Dollar Exchange Question

[trennod]

Got 9.4 this afternoon. Most of what I heard was around 9.3 / 9.4...

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

Bring only unmarked, untorn, $100 bills to get the best rate. You will get a lower rate for 20s. Many places won't even take the $100s if they are stamped or a corner is missing

lacoqueta-san,Muchas Gracias. It is very difficult to go to, instance to my bank and ask the office manager to have ready large quatity of US backs ( new looking ones ) ready for me to get for my trip. Last time I was in LatAm countries brought OK looking US$100 but when exchanging in the casa de cambios, they reject them or offer you inferior exchange rates due to "fatigued bills looks and feels"
I don't know as to why you can not get a brand new US$100 notes at the banks, right in the mecca where the bills are printed.? For instance back home in Japan, when one goes to the banks with passport showing that you are embarking on a foreign trip, the banks only gives crisp sharp US$100 bills, no used ones ever. Small story: once in Nazca, Peru at the vendors huts sprayed open by the small airport ( where you hire air taxi ) for flying over the Nazca maps from above, the vendors were giving changes back in real crisp US dollars! I thought odd to find crisp Dollar bills changing hands there in Peru's interior. Then I asked, how come all the brand new US dollar bills? The senyorita smiling back said, if many Japanese tourists for the day, then all vendors ends up with brand new US dollars but if Americans never new bills? So go figure...

 

[Alicia karr]

Hybrid, if you tell your US bank that you will need the money for living abroad they will get it for you if you ask a week in advance. I have done this many times now. But you need to let them know you will be using the money abroad. Wells Fargo has done it for me a lot!

 

[jason8612]

Reading through this thread, it seems the best is to go to Calle Florida or Casa Rosada. Or ask the hotel staff?
I'm heading for a bit over a week and much rather use cash than any credit cards.

Oh, and I read somewhere that now foreigners have to use a credit card or US cash for travel/tours. Is that true?

 

[Rich One]

Reading through this thread, it seems the best is to go to Calle Florida or Casa Rosada. Or ask the hotel staff?
I'm heading for a bit over a week and much rather use cash than any credit cards.

Oh, and I read somewhere that now foreigners have to use a credit card or US cash for travel/tours. Is that true?

You can pay in pesos for domestic travel /Tours.... however the price for non residents may be higher.

 

[jason8612]

You can pay in pesos for domestic travel /Tours.... however the price for non residents may be higher.

I was referring to this article
http://www.iprofesional.com/notas/175788-Ahora-las-restricciones-llegan-al-turista-extranjero-no-podr-pagar-paquetes-y-pasajes-en-pesos

don't know how enforced it is (for instance for hotel, tours, buses, etc). I know that tours usually charge more for foreigners, that's a given but if this is anyway enforced for hotels.

 

[notebook.fix]

Hi everyone,

I will be in Buenos Aires this Thursday and my brother had mention to do a dollar exchange, but not at the banks. Does anyone know how I can go about this without going to Calle Florida, simply because I am worried about false pesos since that seems to be a major problem in Argentina.

Thanks so much!

I'm not offering anything here, but I am going to share that it's dead easy to exchange at the best blue rate on Florida. I do it almost every week. The issue may be that if you look like a tourist, maybe they'll get greedy on you, I don't know cause I look like a local, but I have never been given a false bill so far after a year. They, the money dealers are more exposed in a way, they have to watch out for the Government agents & so they are more worried about getting things done quickly and without any complications...as a an exchange dealer you'd have to be very silly to hand out false bills on florida. THat's my two cents worth. Maybe if you can, get an ARgentine friend to do the buying. It's usually over in 2 minutes. I've always checked the bills as a precaution, but have never had a problem.

 

[notebook.fix]

I was referring to this article
http://www.iprofesio...asajes-en-pesos

don't know how enforced it is (for instance for hotel, tours, buses, etc). I know that tours usually charge more for foreigners, that's a given but if this is anyway enforced for hotels.

Cristina the idiot is getting more desperate & is willing to destroy what little remains of the tourism industry. Even after shutting down & killing off ALL foreign investment in this country she's STILL AT IT desperately trying to suck off any US currency from the few tourist still putting up with all the restrictions...what a farce! This is beyond ridiculous... I cannot believe it. This is a sign that they have totally lost control of the economy, we're going into free fall in 2014.

Oh, well....I hate to say it but this means that Cristina is really not going to make it to the 2015 elections. 2014 is the year that this government falls, or gets removed.

 

[Rich One]

If the seller of the tourist service wants dollars from the Central Bank to remit abroad , must collect in Dollars from the tourist

 

[internationalguy]

If the seller of the tourist service wants dollars from the Central Bank to remit abroad , must collect in Dollars from the tourist

I think you have the right idea but it's not wanting as much as needing. If a travel agent sells you a ticket to Tokyo, they need to pay the airline in USDs, United doesn't want a truckload of Rocas. The thing is, if the govt didn't do that, tour operators might be taking dollars from the tourist and then expect the government to give them dollars at the official rate anyway. The cuture here is so set to prevent abuse because people assume someone will try to take advantage, they often do.

That being said the whole idea of restricting currency exchanges is flawed and has been tried before in many latin american countries. It has failed every time.