Dollars For Travel

[Crema Americana]

My husband and I will be going home for the holidays soon and he's been granted permission to buy dollars. An impressive $19 US a day - which is actually more than I thought he was going to get.

Here's where it gets interesting. He did the paperwork with AFIP and they gave him a form to take to the bank to buy the dollars. He went to his local bank and after waiting in line for 45 minutes, they said their system crashed - but he could go to another branch office. So he left, went to the other office, and there he was told that they aren't authorized to release the money until 48 hours before the travel time. They said that this was always the case, and the other bank was probably lying about their system being down - maybe out of ignorance. NOW he's been told by someone else that this 48 hours thing is BS, and tomorrow he's going to try at a different bank.

Has anyone managed to actually buy dollars without being runaround? What's the real process or the best way to go about it? We're afraid that they say 48 hours before, but that at the last minute they're going to come up with another problem. And we leave on Monday - which doesn't leave a lot of time to visit the bank before departing.

 

[hannstew]

I have dollars that I can sell you if you keep getting the runaround. I will give a fair price for both of us, between the oficial and blue rate. PM me if interested

 

[allcraz]

Poor us. It doesn't seem anyone knows what's going on. It's so beyond ridiculous but I won't go into that. Some of the guys at my co. had to travel for work on Sat. and were allowed to buy, but they bought on Friday (the day before) because they said that if they had gone earlier they wouldn't have been able to exchange them. They actually said it was a 24 hour timeframe, but maybe it's 48. All this time I had thought it was a week. Who knows. But given that I just heard this from them on Friday, I don't think they're trying to give him the runaround (at least not the bank employee). We just went to the States last month, and after being denied a week out, we didn't even try to mess with it. That whole "put your tail between your legs and accept it and move on" thing I hate, but what the heck can you do? Nothing. Protest (but oh no no not about the cepo) And then nothing. I digress! I'm ranting!

 

[Rich One]

Question? if one goes away for 10 days that means US$190 if you buy _Blue dollars would mean US$57 more. Or 30 %
Is it worth?

 

[lamarque]

Question? if one goes away for 10 days that means US$190 if you buy _Blue dollars would mean US$57 more. Or 30 %
Is it worth?

It depend on the person and the income how much they aprove , and who know what other variable they use. Anyway you have to do it 48 hs before the flight that is the only way.

 

[PhilipDT]

What exactly do the expect you to do with 19 dollars a day for vacation?

 

[Crema Americana]

Some of the guys at my co. had to travel for work on Sat. and were allowed to buy, but they bought on Friday (the day before) because they said that if they had gone earlier they wouldn't have been able to exchange them. They actually said it was a 24 hour timeframe, but maybe it's 48. All this time I had thought it was a week.

Yes, the time frames are confusing and just add more stress to an already busy time. You can ask for permission to buy dollars one week before your travel date... at which point they tell you if you qualify and for how much. Then you're supposedly free to buy at the bank - but AFIP never said anything about 24 hours or 48 hours, so my husband went the next day. If it's true that there's a 24 hour window, that's ridiculous. We leave on a Monday - getting to the bank on Sunday would be a challenge... when are we supposed to go, Monday morning and hope their computers aren't down or that they didn't run out or that there's something with the system?

My husband got word from a family friend that confirmed with a different bank that they will allow him to buy... but until he actually has the dollars in hand I'm not getting my hopes up. We'll see tomorrow. I was just curious if anyone had gone through this before.

What exactly do the expect you to do with 19 dollars a day for vacation?

I'm not sure. I'm glad we weren't counting on it, though it would be nice to be able to buy the small amount one supposedly has the right to buy. (Well my husband, I don't have a right to buy anything.)

 

[nativexpat]

And some people still defend this crazy government... . And you can't complain, cause there's always an idiot telling you that it is not fair to complain while some kid in Chaco has nothing to eat.

 

[sleslie23]

And some people still defend this crazy government... . And you can't complain, cause there's always an idiot telling you that it is not fair to complain while some kid in Chaco has nothing to eat.

I'm hardly a defender of this government, but at the same time I understand that the buying of dollars is a priority problem primarily for Expats and middle class natives. Maybe some of those people you are calling "idiots" understand this and realize everything is not as black and white as many on this forum would like to believe. "Idiots" come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[PhilipDT]

I'm hardly a defender of this government, but at the same time I understand that the buying of dollars is a priority problem primarily for Expats and middle class natives. Maybe some of those people you are calling "idiots" understand this and realize everything is not as black and white as many on this forum would like to believe. "Idiots" come in all shapes and sizes.

The soon to be ex middle class natives.