Cancun - Convert to Peso or take Us Dollars

[Julian926]

Hi All,

New to Cancun. I'm hoping to see see the main tourist traps including Xel Ha, Chicken Itz. I'd like to take cash to pay tips and maybe purchase small items.

Is it worth it to convert to Peso or take US dollar since I hear they can take US dollars.

Thanks!

Julian

 

[natasha5687]

Hi All,

New to Cancun. I'm hoping to see see the main tourist traps including Xel Ha, Chicken Itz. I'd like to take cash to pay tips and maybe purchase small items.

Is it worth it to convert to Peso or take US dollar since I hear they can take US dollars.

Thanks!

Julian

I just came back from Playa Del Carmen yesterday. I took a fair amount of USD with me but when I ran out I just went to the ATM and got pesos. What I found is that most locations in the tourist areas actually compute the price in Pesos and USD for you. Either way should be fine.

 

[Passepartout]

Just use a debit card at the BANK! ATM to get pesos. Sure, the tourist businesses will happily accept your USD, but at an exorbitant exchange rate. Don't use a credit card to get cash, as cash advances are charged cc % rate from day 1.

No need to get pesos in advance. There are ATMs at the airport.

Use a credit card for purchases and resort expenses, pesos for small purchases and tips.

In restaurants, you must ask for the check (la quenta por favor). It's considered rude in Mexico for a server to just drop the bill along with the food, U.S. style. Like they are asking you to leave.

Enjoy Mexico.

Jim

 

[ilene13]

I use travelers checks and exchange them as needed.

 

[Passepartout]

I use travelers checks and exchange them as needed.

Oh, yeah, That makes sense. You pay to get them, then you pay the commission to cash them- if you can find someone who accepts them. Yeah, I know. "I get them free" (because you pay to belong to AAA or wherever you acquire them) And "I can exchange them at the resort desk". Yup. At the rate they want to pay you less the commission they charge.

For the lowest price international exchanges here's the deal. A bank ATM gives you, the consumer, the same rate that banks charge each other, and charge you a couple of bucks for the convenience. You can dodge that charge for a small amount of exchange when you get groceries or make another purchase and just get some additional cash (pesos in this case) along with your purchase.

Traveler's Checks do work. Just at a disadvantageous price to the user. They might be better than ordering international currency at your bank, but not much.

Jim

 

[natasha5687]

Just use a debit card at the BANK! ATM to get pesos. Sure, the tourist businesses will happily accept your USD, but at an exorbitant exchange rate. Don't use a credit card to get cash, as cash advances are charged cc % rate from day 1.

No need to get pesos in advance. There are ATMs at the airport.

Use a credit card for purchases and resort expenses, pesos for small purchases and tips.

In restaurants, you must ask for the check (la quenta por favor). It's considered rude in Mexico for a server to just drop the bill along with the food, U.S. style. Like they are asking you to leave.

Enjoy Mexico.

Jim

I use Bank of America here at home and there was no surcharge to use any Banco Santander ATM for me. I can only speak to my personal experience but I was not hit with an additonal exchange rate for using USD. My purchases came out very precise when you calculate the cost in USD. There was 1 shop owner in Cozumel that tried that but that was the one and only time I encountered an issue. Needless to say she got to keep her merchandise and lost my business.

 

[bobpark56]

Best Bets

Your best bet for purchases is to use a credit card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. There are several of them out there. I have 3. Your bank (absent fees) will give you your best exchange rates.

Your best bet for cash is to have a low-fee debit card (USAA has one) and use it at bank ATMs to get large chunks of pesos at a time (large chunks to avoid repeated fees).

The work "bank" is important here...there are many non-bank ATMs, especially at resorts, that charge exorbitant fees. You can find bank ATMs at the Cancun airport (red machine on the left, a bit before you exit), at most large grocery stores (Bancomer is one such bank), and at some other (scattered) locations...or at a bank, such as Scotia or Santander.

Do not use your resort's offer to exchange dollars/pesos for you. And do not use money exchangers. All charge high fees.

Pay for everything in pesos. If you use your credit card, make sure they charge your card in pesos rather than in dollars (your bank will take a smaller commission than their card server...if it takes any at all).

Avoid paying for anything in dollars (cash). The typical rate if you do so is 10 pesos/dollar...even when the official exchange rate is 13/dollar or more.

For tips, taxis, etc., use pesos. The recipient will appreciate it, as it avoids them getting ripped off by the high exchange rates cited above.

If you have pesos left over, just save them for your next trip. You will be returning, won't you?

(The advice above applies also when traveling in other countries, not just for pesos in Mexico. In some countries, you may want your credit card to be a chip and pin card.)

 

[Passepartout]

Using USD in Mexico

I guess this shouldn't surprise me. The whole area is a purpose built tourist zone, designed to harvest U.S. tourist dollars. It is more American than Mexican. An offshore suburb of East Coast USA.

Don't try getting along (at least on equal footing) with US dollars in the rest of Mexico. With the possible exception of Cabo.

Whatever works for you.

Jim

 

[Julian926]

Thanks for the all the great replies. I might return so I'll probably keep the pesos.

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks for the all the great replies. I might return so I'll probably keep the pesos.

I always seem to keep a few hundred pesos as 'seed money' to get started whenever we return. If you choose to use USD, just watch the exchange rate. It should be pretty close to 13 pesos/dollar. My experience has been that small shops, taxi's, restaurants will happily use a rate of 10 or 11 to the dollar, giving them an instant 10-20% benefit. Just watch them. It ain't their first rodeo.

 

[Julian926]

So, to get the best exchange rate, should I convert Pesos in the US through my bank or should I use the ATM in Cancun to get the Pesos?

I have Wells Fargo as my bank.

 

[Passepartout]

So, to get the best exchange rate, should I convert Pesos in the US through my bank or should I use the ATM in Cancun to get the Pesos?

I have Wells Fargo as my bank.

A BANK ATM. And get enough to last a few days- I get about 2,500 which is just under $200. The ATM charges are by the transaction, not by the amount. So it costs the same (about $1.50 to your bank and $1.50 to the Mexican bank) whether you take out $50 worth or $300. Those non-bank ATMs you'll see in resort lobbies or at the mall will charge more and not always give you the bank rate.

You might ask at Wells Fargo if they have an agreement with any Mexican bank so as to avoid the charges.

Jim

ADDED A cautionary tale. I used an ATM at a bank in Mexico one Sunday morning. Out came a receipt showing that I'd withdrawn a sum of pesos. But NO MONEY WAS DISPENSED! When I went online to report it to my bank, their response was to shut off my card! Fortunately we had other accounts we could transfer funds to and get access, but a trip could have been ruined. Long story short, we had to do battle with the banks to get my money back. It was ugly. So my advice is to use ONLY Bank ATMs and only during banking hours in case there is a problem with the machine. I would like to think this was an isolated incident, but after I posted a thread about this, other TUGgers reported similar incidents.

 

[natasha5687]

So, to get the best exchange rate, should I convert Pesos in the US through my bank or should I use the ATM in Cancun to get the Pesos?

I have Wells Fargo as my bank.

Call Wells Fargo and see if they have a relationship with any of the large banks in Mexico. Bank of America would have allowed me to purchase my pesos prior to departure for a fee of $7 if I was exchanging less than $1000 and free if above $1000.

 

[ilene13]

Oh, yeah, That makes sense. You pay to get them, then you pay the commission to cash them- if you can find someone who accepts them. Yeah, I know. "I get them free" (because you pay to belong to AAA or wherever you acquire them) And "I can exchange them at the resort desk". Yup. At the rate they want to pay you less the commission they charge.

For the lowest price international exchanges here's the deal. A bank ATM gives you, the consumer, the same rate that banks charge each other, and charge you a couple of bucks for the convenience. You can dodge that charge for a small amount of exchange when you get groceries or make another purchase and just get some additional cash (pesos in this case) along with your purchase.

Traveler's Checks do work. Just at a disadvantageous price to the user. They might be better than ordering international currency at your bank, but not much.

Jim

I DO NOT pay to get them at the AAA, I would belong regardless. I exchange them at whichever resort I am staying and there is NO charge. The rate is the same as cash. I was in Cancun 2 weeks ago , the resort exchanged them for 12.30 per $, and the rate on my credit card was 12.42 per $. The difference is minimal! So it does make sense to me!!!

 

[Passepartout]

I DO NOT pay to get them at the AAA, I would belong regardless. I exchange them at whichever resort I am staying and there is NO charge. The rate is the same as cash. I was in Cancun 2 weeks ago , the resort exchanged them for 12.30 per $, and the rate on my credit card was 12.42 per $. The difference is minimal! So it does make sense to me!!!

If that makes you happy, it plumb tickles me. Today's interbank rate- the one you get at a bank with your ATM card- on www.oanda.com is 13.09 pesos/USD. But using your numbers, to use a travelers check cost you 12 centavos per USD. Or a dollar's worth for every $70ish. Using today's numbers, that rate (12.30) would be over a dollar's worth for every $20 exchanged! The inconvenience of traveler's checks can cost plenty. By inconvenience, I mean like trying to get a taxi driver to accept it and give you change. Good Luck with that.

Everyone takes the pesos you get at the bank ATM at the lowest cost to you. But as I said at the top, if this is how you choose to support the economy, go for it! Just don't expect a lot of support for instructing others to do it. In fact if I was paying an exchange rate of close to 8% which you are, I don't think I'd mention it.

 

[siesta]

I use Bank of America here at home and there was no surcharge to use any Banco Santander ATM for me. I can only speak to my personal experience but I was not hit with an additonal exchange rate for using USD. My purchases came out very precise when you calculate the cost in USD. There was 1 shop owner in Cozumel that tried that but that was the one and only time I encountered an issue. Needless to say she got to keep her merchandise and lost my business.

when was the last time you did this? Because from what I have read, as of Nov. 2013 now BofA will charge you 3% currency conversion fee at Banco Santander ATMs in Mexico.

I had a capital one online checking account for travelling abroad. It was 0% currency conversion fee, and they refunded you up to $25 in ATM fees a month. Unfortunately that changed in 2012. Now its the typical 3% conversion fee and $2 ATM fee.

Any other options to avoid the fees? I know capital one credit card has no currency conversion fee, but I prefer pesos.

 

[Johnsp]

I have been to Mexico since last November and have not been charged an ATM fee by B of A at Santandor Bank. I checked B of A's web site this evening. Below is a copy and paste from the web site explaining their policy.

You can avoid the Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee and ATM operator access fee by using one of our international partner ATMs in the corresponding countries listed below:
Barclays (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Channel Islands)
BNP Paribas (France)
BNL D’Italia (Italy)
UkrSibbank (Ukraine)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Scotia Bank (Canada, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean including: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
Westpac Bank (Australia and New Zealand)
China Construction Bank (Mainland China)
Santander (Mexico)

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

when was the last time you did this? Because from what I have read, as of Nov. 2013 now BofA will charge you 3% currency conversion fee at Banco Santander ATMs in Mexico.

I had a capital one online checking account for travelling abroad. It was 0% currency conversion fee, and they refunded you up to $25 in ATM fees a month. Unfortunately that changed in 2012. Now its the typical 3% conversion fee and $2 ATM fee.

Any other options to avoid the fees? I know capital one credit card has no currency conversion fee, but I prefer pesos.

In February 2014 we used our BofA debit card at Santander banks in Puerto Vallarta without being charged a fee.

****

This the cheapest way to get pesos. One time I thought I would plan ahead and obtain pesos from BofA before we went to Mexico. Only to find out that when you do it that way they charge a currency transaction fee.

I think it's smart to just get pesos and pay for as much as you can with pesos. Only use your credit card with merchants whom you know and trust. So I use the cc at Walmart, at the resort front desk at check-in, and a couple of favorite and trusted restaurants and shops where we do repeat business.

 

[ilene13]

If that makes you happy, it plumb tickles me. Today's interbank rate- the one you get at a bank with your ATM card- on www.oanda.com is 13.09 pesos/USD. But using your numbers, to use a travelers check cost you 12 centavos per USD. Or a dollar's worth for every $70ish. Using today's numbers, that rate (12.30) would be over a dollar's worth for every $20 exchanged! The inconvenience of traveler's checks can cost plenty. By inconvenience, I mean like trying to get a taxi driver to accept it and give you change. Good Luck with that.

Everyone takes the pesos you get at the bank ATM at the lowest cost to you. But as I said at the top, if this is how you choose to support the economy, go for it! Just don't expect a lot of support for instructing others to do it. In fact if I was paying an exchange rate of close to 8% which you are, I don't think I'd mention it.

We don't take cabs, we rent a car. I use pesos for everything-- we go out to dinner nightly and I always have cash( pesos). The TC are not inconvenient. The only place I used my cc was when I bought my new purse at Louis Vuitton. You don't have to be so snarky!

 

[pittle]

I always seem to keep a few hundred pesos as 'seed money' to get started whenever we return. If you choose to use USD, just watch the exchange rate. It should be pretty close to 13 pesos/dollar. My experience has been that small shops, taxi's, restaurants will happily use a rate of 10 or 11 to the dollar, giving them an instant 10-20% benefit. Just watch them. It ain't their first rodeo.

We do that too. We started that a few years ago because we do go to Mexico twice each year. We always bring back the amount we started with. That way, we have pesos for taxis and dinner out the first day before going to the grocery for supplies.

We bumped our amount up for our drive to Mazatlan every June because we need to buy gas a couple of times before we get to San Carlos where we get more pesos. Last year the ATM did not accept our card (even though I notified them that we would be in Mexico), so we barely had enough pesos to get all the way to Mazatlan. We brought more back from PV in November and are now ready for June in Mazatlan.

 

[easyrider]

I have been to many areas of Mexico in a car and haven't ever had a problem using USD if that is what I had with the exception of large denomination bills. If you have nothing bigger than a twenty it shouldn't be a problem.

As far as money changing we don't try for the best deal, we go with the most convenient deal and that is usually the resort. I think we recieved 11/1 instead of 13/1 but all I had to do is ask for pecos while we checked in. Even paying even 10/1 doesn't bother us on small purchases.

We may go through $5000 pecos in 3 weeks, mostly for gas, tacos and beverages.

In the Maya Riviera everyone likes USD. I didn't find it necessary to use pecos at all.

Bill

 

[huenix]

In Coz in February, I vowed to never again use USD in Mexico. We got a cab, I asked the cost to a certain place, and was told 90 pesos. We get there and I we don't have enough pesos with us so I wave US $ at the driver and he says $10.00. I was in a hurry and didn't realize how bad of a deal that was. After that I tried to pay more attention, but then I noticed that any bill that was in USD and pesos were exchanging at about 11:1.

 

[Julian926]

Sounds like if you use US dollars, you pay a 20% tax. Doesn't make any sense to use US dollars from a cash perspective.

 

[siesta]

I have been to Mexico since last November and have not been charged an ATM fee by B of A at Santandor Bank. I checked B of A's web site this evening. Below is a copy and paste from the web site explaining their policy.

You can avoid the Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee and ATM operator access fee by using one of our international partner ATMs in the corresponding countries listed below:
Barclays (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Channel Islands)
BNP Paribas (France)
BNL D’Italia (Italy)
UkrSibbank (Ukraine)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Scotia Bank (Canada, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean including: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
Westpac Bank (Australia and New Zealand)
China Construction Bank (Mainland China)
Santander (Mexico)

yes, i read this. But look at the paragraph above. As you can see, there are 2 fees charged: A non-B/A usage fee, and an international transaction fee. The non-B/A fee can be avoided in Mexico by using a Santander ATM, but there will always be the international transaction fee.

Answers to your B/A question found on their website:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/manage/faq-atm-fees.go

What are the fees for using a debit card or ATM card in a foreign country?

The Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee is $5. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a Non-Bank of America ATM in a foreign country. In addition, the ATM operator may charge an access fee for cash withdrawals.

Your deposit account statement will reflect the U.S. dollar equivalent of your foreign ATM withdrawal. >>>>Bank of America will assess an international transaction fee of 3% of the US dollar amount for all ATM withdrawals processed in foreign currency. Foreign ATM operators may offer to do your currency conversion for you, but they may charge a higher fee for conversion. To insure that your currency conversion does not incur a fee higher than the one stated above, you may refuse the ATM operator's offer to convert the amount of the transaction. The fee is assessed as a separate transaction fee on the posting date of the withdrawal.

You can avoid the Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee and ATM operator access fee by using one of our international partner ATMs in the corresponding countries listed below: (NOTE: that still doesn't avoid the conversion fee. Siesta)

Barclays (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Channel Islands)
BNP Paribas (France)
BNL D’Italia (Italy)
UkrSibbank (Ukraine)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Scotia Bank (Canada, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean including: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
Westpac Bank (Australia and New Zealand)
China Construction Bank (Mainland China)
Santander (Mexico)

-----------------
The Atm usage fee and atm operator fee that wont be charged in any of the listed countries, is different from the 3% currency conversion fee.

Im pretty confident the 3% currency conversion fee applies, many have reported being charged it in mexico @ santander on other travel forums I read. And the language above indicates that ... It says ALL ATM withdrawls processed. Call your bank, prove me wrong(to behonest, id love to be.) I also have a BofA account btw.

 

[dioxide45]

We like others usually just withdrawal at the ATM. Though last year we took a couple hundred dollars in travelers cheques. Though that was mainly to pay for our tour in Panama and airport transportation in Cancun. We actually cashed the cheques in Aruba. BTW, I see everyone else is spelling Travelers Cheques wrong

We usually have pesos that we bring back with us that we take on the next trip. Though the last time we didn't come back with very much, so I just made a trip to the bank and ordered a couple thousand pesos. Just enough to get us through the first day, then we will hit the ATM again.