Bring cash or use ATM...update?

florence

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A friend is traveling to Buenos Aires In October. She has been advised to bring US cash to last the month but she is worried about the safety of having it in her rented apartment. Would she be much worse off financially relying on ATMs and not bringing so much cash? I haven’t been there for a while, so I don’t know how the current currency craziness is affecting travel strategies. Thanx for you advice.
 
The ATMs are charging about 370 pesos for a maximum withdrawal of 4000 pesos. Then you have to add on any bank charges and probably bad/low conversion rates from the cardholders' bank side. You could be paying from 10-20% with this method...

It is highly advisable therefore to bring USD instead, new 100 dollar bills are the easiest to exchange for the best rates.

Good luck!
 
Read this post for more up to date info on ATM information...several users have posted recent maximum and fee info here.

If your friend goes the ATM route, they should try getting a bank account that allows for fee reimbursement or free international ATM usage.
 
Crisp clean 100$ bills. Go through them at the bank. The casa de cambios will not take bills that have any tears, holes, missing corners, written in or any other imperfection. Most tourist apartments have lock boxes. The ATM s are a pain in the ass. They run out of money.
 
Whaat about € bills? And what about the bigger bills of 200€ or even 500€ bills? They are easier to carry and hide.
 
Whaat about € bills? And what about the bigger bills of 200€ or even 500€ bills? They are easier to carry and hide.

Nope. Argentine finances are all based on the US dollar and the exchange rates for the AR$ are all at a premium compared with other markets. You can trade Euros or GBP here but you'll be offered a penalty rate.
 
Nope. Argentine finances are all based on the US dollar and the exchange rates for the AR$ are all at a premium compared with other markets. You can trade Euros or GBP here but you'll be offered a penalty rate.
Even in “Cuevas” on Calle Florida?
 
The best thing to do is to get a bank account that will rebate international ATM fees and international transaction fees, then you'll only lose a tiny bit of money through your card issuer's exchange rate, which is a much better rate than what you'll get changing cash anywhere. This is true for any international trip.
 
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