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Credit Cards in Argentina


robcruz
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Are credit cards generally accepted in Argentina by tour operators, shops, restaurants, etc.? I was told by my bank that at today's rate I would be charged around US$ 7.20 for every ARS 100- purchase plus a small exchange fee. This is equivalent to a 14 to 1 exchange rate which I understand is a very good rate. In addition I would not have to carry around a large amount of cash.

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

Robert

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Are credit cards generally accepted in Argentina by tour operators, shops, restaurants, etc.? I was told by my bank that at today's rate I would be charged around US$ 7.20 for every ARS 100- purchase plus a small exchange fee. This is equivalent to a 14 to 1 exchange rate which I understand is a very good rate. In addition I would not have to carry around a large amount of cash.

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

Robert

 

 

Most restaurants and the better shops take credit cards. They may give you a discount for paying in cash though, but consider the slightly higher price small enough payment for convenience.

 

A lot of tour guides require cash, usually in dollars.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We will still need pesos for some things (taxi's, small purchases, etc). I have heard that since the blue dollar got squelched, a lot of cambio houses have closed down and it is harder to find places to exchange USD for pesos. Haven't changed money in an airport since I can remember. Does anyone know (as of February 2016) if the Atlanta airport changers have Argentine pesos, and if so, is it better to get pesos at ATL vice EZE? Also, knowing there are surcharges on both sides of an ATM transaction, approximately what is the most cash that you can withdraw from an ATM in one transaction in Buenos Aires? We usually use local ATMs on our travels, but in Argentina it sounds pretty expensive for what you can get. Any updated insights will be much appreciated. I don't want to carry a lot of cash if the rules have changed...

Thank you!

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Since the government clamped down on the blue rate the difference is negligible and I would recommend using CCs and not carrying a lot of cash around.

 

I would not say that they clamped down on the blue rate, the new administration, removed the peg between the USD and the Peso. That means that the official exchange rate moved up to where the old blue rate used to be. Since the official rate is the same and the old black market rate the need for them went away. You can convert at the banks directly now and get the good rate. No advantage to black market (blue Peso exchange)

Edited by RDC1
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We will still need pesos for some things (taxi's, small purchases, etc). I have heard that since the blue dollar got squelched, a lot of cambio houses have closed down and it is harder to find places to exchange USD for pesos. Haven't changed money in an airport since I can remember. Does anyone know (as of February 2016) if the Atlanta airport changers have Argentine pesos, and if so, is it better to get pesos at ATL vice EZE? Also, knowing there are surcharges on both sides of an ATM transaction, approximately what is the most cash that you can withdraw from an ATM in one transaction in Buenos Aires? We usually use local ATMs on our travels, but in Argentina it sounds pretty expensive for what you can get. Any updated insights will be much appreciated. I don't want to carry a lot of cash if the rules have changed...

Thank you!

 

ATM's seem to charge an 85 peso fee (approx $6) for withdrawing up to 2000 pesos (approx $142) plus whatever your card charges.

 

Some currency exchanges in the US such as BofA nd Wells Fargo have not been carrying the Peso since it was allowed to float because of the rapid change (from 9 to 14 since November)

Edited by RDC1
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ATM's seem to charge an 85 peso fee (approx $6) for withdrawing up to 2000 pesos (approx $142) plus whatever your card charges.

 

Some currency exchanges in the US such as BofA nd Wells Fargo have not been carrying the Peso since it was allowed to float because of the rapid change (from 9 to 14 since November)

 

Thanks--good info. Do you know approximately what the local Argentine banks charge to convert USD, and will you be allowed to convert around $300 at one time? Just trying to figure out how much US cash to bring.

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Thanks--good info. Do you know approximately what the local Argentine banks charge to convert USD, and will you be allowed to convert around $300 at one time? Just trying to figure out how much US cash to bring.

 

Don't know what banks charge. Do not expect there is a limit.

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Thanks--good info. Do you know approximately what the local Argentine banks charge to convert USD, and will you be allowed to convert around $300 at one time? Just trying to figure out how much US cash to bring.

 

 

Banco de la Nacion at Eze will offer virtually the same rate at the airport as in town. Look for the teller off to the side of customs as you retrieve your bags from screening.

 

I don't know the current limit for cufrency exchange, but I don't imagine they will blink an eye about 300 dollars.

 

I doubt ATL exchanges Pesos. The ARG has been too unstable to be widely circulated. Even if they do, the rate will be far better in Agentina.

 

This web site provides information about rates offered by several banks in Argentina.

 

Banco de la Nacion is competitive and the relative ease of using their branch at the airport makes it a no brainer choice http://www.dolarhoy.com/indexx.php

Edited by dr__dawggy
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Despite the liberation of the peso, I am unsure how easy it would be to trade your unused pesos back into USD. You can use your unneeded pesos at the duty free, but I wonder whether you can readily exchange them for other hard currency. Anyone know? Until you find out be judicious re acquiring more pesos than you will need.

Edited by pmacher61
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Despite the liberation of the peso, I am unsure how easy it would be to trade your unused pesos back into USD. You can use your unneeded pesos at the duty free, but I wonder whether you can readily exchange them for other hard currency. Anyone know? Until you find out be judicious re acquiring more pesos than you will need.

 

Yep, trying to figure it out without wasting too much $$$. Am on a cruise and will have 5 days in BA, then two more ports in Argentina. Will not be leaving from EZE, Santiago instead. So, leaving the pesos at Duty Free at EZE is not a player. I have heard that not as many people will take USD like they did before (from the owner of the B&B where we are staying in BA).

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We had thought that we wouldn't be carrying as much US $ for our trip this year, but feedback seems to be you can get a discount on meals and things using US cash, so we are now rethinking this strategy!

Anyone whose been there since the devaluation in December able to help clarify this???

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We had thought that we wouldn't be carrying as much US $ for our trip this year, but feedback seems to be you can get a discount on meals and things using US cash, so we are now rethinking this strategy!

Anyone whose been there since the devaluation in December able to help clarify this???

Merchants give a discount for peso cash so that's not a reason to bring USD instead of using ATM acquired pesos, however today I obtained 2000 pesos from an ATM and it cost me $145 which translated to about 14 pesos per USD which is about 5% less than what I could exchange my USD for in the blue market. And that ATM did not allow me to withdraw more than 2000 at a time so the 88 pesos charged by the ARG system can add up if your bank doesn't refund such fees.

Today I paid a merchant with my Schwab debit card (works like a credit card here - no pin necessary) and it came to about 14.3 pesos per USD on my account. I attribute the difference to the 88 peso ($6) fee chargedby the ARG banking exchange. Today I could probably get 14.7 for USD on the blue market. The USD has gone up a bit in the past couple of days. It hit 15 peso to the USD for a while and may be there next week.

So assuming your bank refunds your ATM fees (like Schwab does) I figure there is about a 5% benefit from bringing US 100s and exchanging them on the blue market.

Edited by pmacher61
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^^^ Thank you for that update. Will be staying in Recoleta at the end of the month for a few days. Previous posts have suggested using the blue market exchange in the Galeria Promenade at the back of the Alvear Palace Hotel - still a good location/suggestion?

 

Also a recent post from Dr___Dawggy suggested the best rate from a bank (not neccessarily an ATM) would be from Banco de la Nacion. Do you know if the bank makes a specific charge for an FX transaction, or do they make their money via the spread on the exchange rate between buying and selling. That assumes of course that they also would buy pesos/sell dollars.

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^^^ Thank you for that update. Will be staying in Recoleta at the end of the month for a few days. Previous posts have suggested using the blue market exchange in the Galeria Promenade at the back of the Alvear Palace Hotel - still a good location/suggestion?

 

Also a recent post from Dr___Dawggy suggested the best rate from a bank (not neccessarily an ATM) would be from Banco de la Nacion. Do you know if the bank makes a specific charge for an FX transaction, or do they make their money via the spread on the exchange rate between buying and selling. That assumes of course that they also would buy pesos/sell dollars.

 

That casa de cambio was still operative last time I checked, but the utility of that or any casa de cambio (vs any bank) is questionable now that the blue market rate is virtually the same as the official exchange rate. See http://www.ambito.com. I would guess that the difference in the exchange rates of all the banks would be very slight and not very much different that what you could get at a casa de cambio.

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