Buenos Aires With 50% Off: what to know about money before visit BA
The most devalued coin in Latin America
Argentina has experienced currency devaluation due to various economic factors. Hyperinflation, government mismanagement, and fiscal deficits have contributed to the devaluation of the Argentine peso 🚫.
Because of this, changing your Dollars to Argentinian Pesos can give you 50% off on everything, if you know how to do it!.
The Argentine government has implemented strict currency controls to manage foreign exchange reserves and prevent capital flight, and that created two different rates for the dollar; the official government ratio and the "BLUE DOLLAR" ratio 🔵.
Blue Dollar, how to do it right:
The most important things to know is HOW MUCH is the ratio the day you will exchange it, and WHERE to do it easily and safely.
💵 HOW MUCH
So, searching it in google, you can find that the official ratio is 350 ARS 🚫 (Argentinian peso) for each USD, but if you search the blue dollar, it's around 730 ARS ✅.
The difference is almost double the official ratio, that means that YOU CAN DOUBLE YOUR MONEY AFTER EXCHANGING IT if you do it right. If you are reading this later, probably the ratio is even better ;).
When I was there in February 2023 the blue ratio was 330, so if you were paying attention, that means that in less than 6 months, it devalued twice as much.
📍 WHERE (Option 1)
You might be wondering, is this legal? And the answer is NO, but YES.
This is something that everyone in Argentina does, foreigners and natives, I've never heard about anybody who went to jail doing this, and it's so natural and common that you can find a complete street in one of the most busy places with a lot of people offering you the option to exchange your dollars, these people are usually called "trees" 🌲 since they are always standing there. So, where should you go in BA to exchange your money?
Calle Florida is the main place to go and change your dollars, as I mentioned before, there's a lot of people standing around saying "cambio","exchange" you just have to talk with them and complete the process.
📍 WHERE (Option 2)
If you already read my guide about where to stay in Buenos Aires, you will notice that Calle Florida is a little further from where I recommended to stay, so you might be wondering if there are more places to exchange your money, and the answer is YES 💹.
This next place is really close to the main area I recommended you, Palermo. So you can walk or take a 5-min ride, this option is the place I always used when I was living there, they are professional, the place has AC, and it's more private and safe.
If you want to read my guide about where to stay in Buenos Aires, here is the link:
Recommendations
- 🎒 Bring a small bag with you, because they will give you a lot of bills.
- Don't change all your money at once, because it's going to be a lot of cash and also the ratio could go up more in the incoming days/weeks. I recommend you change 500-600 USD each time depending on how long you're staying.
- Buy some rubber bands, it's the easiest way to keep all your cash together.
- Other coins like Euros are accepted too, but not everywhere, Dollars are king, so make sure to change your current money for them.
- 🌟 And as a super plus recommendation: 🛩️ When you arrive first to the airport, you will need to pay them in cash your taxi, so just change some few dollars in the airport, remember that they are going to give you the official rate and not the Dollar Blue rate we want.
- Can not I just pay in dollars? You could, depending on the place, but they are going to give you probably a lower ratio and to summarize it's not something really common in BA.
Cash is King, watch out with your cards 💳
A lot of places accept credit card, but they don't really like it... you can experience some uncomfortable moments with the server for this reason 😠.
But that's not the only reason, almost all credit cards take the ratio to the official rate, so you will be paying 50% more in each transaction (plus the extra fee some restaurants apply), but in the last few months the government started accepting some credit cards taking the Dollar Blue ratio 🤔.
Being honest, nobody can be sure if their credit cards are going to take the Dollar Blue ratio or not 🤷🏻♂️, the only way to be sure is to go there and try for yourself, but again... even if yours does take the blue dollar rate, cash is still the best option ;).
What about the ATM? 🏧
It's almost the same story when you try to get cash with your credit card, it could work or not, so if you already exchanged all your cash, and you still need more, here is the best way to do it:
💰 Western Union?
The easiest way to send yourself more cash is via Western Union, they have a lot of offices around the city, and they use the Dollar Blue conversion to give you your cash.
The best way to pick which Western Union use, it's taking a look at the Google reviews, sometimes their workers there doesn’t speak English so try to find one in the main touristic areas.
Another problem that you can happen, is the lack of cash ❌, there is a chance that a lot of people are trying to use their services and the WU just depleted its funds, in this case ask the employees where you can find a WU with enough cash.
Lastly, double check all the information that you are using in the transaction. Everything you write needs to match exactly as it is on your passport. Double check spelling on everything.
PPD: don't forget your bag to save all your cash, hahaha 🤑.
Thank you.
Thank you for reading my guide, I'm sure this will help you a lot! Don't be shy about contacting me on my social medias if you have more questions :)
You can find more info on my profile ❤️.
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