How to exchange money in Buenos Aires
The most important thing you should now:
Due the rules of our economy, my experience in the "real life" as a private tour guide Buenos Aires is that USD currency is really hard to obtain in Argentina and Buenos Aires and usd cash is highly appreciated, mostly the notes 100's which must be in good conditions due to many times are used to save money. Drawned or stained notes could be difficult to use and many time the price of them is lower. For tips, the 5 ones are always welcomed (of course!). I strongly suggest you to visit us with USD currency in cash. You can be lucky with your 50's and 20's notes but the worst are the notes of 10's. Your main budget should come in big new crispy notes of 100.
If you are going to exchange, you will always do a better deal in Buenos Aires than in the countryside.
The nice good News is that you can get very convenient rates for many activities and products compared to international prices. By example a very tasty beek well joined by a Malbec wine at a nice restaurant would be bellow usd 30 (all included). You will be in a World Class city spending a few bucks.
Below you fill find a legal tool to get an excellent rate for your dollars, but my best advice:
Bring usd cash in crispy 100's notes
Selling your dollars
In Argentina, Buenos Aires included, for exchange money, as in banks as in exchange houses, they will ask you the passport, the original one and a focotocopy. As your private tour guide in Buenos Aires, I strongly recommend you to do your banking operation close to the hotel in order to return back and leave there the passport. The schedule of the exchange offices is from 10 am till 6 pm, always from Monday to Friday. Usually houses that open on weekend do not pay the better rate.
At the Airport, you can exchange at a fair rate in the rate of the official price at BANCO de la NACION, there are branches in each terminal. There are another banks at the airport, also with blue branding, so my Friends, again, I'm suggesting to go to the official Bank, the BANCO DE LA NACION. You can see here the logo of one I'm suggesting. There are also Atm's
for use, but assume they could be lack of currency and they charge a fee of around usd 4 per extraction.
On Weekends there are a couple of places where you can exchange, but they will not bring you always the best rate, but they are whole the weekend open.
Get in mind you also can exchange in an ATM, they will charge you around USD 10 whatever amount you take and it is so much faster than the line at the exchange office. To use an ATM in San Telmo on Sunday is just impossible, take that in mind, many purchases in that area will be in cash.
The legal tool named Wester Union
If you get lack of usd cash, and realised that your Bank brings and evil exchange rate, ok, it's time of the silver bullet: Western Union.
You can wire usd to yourself and immediatelly get them at any Western Union office, and we have many. By some reason I cannot explain, they pay you directly pesos, at an unbeateable rate, even better than blue rate (you will read below about Dollar blue)
About Dollar Blue:
There is a big parallel market for exchange, which named "blue market" and the price of the usd cash is named "dollar blue". This is not a legal option and I'm not suggesting to operate there, I'm just delivering the information of its existence, and I do not operate in that business for obvious reasons, it's up to you where are you going to exchange your currency. The information I'm bringing here is taken for public information available online in standard newspapers.
As you can see bellow, the difference on the impact of your holiday's budget would be for your holidays due to currently the gap between the two exchange rates is over 90%.
Exchange: US$ 1 = $arg 1450,
Blue Market US$ 1 = $arg 1450 (Yes that's a big gap, this price always for 100's notes)
€ 1 = $arg 1710, (Blue price)
Buying your dollars back:
VERY IMPORTANT: Get your dollars back is struggly to not say impossible, please be careful and try to manage how many usd you are selling in order to not end overstocked of Argentinean pesos.
Summarizing:
- You can exchange in many places like banks, exchange houses, Atm's (Most of them have no dollars, only pesos).
- The Atm's charges around usd 4 or more per extraction and you may be required to do many extractions.
- There is a parallel market which is not legal and it is called blue market (you attend to a "cave" and you operate with "blue dollars").
- Notes of 100's are better paid than lower notes, unless the old 100 dollars notes with a "small face" -we name that way-. Gap between the crispy 100 notes and any other note is around 5% (may be 10%)
Travel Tips
Recommend this Site
Go to Next Page don´t lose Useful Tips!!
Know more About me
Home
Customer References
