ATM's

FYI - I use the Citibank at Callao and Alvear and it's still open 24/7 inc weekends.

The two Citibank labelled ATMs on the right don't ever seem to give more than 500p, even if you have a Citibank account like I do.

The Banelco labelled ATMS machines on the left will give any amount including withdrawals I've done up to 2500p - might do more but never tried. Usually just get 1500 to 2500.

Note - even though it's a Banelco branded ATM, since it is inside the Citibank branch, if you have a Citibank account, you get zero charge for ATM withdrawals - no foreign currency conversion fee, no non-Citibank ATM use fee, and no charge from Banelco for using the ATM.

On average, I've seen zero correlation between day of week vs. What exchange I got. The exchange rate I get is what is current as of the world market at that time. So I've been getting anywhere from 3.01 to 3.04 usually.

I keep it simple and use the Bank, (What ever its name is) right next door to El Alamo Bar & restaurant.

Both the Bar & the Bank's ATM machine are open 24/7 365 day's a year. Save's on Cab fares and I can eat, drink & be merry knowing I have no money in my pocket.

Exon

I just got a statement from Chase today from my activity in Buenos Aires. Everytime I used an ATM I paid a $3 International Cirrus Fee and an average of $7 3.5% rate adj fee. So I called Chase since I've never noticed the 3.5% bullshit and they tell me its always been there just presented in a different format on my bill. So I ask what if I take out US dollars and exchange my own fucking money and a supervisor came on and said same thing because I'm in a foreign country dollars / pesos no matter what it gets adj. Then I probed further and asked who gets the $3 fee who gets the 3.5% fee. Chase gets the $3 fee and half of the 3.5% fee sharing it with Mastercard.

So its either walk around with a shitload of cash and risk losing everything or pay or deal with travelers checks which ARE NOT widely accepted as is advertised.

Does anyone know about this bullshit. Are any other banks better? I only stick with Chase because I feel I would get better served If I had trouble someplace or with id theft. I don't fucking know everytime I come back to america I want to leave. We seem to fuck each other over in america then deem it as success if we can get away with it. Anyone else have this problem? I can't imagine living in Buenos Aires and paying that everytime I needed money. FUCK!

[blue]Hi Artisttyp,

You mentioned an 3.5% fee to MasterCard.

Were you using a Chase ATM card that deducts directly from your bank account, or were you using a Chase MasterCard and taking a cash advance on the credit card?

There is a difference.

Thanks,

Jackson[/blue]

My ATM and credit cards are Chase. Never take money out on your credit card - they hit you with a flat US$10 fee/withdrawl, charge an approx 3% conversion fee, and start running the big vig on your cc balance. I know this because I did it by mistake once (the cards look almost identical). Getting into debt with a CC company is worse than with the Russian mafia. For regular CC purchases you just get the conversion fee so there giving you about 2.98/USD instead of 3.07/USD.

On the ATM card, its a flat 1.50 cash withdrawl fee and a negligible conversion fee (recently I'm getting about 3.07/ USD which is the best market rate).

I make relatively few credit card purchases here and maybe 6 ATMs per month. So my total month cost is maybe US$9 ATM fees and US$9 CC conversion fees, which isnt really a killer IMHO. I'd never travel with a load of US100bills just to save a few pennies.

Artisttyp-

As you may have noticed, there are many Citibank branches throughout Buenos Aires. Although they are useless in terms of actual banking inside the branches, US Citibank cardholders can use the Citibank machines (NOT the Bancomat standard ATM which is also in the bank lobby) to get NO FEE ATM withdrawls / balance check / transfer between accounts just as in any Citibank machine in the USA. As such, it is possible to withdrawel money from your USA Citibank checking account at the best market rate with no additional fees. I have a US Citibank account for this explicit purpose.

Suerte,

Dirk Diggler

Moore-

I have a Chase debit card (MasterCard logo) and a Chase Visa. I never get them confused. If your telling me we more or less have the same system then you must have a different type / level of account than my normal checking account. I was told the only way to get around it would be to have a higher level account with Chase where they don't charge you this fee as a courtesy. Can you maybe pm me and tell me what you have? I plan on going to Chase in person tommorow. I've never noticed this before. I never take money out on my CC for those exact reasons you mentioned.

Diggler- I was surprised to see a Citibank in Buenos Aires period. I've never seen them before in any other country I've been too. Usually there are 2 or three banks which I always see but can't produce the names for you at this moment. Again what kind of an account do you have set up? Pm me if you can.

Have you traveled to other countries and gotten the same service / courtesy?

I guess I need to make the max withdrawl everytime. It's difficult since I always go to crazy countries (in a good way) Buenos Aires would have been someplace I could have brought more cash.

I'll see what my bank offers or I'll just add it to my expenses while I plan my trip.

Thanks

I dont think my cards / accounts are special. Yes the CC (both have visa logos on them) has a pretty high limit but its not "platinum" or anything like that so far as I know. No annual fee and interest is 19.8% , which I never incur. My checking (called value) is as basic as it gets, I never have hardly any money in there unless something is in transit for a day. No monthly fee ($10) if I maintain >$500 balance. Everything, except ATM fees, is free with it. Unlimited checks, electronic payments, etc.

I don't know what else to say - I log on to both accounts at Chase.com.

I still find that Paypal is the best overall debit card that I've found. $1 fee to withdraw, and 1% conversion fee (goes to Visa / MC) only. These will work in any ATMs around the world.

Can you request paypal from any bank or does your bank have to use the Paypal system?

[QUOTE=Artisttyp]Can you request paypal from any bank or does your bank have to use the paypal system?[/QUOTE]You need to have a Paypal account to do it. Pretty easy to do, though.

I still swear by USAA Federal Savings Bank out of San Antonio. An "internet bank" with home office in San Antonio. Originally designed solely for members of the Armed Services and their families. In fact, most of their current services are not available to the general public. Their banking services are, however, as they must offer them to the public by law. They are very expat friendly as you might imagine, great customer service, and I pay 0 fees or % drawing on my debit card in BA. I am not a financial wiz, so I can't go into detail about all the benefits. They were recommended to me by an expat who was down here before I relocated. Check out their website:[url]https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_logon/Logon[/url]

Dog

Artisttyp-

There are Citibank locations throughout Latin America in Argentina, Bahamas, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Citibank ATM network is the same worldwide, all this according to the citi.com website.

All I have is a standard checking account with no minimum balance and a backup line of credit that has an interest rate so low it is almost non-existent. I do not have any fees or minimum balance because I was able to secure a year fee waiver by flashing my old student ID card when I opened the account last August.

Suerte,

Dirk Diggler

Ok I just came back from Chase and had a disscusion about the 3.5% fee on top of the normal $3 fee. The fee is waived only if you have an account with $75,000. So everybody who has a chase account with less pays.

I was told on the phone its always been there but just hidden in the statement. Today she told me it just started a year ago. I will check out Citibank and see what they say.

Yet another reason to hate this fucked up country. On top of it the ***** gave me attitude. I hope this country burns or has civil unrest. Sooner or later that will be the only way to get anything done.

Bottom line walk with cash and chance getting robbed or invest in travelers checks and risk wasting half your fucking time waiting in long bank lines.

The American Express office in BA was full of pissed off tourists also. There was one guy going through hell with the new American Express travelers check card. He said nobody in South America would accept it so he was trying to liquidate it into cash. Try getting that done in a foreign country!

Open an account with E-Trade. Free ATM card, free unlimited ATM withdrawals, and only a 1% foreign currency conversion fee. Free [b]free FREE[/b]. And free is good.

Oh yeah, no IRA fees either.

Fuck Chase bank, and the horse they rode in on.

Well the thing to remember when in foreign countries, is to have some different forms of payment on you. I take one debit card, a couple of credit cards, plus some cash. If one fails, then you have some good backup. I haven't used traveller's checks in over 10 years.

In most cases it's the US bank that levies the fees. For those who don't want an eTrade account, Washington Mutual may give you a deal. I went in asking about opening a new business and personal account last year, and asked them about ATM fees. They offered to waive the foreign ATM charge, so they're heading in the right direction.

I went to Citibank today. The run down is this. You can open up a basic checking account with any amount you choose. There is a $7.50 monthly fee if you don't keep an average of $1,500 in your account but you can have that $7.50 fee waived if you pay at least two bills (not direct debit / instead of paper check) online.

The fee for a non citibank transaction whether in America or out of the country is $1.50. Citibank group also owns banamex for $1.50 I couldn't care less.

The only concerns I would have would be the service and ID theft protection which I must say has been more than adecuado with Chase. Can anyone verify Citibank is there when you need them?

I'm thinking of just setting up a Citibank account for travel reasons and continue with Chase for the basics. Also Citibank has a deal with American Airlines which I tend to fly way too often. We shall see.

IMHO, Citi is the best bank for the expats and travellers, you can access your account anywhwere in the world where they have branches and believe me they do have Citis in many foreign countries. You can get cash without paying any fees, you can even withdraw US$, if you may need emergency cash due to some unexpected reasons, just have your friends, family to deposit / transfer funds to your Citi account hence you have funds available in less than 5 minutes, if you need to contact them then you call a local (wherever you are) toll free number and an English speaking operator (most probably in the US) will help you out (never needed though) If your card is lost or stolen you receive a new one right away as long as Citi operates in that country (you have to visit a Citi branch wherever you are) ATM exchange rate is great. I am quite satisfied.

Hope this helps

If you just want an account for traveling cash, it's a bit cheaper to open a savings account rather than a checking account. It's free with a $500 minimum and $5/ month if you drop below the minimum. The only drawback I've found is that you can't transfer money into it electronically after the initial deposit.

I have both Citibank and USAA for travel accounts. That way I'm not using anything linked to my primary accounts when I'm traveling.

Has anyone ever lost money in an ATM machine?

Tonight I just left $250 US Dollars in the ATM at BNP Paribas at the corrner of Las Harris & Peyrrdon.

What the Hell do you Do? Answers please!

Exon

If the machine "ate" your cash like an ATM card then go to that bank branch tomorrow morning with your receipt. You can retrieve a card that way. People have told me that some of the machines will take your cash back if you don't take it soon enough. I assume that's what happened to you(?)

A US Dollar transaction should be very easy to find.

I got nothing from the machine, Nothing, but in checking my bank account on line account afterward it showed the transaction completed.

$250 dollars had been debited from my account.

Exon

Go to the bank branch where the ATM is located during business hours, usually 9-3. Bring your receipt.

If that doesn't work, call your US bank and claim a bad transaction like you would with an unrecognized/fraudulent credit card transaction.

I've already done that, its was interesting.

After waiting a while I got the girl that speaks English. She told me being Sunday night the machine was out of money. She also stated that tonight being Monday night, when my Bank Z's out their computers the money with be credited back into my account.

I Certainly Hope So, more to report later.

Interestingly, Banko Paribas, a huge French International Bank was quoting interest rates.

Really for this Mongers, if you like "Frog's"

Their paying 8% on dollar accounts.

And 19.38 % on accounts in Peso's.

Sorta tell's you why they want all cash for buying property down here.

Also If I trusted the "Frog" Mother Fuckers, I'd think long and hard about moving some Dollars down here to take advantage of the 8 %. But I don't trust the CockSuckers and if its to good to be true it always is, you'll get Fucked somehow.

Exon

Those are probably CDs. 19% on soft pesos isn't enticing, 8% on dollars is at least worth considering and running thru a risk model. Do you feel wise enough to know when the next financial crisis is coming and when it's time to pull hard currency out?

I have some dollars sitting in a BancoRio simple current account and the rate is like 1/10th of 1% pa.

I still prefer Euro-denominated exposed creditor positions in Argentina. In theory, the government can no longer legally (or illegally) convert a dollar to a peso at 1:1, 1:1.40 or any other artificial rate but it's happened before. The law of convertibility is history but the legacy remains. Most hard assets like real estate are still quoted, contracted, and transacted in US$. To my knowledge, that was the case well before the converibility law was enacted circa 1991.

Being on the debtor side of my US$ apartment lease worked out quite nicely right around January-2002. Uptown living at peso prices.

Whats the difference between a "Soft Peso" & a "Hard Peso"?

How to play a soft peso depends upon the house rules and the dealer's upcard.

My attitude toward Argentine investments is somewhat like my attitude toward casinos - never walk in with money you can't afford to lose.

Whats a "Soft Peso"?

The peso from 1992-2001 was [I]relatively[/i] hard. It could be converted 1:1 for dollars [b]within the Republic of Argentina[/b]. After being converted domestically, it gave an Argentine decent purchasing power abroad. The hardness of the "convertible" peso was less evident if taken abroad to distant places like the Sao Paulo airport, where 1 peso would buy about 0.80 dollars. In overseas nations like Miami, one peso was worth 0.00 dollars during the "convertibility" era. In Miami, this stable value has been maintained for many years before, during, and since that period IIRC.

Does anyone know an ATM that dispenses dollars? I can't find one.

Thanks in advance,

Badboy

I opened an HSBC online savings account in the US (in dollars) which pays over 5% and got an ATM card which I can use at their branches worldwide. I fund it via transfers from my regular US checking account.

I think I found one at the Bank of France or something like that near San Martin and Cordoba. There was an option for Spanish & English and Dollars or Pesos. Hopefully this might help.

IIRC the "Citibank" ATM on Florida across from Galerias Pacifico. IIRC, but since I always withdraw pesos I cannot be sure.

[QUOTE=Badboy13]Does anyone know an ATM that dispenses dollars? I can't find one.

Thanks in advance,

Badboy[/QUOTE]

You cannot withdraw dollars from any machine anywhere unless you have a dollar account at that bank (which you pretty much can't have)

Argentine banking!

:(

David

[QUOTE=Capt Dave]You cannot withdraw dollars from any machine anywhere unless you have a dollar account at that bank (which you pretty much can't have)

Argentine banking!

:(

David[/QUOTE]The BancBoston on Cordoba 1/2 block N of Florida (conveniently halfway twixt Excedra and Orleans) has an option on the screen for dollars or pesos, but I suspect, as David says, you might have to have some special account set up. Don't know, I always get pesos.

AP

Well thanks for all the help guys, but it sounds like I will have a harder time getting greenbacks in BA than I thought. Does anyone know the reason WHY Argie ATM's don't dispense Dollars. I find this very strange, I have never had this problem in ANY country. In fact MOST ATM's in eastern europe dispense in Dollars Euros and the Local currency, be it Rubbles or Ghrivna. I will keep looking and if I find one I will post the location.

Here's a question, if the ATM's don't dispense dollars, how do you get them in BA? Do you use western union or money gram or is there another way I am not thinking about?

Thanks,

Badboy

One way to get dollars is through American Express. They will change AmEX travelers checks into either dollars of pesos. I think they charge a 1% fee to change to dollars. There may be other ways to use an AMEX card to get dollars as well, but I don't know the details.

If you want dollars, I don't know why since the peso is the currency of Argentina?

Go to your nearest "Casa De Cambio" and buy them.

Exon

[QUOTE=Exon123]If you want dollars, I don't know why since the peso is the currency of Argentina?

Go to your nearest "Casa De Cambio" and buy them.

Exon[/QUOTE]True, but I think he's trying to avoid the 3-6% loss he would sustain by buying dollars at the cambio versus taking them out of an ATM.

[QUOTE=Hunt99]True, but I think he's trying to avoid the 3-6% loss he would sustain by buying dollars at the cambio versus taking them out of an ATM.[/QUOTE] Precisely Hunt. I think what I will have to end up opening an account with Citibank. I wanted to avoid this, but I might not have another choice. I will still check out Western Union and MoneyGram, but to be honest, with all the new homeland security measures, they are now limiting the transactions to under 900 US at a time. They might think I am funding Argentine extremists;)

Damn quirky country. Love the babes, but hate the whole banking system.

Badboy

I have bad news about Citibank. I have an account with them in the states and CANNOT get dollars through them here. I do use my Citibank account to get pesos here in the ATM, but the Citibank people here assure me that I cannot get dollars here through them, nor get an account here unless I am a qualified resident.