Canadian Railroads > Tipping on the Canadian or Ocean - US $ Accepted?

Hi. I recently booked a Halifax-Vancouver trip for next month, thanks to the recent flash sale on VIA. I'm a single traveler that typically leaves a $3 or $4 tip in dining cars for good service at a meal, but since I don't have a stockpile of loonies or toonies and I don't know of any banks here in the Seattle area that keep Canadian coins in their inventory, I don't envision being able to arrive in Halifax with those coins in hand. It would therefore be much easier to use American $1 bills, which are pretty much at parity but of course would introduce transaction costs for the recipients trying to convert them to their native currency.

I dug up a thread from a couple of years back in which the webmaster indicated use of US currency on the Canadian without WWIII breaking out, but I'm curious if the staff was genuinely alright with this practice or if they are merely tolerant of it while perhaps thinking "ugly American!" to themselves. I can certainly understand why they would prefer to receive the lucre of their own nation!

Since the westbound Ocean doesn't leave Halifax until lunchtime, I suppose if necessary I can swing by a bank and buy a a few rolls of coins, but frankly I would rather try to see a few sights in that time than hunt down loonies. But if this is the neighborly thing to do, I'll do so. (I'll be arriving by Air Canada late the night before, well after the banks will be shutting down.)

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

Use an airport ATM for Canadian funds. There is is no need to stop by a bank.
TOM

TrackOne Wrote:
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> Use an airport ATM for Canadian funds. There is is
> no need to stop by a bank.
> TOM

Thanks. I can do that, or I can get Canadian paper currency here at home before departure. But my problem (such as it is) is that neither source is going to give me the small denominations I anticipate using for tips.

Still, this thought raises a question. Do the service staff on the VIA trains by any chance stock $1 and $2 coins in anticipation of people not having them? Is this a service a hotel (I'm staying at the Westin in Halifax) might offer?

Or would it be kosher to just leave $10 on the table at the end of each day and hope they can split it up? I suppose that just going to a $5 standard tip at each meal solves the problem (I can get fives here at home) and is small change compared to the rest of the trip's cost, but that just seems excessive to me.

When in Rome. You never want to change to foreign currency in the US. I found in Canada it is very easy to get Canadian for a fair exchange of US at any Bank and if not there at a Hotel, probably at the station and then least desirable for your rate at the airport. Banks in even very rural SK did it without problem and it is a government fixed rate. You should know the exchange and unlike the past they are almost at parity reflecting the solid Canadian economy and economic policies.

In Canada changing currency is an every day event and many people will just keep the dollars as they travel to the US for shopping or travel.
Accepting US currency is a way of life and I never had a problem in probably 20 trips to Canada or any wars so without reading the old thread I am not sure of the anxiety, I certainly would not have any.

I would plan on exchanging a conservative amount in Halifax as you don't want to exchange back. I assume you have some stopover time somewhere as you are changing trains and so having some Canadian will be handy. If you don't want to then I am sure the staff will be happy with your US tip.

As a side note when you use your credit card you get a little ripped on an exchange fee as well as the exchange rate.

Bob

As an addition reading on, Banks are easy to find assuming you are in the downtown area and then you can get the change you need.
Use an ATM in another country if you don't care about the fees or the exchange rate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/12 19:30 by robj.

When I rode the Canadian in 2006, we were encouraged by the dining car staff to leave one tip before Winnipeg (covering our Toronto-Winnipeg meal service) and a second tip before Vancouver, covering our meal service on the second leg of the trip. I assume the wait staff will divide the tips, though you may perhaps have the same waitperson for all your meals on each of the two territories. This would greatly ease your dilemma.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/12 19:49 by Slumbercoach.

I have never had any server, Red Cap, or cabbie turn their nose up at American greenbacks when that was all I had on me at the time.
But usually, I'm able to get a few Canadian coins or bills at the train station or airport. Just exchange something like $40 US and pay the small charge, it's no big deal. It's not like you are a currency trader changing millions. The fee for a small amount is peanuts, and you are not going to go every weekend. You can use your credit card at most every place for anything big. You can even use your credit card to run a tab on the train for extras like drinks and/or wine and then include a tip when you close out. Most cards have even stopped charging that annoying conversion transaction fee.
Just go and enjoy your trip. Don't sweat the small stuff!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/12 20:07 by nonamemal.

robj Wrote:
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>
> In Canada changing currency is an every day event
> and many people will just keep the dollars as they
> travel to the US for shopping or travel.
> Accepting US currency is a way of life and I never
> had a problem in probably 20 trips to Canada or
> any wars so without reading the old thread I am
> not sure of the anxiety, I certainly would not
> have any.


As a matter of fact, most Canadian banking institutions (even my Credit Union) offer their customers US dollar accounts. Generally, Canadians are more willing to accept US dollars than Americans are willing to accept Canadian dollars.

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

Thanks everyone for chiming in! I appreciate all the suggestions.

It's not really an issue of anxiety for me (though I do tend that direction) so much as wanting to act Roman in Rome. As was indirectly noted, Canadian currency is not widely accepted in the U.S. and I therefore don't want to assume our cash is welcome up north without at least making inquiries.

How are you paying for your ride downtown when you arrive at the Halifax Airport? You’re going to have to hit the currency exchange or Bank Machine first anyway. You will now have some bills so just buy a coffee or newspaper. Same thing the next morning, pay for your breakfast at the hotel in cash and you will get change or pass the front desk a five or ten and ask for change.

Your US money will probably be accepted as a tip but it’s insulting to your hosts not to be using the currency of the country you are visiting. I could just see myself trying to pay a Red Cap in Penn Station with a couple of Toonies!!

From the Amtrak Timetable:
“Canadian Paper Money Only is accepted on trains that serve Canada directly and at ststions served by those trains” “Canadian Coins are only accepted on the Maple Leaf between Toronto and Niagara Falls”......I can’t even use a Loonie or Toonie on the Adirondack while still in Canada!

You're kidding? Seattle ! ... and you cannot find any Canadian money in any banks? that is a city you can fart in and they'll smell it in Vancouver.

As a Canadian growing up in Calgary, a city that is not near any large American populace, we could always buy US curency. Further, I had a USD account with Canada Trust. We used to always accept US currency in change. US pennies, nickels dimes and quarters circulated like they were part of the Canadian economy. But, if we ever tried to pass a Moose (a quarter) in a toll booth in Oakland, you'd have thought we were passing out Cancer pills. The woman practically chased us up the bridge.

In some ways it is a peculiarly introverted country and yet your politics are so global.

Rick

It really comes down to how willing the banks are to exchange currency.

Canadian banks change US currency for Canadian every day. They do have a "buy and sell" rate. The teller will say this is "our" exchange rate today for the customer to buy US money. This is the actual rate of exchange plus 2%. Similarly when you cash in US $ they will pay you the exchange rate minus 2%.

Retailers will charge a much higher percentage to accept US money. (5 to 10%). Always ask a retailer if they take US money.

The US and Canadian mints have deliberatly made quarters, dimes and nickles weigh differently so that vending machines can tell the difference. The new Canadian one and two dollar coins have a micro chip embedded so that newer coin mechanisms can scan them.
This is a real pain because many older coin mechanisms cannot read the new coins. Like US currency, they weigh differently.

It all comes down to whether the person you are giving US money to can easily spend it or put it in the bank. As a person working in the hospitality business , I've been tipped US and Australian currency. I would say US currency, no problem. It was an amazing thing that an Australian tipped, most don't. Must have been my slight pommie accent.

rschonfelder Wrote:
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> You're kidding? Seattle ! ... and you cannot
> find any Canadian money in any banks?

Local banks here have Canadian PAPER money readily available, at a poor exchange rate; at mine it takes about three minutes to have a teller go the vault and return with a handful of portraits of Sir Willy and Sir John and friends. What they do not stock is Canadian COINS; to my knowledge, banks don't typically stock foreign coins as it's not worth the hassle to them. And that's my original situation: I don't think I can get enough loonies or toonies for five days' worth of tips without specifically visiting a bank upon arrival in Canada. I can get fives here, but that seems excessive to me for a tip after each meal.

Since I do understand that some Canadians may not look favorably on receiving foreign currency, I'm just trying to figure out what makes sense. I can hit a bank in Halifax (or Montreal) if needed to buy a couple rolls of coins and otherwise exchange currency, but so far the consensus seems to be that servers on VIA won't be so offended by receipt of American notes that I should be concerned by it. (Point taken that Amtrak and Americans in general may not be so friendly about receiving Canadian cash in the reverse situation.) I may also try the approach of just leaving one tip with the dining car, as I will do with the room attendants, rather than worry about each meal.

In response to the observation about getting to Halifax from the airport...yup, I did some reading on that, and it looks like it's a $56 flat rate to downtown. Lovely. I'll either bring enough Canadian paper money with me to cover that or check in advance that my ATM card will work at the airport.

yorknl Wrote:
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> In response to the observation about getting to
> Halifax from the airport...yup, I did some reading
> on that, and it looks like it's a $56 flat rate to
> downtown.

http://www.hiaa.ca/default.asp?id=190&sfield=content.id&search=716&mn=70.1.235.243

As a Haligonian myself, I think I can speak for my friends in the hospitality business, and say they wouldn't mind getting American bills as a tip. It's not like the old days, when getting American cash was like hitting the jackpot (65 cent Canadian dollar), but it's a TIP!

I do think the best plan though is to get Canadian cash before you leave home, buy a coffee at the airport Tim Hortons in Halifax, and maybe ask for some extra coins there if you think you'll need them.

If you're not in a hurry, the bus from the airport sounds like a good deal. You will need exact cash for that. I'm not sure where it takes you downtown, but the place isn't huge, and you can get to the train station easily, even if it involves a short cab ride.

GTD

Many US banks have no fee agreements with Canadian bank partners, which avoids the nasty $5-$6 charges for accessing your own money. Check with your bank and see if they have a deal.

Bank of America has a deal with ScotiaBank which lets BAC customers access Scotia's ATMs without an access fee (but with a currency exchange fee), for example. The US TD Bank is part of TorontoDominion, HarrisBank's US affiliates in the midwest have a deal, etc.

http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/images/Route320Rev3.gif

metro city bus from airport $3 50

Don

I don't think they allow tips on the Canadian or probably any Via train.

Ray and Don, thanks for the link to the bus. Would love to do that instead of a cab but I'm supposed to arrive at 10:22P and I don't know that I'll want to hang out in the airport until the next bus leaves at 11:15. We'll see what happens, though.

Not true on no tipping. I rode across Canada in October and all of the staff gladly accept tips, there is certainly no ban on the practice of tipping. As for the money exchange, just go to a ATM, simply and no big deal, they are everywhere. I'm sure you will be able to find one at the Halifax airport.

I was recently on the Canadian!

Tipping in the diner was non exsistant - at least I never saw evidence of it.

The custom is to tip your sleeping car attendent at some point on the trip. I went from Edmonton to Toronto-crew changed in Winnipeg so I tipped my attendent as he was leaving-same in Toronto ( $25-40 CDN ) seemed to be the range of amount.

Mike Bannon
St Catharines, ON