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Places to Get USD in Aruba

dioxide45

dioxide45

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Location
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Marriott Grande Vista
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Sheraton Vistana Villages
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When we are going on our trip in May to Aruba, Panama and Cancun, we are going to be needing some USD cash for the Panama and Cancun legs of our trips. These are to cover our airport transfer/tour in Panama along with Panama Airport departure tax and airport transfer in Cancun. In Panama they will take local currency but we really won't have a chance to stop at an ATM there before meeting our driver outside of customs. In Cancun, we are using USA Transfers and I think it is best to pay in USD.

We can get Pesos from an ATM once in Cancun for our Cancun spending, but need the cash pretty much between arrival at the the airport in Panama to arrival at the hotel in Cancun.

So the challenge we have is how to get our hands on USDs in Aruba. Would we be best to just take the cash from home and keep it locked in the hotel safe? I can always pull it out while in New York so I don't have to carry it around New York for the day. I really don't want to have to carry the cash needed if I could avoid it. I think I have read that there are ATMs in Aruba that dispense USD but they may not offer a good exchange rate? Could we take travelers checks and cash them at the hotel in Aruba before departing for Panama? I know travelers checks are somewhat a thing of the past. I would hate to have cash tied up in travelers checks if they would be a beast to try to cash at the hotel front desk or elsewhere.
 
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USD are used everywhere in Aruba and accessible as in the USA. ATM's Casinos etc all dispense USD.

There is no exchange rate to consider. They just dispense dollars. Economically, its like they are the 51st state. (Grocery stores price in florins, but convert to dollars.) Credit card transactions are even in dollars. You won't have any problem.
 
Mr. Vker said:
USD are used everywhere in Aruba and accessible as in the USA. ATM's Casinos etc all dispense USD.

There is no exchange rate to consider. They just dispense dollars. Economically, its like they are the 51st state. (Grocery stores price in florins, but convert to dollars.) Credit card transactions are even in dollars. You won't have any problem.
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Is it true that there is no exchange rate to consider? If I take USD out of an Aruba ATM, do they not first convert it to Florin then back to USD when the withdrawal is made? Surely it can't be just like taking USD out of a US based ATM? I would suspect some type of exchange rate hit? Perhaps that hit is worth it to not have to carry the cash around though.
 
dioxide45 said:
Is it true that there is no exchange rate to consider? If I take USD out of an Aruba ATM, do they not first convert it to Florin then back to USD when the withdrawal is made? Surely it can't be just like taking USD out of a US based ATM? I would suspect some type of exchange rate hit? Perhaps that hit is worth it to not have to carry the cash around though.
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When we have taken money out of the ATM at the casino, its been a straight dollar transaction. No exchange rate. My account reflects the same dollars plus the fee to use another banks ATM. That's it.
 
Mr. Vker said:
When we have taken money out of the ATM at the casino, its been a straight dollar transaction. No exchange rate. My account reflects the same dollars plus the fee to use another banks ATM. That's it.
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Great to know. We will likely just pull USD from an ATM there vs taking the cash with us. How do you know if an ATM dispenses USD vs AWG?
 
dioxide45 said:
Great to know. We will likely just pull USD from an ATM there vs taking the cash with us. How do you know if an ATM dispenses USD vs AWG?
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I bring travelers checks to Aruba. I cash them at the Marriott Casino. They do not even ask what currency I want, they just hand me USD.
 
dioxide45 said:
Great to know. We will likely just pull USD from an ATM there vs taking the cash with us. How do you know if an ATM dispenses USD vs AWG?
Click to expand...

You select at the beginning of the transaction:

USD

or

Florins

Very easy

(You can also choose one of four languages if you want to make the navigating exciting!)
 
Our first trip to Marriott Surf Club, I was surprised to not incur any transaction fees at the ATM in the lobby of the Surf Club. Since then, there is a small transaction fee from both banks, but I think it's better than carrying a large amount of cash.
One caveat: I have seen the Surf Club ATM out of operation, so don't wait till the last day.
There is also an atm in the Ocean Club lobby.
Sounds like quite a trip! We'll also be in Aruba in May!
 
We normally charge everything and we were stunned by the exchange fees on the bills when we returned home from Canada. I checked about Aruba with my cc company before we left. They said if we charged in dollars, even in Aruba, there would be no fees. That was correct- no fees at all.

All the stores, even a Mom and Pop place where we bought cold soft drinks had a button on the cash register to convert from Florins to US Dollars.
 
We plan to use the credit card most places in Aruba. I suspect using a credit card there isn't as much of an issue as it can be in Mexico? I think on our last visit to Aruba, we paid cash as often as possible. We will be getting Pesos out of an ATM as soon as possible in Mexico. Thanks for all the tips for getting USD in Aruba.
 
dioxide45 said:
We plan to use the credit card most places in Aruba. I suspect using a credit card there isn't as much of an issue as it can be in Mexico? I think on our last visit to Aruba, we paid cash as often as possible. We will be getting Pesos out of an ATM as soon as possible in Mexico. Thanks for all the tips for getting USD in Aruba.
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You will be in another country. But, seriously, economically all will function like you were in the US. Its seamless. Credit cards, ATMs etc. Have a great time!
 
Mr. Vker said:
You will be in another country. But, seriously, economically all will function like you were in the US. Its seamless. Credit cards, ATMs etc. Have a great time!
Click to expand...

Good to know. I just recall reading instances where in Europe places will charge your credit card in USD and it causes a double hit in exchange fees. Just wanted to avoid that if the same thing could occur in Aruba.
 
dioxide45 said:
Good to know. I just recall reading instances where in Europe places will charge your credit card in USD and it causes a double hit in exchange fees. Just wanted to avoid that if the same thing could occur in Aruba.
Click to expand...

I would just bring travelers checks they are the easiest. There is no limit at the casino to cash them.
 
ilene13 said:
I would just bring travelers checks they are the easiest. There is no limit at the casino to cash them.
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Traveler's Checks? How do you earn points or miles with those?!?!?!? :)
 
Mr. Vker said:
Traveler's Checks? How do you earn points or miles with those?!?!?!? :)
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Well, I can't really earn points or miles on an ATM withdrawal either...
 
At the Marriott, it can even be tough to get Florins. DD likes to get money from foreign countries. On one of our trips on the last day we went to the store at the ts and I asked if I could exchange some USD for Florins. She had almost none on hand.
 
RandR said:
At the Marriott, it can even be tough to get Florins. DD likes to get money from foreign countries. On one of our trips on the last day we went to the store at the ts and I asked if I could exchange some USD for Florins. She had almost none on hand.
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You can always get them at Ling and Sons.
 
I got a few florins out of an ATM. Ended up leaving them for the maids when we checked out.
 
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