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[QUOTE=VegasJeff;1655550]Bring your ATM card with you. Only 2200 or so at cambios. With a no fee card the difference is about 5%-10% right now. Even if the bank charges 3%-5% it is still better than exchanging dollars.
In addition, no need to carry money through airports. At some point it will be the other way around but for now plastic is the way to go.[/QUOTE]Excellent advice.
Cambio make money by selling dollars to locals. The demand for dollars is low now due to high price. Logical if you think about it.
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[QUOTE=Hioctane;1655774]The peso is crashing! Should I withdraw out more and save for future trips?[/QUOTE]I put more money in my Colombian account and converted more now with a future trip in mind.
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Pesos is going down
[QUOTE=Vitrea;1655978]I put more money in my Colombian account and converted more now with a future trip in mind.[/QUOTE]Any reason behind the peso crashing.
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Peso
[QUOTE=Aunsa;1657693]Any reason behind the peso crashing.[/QUOTE]Oil. It appears that oil and coal are the two biggest exports of Colombia, and oil is having a hard time.
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Real Estate
[QUOTE=Chesscat;1657761]Oil. It appears that oil and coal are the two biggest exports of Colombia, and oil is having a hard time.[/QUOTE]If this continues, the real estate will crash too. Thank goodness, then I can buy something worth the price.
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I think there is also some fear that the social unrest that is about to explode in Venezuela will spill over.
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[QUOTE=Chesscat;1657761]Oil. It appears that oil and coal are the two biggest exports of Colombia, and oil is having a hard time.[/QUOTE]Big bounce in WTI oil off the $53.5 X level to over $58. The oil bounce may just be a short term bounce or at least I hope so. I would love for the Peso to stay in this area for a few months.
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[QUOTE=Aunsa;1657693]Any reason behind the peso crashing.[/QUOTE]The reason is that the price of oil has tumbled and Colombia gets 70 percent of its revenue from oil, in addition the dollar is getting stronger against all currencies. I'm so glad that I haven't bought any real estate in Colombia yet, maybe next year when the exchange is 2600 - 1.
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Couple small corrections. 30% of government revenue is related to oil sales. Only when above a certain price does the government get cash and no cash means having to raise taxes. Also alot of foreign dollars come in from oil sales. That's the mechanics as I understand them for the Peso drop. Jumped a few % today but believe that's going to be short lived and we're going to see 2600 soon.
[QUOTE=Manizales911;1658171]The reason is that the price of oil has tumbled and Colombia gets 70 percent of its revenue from oil, in addition the dollar is getting stronger against all currencies. I'm so glad that I haven't bought any real estate in Colombia yet, maybe next year when the exchange is 2600 - 1.[/QUOTE]
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Peso exchange
Hey fellas been here for 3 days and just wanted to share rates.
ATM best rates. 2250-2300.
Bank- 2180. Bring a little cash but ATM would be your best bet.
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Citi mastercard rocks
Visited Bogota 12/12/14-12/15. Interbank rate 2400+, airport rate 2180, cadeca rate 2200-2130, didn't try ATM. Used my citi mastercard to pay for entry tax, hotel, restaurant and supermarket, the rate is 2422.70.
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Colon
The colon is at 2,389 per Bloomberg. Although tomorrow Jan 26 might be a rough day for everything except the dollar, with the Greek elections and Euro QE.
Both Bancolombia CIB and the oil company EC seem to have stabilized, but a Colombia ETF is still sinking, GXG is at 12 and change. If oil stays low, it would seem that both the EcoPetrol and BanColombia would have to go lower.
Planning a trip in May, should be pretty sweet with the currency.
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[QUOTE=Chesscat;1674221]The colon is at 2,389 per Bloomberg. Although tomorrow Jan 26 might be a rough day for everything except the dollar, with the Greek elections and Euro QE.
Both Bancolombia CIB and the oil company EC seem to have stabilized, but a Colombia ETF is still sinking, GXG is at 12 and change. If oil stays low, it would seem that both the EcoPetrol and BanColombia would have to go lower.
Planning a trip in May, should be pretty sweet with the currency.[/QUOTE]Its the Peso in Colombia.
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Credit card vs. Cash
I know some prefer to only use cash on vacation in MDE, but the cambios consistently offer lower rates than one gets from their credit cards. For example, Unicambios will pay 2200 pesos to the buck while my credit card just gave me an effective rate of 2428 pesos. That's a 10.3% difference, minus the 3% foreign transaction fee from Visa, still nets over 7% better rate for using the credit card.
It would be nice to get even closer to the current rate on [URL]XE.com[/URL] which is showing 2451 pesos.
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A better rate
[QUOTE=JamesDandy;1684908]I know some prefer to only use cash on vacation in MDE, but the cambios consistently offer lower rates than one gets from their credit cards. For example, Unicambios will pay 2200 pesos to the buck while my credit card just gave me an effective rate of 2428 pesos. That's a 10.3% difference, minus the 3% foreign transaction fee from Visa, still nets over 7% better rate for using the credit card.
It would be nice to get even closer to the current rate on [URL]XE.com[/URL] which is showing 2451 pesos.[/QUOTE]Even a better rate is to use an ATM card that doesn't charge a fee. I was there the first week of this month and was getting very close to the bank's posted exchange rate at a Davivienda ATM.
I cannot figure where [URL]xe.com[/URL] gets their rate. Most of the times it is more than the banks, but sometimes it is less.