lsquare

All the major papers have reported on it. Safe to say vacation in Argentina can only get cheaper?

malagajohn

Not necessarily cheaper.

You may get more Pesos for your USD / EUR /GBP. But prices will continue to rise. Until inflation is sorted that will be the case. Unfortunately the current government is not interetsed in finding a real solution.

Gaucho100K

Unlikely that Massita and his gang of thugs are going to take the political blame for coming clean with what already is a de-facto devaluation...... unification would mean taking the blame on center stage..... with 20 days or so until the Primary Elections, this would be a Political Hara-Kiri.

Gaucho100K

Exactly.... the issue is that service providers try to play catch-up with inflation and manytimes the Peso increases get extra cushioned "just in case" the Greenback continues to rise and this creates USD based inflation because ARS nominal prices are prone to over-shooting....... Inflation is a real Cancer that creats havoc, despite what many visitors think, its a loss-loss thing for all involved. The relative pricing structure of the Argentine Economy is totally out of whack, with many goods/services under price-control and regulatory scrutiny that leads to shortages, supply chain disruptions, and cases of crony-capitalism for certain sectors in detriment of others...... its all very much more complicated than the average visitor thinks.

In the end, even with overshooting and rampant inflation, the value proposition in EZE and the rest of the Country continues to be EXCELLENT, so get your butts down to EZE and have a good time - just keep your expensive watches at home and use common sense, you will all have a blast !!!!!!!!!!!

upinsmoke

Is it possible to book JetSmart flights on their website in ARS and pay with a foreign credit card getting the MEP exchange? If yes, that's a lot lower than their USD prices. It doesn't say the fares are for AR residents (like Aerolineas does).

TravelTheWorld66

Any recent AMEX data points? Are they still giving credits back after purchases to align with the blue rate?

IndyHoosier

Yes, not the blue rate, but close.

Gaucho100K

I will repost my question since another day has passed and AmEx is still not crediting my MEP rate difference... has anybody used AmEx to buy Buquebus Tickets...? The original charge posted with an AR$ reference value, so I know they did not charge the card in US Dollars, its been 8 (eight) days since the AR$ charge posted and still no MEP/Blue rate adjustment.... does this normally take this long or are perhaps Buquebus charges excluded from this because they are not considered on-shore Argentina charges...? Cant think of another reason except that international transportation is excluded....?

Thanks.

TravelTheWorld66

Any updates? I wonder if AmEx changed their minds on matching the MEP rate...

I'm traveling next week so any data points are appreciated. I've already sent money ahead via Western Union but I'd like to be able to use credit cards if needed.

malagajohn

Can you remember which site you made the purchase on? The Arg one or the UY one or the international one?

.com.ar invoices in ARS.
com.uy invoices in UY
.com invoices in USD

Try going back to the email confirmatrion or the invoice , which should give you the invoicing currency.

If its in ARS , you should still get the rebate sometime .

But there are delays because of the dynamic nature of the market.

The onboard duty free shop invoices from a company in Panama!

Eastbay1K

How did you enjoy (or did you enjoy) Girardi?

IndyHoosier

I thought the food and service were both excellent.

TravelTheWorld66

Can anyone explain the following to me?

• How is Western Union able to offer a better rate than the blue rate? Right now the blue rate is at 885 pesos per USD, whereas Western Union is offering me 927 pesos per USD. How is that sustainable?
• Why would Visa/Mastercard/Amex offer transactions at the MEP rate? Aren't they losing money? I assume they pay the merchants the full amount and then absorb the "refund" amount that they credit back (the difference between bank and MEP rate)? How can they afford this. They're only making 3-5% in transaction fees. Why would they offer close to 50% discounts to preserve their business in Argentina that only generates 3-5%. Am I confused?

upinsmoke

Neither WU nor the credit card companies use the government of Argentina to exchange the funds. WU uses CCL and the credit card companies use MEP. Both involve trading bonds or stocks that can be traded both in the US (in dollars) and in Argentina (in pesos). The bonds/shares can be transferred between accounts to cancel each other out. The actual mechanics of it are outside my area of expertise.

Eastbay1K

I thought the WU money never enters Argentina. But perhaps I'm incorrect. WU has a lot of peso money "stuck" in Argentina. So, the only way WU can get it "out" is to sell you pesos from abroad, keep the $ out of the country, and give you pesos in the country. But if I'm incorrect, I'd love to learn of the actual mechanism.