Hi,
We will be travelling in Argentina, Peru and Chile this summer. Having never done this before, I was wondering if you more experienced travellers could let me know what you did for currency? Did you have traveller's cheques? Bank Cards? What worked the best for you. Thank you very much.

I just returned from Buenos Aires last week. I brought cash and my credit cards with me. I used cash for small purchases and at cafes. I used my credit card for more expensive restaurants and for shopping. (I bought a beautiful leather jacket at Rossi y Caruso for only 1500 pesos.) There are Metropolis Cambios on Florida Street that I used to convert cash. Do NOT exchange money with people on Florida Street who stand in the middle of the street saying, "Cambio, cabio." They are con artists.

Use an ATM card.Keep a transaction receipt. In Argentina they can only be used to get Argentina Pesos. There is an AmEx headoffice in BA,if you want to cash your travellers checks.But they are not well accepted in stores etc. Bring them as a backup. When i was there 5 months ago, credit cards were not readily accepted.

Credit cards not readily accepted in Buenos Aires?? It is one of the most sophisticated cities in the world. I never had a credit card denied anywhere I tried to use one. I even saw people using their credit cards to pay for 5 peso cafe con leche at cafes. Maybe you are talking about rural Argentina?????

I'd recommend using cash for small expenses, credit catd for large expenses, and traveler's checques as a back up. Make sure the dollar bills you get from the bank before you travel are not ripped. Also, the dollar bills shouldn't look like they are falling apart, or they will be difficult to exchange for that country's currency.

Thanks for your responses. When you are talking about dollars and cash, do you mean american dollars? We are not going to Buenos Aires, we will be in and near Cordoba, Argentina. I've heard that you can get cash from some bank cards and not others.

Traveller's cheques are hard to exchange in Peru and you really get ripped off. may be take some as an emergency.

There are numerous ATMs in Peru, Chile and Argentina and if you have a VISA debit card you will have no problems withdrawing cash.

Credit cards are widely accepted in all three countries but less so in Peru compared to Chile and Argentina. In decent hotels and restaurants you should be able to use plastic. But, in some Peruvian gas stations you will need cash.

I find cash works best as you haggle. US dollars are liked in Argentina but you should have Pesos and Sols when in Chile and Peru.

Jaclyn,
Cordoba is a tourist destination but not as touristy as Buenos Aires, so you may encounter difficulties to have your US dollars accepted. ThinGorjus has been very lucky to be able to use his credit card so much, because it's true that credit cards are not widely accepted in the country. I suggest you get local currency, especially if you are going to use public transportation. As ThinGorjus says, don't exchange money at any place except for an official exchange house or bank. Enjoy your trip!

In Arg the places where you can't use plastic include some Repsol gas stations, small shops, some budget hotels, cheap bars and clubs(probably ones you wouldn't consider going in).

When you are in the sticks it is more difficult to use plastic but even in the smallest towns you can normally use them. I would say Argentina is pretty much like Europe in its acceptance of plastic.