Any way to help an Argentine friend get US dollars?

[anjuna11]

I have an Argentine friend who would like to go to Europe but can't get the Euros to do so. That's what she says anyway, though I've read about exchanges for travel being permitted on this board.

I have access to US bank acct, US credit card and US debit card as well as 1500 USD cash. Assuming I'm not generous enough to exchange for pesos at the 4.5 rate, is there anything I can do to help her out that would be better than going to Florida for a rate of 6.5?

 

[Davidglen77]

If you want to help your friend out that is really nice of you if you give her a lower rate than what is offered on the so called "blue" market. Keep in mind that the REAL market value of the Argentine peso to the US Dollar is 6.5 to 1. The government rate is an official rate kept officially low but unattainable to just about everybody who tries to obtain it. Remember the saying "whatever the market will bear" that is what applies here. A friend of mine who needed euros last month, paid 7.8 to 1 here in Buenos Aires and when he got to Spain he was able to buy euros at 7.2 to 1 and believe it or not they accepted Argentine pesos. I don't know if he just got lucky, but these rates are the true value of the money at this point in time. People who try to exchange cash (buying foreign currency) will end up paying these rates. My advice is just buy a little bit of foreign currency and pay everything else with credit and debit cards - that is the trick to getting the official rate!

 

[AndrewWoodward]

Yeah, David is right. It's nice of you to try to help, but if you're giving her dollars and getting back money in pesos, anything much less than the "blue" rate is just you throwing away money. It's really frustrating for everyone, but that's the way things work right now.

I have some friends travelling soon, and it's been a major pain in the ass for them. The problem isn't getting them money - if that's what you want to do - it's getting paid back. The peso is useless out of Argentina right now, and the official rate is nonsense.

But like David said, your friend should be able to get a bit of euros, and then use debit and credit cards for all else. For now anyway...

 

[lamarque]

If you want to help your friend out that is really nice of you if you give her a lower rate than what is offered on the so called "blue" market. Keep in mind that the REAL market value of the Argentine peso to the US Dollar is 6.5 to 1. The government rate is an official rate kept officially low but unattainable to just about everybody who tries to obtain it. Remember the saying "whatever the market will bear" that is what applies here. A friend of mine who needed euros last month, paid 7.8 to 1 here in Buenos Aires and when he got to Spain he was able to buy euros at 7.2 to 1 and believe it or not they accepted Argentine pesos. I don't know if he just got lucky, but these rates are the true value of the money at this point in time. People who try to exchange cash (buying foreign currency) will end up paying these rates. My advice is just buy a little bit of foreign currency and pay everything else with credit and debit cards - that is the trick to getting the official rate!

In London I were able to buy pounds with pesos at a better rate than here, in France the same but euros

 

[Crema Americana]

I have an Argentine friend who would like to go to Europe but can't get the Euros to do so. That's what she says anyway, though I've read about exchanges for travel being permitted on this board.

Has she checked with AFIP? Maybe she can use the website to test how many Euros she'll be able to purchase or if they only tell you once your plans are finalized. It's probably not much, but at least some pocket change and credit card for everything else.

I have a coworker that went to the US. She said she wasn't allowed to buy dollars, but managed it somehow.

 

[mrporoto]

How much in cash can you take out,in coming U$D10K?,I have some U$D that I have saved.

 

[conboy]

I will be visiting BA soon and am wondering how i can get a blue market rate for my dollars. Do some exchange houses actually pay a lot more than the government rate (i.e. 6.0 or 6.5 pesos for a dollar US)

 

[Greg2231]

If she has a Argentime credit card have her send you $1,500 through PayPal, then give her the $1,500 you have in cash, it may requore multipule smaller transactions depending on her CC limit

 

[anjuna11]

If she has a Argentime credit card have her send you $1,500 through PayPal, then give her the $1,500 you have in cash, it may requore multipule smaller transactions depending on her CC limit

Hmmm wow this just might work. Have you tried it?

 

[anjuna11]

Also perhaps Amazon Payments, since they do not charge fees to receive credit card payments. Not sure if it works with an Arg cc though.