And also Adam on the previous page is there now so should have some top tips
And now I'm back! Great but exhausting trip. Need another holiday
FAO SamLad...
We did a combination of dollars (hundred dollar bills) and spending on 'free overseas spending' cards such as Monzo and Starling.
First of all, the
cash situation. Lastrador has neatly summarised it but here's a few other tidbits.
Don't change all your dollars on the first day. The 'black market rate', or Blue Dollar rate, will probably change when you're out there. Change a bit to get going and then change again when you start to run out. I think the Blue Dollar rate went from 720 to the dollar to 790 to the dollar in the two weeks we were there. Here's the current rate:
https://dolarhoy.com/We found that more 'reputable' cambios would give you close to the Blue Dollar rate but not quite. By this, I mean you won't have to venture into the less sulubrious parts of town to get a better rate (risking your safety) but can stay close to your hotel and get a slightly worse rate. A good compromise, I thought. If you're staying in Palermo Soho (where we stayed in Buenos Aires) then I'd recommend GIRARG Money Transfer). You can find them on Google Maps.
They prefer crisp hundred dollar bills so ask for these specifically when you change at your BdC in the UK.
Cash in pesos is accepted everywhere. Just beware that the cash you hold is devaluing every day hence why I recommend only changing a bit at a time. I think we did about 4 changes - in BA twice, in Mendoza and in El Calafate.
Speak to your hotel/Airbnb host about where to change. In Mendoza, our Airbnb host got someone to deliver the pesos to us. We did the exchange in her living room and I chatted to her and the fella about how they expect the country to eventually adopt the dollar. Some of the hotels are unwilling to talk about it though as it the dollar blue exchanges are technically illegal, I believe.
You'll probably get 1,000 peso notes which are worth about £1.20. Be prepared to count everything when doing an exchange. Take your time!
On paying by
card...
The process is weird but easy once you get your head around it. The transaction will first go through at the 'official rate'. This is about 350 pesos to the dollar (which is then converted to pounds(!) and debited from your account, assuming you're from the UK)
A few days later (between 3-5 working days we found), you'll get a partial refund on your card where the transaction will be converted at the 'tourist rate'. This is slightly worse than the dollar rate -
https://www.ambito.com/contenidos/dolar.html (look for dollar turista - it's 642 to the dollar at the moment)
In essence, the onus is on MasterCard/Visa to know that you're a non-Argentinian and they will then process the refund to bring you up to the Tourist Rate. You don't have to do anything - it's all automatic.
After the initial charge and the partial refund, you'll pay the equivalent of 642 to the dollar when you spend on your card. Remember, this will then be converted to pounds!
We found that we were getting close to 50% refunds on card purchases. This is all well and good but it means that everything you purchase on card will cost you twice as much as it should upon the initial purchase. If you have the cashflow for this, it isn't a problem, but if your bank balance is limited, it means you'll be waiting keenly for those refunds to flow back in.
We spent freely on cards - I'd say they're slightly less as widely as accepted in Argentina as they are in the UK but still nearly eveywhere. It also meant we didn't have to carry too much cash with us.
If you have any more questions on this or anything else, just give me a shout.
Oh, and here's a few photos of our trip:
