traveler checks vs. credit/ATM cards...

Roncita says on Jul 12, 2004, 08:29:

I always used ATMs in Medellin before I got a Colombian bank account and I never had problems with them. If you lose your card just phone your bank/credit card issuer and report it immediately. Yes it's a hassle but no more than in any other country. Travellers cheques may be OK but I never use them - ATMs are easiest.

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utopiacowboy says on Jul 12, 2004, 08:31:

I am with Roncita. Never used traveler's checks in Colombia - always ATMs - no problemas.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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seattlejames says on Jul 12, 2004, 08:48:

I agree with both.... ATM's are the only way to go...In BAQ & CART they even will ask you if you would like to use machine in English!

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 12, 2004, 09:02:

Get a backup card I don't know if you have enough time to do this through your bank, but if you come to Colombia with a backup (non-activated) ATM card you avoid a lot of hassles if your primary card is ripped off or lost.

Another common security precaution is to delink your savings account from you ATM so that it's not possible for a thief or possible kidnapper to know your complete financial resources.

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Miguel says on Jul 12, 2004, 09:09:

Es Verdad Forget the travelers checks and stick with debit and/or credit cards. Also, and pardon me if you already know this...call your bank and tell them you will be out of the country and NOT TO BLOCK your transactions from Colombia. My bank would allow one transaction from out of the USA and then deny any more if I had not contacted them in advance advising them of my travel plans. I have a Colombian friend here in the states that went home to Medellin, then took a trip to Brasil and the bank nixed her purchases in Rio. It is a good security measure, but a pain if you don't know about the policy in advance. I also got an extra debit card from my bank to have as a backup. Figure on about $1.50 per transaction on some cajeros automaticos while in Colombia. Also, I bought 250,000 COP from my bank before I left the states so I could avoid changing money when I arrived. I just grabbed my luggage, hailed a cab, paid in pesos, and was on my way to one hell of a vacation...¡Suerte!

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d52 says on Jul 12, 2004, 10:17:

thanks... awesome... thanks for all of the comments. looks like i'll be calling my bank ahead of time and getting a back up card as well...

now all that's left to do is to get over my fear of actually taking the trip. i'll be with my g/f though so i'm sure she'll take all the necessary precautions.

thanks again -

d

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Scott says on Jul 13, 2004, 11:55:

Stand back and watch the ATM to make sure it is working correctly and being used by regular people. Look around for nearby security/police. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN & watch your back when walking away.

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Bill1243 says on Jul 13, 2004, 13:29:

and also Best to use it in the daytime.

Also, I have a card from my credit....much better than banks... the fees are only $1 a transaction for my transactions down there....and then it;s only AFTER the first five, which are free.

As far as your original question about using one with the Visa logo on it or not... it doesn't really matter. Some people say more machines take the one with the Visa logo, but I have not found this to be the case. As far as losing it, vs. one without the Visa logo, not much difference....except that the one with the logo can theoretically be used on only a signature instead of just a pin transaction. This means that someone could buy something on signature only (believe it or not this is called a credit debit transaction!!), or they could maybe buy something over the phone. BUT, again, you can always cancel the card.

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caslug says on Jul 13, 2004, 14:13:

ATM Citibank does not charge for ATM use in any of there branch in the world. For next trip, I plan to open a citibank account and put my travel money there. BankofAmerica charge me $3 per TRANSACTION! The ATM in colombia never tells you you'll get charged, unlike ATM in the US. AND you can't takeout more than $300-400k peso/transaction. I ended paying $60 in ATM fees, that's 150k peso!

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Dolfi says on Jul 14, 2004, 03:25:

I allways take a credit card, US-$ Travellers checks and some cash, not much. Traveller checks are better than cash because you have to sign them in the bank and they are without value for thieves. I had no problem in cashing travellers checks in Colombia. You get a better rate in Bogotá than in Cartagena though.

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anonimo says on Jul 14, 2004, 03:49:

ATM's
When using ATM's, it is the same as using a credit card... you get the best rate of exchange.

I have been to Cartagena many times.. I take a bit of Canadian money with me and use the ATM's.

Benefits to ATM's over travellers cheques
good exchange rate
hours (24 hours)
usually no line up

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d52 says on Jul 14, 2004, 05:58:

again... thanks for all of the help.

greatly appreciated -

d

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Hunter says on Jul 14, 2004, 09:05:

ATMs all the way.. You will regularly see large amounts of people queuing in the bank, ATMs there are rarely queues, if there is one with with a queue, you just go to another.

Debit cards can work out cheaper, I pay no direct charges on mine, the bank makes 0.5% off the exchange rate.

Hunter

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d52 says on Jul 14, 2004, 12:43:

more info... for anyone else interested in this thread...

i found out that bank of america does in fact charge a $3.00 access fee for each and every withdrawl from an ATM (just as casluq stated above). in addition, there is a 2% charge for each purchase done with your card at a merchant (1% for visa and 1% for stank of america)... doh!

also rather important, just as someone else said above, it is required to have a 4-digit pin and this pin cannot begin with a 0.

talk to you all later -

d

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Bill1243 says on Jul 16, 2004, 11:55:

more Yes, taking money out of foreign ATM's is one of the biggest ripoffs around. Don't get me wrong...when all is said and done, you are getting more, in most cases, than using other ways to get money. But the mere fact that they don't break out all the expenses of the transfer tells a prudent person that something is going on. It is totally ridiculous that all we really know is how many pesos we took out and then see how many dollars we got. There are court cases going on now to try and get better disclosure. We have a right to know the interbank rate for the day, the exchange rate applied, how much goes to Visa or whatever logo we are using, how much goes to ATM owner and how much goes to our own bank. All of this is hidden, both on the machine and on our statements. This can be compared to the old days before the APR laws on loans.

You will also notice that at most foreign ATM's they don't even tell you the fee of the ATM itself on the screen!! Finally, they have a new gimmick,,,,now they limit you to 300,000 pesos per transaction, forcing more fees as you need more blocks of money.

Here is my hint on how to minimize the damage:

1) Use cards from credit unions...often they allow the first five tranactions at a foreign ATM without a fee on their part, and only a buck after that. Of if you go during the last part of a month, you'll get five free ones and another five when the next month starts. (remember, this doesn't get you out of the other fees though)

2) Don't take out the minimum....take out the maximum.

3) If your hotel charges in dollars, take dollars down with you and pay them in dollars.

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ColombianGringo says on Jul 18, 2004, 14:16:

ATM I always use my debit card with no problems. I always have 500 in cash and a 500 traveller check just in case. Exchanging anything they rip you off anyway. My atm card I get the daily exchange as posted on the stock exchange.

Feel free to write me with questions to kd7hsm@yahoo.com

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Dan says on Jul 19, 2004, 16:01:

ATM I use SunTrust. I think it's just an east coast bank. I only get charged the normal $2 charge for using ATM's outside of their own. and if the ATM's in Colombia charge anything, I'm not reall aware of it. It can't be too much if I don't notice a big difference. If anything, it might be a mil or two, I don't know. 300-400 mil isn't too bad per transaction. that much will last a while. The most I've seen taken out is a total of 1 million. you just have to do a few transactions to get that amount. never had any problems.

God Bless America!

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Bill1243 says on Jul 20, 2004, 00:32:

no no no $2 per transactionis easily avoided. Join a credit union. Everyone can join nowadays. And in mine I get free transactions, and only $1 after that.

In general, you will pay about 2 1/2% (from the interbank rate) for your money. This will include the charges for the exchange fees, the owner of the ATM, etc.. But these charges will not be told to you or itemized ANYWHERE, including on your bank statement...which to me is a real scam!

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go2pr says on Jul 20, 2004, 02:41:

cash What about changing some "big" amounts of cash, let's say 1000 € or more : is it better to take € or US$, do changers shops in malls or wherever purpose good rates, is it difficult to change big amounts, do hotels generally puropose so miserable rates ?

Thanks

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anonimo says on Jul 20, 2004, 06:00:

Change large amounts at a bank in Colombia

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