Dolar turista

[Ries]

thats pretty much my point- this rate changes all the time, and having been paying bills here since 2007, I have found that there are times when a credit card may be worth using, say, to buy a new fridge at fravega, and other times when it is not really beneficial, or indeed, is not really feasible.
An Argentine bank account is the best solution for long term residents.
A credit card, along with euros or dollars in cash, is fine for short term tourists.

According to official visa exchange rate site
1USD = 1156
Central bank rate: 1USD = 1130.

It's like 2% difference today. Does a 2% difference really qualify as 'obviously' better?

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The "dólar turista," as IamWaldo mentioned above, applies to Argentine tourists shopping abroad with their Argentine cards. If it is still in use, they are charged a highly disadvantageous rate of 1,534 pesos per dollar. So, when they buy something for 1 dollar, 1,534 pesos are charged to their account. If the official exchange rate were used instead, only 1,130 pesos would be charged.

 

[jlynch]

visa gives 1076 pesos per dolar, you are inputting the values incorrectly in the calculator, Its 10% worse than the offical rate.
There is already a thread on this

MC/Visa Lower than official rate USD

MC/Visa Purchases today were significantly below the offical and the MEP rate. I was getting 1,080 on purchases with a USD card with the BNA at 1100 and the MEP at 1143. When did cards stop using MEP rate? The Visa and MC websites are still up saying they use the MEP or close to it. Any...

baexpats.org

 

[Ries]

Western Union gave me 1156 today, direct transfer to Banco Galicia.

 

[carride]

visa gives 1076 pesos per dolar, you are inputting the values incorrectly in the calculator, Its 10% worse than the offical rate.

This post of june-23 is not true. The thread you linked does explain, but the statement of 10% less that official is far off. Correct statement is 4.11% less than the $1144.87 offical buy rate. That is what the calculator shows with $1097.65. Not 10%

Primary because most expats are using 0% international fee bank cards. If not, that is a short term tourist visitor mistake. So be sure to use the calculator correctly by changing the card fee to Zero.

Fecha CompraVenta official
25/06/2025 1159,13 1203,44
24/06/2025 1148,61 1192,91
24/06/2025 1146,66 1190,85
23/06/2025 1144,87 1188,80

Visa calculator June 23 (zero fee)
1 USD = 1097.647007 ARS

FechaReferencia MEP
25/06/2025 1196,43
24/06/2025 1184,49
23/06/2025 1185,15
20/06/2025 1174,03

FechaCompraVenta Blue
25/06/2025 1190,001210,00
25/06/2025 1195,001215,00
24/06/2025 1190,001210,00
24/06/2025 1190,00 1210,00
23/06/2025 1180,00 1200,00

Finally the Card rate is based off the previous business days MEP. On June-23 Visa gave 6.5% less that the previous business days MEP 1174 - 6.5% = 1097
And, yes, slightly worse if comparing to Blue of 1180

 

[jlynch]

This post of june-23 is not true. The thread you linked does explain, but the statement of 10% less that official is far off. Correct statement is 4.11% less than the $1144.87 offical buy rate. That is what the calculator shows with $1097.65. Not 10%

Primary because most expats are using 0% international fee bank cards. If not, that is a short term tourist visitor mistake. So be sure to use the calculator correctly by changing the card fee to Zero.

Fecha CompraVenta official
25/06/2025 1159,13 1203,44
24/06/2025 1148,61 1192,91
24/06/2025 1146,66 1190,85
23/06/2025 1144,87 1188,80

Visa calculator June 23 (zero fee)
1 USD = 1097.647007 ARS

FechaReferencia MEP
25/06/2025 1196,43
24/06/2025 1184,49
23/06/2025 1185,15
20/06/2025 1174,03

FechaCompraVenta Blue
25/06/2025 1190,001210,00
25/06/2025 1195,001215,00
24/06/2025 1190,001210,00
24/06/2025 1190,00 1210,00
23/06/2025 1180,00 1200,00

Finally the Card rate is based off the previous business days MEP. On June-23 Visa gave 6.5% less that the previous business days MEP 1174 - 6.5% = 1097
And, yes, slightly worse if comparing to Blue of 1180

View attachment 10450

• It should state up to 10%. 4.11% is your estimation for one single given day, providing a range is more useful.
• 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.
• the MEP has gone much lower than the official recently, which pushes the difference higher
• Bank fees depends on your card providers, even if they charge 0% fees they may have weekend fees up to 1% such as Revolut.

 

[Edmonton770]

Using your US visa in Argentina will get you the rate of the MEP dollar. But they will actually charhe you less than that rate. Today its listed 1197 but when I used my visa today is charged me around 1105

 

[lunar]

Using your US visa in Argentina will get you the rate of the MEP dollar. But they will actually charhe you less than that rate. Today its listed 1197 but when I used my visa today is charged me around 1105

You realize that doesn't make sense, right? How is it the MEP rate if they end up charging you something else?
Visa charges you according to the Visa exchange rate, and Western Union uses their own rate.
It’s not like either one is pegged to the MEP.

 

[Edmonton770]

I've tried the Visa site, but it was never accurate. What they post isnt what they charge. Unless sometimes changed with the past 10 months


I've seen on their site that they charge the MEP dollar, but actually, it's less.

Nothing Argentina does makes sense.

 

[Edmonton770]

You realize that doesn't make sense, right? How is it the MEP rate if they end up charging you something else?
Visa charges you according to the Visa exchange rate, and Western Union uses their own rate.
It’s not like either one is pegged to the MEP.

View attachment 10456

You have a different visa exchange rate than me

 

[lunar]

You have a different visa exchange rate than me

This includes an estimate of the bank fee, which is not charged by Visa itself. I have one card where the bank doesn’t charge anything, and another where the bank charges 3%. Visa doesn’t know that. If your bank does charge a fee, it will likely appear as a separate transaction.