MAJOR pic thread from our great US adventure!!! +a few differences between countries

[Dekka]

Jessie we wanted to go further south, heck we wanted to keep touring in general and not come back for months sadly not nearly enough funds.

No one came to visit me in Louisiana.

And we have the best food ever.

And I could used the terrors to rid my yard of some destructive mangy moles. I've got enough tunneling to make them happy for days.

We would have loved that. I have never been to Louisiana (or Florida) it would have been fun. Maybe next time.

Oh I was wondering, how far north do gators go? LOL I was joking I want to live as far south as I can, but have to worry about alligators eating my JRTs at a go swim....

 

[Renee750il]

Oh that reminds me of another difference. Smoking. FAR FAR more smokers in the US, plus all the tabbacco products just out and about in stores (in Canada they are all behind the counter, here you can't even see them you have to ask for them) Most gas stations in some states had drive through windows for people getting smokes... ewww lol.

There are even drive-thru cold beer windows . . . .

Oh and we got carded a lot when we bought alcohol. Since the age is later they card older people. It was also fun being able to buy alcohol in Walmart, even if they did have issues with trying to figure out our Ontario ID.

It's pretty much standard procedure that EVERYONE gets carded for alcohol, even if they know you personally. The registers are typically set up so that information from the ID has to be entered before the sale will go through.

 

[cloudcandy]

What an amazing trip!!!Love your pics and I have to ask,in the first set of pics,where you do your portraits against the sky one of the dogs (I think its Kat) has a pinkish/yellow collar...where is this from!!!I must have it,its sooooo nice!

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Ours have the right symbols, but often don't work in debit machines. Which actually was a big difference to us. Seems most Canadians pay for all transactions (everywhere, not just gas) with debit. Heck you go to a sidewalk sale and they have portable card readers. But in the US our cards were 'weird' because they don't have Master Card of Visa symbols on them (which we don't know why they would as they aren't credit cards)

Most of our debit cards that are connected to major banks (TCF, Wells Fargo, US Bank, etc) are powered by Visa or MasterCard, so they're accepted everywhere.

 

[skittledoo]

Ok I have to ask... where did you get this leash/collar... I want!

 

[JessLough]

There are even drive-thru cold beer windows . . . .

There are here too. We used to have one at the LCBO by my place, until somebody decided that drive-thru meant to literally drive through the store...

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Most of our debit cards that are connected to major banks (TCF, Wells Fargo, US Bank, etc) are powered by Visa or MasterCard, so they're accepted everywhere.

Here your bank card isn't part of a credit card. You can have a CC from your bank.. it'll be another card. We also are further ahead in technology as like Europe our bank cards and debit cards are all chipped.

What an amazing trip!!!Love your pics and I have to ask,in the first set of pics,where you do your portraits against the sky one of the dogs (I think its Kat) has a pinkish/yellow collar...where is this from!!!I must have it,its sooooo nice!

Welcome to Peachy Keen Pets! She got it at the all about pets show and has a matching leash

Ok I have to ask... where did you get this leash/collar... I want!

A sighthound trial. Lady with a greyhound kennel makes them. Martingales that can be attached to leashes.. or all in one combos. I've had it 4 years now.. I judged rally at a LHW trial 2 summers ago and it was at her house. She freaked when she saw it on Smudge as we didn't know know each other. I took the tag off it a while ago.. She's really economical for something nice too.. I get comments about it fairly often..

I googled.. They set up out of their van at trials. She goes stateside to trial though and is diverse in venues. Laurie Soutar
[email protected]

 

[Saeleofu]

Here your bank card isn't part of a credit card. You can have a CC from your bank.. it'll be another card. We also are further ahead in technology as like Europe our bank cards and debit cards are all chipped.

The debit cards/bank cards aren't credit cards - they're just "powered" by Visa/Mastercard (mostly Visa). They're still linked directly to the bank account and are a debit card. But you can also have an actual credit card from the same bank, and it wil lbe a different card, too. Debit cards usually say "debit" or "check card" on them. They have all the same symbols as a credit card though.

And then there are ATM cards which ONLY work at ATMs, not at debit/credit terminals.

 

[sparks19]

Most of our debit cards that are connected to major banks (TCF, Wells Fargo, US Bank, etc) are powered by Visa or MasterCard, so they're accepted everywhere.

this. All the debit cards here have credit card symbols on them and you can use them as debit or credit. it still comes out of the bank account but using credit card earns us money back lol.

When we go to Canada we can only use them as credit card. They won't work as debit up there.

that's really strange though because my TD card from my Canadian account works as debit down here at most places... I've even used it at an ATM in Disney world before (LOL shocking I know... a disney reference from me?)

I was totally confused by the debit/credit combination card here when I first moved here... now when we go back to Canada I'm confused by the lack of credit/debit conbination cards LOL I guess it's since there are some places that only accept credit card here and don't have debit that we can still use the same card as a credit card but it takes the money rigth from the bank account instead of waiting for it to be paid off at the end of the month. so it works like a credit card but without the debt incurring issues that some people get into with them since it just takes the money from your bank balance. very convenient. Even the card I have that is linked to my paypal is a debit/credit conbination card

Also most craft show vendors here also have card readers. Heck you can get set up with a company so you can use your phone to take credit cards

 

[AllieMackie]

this. All the debit cards here have credit card symbols on them and you can use them as debit or credit. it still comes out of the bank account but using credit card earns us money back lol.

When we go to Canada we can only use them as credit card. They won't work as debit up there.

that's really strange though because my TD card from my Canadian account works as debit down here at most places... I've even used it at an ATM in Disney world before (LOL shocking I know... a disney reference from me?)

I was totally confused by the debit/credit combination card here when I first moved here... now when we go back to Canada I'm confused by the lack of credit/debit conbination cards LOL I guess it's since there are some places that only accept credit card here and don't have debit that we can still use the same card as a credit card but it takes the money rigth from the bank account instead of waiting for it to be paid off at the end of the month. so it works like a credit card but without the debt incurring issues that some people get into with them since it just takes the money from your bank balance. very convenient. Even the card I have that is linked to my paypal is a debit/credit conbination card

Also most craft show vendors here also have card readers. Heck you can get set up with a company so you can use your phone to take credit cards

They're starting to introduce check cards here as well - CIBC has them, a number have come through my store and they're very clear to say "that's a DEBIT PURCHASE" because otherwise I'll automatically try to run it as Visa. :rofl1:

 

[sparks19]

They're starting to introduce check cards here as well - CIBC has them, a number have come through my store and they're very clear to say "that's a DEBIT PURCHASE" because otherwise I'll automatically try to run it as Visa. :rofl1:

Oh really? lol I didn't know they were introducing them up there. I just love how convenient it is and we earn "money back" if we use the credit option instead of the debit option but it all comes out of the same place and we can use those cards online too as a credit card. So the convenience of Credit Card without the debt danger that can come with credit cards (trust me... I learned my credit card lesson when I was younger LOL and just finished paying for that lesson)

 

[Dekka]

that's really strange though because my TD card from my Canadian account works as debit down here at most places... I've even used it at an ATM in Disney world before (LOL shocking I know... a disney reference from me?)

Our cards worked in ATM machines no problem. They just didn't work in debit machines.

At least in the states we visited customers don't use debit as much as they do here. Here I would say a very large portion is debit, some is cash and some is credit.

 

[sparks19]

Our cards worked in ATM machines no problem. They just didn't work in debit machines.

At least in the states we visited customers don't use debit as much as they do here. Here I would say a very large portion is debit, some is cash and some is credit.

Yeah if the store doesn't have debit and only accepts credit card then a regular debit card won't work, you have to have the debit/credit card or just a regular credit card. but I know my TD card works as a debit card at the bead store when I needed to use it. So it definitely varies from place to place and whether the place takes debit or only credit card. I don't know if it varies from bank to bank or not

Just like when we go to Canada we can ONLY use that card as credit. They simply cannot do a debit transaction with the check cards (or they couldn't but that might be different now that they are introducing the check cards up there... thanks for that info Allie ).

A lot of people here use credit because a lot of them give you "earned cash back" if you use your card as credit instead of debit

 

[Dekka]

We just didn't see people using cards as much, still a lot of cash transactions.

Here on credit cards you can earn things too, same idea of earning cash or points depending on whos card you have.

 

[Puckstop31]

We just didn't see people using cards as much, still a lot of cash transactions.

Here on credit cards you can earn things too, same idea of earning cash or points depending on whos card you have.

Many businesses prefer cash/checks, we do. The CC company gets at least 2.5% of the transaction. Makes a big difference when the client is paying for a $30k project. We offer a discount for customers who pay with a check and still make more than if they would have used a CC. Many gas stations around here alos offer a lower cost per gallon for people who pay cash. A chain of stores, "Toms", offers at LEAST a 5 cent discount per gallon when paying cash. (Granted, they might have inflated the CC cost so they can LOOK like they offer a discount... But, it works. LOL)

VISA/MasterCard is quite the racket. LOL Debit transactions or usually a little cheaper, but it varies depending on the bank you use to process them.

 

[Dekka]

Here no one (other than dog trials) take cheques. Vets offices often don't take cheques, and no regular business that I know of takes personal cheques, its all debit.

You also almost never see (not sure if its allowed or what) a discount if you pay cash, but if you do you get the same discount if you pay debit.

 

[MandyPug]

One huge difference i find every time i go to the states is the amount of people that write cheques. Pretty much no one uses cheques up here to buy stuff in actual stores. Up here if you pull out a cheque book at the grocery store, people get mad.

 

[sparks19]

people get mad if you write a cheque?

I used a cheque just the other day at the car dealership lol.

 

[Dekka]

I have never seen anyone get mad, they just say no cheques. But they use debit, which I prefer to cheques, because then you dont' have to wait till they clear, or worry about someone holding on to a cheque...

Since everyone has debit its a non issue (and if you were going to write a cheque then you have an account and could use debit...)

 

[Ellas_Daddy]

One huge difference i find every time i go to the states is the amount of people that write cheques. Pretty much no one uses cheques up here to buy stuff in actual stores. Up here if you pull out a cheque book at the grocery store, people get mad.

Oh, so do I. Some think that debit or credit is less secure than the check. I'd rather have a receipt with no personal info, than a check with routing and account numbers floating around. Many larger stores process the check and give it right back. Still, it slows things way down.

Also, some people write checks, because the money is not in the bank, yet. They are counting on the 2-3 day delay, so they can make a deposit.

Cash is still king, though.