# How to pay for Park Passes



## Iwant2gonow (Aug 14, 2015)

We leave Sunday morning for Banff trip. We did not arrange for exchanging US dollars for Canadian dollars at our bank. We the parks take credit cards as payment? 
Also I would imagine most restaurants take credit cards? 
What do others do? Do you get Canadian bills before vacationing in Canada?


----------



## Passepartout (Aug 14, 2015)

Iwant2gonow said:


> We leave Sunday morning for Banff trip. We did not arrange for exchanging US dollars for Canadian dollars at our bank. We the parks take credit cards as payment?
> Also I would imagine most restaurants take credit cards?
> What do others do? Do you get Canadian bills before vacationing in Canada?



It's always a good idea to use local currency when traveling- experienced travelers do. There will be ATMs at the airport where you land.(use a debit card, not credit card which would be charged as a cash advance from the first day) It will cost less than had you done the exchange at your U.S. bank anyway. Obviously, you won't want to get much more than you are likely to spend as it costs to exchange foreign currency back to your own.

Credit cards are widely accepted for all payments- including restaurants.

Jim


----------



## sue1947 (Aug 14, 2015)

You can use a credit card to pay for the park passes at the gate to the park.  

Check your credit card for their foreign transaction fee.  If it's the standard 3%, you will probably want to get cash at an atm.   Check your debit card for it's transaction fees and check for which banks you can use to avoid them.  You can check online and they will have maps of where the cash machines are.  

Canada has chip and pin cards.  Over the years, I've had more and more places where my old US swipe card isn't taken (a Safeway in Cranbrook was a surprise one).  Husky gas stations are a major one.  Make sure the gas station you use has an attendant/store where you can go inside to pay.  You may not be able to use your card at the pump.   In the Banff area, they are used to US tourists and their cards so you won't have much of an issue.  However, I would have some Canadian dollars on hand as a backup.  

Sue


----------

