Quick Guide to Navigating Argentinian Exchange Rates
- borderlesskate
- Oct 3, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 9, 2023
One of the hardest things for me to understand before actually living in Argentina was the exchange rate. If you’re feeling confused or overwhelmed, read this post! I'll break it down in the most basic and practical way I can.
Overview:
Number of exchange rates in Argentina: ~12
Number of exchange rates that matter to you as a tourist: 3
What are these 3?:
1. The official rate
2. The blue rate
3. The “foreign tourist” (MEP) rate for credit cards
What are these rates (in Feb 2023)?:
1. Official:185 pesos per dollar
2. Blue: 370 pesos per dollar
3. MEP: 330 pesos per dollar
Should I bring cash (USD) with me? ✅
Where should I go to exchange my money? Cambios
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YOUR DOLLAR BILLS
Bring as much cash as you can/think you’ll use + a little buffer. I brought $1500 cash and needed to have a friend bring $300 more. In Argentina particularly, cash is king. BUT there are some requirements for your dollar bills in order for them to be accepted at the cambios.
They must:
Be crisp. No folds. No creases. No tears.
Have NO markings. No pen. No gum. No highlighter. No dots of ink.
They will check, closely, and they will turn your bills away.
How do I make sure I have the right bills?
Call your bank and tell them you need crisp, unmarked dollar bills for international travel. This should not be an unfamiliar request as a lot of countries will only accept clean bills at cash exchanges.
When you go to pick up the bills go through each one and make sure they are crisp and unmarked. Do not leave until you have checked them. You can switch them out on site if you see a problem with a bill.
Make sure that when you are traveling you keep the bills in a safe, FLAT place so that they will not bend or fold. I kept mine in my computer case near my computer to keep them flat and protected.
TIP: 100 dollar bills are preferred. Try to get as much of your cash in 100s, although I found that having a few 20s and 10s was helpful, especially when paying for the $30 Patagonia ferry in cash.
Rate Deep Dive
1. What is the official rate?
The official rate is the exchange rate that you will see when you type “Argentine peso to USD exchange rate” in Google. It’s also the exchange rate that you will get if you exchange any money in the US before going. I always do this because I like to arrive with some cash on hand. Although I didn’t get a great rate I still thought it was worth it. For me, in January 2023 the exchange rate was 185. I exchanged $100 with my bank before I left, which meant I had 18500 pesos. In general, you want to avoid this rate.
2. What is the “blue rate”?
The blue rate is the unofficial rate set by the black market in Argentina that you will get if you exchange cash at a cueva (literally “cave” in Spanish). A cueva is an unofficial currency exchange, commonly seen as cambio on the street. While these are technically illegal, there’s no need to worry about using one. They are frequented and used by locals and the government generally “ignores” their existence. It’s FAR more advantageous. And the rates are ALWAYS changing. When I arrived in January 2023 the exchange rate was 340. When I left 6 weeks later it was 370. Yes, inflation increased that rapidly, literally right before our eyes. That means that for $100 I would get 34,000 pesos (or 37,000 by the end).
How do I navigate the cambios?
You will walk into the cambio and take a number. There is a little seating area and a sign on the wall that has a room number and ticket number. Your number will pop up under the number of the room that you should go to. I always found the cambios to be pretty white and austere. You’ll then go to the teller and you can ask what the rate is for that day and then hand over the amount that you want to exchange. The teller will thoroughly examine your bills and then give you your pesos – which will be a BIG stack. I always tried to get 1000s.
NOTE: generally speaking, $100 is plenty to live on for a week in Buenos Aires. I ended up spending more because, to be honest, I did a bad job budgeting and did pretty much anything I wanted while I was there (ate at the fancier restaurants, went to high tea, etc)
Are all cambios created equal?
As far as I know any cambio you see that is labeled as such is ‘legit.’ I put ‘legit’ in quotes because technically they are illegal, but they are somehow institutionalized and used by literally everyone. You can shop around different cambios to see who will give you the best rate because it will fluctuate from place to place, but I found that the few hundred pesos I might be able to ‘win’ weren’t worth the time or hassle. A tried and true cambio is always Western Union. Below I will put one that was recommended to me by the school where I was studying, if you happen to be in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Cambio Callao Srl (“Berlin Cambio” on the storefront)
Av. Sta. Fe 1838, C1123AAN CABA, Argentina
Check out this Google Maps view of the Berlin cambio – very unassuming and easy to pass by!
3. What is the “Foreign Tourist dollar” (officially – “MEP rate”)?
We got lucky because this rate was freshly instituted while we were there and was created specifically for tourists. Before this rate was introduced in November 2022, if you used a credit card at a store you would get the official rate as opposed to the “blue” rate found on the black market. In an attempt to encourage and grow tourism, and knowing that a lot of people use a credit card while abroad, the government created the foreign tourist dollar rate. This rate sits between the blue rate and official rate and for us in January was about 1 USD = 330 pesos.
Important notes about this rate
Right now it is available with the big card issuers Visa, Mastercard, and AmEx
Use your card on a small purchase first to see how it will register and process before using it on a larger purchase. This will help you make sure you are really getting the MEP rate. The rate will process differently depending on which card you are using (see below).
Most stores prefer cash to credit. If you pay in cash many stores will give you up to a 10% discount.
VISA USERS: You will see the charge come through at the official rate in the ‘pending’ purchases and then later go through at the foreign tourist rate. Check back in a day or two after purchase to see if it has been amended.
MASTERCARD USERS: From what I understand if you have a Mastercard they will charge you at the official rate and then within a few days reimburse you (cannot confirm because I don’t use Mastercard).
AMEX: Was the last of the three big issuers to sign on to the MEP rate later in the spring 2023. It looks like they also operate more like Mastercard and charge the official rate and then reimburse you a few days later (also cannot confirm because I’m not an AmEx user).
TIP: Check here to see the current blue and official exchange rates.
BUDGETING
If you’re trying to get a sense for what some prices may look like in Argentina to help you budget or decide how much cash to bring, here is a little breakdown from prices I experienced in Buenos Aires:
Meal at a top restaurant, main + drink: $20
Steak dinner + drink: $10 – $30 (depends where you go)
Lunch to-go: $6
Coffee: $1.50
High tea at L'Orangerie Alvear: $30
Really good leather jacket: $300 – $700+ (mine was ~130,000 pesos)
Bus: 25 cents
NOTE: I cannot stress this enough – all of the prices that I experience may be (likely will be) quite different than what you experience as the exchange rate is in constant flux. You will also experience different prices depending on what exchange rate you are using (cash v credit etc).
You see wads of cash everywhere – this is a photo I took of a manager of a café counting cash to pay for a produce delivery that had been made.
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