More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Amid the flurry of pre-vacation packing and prep, it's easy to forget considerations about the best way to pay for things abroad. But at a time of high inflation, questions about what cards to use, how much local cash to withdraw and which currency conversion services to avoid are particularly valuable.
Here's what to know when seeking cost-effective methods of spending money overseas.
The best-case scenario is using a credit card, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Montreal-based travel data firm Hopper.
They're not accepted at every roadside stand or backwoods bar, but they're widely used in most countries, particularly in cities and other popular tourism destinations.
Each credit card purchase includes a foreign transaction fee, usually around 2.5 per cent. Eventually that can weigh on the pocketbook, but it's lower than most ATM and debit card fees, Berg said. If a bistro bill of 76 euros converts to $100 -- which it did as of Thursday -- the customer would be charged $102.50.
Multiple credit card providers offer fee-free overseas transactions. These come via "travel cards," including the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, HSBC World Elite Mastercard and Brim Mastercard.
"Usually people just go with what they have. Only if you're travelling a lot is that going to start to add up," said Richard Vanderlubbe, CEO of travel agency Tripcentral.ca, who recommends travel cards only to business travellers and habitual tourists.
Credit cards also have a currency conversion rate -- for converting the purchase abroad back to your home currency -- that is marginally higher than the official "interbank" rate. But credit card companies typically offer the best consumer rates compared with ATMs or cash exchanges, he said.
Often customers are given a choice at the point of sale to pay in Canadian dollars or the local currency.
"Always choose to be charged in the currency of the country you are in. You will pay high conversion rates and transaction fees if they convert to Canadian currency," the federal government states on its travel website.
Cash also has a role to play, however.
"You're going to need cash for taxis, for tips, potentially, for a cafe with a coffee and a croissant," said Jill Wykes, editor of Snowbird Advisor, an online resource for Canadians wintering outside the country.
Just don't carry too much. Cards are safer "than walking around with a ton of cash in your pocket," she noted.
Before departure, Berg suggests ordering foreign bills through your bank that you can pick up at the branch within a few days.
"A lot of European destinations rely more on paper or coin currency than we do in North America," she said.
You don't need three weeks' worth of pesos, pounds or greenbacks, but just enough to last a few days and avoid "all these nickel-and-dime charges" from repeated ATM visits, Vanderlubbe said. It's also a pricey hassle to convert foreign coins into Canadian currency once you're back on home turf.
After credit cards, ATMs usually offer the best rate, which in turn is lower than a straight exchange of cash. However, on top of the conversion fee -- often between one per cent and three per cent -- withdrawals will likely include an ATM fee of around $3 to $6 as well as a fee from your bank for using an ATM outside its network.
Scotiabank and Tangerine present something of an exception. They are part of the Global ATM Alliance, a network of big banks including France's BNP Paribas and Germany's Deutsche Bank that waive fees for ATM withdrawals from each other's terminals in more than 30 countries and territories, from Australia to Spain.
No matter what, try to steer clear of ATMs and currency exchanges at airports and hotels, Vanderlubbe warned.
"If you're cruising, if you're going to a casino, that's where suddenly the ATM charges are horrendous," he said. "You pay for convenience."
Large local banks likely have the lowest ATM charges, he added.
Before heading off to the airport, travellers should check online to see if their bank and credit card provider recommend notifying them they'll be out of the country. Of Canada's Big Six banks, only National Bank still recommends travel notification. Travellers should also ensure their personal information is up to date in case their financial institution attempts to reach out about a suspicious transaction.
"The worst thing you do is you get somewhere and you can't use your card," Vanderlubbe said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2022.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”