ATM fees at Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta

[tanners7]

We'll be staying at the Grand Luxxe later this month and we were wondering where would the best place be to convert dollars to pesos. Also, is it OK to
give the initial tips in Dollars rather than pesos?

Thanks

 

[Passepartout]

The BEST place in Mexico to acquire pesos is at a BANK ATM at a BANK location during banking hours. 2nd best is a BANK ATM at the airport. Beware of no-name ATMs at malls or on the street. Many have skimmers to hijack your card info. Use a debit card. Don't have your debit card/checking account linked to overdraft protection. Just use your online banking to transfer some funds into the debit account when you want to top off your peso stash. When you are at Walmart or Costco, you can do the 'cash back' option for low cost pesos.

Best not to exchange USD for pesos- though I understand the resort desk will do it. The exchange rate is lousy, and you can't do it at all at a bank unless you have a business account. This was done to combat drug sales and money laundering.

Oh, tips.... They'll be happy to accept what you have, but they have the same difficulty as you to get a good rate.

Jim

 

[Johnsp]

There are Banco Santander ATM's located in the lobbies of all buildings in Grand Luxxe, Grand Bliss, Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace. If you have a Bank of America Debit Card you can avoid ATM fees at the Santander machines as B of A has a reciprocal agreement with Santander where they do not charge each other ATM fees.

Also, don't forget to bring a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees like a Capital one Venture Card. Some banks charge as much as 3% so leave those at home.

Have fun. Grand Luxxe is a wonderful resort.

 

[PamMo]

...If you have a Bank of America Debit Card you can avoid ATM fees at the Santander machines as B of A has a reciprocal agreement with Santander where they do not charge each other ATM fees.
Also, don't forget to bring a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees like a Capital one Venture Card. Some banks charge as much as 3% so leave those at home...

I wish it was that simple. You aren't charged "extra" fees for using a Bank of America debit card at Santander ATMs, but you are charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on all withdrawals. This includes ATM withdrawals from Santander and other international partners. From the BofA website: https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/manage/how-to-pay-when-traveling-abroad.go

"Before you use your card to get cash from an international ATM it pays to do a little research. When you use a foreign ATM, you could be charged a variety of fees, including non-bank ATM usage fees, ATM operator access fees, and international transaction fees for conversion to U.S. dollars. One way to limit such fees is to use your Bank of America ATM or debit card at one of our international partner ATMs. This enables you to avoid the Non-Bank of America ATM $5 usage fee for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiryFootnote2 as well as the ATM operator access fee.

Keep in mind that when you use your debit card to withdraw money from an international ATM, Bank of America will assess an international transaction fee of 3% of the converted U.S. dollar amountFootnote3. Foreign ATM operators may offer to do your currency conversion for you, but they may charge a higher fee for conversion. You can refuse the foreign ATM conversion and be assessed the 3% Bank of America international transaction fee instead."​

 

[rcw15]

We'll be staying at the Grand Luxxe later this month and we were wondering where would the best place be to convert dollars to pesos. Also, is it OK to
give the initial tips in Dollars rather than pesos?

Thanks

We were in PV Oct. 17-22. I used the ATM in the Punta and an ATM card that pays any fees. The exchange rate was great, the charge refunded, and the transaction worked well. I noticed that their is a security camera up in a corner over the ATM machine.