Our local BA agent says we can pay our air on our credit card but to reserve our hotels (Ba, Iguazu, Bariloche) we must deposit $$ in his Fl. account. Puzzled, we prefer to use our cc. Your thoughts? Should we lose him and start over? He is a friend of our Argentine friend so we must be careful...and diplomatic! Thanks, Paula

Many hotels do require a deposit for the first night. Some travel agents make the reservation a pay using a travel agency check or wire-transfer. That is probably why they are asking you for a cash deposit and to avoid credit card fees if the travel agency would be charging your credit card for the deposit for the hotels. Check Expeida, Orbitz, and Travelocity for hotels in Argentina. They ususally have very competitive rates and reservations are always guaranteed. I use them frequently and have not had any major problem.

i really dont know who the agent is but i know the air tickets can be paid with your credit card without any problem.
regarding hotels many agents will ask you for a deposit cause the hotels follow a different regulation with the booking. Deposits or transferences are a safe way for you to pay the accommodation. If you pay the hotels with TC they will, in many cases charge you a percentage on the amount. Besides many hotels want their payment in cash they dont accept credit card.

regards,
milla

We have stayed in BA twice, and made our own reservations, and paid with the CC when we checked out. You really do not need a TA in BA

needed to add.......made reservations on the internet.

Not all travel agents in Buenos Aires require that you pay for your hotels in cash.

Travelocity, etc, offer competitive rates for some hotels....For other hotels the rates on these sites are absurdly high, sometimes as much as triple the amount charged by working through a local travel agent. If you really want to save money and use your credit card, check around.....Comparison shopping is the best way to assure you will receive a good rate and the ability to pay as you prefer to pay.......

We've returned (Oct10) from 6 weeks in Argentina, Chile & Peru and prepaid twice only on our credit card for hotels. Personally I would not do it other than for the first night of any city. BA is full of hotels, as is Bariloche & Iguazu. Just tell him you've decided to do the bookings yourself. I'd be happy to email you the names, email addresses etc of the wonderful budget hotels we stayed at. If you're a five star girl then you maybe can afford to toss a few bucks away!

Can anyone recommend a hotel for one night in Lima? We will arrive in the afternoon and then leave the following afternoon. Also, what would be a good plan for a few hours of tourism in Lima?

If you find a hotel that you like -go directly to the hotels website and reserve. Very easy.. They will take your credit card # for quarantee- but you can cancel if you need to.