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superbusydad
Junior Nomad
Posts: 34
Registered: 6-30-2014
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Exchanging dollars to peso
I live in San Diego, and now less than a week away on our adventure to Baja Sur. We fly into San del Cabo and travel as north as Loreto. I will carry
my credit cards but want to use mostly cash. What is your advice on exchanging cash for the best rate? Where would (specific location) you recommend a
place (SJC, Cabo, Loreto) to exchange currency? Should I only bring 20s originally? What do you think?
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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
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Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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My bank at home, chase, told me that could get me as much as I want at the current exchange rate.
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volcano
Nomad
Posts: 348
Registered: 3-5-2007
Location: Cave Junction, Oregon and Boca Del Salado area, Ea
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Mood: always pining to be there
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at the airport there is an exchange business, it's very easy and actually a better rate than at the border exchanges
[Edited on 7-14-2014 by volcano]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Use ATMs while in Cabo, but be careful of the rate charged by the bank which owns the machine you're using. The amount per transaction will come up
clearly on the screen at the start of your transaction.
The charges can range from 20 to 90 Pesos.
Other bank fees......yours...theirs...I won't even get into, but, and sadly, this thread probably will before it's over.
One more thing....don't obsess over saving pennies at the ATMs. It will ruin a good trip......... Just have a good one.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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beachbum1A
Nomad
Posts: 442
Registered: 6-17-2006
Location: Punta Banda, BC
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS[/i
One more thing....don't obsess over saving pennies at the ATMs. It will ruin a good trip......... Just have a good one. |
EXACTLY!
Just do it!
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superbusydad
Junior Nomad
Posts: 34
Registered: 6-30-2014
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I just want to make some good decisions upfront and enjoy the "Baja State of Mind" for the rest of the time!
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Deposit your "vacation money" in a separate account and use your ATM card to withdraw what you need for 3 or 4 days at a time.
I wouldn't want to be carrying a wad of dollars or pesos around with me or leaving it in a hotel room
[Edited on 7-14-2014 by bajaguy]
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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I always think of Baja (my home for 9 years) as 'down the rabbit hole.' One needs to give up needing to be in control of the details. make yourself
as comfortable (?) as you need trying to anticipate everything, but it just ain't gonna work out totally like you expect it to.
Cabo and La Paz, and to a lesser extent Loreto, are relatively easy on a gringo's expectations of how things "should" work according to the pre-trip
research, but there will be surprises.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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Sandlefoot
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Posts: 220
Registered: 10-31-2011
Location: La Paz
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Mood: Home
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Deposit your "vacation money" in a separate account and use your ATM card to withdraw what you need for 3 or 4 days at a time.
I wouldn't want to be carrying a wad of dollars or pesos around with me or leaving it in a hotel room
[Edited on 7-14-2014 by bajaguy] |
Best advise you will find!!! And what Dennis said!! This place is to be enjoyed, have all the fun you can and make lifetime memories!!
Happy Trails
" Don't find fault, find a remedy; anyone can complain." Henry Ford
If you are not living on the edge...you are taking up to much space!
Just because it may not be a good idea does not mean it will not be fun!!!
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SlyOnce
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Exit San Ysidro Blvd. before crossing. Find a "sin comsion" cambio with the best posted rate. Remember you get the lower of the two numbers when
selling dollars (the easiest way to remember, is you always get the worst number). Right now its about 12.6
Don't take ATM cards you don't need.
Don't take your main home bank card.
I have a Credit Union ATM, I put my MX money in there.
Don't take a credit card with a high limit or one that's tied to your main bank account.
Don't carry all your cash in your wallet, hide the majority very well in your car.
I never carry my main wallet, I have a MX wallet with just my ATM card, DL, SENTRI card, and a few pesos for the day.
These are just normal precautions for any foreign travel, don't be overly paranoid.
Just this weekend I used the ATM card to pull 3000 pesos from a Scotia Bank ATM. I got a rate of 12.83 (slightly better than the cambios) and I was
charged $3 by Scotia Bank and $5 by the credit union for an international transfer.
If you add in these fees, I achieved an effective rate of 12.4 so that's not bad and it beats carrying all cash.
Make sure your bank will allow MX charges BEFORE you leave.
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Howard
Super Nomad
Posts: 2353
Registered: 11-13-2007
Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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Been doing this for years.
Call you bank and give them the dates you will be in Mexico and that you will be using your ATM card and credit card in any emergency. Use your ATM
card to withdraw pesos as the rate you get will be fair. Don't sweat the ATM fee as it's just the price of a beer or 2.
One less thing to think about and take time away from your vacation with the kids.
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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BajaUtah
Nomad
Posts: 190
Registered: 10-4-2013
Location: Salt Lake City/La Ribera
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Deposit your "vacation money" in a separate account and use your ATM card to withdraw what you need for 3 or 4 days at a time.
I wouldn't want to be carrying a wad of dollars or pesos around with me or leaving it in a hotel room
[Edited on 7-14-2014 by bajaguy] |
This is what I do as well. I have a separate account through my Credit Union. Before heading south I on-line transfer vacation money to this account
AND tell the CU where and when I'm traveling. Then I hit bank based ATMs when I get in country - I try to avoid Bancomer based ATMs as they are the
most expensive but in Los Barriles there is no choice.
Different from bajaboy I usually carry a couple of hundred dollars in US small bills just as a back up. I usually return to the States with it
untouched but I just feel better having a few different bullets in the gun.
Andy
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
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Location: Baja New Mexico
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Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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Another thing to consider: if you carry cash, you're constantly trying to figure out the exchange rate in your head, and you're more liable to be
short-changed by a gas-jockey or someone giving you change back in pesos for your dollars.
Keep a 'stash' with for emergencies, but not the whole shebang. ATMs are the only way to go; you can draw up to $500 (dollars) worth a day, maybe
even more now (not sure). Far's the fees go, they're negligible. If you have to ask if you can afford it, you can't afford it. The fees are
chump-change.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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Martyman
Super Nomad
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Registered: 9-10-2004
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Take at least 2 ATM cards. Sometimes one won't work.
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
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Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
Take at least 2 ATM cards. Sometimes one won't work. |
Too true! Also, if one does get stolen or lost, you can cancel transactions with a phone call; cash is GONE-GONE. As mentioned by other posts, be
sure to just call your local bank and tell them you'll be travelling for x-# of days, otherwise they can block your withdrawals or transactions just
because it's 'out of the ordinary' routines.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
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here's a seemingly obvious ATM tip that I never thought of till I had my card stolen. the number used to report a lost or stolen card along with the
card number IS ON THE CARD that you no longer have. also keep in mind there's a lot of places down here that you absolutely cannot dial an 800# using
any combination of codes, carry the banks non-800 number.
have fun!
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StuckSucks
Super Nomad
Posts: 2323
Registered: 10-17-2013
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Howard
Call you bank and give them the dates you will be in Mexico and that you will be using your ATM card and credit card in any emergency. Use your ATM
card to withdraw pesos as the rate you get will be fair. |
Yes and yes. I bank with BofA and you can do it all online - tell them when and where you're going, contact information, and you're thru.
Also, I learned a few years ago in San Felipe how to kill you credit card. I made a mistake calculating how many pesos I needed at an ATM machine
(really small amount), so I went right back and asked for a big amount - the bank shut down my card, presumably I looked like suspicious activity.
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bledito
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Registered: 7-6-2013
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bofa will let you do it all online as far as scheduling your trip so they won,t shut off your card. But in my experiances they sometimes do anyway.
they did this to me several times on past trips. you then have to call em international and straighten it all out. Now i do both on line and at the
bank as well. I also carry anouther card different bank just in case. Also carry some emerrgency cash as well.
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-5-2011
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I had a Citibank credit card transaction blocked in Mexico even though I called the bank and told them I would be traveling there. The reason was the
transaction was over $1000. I called the bank and was told I had to call each time for transactions over $1000.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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I absolutely agree with many of the previous posters in that using ATMs is the smart way, as long as you notify your bank in advance.
That said, if you are planning to spend time in Los Cabos, Loreto, and the places in between such as La Paz and Ciudad Constitucion, you really won't
need pesos. There is tremendous US tourist traffic throughout these areas, and dollars are happily accepted.
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