Hi Lili-- as pointed out above, these money changers have huge signs that read "no commision charge"... but what they dont tell you is that their commision is built in to their horrible exchange rate.
As quickcanuck correctly points out, their "implicit fee" is way over 10%... which is highway robbery by any standard you can think of. Its shameful that these crooks are being allowed to do business at EZE...
Apart from the Banco Nacion branch, Ive seen a Casa Piano booth as of late that offered a reasonable rate, only 2 or 3 cents less than what the Banco Nacion was offering.
__________________ Come to Argentina & try the Wines from the RIGHT side of the Andes... Visit Terroir Fine Wines - www.terroir.com.ar
Last edited by Gaucho100K; Mar 11, 08 at 7:28 am..
Just to finalize my rant over the money changer crooks... actually the company that is mostly to blame for this is the private consession that runs EZE Airport. Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 is a de-facto partner of these crooks because they are the ones leasing them the space to operate. Im sure they are getting a nice fat monthly lease that is coming from the fat profits these guys are earning from taking unaware tourists to the cleaners...
__________________ Come to Argentina & try the Wines from the RIGHT side of the Andes... Visit Terroir Fine Wines - www.terroir.com.ar
While the Banco Nacion does have an ATM... dont forget the restrictions on withdrawls..... so you may still need some cash to exchange and obtain a more reasonable amount of Pesos.
__________________ Come to Argentina & try the Wines from the RIGHT side of the Andes... Visit Terroir Fine Wines - www.terroir.com.ar
While the Banco Nacion does have an ATM... dont forget the restrictions on withdrawls..... so you may still need some cash to exchange and obtain a more reasonable amount of Pesos.
As someone suffering from these limits, do you have any idea what the reason for them is? It's seems like an odd idea to not cash in as much as possible on foreigners. Fortunately all the ski resorts and many supermercados happily take credit cards..
I of course dont know what the ultimate reason for all this is... but my guess is that some desk-chained bureaucrat/regulator decided that the regular AR$1000 per day limit that applies to some locally issued ATM card should be imposed on all cards used in the system.... and until now, nobody has bothered to look into what issues this is causing both visitors and merchants alike.
__________________ Come to Argentina & try the Wines from the RIGHT side of the Andes... Visit Terroir Fine Wines - www.terroir.com.ar
Programs: AA Plat, DL FO, Marriott Rewards, LANPASS PS, Relais & Châteaux 5C Club, Club Swiss Gold
Posts: 917
Quote:
Originally Posted by hot shot
Thank you for all your wonderful information as we are planning a trip to EZE in Sept. I am wondering what the recent information is for exchanging USD for this trip and also. we have discovered that our flight on LAN is stopping in Chile and we will be paying taxes there, BA, Santiago, RIO, to the tune of over $250 per person.. am a bit preturbed..but don't think I can do anything about it now.. any suggestions on these issues would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hot shot
Not sure that I follow you on your statement about "paying taxes" in Santiago. Are you actually entering Chile ? Or just in transit continuing on to Buenos Aires?
The only tax you pay in Buenos Aires would be your departure tax from EZE of about $18 usd per person. And as of my last trip to Rio there was no departure tax. What taxes do you think you are paying?
Remember that if you use an ATM and select a multiple of 100 pesos, you'll only get 100 peso notes.
Better to select say a number ending in 90 (e.g. 590) so that you'll get some smaller bills.
If you exchange currency at a bank, also ask for some smaller bills.
Banco Nacion is on the right of the customs hall directly after the X-ray machines.
There are two HSBC ATMs in the lobby after exiting the sterile area on the left hand side (look for the Red Banelco sign overhead). There is a Banco Nacion ATM in the departures hall which is on the right.
Arrived at Ezeiza yesterday after a visit back to the UK and saw that Banco Nacion have opened a new money exchange facility just after exiting the baggage scanners.
My wife decided to exchange the Swedish Kroner she had left from our Stockholm stopover and received a decent rate with no commission.
Have Banco Nacion always had a presence at EZE and just relocated or is this a new venue for them?
Remember that if you use an ATM and select a multiple of 100 pesos, you'll only get 100 peso notes.
Better to select say a number ending in 90 (e.g. 590) so that you'll get some smaller bills.
Yes, similar as in many other countries, but more important in Argentinia as many small shops (e.g. most Kiosks on the street) simpliy refuse to take bills that large. At little annoying though as you have to give up 10% of your limit for this.
