Foreign credit cards purchases at MEP rate

[Che1990]

Checking in on this, is the consesus that our US Visa card will give us close to the MEP ? does it always come as a refund? I was gonna do a small purchase to test it but am suddenly finding myself in desperate need of a Tv set... Appreciate any info, thanks!,

No, with Visa it is direct. It’s Mastercard where you get the refund.

The rate is approx 7-10% less than the MEP, to allow for any fluctuations as behind the scenes it’s takes a few days for them to process apparently.

I used my visa card today, and with the 2.99% my bank charges for foreign currency transactions I had a rate closer to 300 per $1.

Not the best considering its all gone up again this week, but for small transactions it’s worth the time and hassle saved.

But with blue dollar at $350 now, whether it’s worth it for many tourists who knows.

 

[antipodean]

Tried my EUR Visa for curiosity at a cafe yesterday.
ARS 1440 for EUR 6,69. Rate of 215 - versus the Visa rate of 322 or official rate of 185.
It is still showing as “pending” so assume in 5 days or less will be adjusted to the visa rate, but am curious as to why the rate applied at time of purchase is neither here nor there especially when my bank has zero FX commissions or fees?

Update: It's been a week and my EU visa card has finalised the transaction at 215, with no refund or adjustment to report as yet...
The disappointing part of it is that the Visa Spain site clearly shows the rate for EUR-ARS transactions as 322 (with a 2% bank commission included), so at this point in time, my bank appears to be the problem and giving an absolutely terrible rate of their own.

 

[mrfriendly]

Argentina Adds Another Exchange Rate—for Tourists Only

The Argentinian government implemented a new regulation on November 4, 2022, allowing visitors using credit and debit cards to obtain a more favorable exchange rate than the official rate.

www.afar.com

Is this working? Or still better to use WU?

 

[Quilombo]

Grabbed an ice cream cone tonight with my husband and thought I'd finally try it; Wise is giving $312.50, so it's working for me.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I went to the COTO supermarket yesterday with my (US) American Express card. I spent about $3.600 pesos in groceries.
When I got home I checked my AmexCard expenses and it came to around $20.00. So I was billed at the official rate of $180.00.
I won’t be doing that again. They didn’t ask for any ID.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

It’s only Visa and Mastercard

 

[Argentino45]

Quick question does anyone know if I buy a ticket from aerolíneas argentina that they will charge me in ars on a foreign card? Thanks

 

[Che1990]

Grabbed an ice cream cone tonight with my husband and thought I'd finally try it; Wise is giving $312.50, so it's working for me.
View attachment 8563

Awesome for Wise, last time I checked they hadn’t updated their rates. Hopefully it works for me too

 

[Che1990]

Quick question does anyone know if I buy a ticket from aerolíneas argentina that they will charge me in ars on a foreign card? Thanks

In theory it should work, but on Aerolineas the fares in ARS are technically only for residents as they are subsidised. Not sure whether that would mean a block on foreign cards when trying to pay in ARS. Then if you are resident, technically you are not allowed to use a foreign card at the MEP rate. Worth a try maybe

 

[Quilombo]

Quick question does anyone know if I buy a ticket from aerolíneas argentina that they will charge me in ars on a foreign card? Thanks

I believe once the BIN is entered (the 1st 4 to 6 digits of the card) and they automatically detect it's a foreign issued card you'll be redirected to the international version of the site. If you want you can pay in cash at pagofacil