Best Credit card for Mexico, south/centeral America.
 

I'm looking for a cc card with no foreign transaction or atm fees. What would you suggest?

Unsure if there's a "no-fee" ATM card, though Discover had no/low fees while I traveled through Canada. My other cards incurred hefty user fees.

Also, even if ATM cards have no bank (issuer) fee, the vendor (ATM location) may tack on fees.

My US American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator credit card has no foreign transaction fees. My debit card in Mexico is Bancomer. Many American expats here in my area tend to favor Capitol One, I just have not gotten around to researching it much.

As mentioned, nearly ALL USA ATM cards have fees ... plus the Mexican bank will tack on another fee of their own. But it's a FLAT RATE fee ... and this is why it's best to withdraw large amounts at one time. Usually about $3 per withdrawal plus whatever the Mex. bank charges. (yes, it's a racket!)

So, Fee is the same if you withdraw $50 or $500.

Credit Card. Best to just shop around the big companies, see who does NOT charge foreign transaction fees. My Citi master card DOES charge foreign fees, as does my Discover and Well's Fargo Visa.

Banks change policy on this a lot so let us know what you find out ... if Capital One do not charge then I'll sign up for one of those next trip! :thumbup1:
There are several who DO NOT charge ... just can't name them.

In Mexico it's a crap shoot regards ATM cards. Some cards work at ATM's, some don't. I found one Mexican bank (Bancomer I think) that worked with one of my ATM cards and I just would go that same bank every time.

Fees are killer. Nothing to be done that I know of ... aside from dealing with locals who may want to buy CASH dollars and will pay a good rate. (some Pemex stations will change dollars ...no fees, sometimes OK rate.)

At fancy tourist type business's they usually accept credit cards but many smaller business's will not accept cards, small Hotels and such. The FEES charged are TOO HIGH so they boycott these banks.

But on my last trip I found that now more Mex. business's are again accepting CC whereas a few years ago not many would. YMMV.

bier

assuming the OP is american, charles schwab offers a no fee debit/atm card, but you have to have good credit.

bank of america charges 3% on atm withdrawals....bastards

Our Oz bank charges a flat rate of $4 which is OK since we can usually get $1000 at a time from the ATM and some ATM operators charge no fees.

BUT couple of days ago in Ecuador - where the single withdrawal limit is universally US$200 with a daily limit of US$1000, the ATM fee was $8 so total fees of more than $10 to get a huge $200 out. THAT is a ripoff.

Why not?

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You should travel with more than one card ... at least one Visa card and one Master card. You might even make it 4 cards .. Visa credit, Visa debit, Master credit and Master debit.

The Banks in Mexico charge you a fee for using the ATM, even if your bank doesn't. For me the best way is to go to the Banamex ATM and withdraw 8000 MX $. You have to pay a fee from about 30 Pesos (about 2 USD). Other banks charge more. Banjercito charges only 18 Pesos but they have very few ATMs as far as I know.

Save Travel

Ok, there's always an atm charge, I can live with that. Should one take both a credit card and debit card?

How much currency do you keep on you? How would you hide it?

My plan was to just get enough currency to get me through the county than distribute it in various pockets and hide some on the bike.

I know I'm making this way more complicated than what it is.

I should have stated I'm leaving Portland and headed to Tierra Del Fuego in January.

IMO, you need two credit cards and two debit cards. As sometimes one card will not work. Try to use debit cards that are on different networks. (see back of card)

Good to have hiding places for cash. Just be sure to remember where you've stashed it! I normally keep under $100 US in my wallet with more money hidden. Some use a "dummy wallet" as well.

US Dollars cash should also be well hidden and saved for times when you cannot access cash via ATM or use credit card. Be sure to plan ahead at borders and either exchange or spend remaining cash from the country you are leaving.

Be careful with money changers at the borders. They are very slick.

develop a system and stay with it.

January departure is good for all of Mexico and Cent. America. Dry season, cooler. You may get wet coming South from Portland.

!Que le via muy bien! bier

All personal preference, depending on your comfort level.

Cops can locate hidden money fairly quickly. I can attest to that...

Tell me more about the cops.

Be low key, blend in, try not to stand out. Be polite, S M I L E ... and try to speak Spanish, no matter how badly. Always say Buenos dias/tardes/noches to begin every conservation, request or reply. Politeness matters.

You may get the odd crooked transito cop (traffic) but mostly they will leave you alone if you look somewhat "respectable" and follow the rules best you can. :thumbup1:

Federal Police are another matter. Generally speaking they leave tourists alone.
Play your tourist role quietly, don't break the law ... you should be fine. :scooter:

How much cash you want to carry on you will vary with the country size and amount of time you plan on staying .
Generally , work from a maximum allowed bank machine withdrawal down until you have about two days of money- burn left , then find a bank machine again.
Carry only a small amount in your user wallet, maybe barely enough for one day. Leave the bulk stash in a safe place like a money belt in your undies. Restock your daily wallet only in absolute privacy . Don't give street pickpockets a clue as to where you carry it .

If crossing e. g . Mexico or Brazil over several weeks it is not advisable to get all the money in cash . Visit bank machines to get it in reasonable instalments.
If you are ripping across a tiny country in a day or two it makes sense and you might be no worse off if you got it at a border money changer by trading in the currency you will not be needing anymore. It is going to cost some regardless of where you convert , but try to avoid blatant ripoff exchange rates.

As Mollydog suggests , have several cc and several bank cards which work for different handling systems . Look on the backs of the cards and cover as many bases as possible with logos for Maestro, Cirrus, Mastecard, Interac, Plus, Interlink , Visa and others.
The more options the better for hitting a match to bank machine connections .

Big savings to be made in Argentina if you have us dollars and can make use of the dolarblue exchange rate

Km

Charles Scwab debit card does not charge fees and will reimburse foreign bank charges.

For Brazil, try to avoid the ATM's from "Banco24Horas" as they charge transaction fee to boot. The effective conversion rate fom them is also lousy. Try to use the ATM's from the major banks as Banco do Brasil, Banco Bradeco, Banco Itaú, Caixa Econômica Federal etc.

Santander (Mexico) and Bank of America
 

As mentioned in this thread, check with you credit card companies and bank to see who has the best deal. In my experience, going back as early as 2008, Santander Serfin in Mexico is a partner with Bank of America. You can withdraw cash from a Santander ATM with your Bank of America ATM card, zero fees, nada. In some of the big tourist area you have your choice of withdrawing USD or MX pesos. Before opening a BofA account, check to make sure the partnership is still in effect. PS: Santander banks in other countries don't have the same deal with Bank of America. Sames goes for HSBC, Scotia, CitiBank...they are all franchises, without relationships that cross international borders.

I recently heard you can get better than bank rates when exchanging USD privately in Brazil. Venezuela and Argentina are great places to get great exchange rates when trading on the "private" market. In both of these countries I transfer funds from my Bank of America account to a friend's Bank of America account, then got local funds from them. Trading USD with street money changers in Lima (Nov 2014) saved me bank fees and got me a good rate. Hard to exchange outside big bills once I got outside of Lima.

Download a currency conversion app for your smart phone. I use the free app "Currency" for my iPhone. A conversion app will help you strike a reasonable deal at the border and informs you what price is being asked in your home currency.

In the end, get a credit card that cuts a fair deal, then deal with the fees. Its the price of adventure...and its worth it.

Great stuff!
Just a quick note on using street money changers or casa de cambio's. Trust me, they will check your $100 USD notes carefully ... so you need to do the same with their big bills. There is a TON of counterfeit money all over south america ... and they don't do a good job of catching the crooks. :oops2:

Try to have a known to be good bill (get from legit bank) and compare to bills the money changer gives you.

Lots of Gringos have been ripped off this way so do be aware. The locals can spot the fakes quickly ... so asking a local friend for help can also work (it's what I did)

Peru
 

In November 2015 I met a young backpacker in Lima, Peru. She got stuck with counterfeit bills...somewhere.

A week or so later I was in gift shop up in the mountains buying a handful of stickers for everyone on the tour...and the shopkeeper put a thin piece of paper over the Peruvian currency I was paying with. She took a pencil and rubbed over a section of the bill. Their currency has special printing, so the pattern sticks out when this rubbing trick is applied. My money passed the test. It makes me wonder if shopkeeper look harder at the money travelers pay with, because we are more likely to be the victims and accept funny money.

PS: I had a taken a small stack of $100 bills when heading to Peru to join friends on a commercial tour. Before leaving Lima I wanted to exchange USD for Peruvian soles. When I ask a bank guard if that bank exchanges currency, he took out to the street and pointed to a cambo guy. I got a better exchange rate from this guy than the bank and no fees. Your mileage may vary.

Barclay
 

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