Argentine Credit Card System

[GS_Dirtboy]

I have Arg. credit cards with HSBC. Got them because I had my employee account with them. We use them sparingly, mostly for large purchases that we can pay for over time, without interest, as a way to hedge against inflation.

In Argentina, the debtor always wins.

My experience of the USA credit card system the debtor most often loses, and sometimes loses big.

 

[PhilipDT]

Credit cards here work exactly the same as they do in the US, however they are not as easy to get, which I don't think is necessarily such a bad idea.

The pitfalls with credit cards here are: 1) Some banks charge an "annual renewal" fee which can be hefty ($600 pesos), just to keep the account each year. 2) Some banks charge a monthly fee for "emisión de resumen" which is a monthly fee ($20-$30 pesos) just for them to issue a statement each month, and this is charged whether you get an electronic statement or a paper one sent by mail. This is where you have to be careful with because if you get a discount let's say for paying by credit card in 12 cuotas, and t's $200 pesos off the price of the item, you will end up paying (if they charge $30 each month for the statement) $360 just in fees, so using the 12 cuotas ends up costing you more (due to fees) than paying upfront for the item. 3) Some banks charge a "maintenance fee" just to keep the credit card account open, above and beyond maintenance fee charged for the savings / checking account you are required to keep open at the bank who issues the card.
This is one place where you should VERY CAREFULLY analyze the cardholder agreement before you decide to sign up for the card, and yes, compare banks also. Make sure you know what their fees are, here they can be VERY steep!

Amex card anual fees are steep, $4300,but they don't have monthly nor transaction fees. Just don't carry a balance or they'll kill you.

 

[Girino]

Are there any secured credit cards like in the US? I don't like bringing much cash with me, that's all.

 

[jeff1234]

There are lots of variables here: fees, actual inflation rate, opportunity cost of my money, etc, but I estimate that using a credit card with 12 cuotas for large payments can yield about a 15% total discount (30%/2).

 

[EdRooney]

The higher people think the real inflation rate is, the more likely they are to use the card to benefit from it; more card use means more consumption; more consumption means more inflation... it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[Montauk_Project]

My husband has a very good relationship with his bank but it still took him 9 months to get a credit card! they need to see you tax forms, then the person who signs off on the cards got sick, etc
Ironically, they gave a very high credit limit, but it took forever, phone calls, emails, going in person, etc
if you don´t have a good relationship with a bank probably take a few years, LOL!
the reason why they do such background checks is that as other posters say, if you decide not to pay your balance the bank can´t do anything (they can´t reposses things, etc). In the USA they give them out like candy, even if you don´t have a job.

 

[EdRooney]

Yeah why won't those stubborn Argies get into subprime lending. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[syngirl]

Banks to avoid: Banco Patagonia & Citibank - both banks charge fees for every move you make and have lousy customer service

Citibank I can say not true for us -- we get extremely good service there -- when we send ayuda familiar to Canada they give my husband the same rate as they give the bank employees (there's even another level of exchange rate apparently, official, blue, and "in the circle"). They usually get the transaction through by end of day and don't waive him any additional fees. My husband's used their concierge service for when he's needed to take clients out (I think they set up dinner reservations or hotels etc, I've not used it before). We have absolutely no complaints about Citi, they've been great, a million times better than Santander Rio who's staff know nothing. We have the American Airlines credit cards from Citi.


Edit: The husband got his credit cards from Citi within a month of opening the account. We closed the Santander Rio one about a year or so after opening the Citi account, and only waited so long because my mother-in-law had a joint account with my husband and we weren't sure she would be allowed to keep the account on her own (then I think that law came into effect that they have to give bank accounts to all jubilados regardless of minimum balance).

 

[Alicia karr]

The most basic point re Argie Credit cards, is by law you are required to be a permanent resident to get one....that means a DNI, and not a temporary one, but a permanent one. The kind most of us get after three years of renewing our DNI. This requirement kills the deal for probably 50% or more of foreigners living here. I had gotten my card when they were accepting whatever type of DNI. Then they changed the rule so you had to be permanent. I know people who literally had their cards rescinded by their banks then. I was lucky that my banker had long ago taken me under her wing and must've fudged some things for me...
Don't forget most of the time you can still use your foreign credit card here if need be. And in the end you need to have the dollars to exchange at the blue rate to make paying off the credit cards here the better deal...

 

[TomAtAlki]

Yes, what Lacoqueta said is true and that's why we have a Argie debit card, and VERY happy to have it.
Nancy