Finance and money forum

Canadian bank card (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos)

grace88

newbie
Posts: 2

Hello all!

Looking for some advice...
I'll be flying into Hanoi in early September, working as an intern with the Canadian embassy until early December. For the month of December I plan to spend some time in Laos & Cambodia before flying home. I'm trying to figure out which one of the Canadian banks lets you withdraw $ (ATM) for free (or the cheapest one out there). I'm currently with the Bank of Montreal, and have been told that there is a $5/withdrawal fee.
Plan on taking several large denomination USD traveller's cheques as an emerg supply of money for when I'm travelling. Will bring some US cash with me. Debating on whether to use a credit card at all..would rather avoid ridiculous cash advance fees + interest. Would I be better off with a prepaid credit card? Any ideas on which company might be best?
Wondering if my best bet would be to transfer funds to a Vietnamese bank for the time I am in Hanoi...

Final question: Is it worthwhile to get an extra ATM card for backup?

Have been looking around in this forum but haven't found a whole lot of info on Canadian debit cards..Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!!

#1 Posted: 22/7/2011 - 23:15
tyler

tuk tuk driver
Posts: 114
Located in:
Private message

Hey Grace88,

Let me know if you find a bank here in Canada that will let you make international withdrawals for free! I bank with Alberta Treasury Branch and have used my debit card without problem all over SEA for years. That being said, I eat $4 for every withdrawal. I tend to only used my card every 2 weeks or so, keeping bank charges to a minimum. And from what I have heard from other Canadian travellers - 4-5$ for a withdrawal seems to be the norm.

I also pre-pay on my normal MasterCard for every trip and just use it for larger purchases ie. hotels, flights and diving. Small cash advances will kill your budget! Make sure you have a PIN for your card as well.

Some traveller's cheques aren't a bad idea as I do the same and I also take some cash with me. I find that I use my credit card most often - widely accepted.

I bring a little bit of all of them and keep them in different places on me - that way I always have a $ resource.

Have fun!

#2 Posted: 23/7/2011 - 23:59