Chilean Peso Turista

[jbhenson]

So you can use cc to withdraw there? In Europe never worked to use atms, while paying was not a problem.
Is possible to withdraw with maestro or visa débito? Because I guess there is limit on cc (we are 5...)?

If someone want dollars, I guess you just withdraw ch. pesos and change for dollars.

So in advance is not possible?

You can use services like Xoom,com or Ria to send dollars. I dont know the site for euros but there is one for that as well. You can send dollars or Pesos to yourself there.

 

[mikic007]

I don't see reason, why the bank would want to give dollars in atms anyway. Doesn't happen anywhere in real world, just here and Uruguay that I know. In normal country you exchange them in bank or exchange office anyway...

 

[jbhenson]

Positive . I bank with Banco Santander Santiago.

ATM's only dispense Pesos. If you go inside the Bank you may buy Dollars depending on the bank and amount, some Banks have special foreign exchange services for clients . Casas de Cambio like AFEX can sell dollars, or deliver dollars from a wire transfer.

Thnx for the update, you can use moore money too I believe to send dollars through xoom.

 

[Rich One]

So you can use cc to withdraw there? In Europe never worked to use atms, while paying was not a problem.
Is possible to withdraw with maestro or visa débito? Because I guess there is limit on cc (we are 5...)?

If someone want dollars, I guess you just withdraw ch. pesos and change for dollars.

So in advance is not possible?

You can pay in Chile with a foreign CC almost everywhere , except you get better prices paying cash

Visa Debit card is OK, Maestro is not an option in most ATM's. All CC have different daily limits depending on the Bank.

Once you withdraw pesos from an ATM can go to Casa de Cambio and get cash dollars. Some Casas de Cambio deliver cash dollars against a credit card for a fee...

 

[mikic007]

Thank you for that, much appreciated! Looks like we won't go hungry after all

 

[andesmandes]

I am frequently in Chile here are my experiences:

Argentinien debit cards of peso accounts do not work in Chile. Foreign debit cards (US, Europe etc) or Argentinian debit cards with dollar accounts do work. You can use debit cards both from visa and mastercard in Chile. BancoEstado does not charge ATM fees but only works with Mastercard branded debit cards. BancoEstado has ATM's all over Chile even in rural areas and their per transaction withdrawal limit is 400.000 pesos (if I remember it correctly). Another bank that does not charge ATM fees and in fact does accept visa debit cards is Banco Security but their ATM's are hard to find. All other banks charge per transaction fees of up to 3xxx-4xxx pesos for debit cards use and have a 200.000 pesos per transaction withdrawal limit (so the fee is somewhere in the 1.5-2% range - not that great). You can do multiple withdrawals until you reach your card's daily limit. Also make sure to inform your bank about your Chile travel (so your card does not get blocked). You can only withdraw Chilean pesos from ATM's, but you can easily exchange Chilean pesos to dollars at places like AFEX (http://afex.cl). They have branches in many locations including some that are open on Saturday and Sunday (for example the one in the Costanera Center mall in Stgo). Their exchange rate is usually good (except for their airport branches - those have terrible exchange rates).

Credit cards are widely accepted from malls to restaurants to small convenience stores and work perfectly fine in Chile. Prices in restaurants, malls, supermarkets, hotel etc. are usually the same for cash or credit card. There is one store that I have found so far (Pc Factory https://www.pcfactory.cl) that has special cash offers ("precio oferta efectivo") but it seems to be rather the exception.

 

[sleslie23]

Positive . I bank with Banco Santander Santiago.

ATM's only dispense Pesos. If you go inside the Bank you may buy Dollars depending on the bank and amount, some Banks have special foreign exchange services for clients . Casas de Cambio like AFEX can sell dollars, or deliver dollars from a wire transfer.

So, you're extrapolating from your experience with one bank in Chile, that no ATMs in Chile allow you to withdraw dollars? Not sure about your logic there Rich.

As I mentioned, I was able to withdraw dollars several years ago in the airport in Santiago. I don't remember which bank.

 

[andesmandes]

As I mentioned, I was able to withdraw dollars several years ago in the airport in Santiago. I don't remember which bank.

I have been to many ATM´s in different locations and from various banks in Chile. I have also tried it at the ATM's in the airport Stgo and none allowed me to withdraw dollars.

 

[mikic007]

I'm anyway not planning to get dollars there, just want to get by without overpaying everything. Of course information can be useful for someone else.

Thanks andesmandes for deep insight, it is very helpful. I was asking about ch.pesos mostly because hotel we are staying in already warned us, that with cc we have to pay 5% more. It's OK for me, still is way less than dollar blue and we don't have to pay iva at least.

 

[sleslie23]

I have been to many ATM´s in different locations and from various banks in Chile. I have also tried it at the ATM's in the airport Stgo and none allowed me to withdraw dollars.

I'm sure you are right. Like I said, this was around 6 years ago. But I have more confidence in your experience than I do in the "my bank doesn't allow me, so it must be that way in all banks" type of post.