ATMs and Banks in Bogota

British Paisa says on Jan 5, 2005, 12:31:

Conavi, Banco de Bogota, BanColombia will give you cash advances over the counter with your credit card.

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santiBOG says on Jan 5, 2005, 18:00:

Bancafe will also give you a fat cash advance over the counter. I am surprised your credit union charges $10 per transaction... CUs usually have lower fees than regular banks.

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Bruce V. Shrader says on Jan 6, 2005, 10:00:

ATM's I never went to a bank to get money.
Always used the ATM's in ChipiChapi,
Unicentro and La14. I preferrd the
"Servibanco" ATM's. They seemed to
give the best service (at a good rate)
and I NEVER encountered any $10.00
transaction fee. I use "Suntrust Bank"
here in the U.S. and Can access my account
on the internet so I could keep a running
tab, on my account, via internet from colombia.
BTW, I use a Debit Visa, so I don't use a
"Cash Advance" on Visa. Strangely enough, when using it
in stores, in Cali, It just about always runs as a
Credit card rather than a debit card.

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michaelz says on Jan 6, 2005, 10:55:

ATMs Thanks all. You confirmed my suspicions.

Normally I wouldn't worry much about a $10 fee. But if the ATMs only let you withdraw $80 or $100 at a pop, a $10 fee adds up pretty quick. I'll try an over-the-counter cash advances next week when I hit Bogota.

I really wish I was going to Cali or Cartegena though.

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expatriate says on Jan 7, 2005, 09:21:

Use of ATMs Michaelz,

During the ATM button pushing process, you always have a choice of Debit card or Credit card. I suspect that you pushed the button next to the Credit card choice, thus the $10 fee.

Also, if you can choose your US bank ahead of time, avoid Bank of America and its $5 ATM fee.

As far as Colombian ATMs, Bank of Colombia often gives you a maximum of 400,000 pesos for your ATM fee, but Conavi gives you at most 200,000. The rest of the bank ATMs give you 300,000 pesos.

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Gator says on Jan 8, 2005, 08:53:

Yes but... With Conavi you can make back-to-back withdrawls. Made two for 200.000 CPOs on New Years Eve and the excahnge rate was $2387.49/1

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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lpdiver says on Jan 11, 2005, 02:10:

I did it my waaaaaaay! I went to AAA in the United States and bought a prepaid visa. I never had a problem using it in Colombia. The only draw back I am aware of was getting the last few dollars. I think there is a minimum 20 dollar withdrawal thus I lost 16 dollars of the five grand that I loaded onto the card.

"cook some rice!"

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umm says on Jan 11, 2005, 03:34:

get yourself a Citibank account. If you want to retrieve money with that they dont charge.
Many banks do charge hefty amounts for retrieving money in other countries.

UMM

My Forum

Angel_Gabriel says on Jan 11, 2005, 09:06:

Citi Yes, I saw quite a few Citibanks in Bogota & Cali, good choice of bank when traveling to Colombia I think!

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miamimike says on Jan 11, 2005, 09:14:

CitiBank in Bogota Another nice feature of using Citbank in Bogota is that the ATMs are located INSIDE the bank-away from prying eyes found on street ATMs and there is an armed guard at the Door of the CitiBanks. Very Secure. I found the ATMs at Citibank to be the best of the lot.My experience only.

My Avatar-- Sarah Palin Says " "You know the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?? Lipstick!" Now on a Short Verbal Tether by the Honorable John McCain

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