know. Or should we just get some Canadian money at home before we leave as not to hassle with it? We will mostly always use credit cards, but might need some cash for tips and tolls(if there are any) and so forth.

Second- we have chip credit cards, but we don't have/use pins- we just sign here in the USA. Is that how it is done in Canada? Last year we were in Canada and used a card that didn't have a chip, but now all our cards have converted to the chip technology.

 

[Passepartout]

Mary Ann, I suspect the will be an ATM very close to the border crossing. Perhaps at a souvenir type business. Ask the nice Mountie. Banks are smart and know where people are likely to use their machines.

If you insert your chip card and signature card and it asks for a PIN, just hit the <enter> key and it will spit out a slip for you to sign. No worries. Yours will not be the first chip/sign card they've seen.

I betcha Google Maps will show you whether or not the roads you will take have tolls.

Have fun. Remember, "Bonjour" and 'Merci"

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

LOL! I haven't even begin to practice yet! Ha! Ha! Thanks, Jim. I didn't know if I was going to have to call the credit card companies to get our pins or what. I can't keep up with remembering so many pins and passwords and so on.

No smart phone, but I guess I could look up on-line before we leave about the ATM's. Good idea to ask the mountie- after they search our car for weapons! LOL!

 

[Chilcotin]

I would say that 99% of credit card transactions in Canada are chip and pin...however tap is becoming very popular...just tap and go if transaction is usually about $100 or less. Credit card has to be activated with a pin in order for tap to work. I love it saves lots of time at checkout.

You just tap your chip on the pin reader..it beeps and you are on your way.

You can have your bank order in some Canadian cash before you go.

 

[WinniWoman]

I would say that 99% of credit card transactions in Canada are chip and pin...however tap is becoming very popular...just tap and go if transaction is usually about $100 or less. Credit card has to be activated with a pin in order for tap to work. I love it saves lots of time at checkout.

You just tap your chip on the pin reader..it beeps and you are on your way.

You can have your bank order in some Canadian cash before you go.

Thanks. That's interesting about the TAP.

I wonder how much cash to take since we will only be there for a few days (3 nights) and mostly use credit cards for everything when we can?

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Maryann,
Tim Horton's etc take credit cards so you won't have a problem if you need
caffeine or eats

Parking meters in Toronto & Montreal take credit cards but I am not sure about
Quebec City .

Remember to use a card with no foreign transaction fees or you will pay approx. 3% more

 

[moonstone]

You can also ask for a "cash back" when making a purchase with a credit card. You will get local currency with no bank transaction fees. There is often a limit of how much you can get and not all places will do it.

I had a nice little conversation in our local grocery store yesterday with a woman from near where we are travelling to next month (PA). We ended up behind her at the check-out. She asked for and got $100. cash back when paying for her groceries with her American credit card.


~Diane

 

[Karen G]

You can also ask for a "cash back" when making a purchase with a credit card. You will get local currency with no bank transaction fees. There is often a limit of how much you can get and not all places will do it.

I had a nice little conversation in our local grocery store yesterday with a woman from near where we are travelling to next month (PA). We ended up behind her at the check-out. She asked for and got $100. cash back when paying for her groceries with her American credit card.


~Diane

Cash advances on a credit card carry high interest rates. You might want to use your debit card for a purchase if you intend to get cash back.

You can also request a PIN for your credit card that has a chip from your credit card provider if you don't have one.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

The cash back Diane is referring to is when you buy a item say for $10 and the credit card receipt says $20 and the retailer gives you $ 10 cash .This does not count as a cash advance . I know I can do this at my local grocery ( part of a Canadian national chain) and I am pretty sure the chip terminals at Walmart Canada have or had a similar question that could be answered -Yes or No .

Maybe it is different than in the USA ?

.

 

[Karen G]

The cash back Diane is referring to is when you buy a item say for $10 and the credit card receipt says $20 and the retailer gives you $ 10 cash .This does not count as a cash advance . I know I can do this at my local grocery ( part of a Canadian national chain) and I am pretty sure the chip terminals at Walmart Canada have or had a similar question that could be answered -Yes or No .

Maybe it is different than in the USA ?

.

Very interesting. I'm going to check with my US credit card provider and see what they say. Thanks for the info.

 

[cd5]

Cash back is on Debit cards not a credit card. Cash back is NOT available on credit cards. One place where you can always get cash back (from a debit card) without problems, is Walmart. You can generally get a larger amount (up to $100). Grocery stores will usually do this too.

 

[WinniWoman]

When I use my credit card at the grocery store or Walmart here in the USA where I live, the machine asks if I want cash back and if I take cash back I am not charged as a cash advance.Don't know about how it works in Canada.

Been like that for years. Usually with my Discover card.

I won't be using that card in Canada as it has foreign transaction fees I believe and so does my AMEX Blue Cash Card and my Citi World Wide.

Will be using a credit union Visa and a Capital One Mastercard instead as they have no fees.

I do not have a debit card as I don't like them.

 

[moonstone]

Cash advances on a credit card carry high interest rates. You might want to use your debit card for a purchase if you intend to get cash back.

You can also request a PIN for your credit card that has a chip from your credit card provider if you don't have one.

I wasn't referring to a cash advance. A cash back is when you make a purchase for say $25.00 on a credit card and ask for a cashback (say $100.00). Depending on the store's procedures the cashier will usually ring up a purchase of $125.00. on your credit card, or she may have to enter the 2 transactions separately. Then she would then give you a receipt to initial or sign (for receiving cash) and give you $100.00 in cash and your receipt showing a $25.00 purchase as well as a $100.00 cashback. Your credit card company will bill you $125.00 on your statement, thats all you will see. No daily high interest cash advance fees or ATM fees! If you pay off your entire credit card balance when your statement arrives you'll have no interest charges at all, just the foreign transaction fee if you card company charges them.

Many stores have cashback limits, obviously smaller stores may not have a lot of extra cash on hand to give many people hundreds of dollars. Also some stores dont have a lot of cash in the tills first thing in the morning. Many stores prefer to have credit card reciepts rather than a lot of cash on hand at the end of the day.

~Diane

 

[moonstone]

Cash back is on Debit cards not a credit card. Cash back is NOT available on credit cards. One place where you can always get cash back (from a debit card) without problems, is Walmart. You can generally get a larger amount (up to $100). Grocery stores will usually do this too.

We have gotten cashbacks often when making purchases on our Mastercard many times. We do not use our debit cards at all due to the debit fees our bank charges us. Everything goes on our creditcards (lots of AirMiles). When I worked at our local ski resort in the '90s I used to do cashbacks on credit cards for customers all the time so they could have cash for the cafeteria which didnt take credit/debit cards.

~Diane

 

[Cdn Gal]

There are no tolls to Quebec city, just take the 401 which is the main highway ti get there You could also go along highway 2 which is more scenic but alot more slow and it would take you forever to get there.

 

[WinniWoman]

There are no tolls to Quebec city, just take the 401 which is the main highway ti get there You could also go along highway 2 which is more scenic but alot more slow and it would take you forever to get there.

401. Great. Thanks. Sounds easy. I like easy.

 

[Cdn Gal]

There are no tolls to Quebec city, just take the 401 which is the main highway to get there You could also go along highway 2 which is more scenic but alot more slow and it would take you forever to get there. Most of the machines use tap/signature/chip technology so you won't have a problem. Have a lovely time!

 

[clifffaith]

Interesting discussion about cash back from credit cards. We do love our miles, so we've made a pact to remind each other the next time we are at the grocery store to try the cash back routine. More miles and saves a trip to the bank -- love it!

 

[WinniWoman]

There are no tolls to Quebec city, just take the 401 which is the main highway to get there You could also go along highway 2 which is more scenic but alot more slow and it would take you forever to get there. Most of the machines use tap/signature/chip technology so you won't have a problem. Have a lovely time!

I just checked my mapquest directions and it does not have us going on 401 at all!

From the Northway it has us taking 15N to QC-30/QC-132. Then- 930E to QC-30 to TC E/QC-20 to 73N to 175N!

 

[moonstone]

I just checked my mapquest directions and it does not have us going on 401 at all!

From the Northway it has us taking 15N to QC-30/QC-132. Then- 930E to QC-30 to TC E/QC-20 to 73N to 175N!

Don't worry about taking the 401 - it is the main Hwy from Toronto to Montreal. It ends (becomes Hwy 20) just west of Montreal -before you will get near Montreal. Just go with your Mapquest directions (or GPS if you have one).

Safe travels, enjoy your trip!

~Diane

 

[CanadianGuy]

Canada VS USA credit cards

Just to clear up some confusion as I live in a boarder city. In the USA, when you use your credit card you need to select "credit" or "debit". In Canada, you need separate cards. It is either a credit card or a debit card and not both.

The chip credit cards in the USA do not have PINs but in Canada they do. I've used my USA credit card with a chip (No PIN) in Canada and it immediately spits out a receipt for you to sign since there is no PIN on it and really confuses the cashier!