Paying rent in dollars

[esllou]

or, better.

tell the owner to accept your pesos or call the police. It's illegal!!

 

[John.St]

I have someone send me money gram wires for less than $1k usd each and I go to the piano banco and they give me dollars with no hassle.

Sure, Moneygram, Western Union and the like translates to Euro or US$ or whatever as you please (provided they have a sufficient supply).

 

[2GuysInPM]

To get US dollars here get yourself a Xoom dot com account. for new accounts, there is a 30 day limit on the amount of money you can transfer, but after the limit is lifted, you can transfer up to $2,500 USD at a time ot the tune of $6000 per month. There are a few other restrictions, but they are tolerable. Also, to get your money (which you can pick up at any Banco Frances throughout the pais) you'll need an AFIP number, CUIL/CUIT (I forget which), CDI from your local Policia Commisar and your passport. The first time you do the transfer expect to take an hour at the bank for them to get you in the system. After that, you just get in line and go right to the Caja to get your dinero.

Thanks fot the info. Have you used this xoom.com service to transfer and receive money in Banco Frances? Was it a smooth process or any issues we should be aware of? What was their comisson?

I ask because I tried a US to Banco Frances transfer one time (on my own, following BF's instructions) and in turned into a royal mess. Had to reverse it at the end. Would be great to have this xoom alternative if we need it in the future. Thanks.

 

[igor]

Thanks fot the info. Have you used this xoom.com service to transfer and receive money in Banco Frances? Was it a smooth process or any issues we should be aware of? What was their comisson?

https://www.xoom.com/sendmoneynow/money-transfer-fees

Seems to be more expensive than withrawing money from ATMs even with new charges. And more expensive than Moneygram.

 

[Matt84]

I'll keep using intra-American wire transfer and cash in either currency for the new appartment. But, just an idea, barter could be a mutually beneficial if the terms are more than clear. For example, computers and electronics in general are as little as half the price in the states than down here, it's a win-win (if the owner actually needs a laptop, etc)

 

[2GuysInPM]

https://www.xoom.com/sendmoneynow/money-transfer-fees

Seems to be more expensive than withrawing money from ATMs even with new charges. And more expensive than Moneygram.

Thanks Igor. Good to have you back!

 

[aidahdz]

I think this only works with a Platinum card or higher. They allow you to withdraw up to US $5000 per calendar month.

I attempted this earlier this week and contacted both American Express travel services, the cardmember number, and two local offices. I was told by the AMEX travel services offices here that they did not cash personal checks although they would allow me to use my account to purchase travelers checks. They told me that the extent of their involvement with dollars was changing dollars into pesos.

 

[jimdepalermo]

I'll be interested in learning what you discover, Jim. The screens always offer dollars, but the few times I've tried to get delivery, no go. Porteño friends have told me that the supposed choice is simply a relic of pre-latest-crisis days.

I've used the "US Dollar" option in the Citi machines a number of times. Except for once, when it responded that it was out of cash, I've never had any problem. Like all ATMs here, these machines aren't always well-fed (with cash), especially in mid-afternoon, just before feeding time (usually 3 - 4 PM).

As I indicated in the update to my original post, this option is only available to holders of local Citibank accounts.

 

[Sleuth]

I attempted this earlier this week and contacted both American Express travel services, the cardmember number, and two local offices. I was told by the AMEX travel services offices here that they did not cash personal checks although they would allow me to use my account to purchase travelers checks. They told me that the extent of their involvement with dollars was changing dollars into pesos.

Do you have a Platinum card or higher? They do this at the American Express office near Plaza San Martín on the lower level at the Centurion Member window.

 

[Adios_USA]

https://www.xoom.com/sendmoneynow/money-transfer-fees

Seems to be more expensive than withrawing money from ATMs even with new charges. And more expensive than Moneygram.

How do you figure Xoom to be more expensive than the ATMs? I do $2500.00 USD transfers from my USA bank account for a fee of $50. Were I to extract the same funds using the ATM, it would take me 10 days at $5.00 per withdrawl PLUS the new 11.56 peso (approximately $3 USD) fee each time I use the cajero automatico, so with Xoom I am saving about $30 plus I get it all at once and don't have to pay yet another greedy parasite some of my hard earned money just for letting me get access to my own funds. And no, Banco Frances doesn't charge me a fee to get US dollars from them, although I imagine they would make some off of you if you elect to change your dollars into pesos. I don't recommend using Xoom to send yourself pesos, they skim quite a bit from their conversion fee.