Dolar turista

[carride]

• It should state up to 10%. 4.11% is your estimation for one single given day, providing a range is more useful.

You can learn the rate each day to decide how to shop that entire day, knowing that it is fixed. My statement was only that your estimation of 10% less than official rate was very wrong for the June-23 day we were discussing. So far this year it has never been close to your stated percentage.

• The bank rates you provide imply a ~2% buy and sell fee. Visa provides a wholesale exchange rate that is "generally very close to the interbank or mid-market rate". So the comparison should be to the rate you would get if VISA performed transactions based on official rate not the argentine banks buy/sell rate.

This is not at all true for foreign card purchases in Argentina. You are reading from the wrong Visa credit card page, which explain how it is done when traveling to many countries in the world. You need to read the Argentina version which has not changed since 2022-Dec-15.

Exchange rate | Dollar Foreign Tourists

If you travel to Argentina, make all your purchases with your Visa, you pay safely and with an exclusive dollar rate for foreign tourists. Learn more!

www.visa.com.ar

Mastercard explains as well https://www.mastercard.com.ar/es-ar/consumidores/beneficios-para-extranjeros-english.html
Mastercard further explains “This exchange rate is communicated by the Argentine Chamber of Credit Cards (ATACYC) daily”. Assuming ATACYC is communicating that MEP reference point.

• the MEP has gone much lower than the official recently, which pushes the difference higher

Yes correct. Since this years IMF loan, the gap between the MEP and the Official rate has almost closed. So now, unfortunately for expats, the foreign exchange conversion rate with credit cards has dipped below the official. It had always been above the official rate since December 2022, until now.

The Visa rate is set at midnight each day, and so will not change again until the next day, Mastercard seems to set at 4pm. They use the previous days MEP market close value as a reference to set conversion rate. Not the exact MEP rate, but slightly lower which experience has shown us to be 3-8% less than MEP.

• Bank fees depends on your card providers, even if they charge 0% fees they may have weekend fees up to 1% such as Revolut.

You are confusing the Revolut currency exchange feature as it applies to exchanging money to/from your cash accounts. This has nothing to do with using Revolut card purchases in Argentina.

 

[AdrianB]

You are confusing the Revolut currency exchange feature as it applies to exchanging money to/from your cash accounts. This has nothing to do with using Revolut card purchases in Argentina.

Just to clarify, Revolut normally does also charge weekend fees for card transactions where fx occurs but it doesn't do so for transactions in ARS so it is an exception.

 

[carride]

Just to clarify, Revolut normally does also charge weekend fees for card transactions where fx occurs but it doesn't do so for transactions in ARS so it is an exception.

Helpful to learn that. Thanks. So yes, I made a completely incorrect statement in regards to how the card works in the rest of the world.

I have only used my Revolut in Argentina. The only country I was trying to discuss in this thread.

 

[jlynch]

Just to clarify, Revolut normally does also charge weekend fees for card transactions where fx occurs but it doesn't do so for transactions in ARS so it is an exception.

are you sure? - see attached image for weekend transaction fees in YPF in ARS (2nd Nov Revolut mastercard). (along with its fair usage fees)
The statement says Revolut rate 1eur = 1,650.99 ARS, EC rate * 1665.36 ARS)

Currency exchange fees and limits​

Fair usage fees​

Depending on your plan, there's a threshold of exchanges that can be made with no additional fees during the weekdays. This limit is called a fair usage limit. To check your usage and reset date, tap your profile icon in the top-left corner and select 'Your plan'.

• Standard: 1% fee charged for exchanges over €1,000 or equivalent
• Plus: 0.5% fee charged for exchanges over €3,000 or equivalent
• Premium, Metal & Ultra: no additional exchange fees

The fair usage limit applies to all fiat currency, cryptocurrency, and commodity exchanges, including exchanges made automatically as part of a transaction. Your fair usage limit resets once per rolling month.

Weekend mark up fees​

Depending on your plan, you may be charged a fee on all exchanges made on the weekend between 5pm Friday and 6pm Sunday, Eastern Time (ET). For Standard customers, this fee is 1%. For Plus, it is 0.5%. Premium, Metal, and Ultra customers don't have to pay an additional fee on weekends.

 

[AdrianB]

are you sure? - see attached image for weekend transaction fees in YPF in ARS (2nd Nov Revolut mastercard). (along with its fair usage fees)
The statement says Revolut rate 1eur = 1,650.99 ARS, EC rate * 1665.36 ARS)

I was sure when I wrote that yes. But it seems like it is no longer the case as seen in your screenshot. What is more interesting is that I went back to my transactions from 2024 and all of them are showing the weekend fee now. I am pretty sure back then it wasn't shown but maybe it was still included in the rate and they just changed the way they display it at some point. Either way they do charge it now.

 

[jlynch]

I always had the weekend fee, but only noticed the fair usage one recently. wander wallet (as mentioned on another thread) does seem a better deal, paying via mercadolibre qr codes, and just a flat 0.20 usd charge.