I am posting this again because my original post does not appear in the Argentina forum. We'll see what happens this time.

Hi, everybody!

In one of his more recent posts, drdawggy said, referring to our Ezeiza International airport: "When you exit customs you will enter an area made up of a number of booths offering hotels, cars, and MONEY EXCHANGE." (my emphasis).

Exchanging their foreign currency into Argentine pesos at the proper market rate should be an important concern for foreign tourists, as many apparently respectable places pay 10 or even 20 percent less than the real market value.

This is particularly frequent in airports or hotels located far from Buenos Aires.

Tourists can check the proper prevailing rate at
http://64.91.231.99/~dolarhoy/

However, they should keep in mind that the exchange rate CAN and DOES fluctuate and that distance IS a factor, but up to a certain point.

If the BUY/SELL rate is not clearly posted, as it should be, tourists could say they have some pesos left over which they want to change back into their own currency, to find out at what price the dealer will SELL it to them.

They could also ask for the dealer's BUY/SELL rate. A normal "spread" or difference between the two prices, is two percent, for instance 2,85/2,91 for the US dollar, at today's prices. In Buenos Aires, any "spread" wider than that can, at the present time, be considered abusive.

Of course, less frequently traded currencies suffer a wider BUY/SELL "spread", which is normal.

Excellent post AV.

I never use the money exchange booths at the airport because these establishments offer a very low rate of exchange. Instead, I head directly to the Banco de la Nacion located outside of the customs area. Banco de la Nacion offers the same rates at the airport as banks and exhange houses offer downtown.

For example, on the day I arrived I exchanged money at the Banco de la Nacion before leaving the airport for 2.88Pesos per dollar. One of the exchange booths was offering 2.56 Pesos.

Thank you for your endorsement and the additional info, Doc. Do you ever sleep?

"La Nación" (our leading newspaper) published a letter I wrote on the subject quite a while ago, but none of the government agencies involved (Tourism? Central Bank?) did anything about it, as is more often than not the case in Argentina.

Question: does anyone know if the Banco de la Nación branch at Ezeiza is open 24/7?

DrDawggy:Is exchanging US$ at the Bank inside the airport better than using the ATM's?

Whatever happened to getting the best rates at an ATM? They are usually in airports, and I've gotten local currency this way in every country I've been to...with the exception of Laos (where there are no ATMs).

There is, however, always that first moment of trepidation, wondering whether or not your card will actually work...

While I've not checked yet, I assume that the ATMs in Argentina are part of the Star and Plus networks, and I assume that there are ATMs in EZE....Please, AV and DrDawggy, let me know if I'm mistaken on this one (I'm sure you'd do that w/o my asking anyway....)

I hate banks and have never used an ATM, so I'll be pleased to leave this one to drdawggy or anyone out there able to answer this question.

Regards to y'all.

elr

You are correct that ATM's give good rates of exchange, but some banks carry a hefty service charge and most banks limit withdrawals...so if you are going to need a lot of pesos, it is better to use a bank...

You are also correct that ATMs are present in the airports.....including one at the Banco de la Nacion...but it was out-of-order when I arrived back in May.

One problem with ATMs is that bills are usually given in 100 peso notes, which can be very difficult to change. I usually request some odd amount, like 190 pesos instead of 200, so I can receive smaller bills.

thanks...that's really interesting about being charged a fee for using an ATM, b/c I thought that only happened in the US, with US banks and their ridiculous $1 to $2.50 fees....since I belong to a credit union that has a whopping two branches, I get hit with this if I don't plan ahead...

Luckily, I'm a bit of a budget traveler & in general, don't like carrying around wads of cash, so I don't think the limit on withdrawals will effect me too greatly.

BTW, many thanks for you post...and I've duly noted your tip of withdrawing an odd number in order to receive some smaller bills...

ATM's always offer the best rates (as long as your bank doesn't charge a fee). My advice is to go with an internet bank like (www.netbank.com / www.bankdirect.com / www.everbank.com ). Many of these banks will give you a credit if the ATM charges a fee. Most ATM's in BA don't charge you a fee.

Also, a good trick is to ask your bank before you leave to waive any ATM fees while you travel abroad. I've had Bank of America and other misc. banks and always demanded this at the beginning of my trips and I've never been charged a fee. I used ATM's that didn't charge a fee.

ATM's will always be the best method of exchange rate. Trust me. I've traveled around the world and ATM's were much better than ANY money exchange places.

The key is knowing if your bank charges you a fee if you don't use their own machines. If you are an avid traveler like me, sign up for an internet bank. Their interest rates are higher, their fees are lower and they are FDIC insured.

Good luck.

Mike

ttt for judyzuber