Buenos Aires Airport (EZE) - money changers

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Oct 26, 2008, 6:36 pm

#61

samftla

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Eastbay1K

Assuming I resist the temptation to get my free map and tourist info and get AR$2.80 per US$1 by baggage claim, and don't want to change US$ at the airport, what is the best non-ATM in-city option? Also, are more local merchants starting to discount higher amounts on US$ cash purchases?

You can check this web site for where to get the best exchange rate in the city,
http://www.dolarsi.com/

Most of the exchanges and banks offer pretty close to the same rate. However you will find some that are near tourist attractions that lower their rates on Friday morning and then raise back on Monday so as to take advantage of the tourists visiting over the weekend. One in particular on Quintana near the Cafe Biela is very bad about this practice.

Sam

Oct 26, 2008, 10:47 pm

#62

SoFlyOn

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Eastbay1K

... Also, are more local merchants starting to discount higher amounts on US$ cash purchases?

I've often seen the best posted rates at Supermercados Jumbo and Coto (the latter also accept euros). Generally the rates I see posted at upscale/touristy restaurants are close to what you would get at an ATM (excluding ATM fees, so a relatively good deal). Some of the high end stores in the shopping malls (mainly clothing) will post excellent rates ... but of course their markup is high and they are obviously targeting tourists.

John

Oct 27, 2008, 4:21 am

#63

Gaucho100K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by samftla

Sam makes a good point about weekend vs. weekday rates. Its best to do you FX transactions on a weekday as that will give you the best chance at getting a competitive rate.

Just to throw in a little "excuse" for the money changers... it is true that since there is no liquid forex market during bank holidays, money changers that transact on holidays are taking a position (long or short) so that in theory a larger spread over those days when they cannot offload their positions is somewhat justified.

Of course, abusive practices with huge rate changes are not justified and should be punished by the regulators... but enforcing this is of course not easy.

Nov 2, 2008, 12:43 pm

#64

best

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From Dolarsi: Am I reading this correctly: currently the very best rate is about 3,465?

Quote:

Originally Posted by samftla

Nov 2, 2008, 1:08 pm

#65

Gaucho100K

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Best-- at the close of Forex trading this past Friday, the Dollar was offered at AR$3,40 so this means that if you had sold on Friday you would have obtained a few cents less for each of your Greenbacks.

Nov 4, 2008, 10:24 am

#66

best

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Thank you Gaucho.

Nov 4, 2008, 2:11 pm

#67

Gaucho100K

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The Dollar dropped to AR$3.38 (offer) in wholesale transactions today.

Nov 9, 2008, 4:10 am

#68

Gaucho100K

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bumping this up....

Nov 17, 2008, 6:35 am

#69

Gaucho100K

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weekly bump

Nov 30, 2008, 1:52 pm

#70

Gaucho100K

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bump!

Nov 30, 2008, 1:56 pm

#71

wco81

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Why is this thread still alive?

Why aren't people getting money from an ATM?

Do currency exchanges at EZE give even better rates than the interbank rate offered by ATMs?

Nov 30, 2008, 3:28 pm

#72

samftla

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Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Why is this thread still alive?

Why aren't people getting money from an ATM?

Do currency exchanges at EZE give even better rates than the interbank rate offered by ATMs?

Because believe it or not some people do not use ATM cards or due to being a bit groggy from the overnight flight and aren't thinking clearly and see the exchange booth at baggage claim and think that getting a few pesos now while they wait for their bags is a good idea. And yes the bank at EZE and many of the cambios in the city do give rates pretty close to the ATM rate. And depending on the bank fees you might be charged by your bank the rate might be better. Until I dumped Wells Fargo, they were charging me a $5 transaction fee. And with the withdrawal limits imposed by the system in Argentina it is sometimes necessary to fall back on the exchange houses to get enough pesos. Hope this answers your question.

SAM

Nov 30, 2008, 3:42 pm

#73

Gaucho100K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Why is this thread still alive?

Why aren't people getting money from an ATM?

Do currency exchanges at EZE give even better rates than the interbank rate offered by ATMs?

Welcome to the Argentina Forum. If you have a few spare minutes and read through this thread, you will understand why its important to keep this thread alive.... unless you want to get taken to the cleaners with the FX rate, and/or suffer the limits on withdrawls from the ATM system, get hammered with fees you may not expect, etc. etc.

Cheers,
Gaucho100k

Dec 6, 2008, 5:33 am

#74

Eastbay1K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Why is this thread still alive?

Why aren't people getting money from an ATM?

Do currency exchanges at EZE give even better rates than the interbank rate offered by ATMs?

Yesterday, I took ATM $ and also, used the bank at EZE. My bank doesn't charge me any fees, and the transactions always seem to settle within 1% of the interbank rate. However, I knew I could get stuck without enough AR$ due to not only ATM daily limits, but also, ATMs in the city haven't been replenished with money frequently enough.

Today, I looked at my bank statement online and both transactions were essentially the same conversion rate (within a fraction of a cent).

The only caveat I'd make is that you don't want to get more AR$ than you really need because you can't get rid of it anywhere else. Even in Chile, the hotel desk will laugh at you if you ask if they'll convert AR$ into CL$.

Dec 6, 2008, 6:20 am

#75

Gaucho100K

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I understand that Citibank ATMs will give US Citibank customers a max of AR$3000 per day... this was confirmed to me by a US client that visited me yesterday.