Medellin Reports

[Gabacho]

Bancolombia by comparison only allows 600,000 per transaction and charges up to 25,000 per transaction depending on the card issuer. You would have to pay more than 75,000 pesos to get 2 million out of their machines.

BBVA is even worse. For CapitalOne account holders it always used to be free up until March or April of 2023. The they started charging 18 mil fee with a limit of only 300 mil per transaction. Now it's over 20 mil fee still for only 300 mil so I completely stopped using BBVA and only use Davivienda then in December Davivienda started this 15 mil shit. I tried going back to Caja Social which used to be free and in fact I used to use them alot back in like 2018, their limit is 300 mil also like BBVA but without a fee. But as of December when I tried to use them they no longer work with my card it just keeps saying the transaction is temporarily not possible and I tried at more than one. So that leaves Davivienda as the only reasonable one left. I've heard something about some bank called Banco Pichincha that is supposed to still be free and with a 1 million limit but I can't find it in Medellin and I found one on Cra 10 in Bogota but it didn't have an ATM just a walk in branch.

[El Mechanico]

Davivienda is still charging the 15 mil ATM fee. I think ElMechanio is confused. He said he received an exchange rate of 3836:1 at a Davivienda ATM. That was during the last week of January. The Visa exchange rate hasn't been below 3900 this year. Then he said every ATM asked him to accept the transaction fee. Those of us who have used the Davivienda ATM's know that is not the case. He had a lot of good points about his trip, but his use of ATM's wasn't one of those good points..

Ok, so I went back over a WA thread I have with a friend and here are the 3 rates I reported to him from 3 different banks.

ServiBanco at the airport 3825:1, BanColombia 3836:1 in Poblado on CL 10 I believe and then 3876:1 from Davienda in the Tesero (I think that's what it is named) Mall. So what I do is wait a few
Minutes then check my Schwab acct and divide the number of pesos dispensed by the number of USD Schwab has deducted from my account. That's where I come up with the rates like I just posted.
Usually a week or so after I get back, Schwab will credit a lump sum for the transaction fees. So I can assume that the lump sum divided by the number of trips to the ATM converted back to pesos
then added to the total withdrawn would give me the higher conversion rate (I know it will not be 100% accurate due to different banks, different days and different withdrawal amounts but should be closer to the actual number). Whew! I got confused just typing that sentence. Jajaja.

I know not to accept their conversion rate so I always decline that. Next trip I will take a foto of the ATM asking me if I am ok with the transaction fee. It may not be Davienda but I know I

Have seen this numerous times.

El Mechanico

[Mechanic88]

I'll be going to Medellin in a few weeks, I'the like to get my Facebook friends started. Could someone send me a few chica links so I can get it going. Thanks.

[Woodman09]

You can say the same about the monger from the girl's point of view. What he said is more consistent with what have been reported in the past. Some mongers are happy with anything, some mongers will ask for more service. One can't tell because the lack of details. You have seen many, I think you know.

It's an Ugly word-- but to the issue here- I think a lot of guys choose the wrong girls for them or they are just repulsive maybe??

Anyhow-- Have a Great one-.

[DJHeywood]

I'm Hispanic so I guess I kind of blend in. But I've never been quoted prices in dollars there. Last time I went chica quoted me 800 k for all night. I offered 500 k and she accepted. Great service. Maybe they only quote gringos in dollars LOL.

That's good to here that there is potential to get club girls to give you cheaper end of rates. Sometimes I'll get a 100-200 K cop difference from 2 equally hot girls in CTG or BOG.

Is it viable to just wait outside of Gustos, Black Diamond, parque lleras clubs? Pick off the ones leaving (done for the night or not getting business) or the ones arriving (not busy, maybe fresh). That way there's no getting mixed up with club drink ripoffs or crappy rooms?

I figure there's more leverage since they're not under house rules at that point.

[Knowledge]

I'm not sure a Schwab account is going to make the 15,000 peso undisclosed fee go away. I hope it does. As you stated, the fee is very competitive because of the 2 million per transaction allowance. Bancolombia by comparison only allows 600,000 per transaction and charges up to 25,000 per transaction depending on the card issuer. You would have to pay more than 75,000 pesos to get 2 million out of their machines. If you have a US address I don't think you have to wait until you are in the US to open the Schwab account. You may need to use a VPN to present a US IP address. I've been running across more and more geo restrictions with US and European banks the last few months.

I think he meant every other ATM as in non Davivienda ATMs asking him to accept fees. The Davivienda ATMs as we all know do not disclose the fee of 15 mil it just charges it without asking and on the receipt shows comision $0. 00. However with a limit of 2 million COP per transaction and a fee of 15 mil that equates to a fee of only. 75% of the total amount so Davivienda is the best value when compared to all other ATMs in Colombia (Caja Social no longer works).

I think the fee started being charged around December 4th of last year.

I need to open a schwab account when I get back to the states.

[Knowledge]

I read this too late LOL! My curiosity got the better of me last night and I made a withdrawal that I didn't need to make just to verify what ElMecanico said. It's not a big deal. It only cost me 15,000 pesos LOL! So, to be extra clear, I declined the conversion rate offer as usual and withdrew money. The when I added 15,000 pesos to the amount of pesos the ATM dispensed, then divided it by the number of foreign currency deducted from my account, sure enough the exchange rate was within 5 pesos of yesterday's published exchange rate. The long and short of it is that it now costs 15,000 pesos than it used to to withdraw money from Davivienda ATMs. I took one for the team because I try to avoid confirmation bias.

Davivienda is still charging the 15 mil ATM fee. I think ElMechanio is confused. He said he received an exchange rate of 3836:1 at a Davivienda ATM. That was during the last week of January. The Visa exchange rate hasn't been below 3900 this year. Then he said every ATM asked him to accept the transaction fee. Those of us who have used the Davivienda ATM's know that is not the case. He had a lot of good points about his trip, but his use of ATM's wasn't one of those good points.

BTW, Davivienda was charging that fee in December. I don't know when it started, but they weren't charging it in October.

[Nounce]

YMMV on every girl.

You can say the same about the monger from the girl's point of view. What he said is more consistent with what have been reported in the past. Some mongers are happy with anything, some mongers will ask for more service. One can't tell because the lack of details. You have seen many, I think you know.

[Gabacho]

Davivienda is still charging the 15 mil ATM fee. I think ElMechanio is confused. He said he received an exchange rate of 3836:1 at a Davivienda ATM. That was during the last week of January. The Visa exchange rate hasn't been below 3900 this year. Then he said every ATM asked him to accept the transaction fee. Those of us who have used the Davivienda ATM's know that is not the case. He had a lot of good points about his trip, but his use of ATM's wasn't one of those good points.

BTW, Davivienda was charging that fee in December. I don't know when it started, but they weren't charging it in October.

I think he meant every other ATM as in non Davivienda ATMs asking him to accept fees. The Davivienda ATMs as we all know do not disclose the fee of 15 mil it just charges it without asking and on the receipt shows comision $0. 00. However with a limit of 2 million COP per transaction and a fee of 15 mil that equates to a fee of only. 75% of the total amount so Davivienda is the best value when compared to all other ATMs in Colombia (Caja Social no longer works).

I think the fee started being charged around December 4th of last year.

I need to open a schwab account when I get back to the states.

[Fun Luvr]

That's a good deal. I've never seen a Davivienda ATM asking for approval of a transaction fee. Maybe you are referring to the conversion rate (which you should decline), or maybe your are thinking of another bank. I rarely use any ATM other than Davivienda's. When I do use another bank's ATM, they ask me to accept or decline the transaction fee. Maybe the undisclosed fee that appeared in January was rescinded. That would be good. I haven't made a withdrawal in a couple of weeks so there is hope my information is out of date.

Davivienda is still charging the 15 mil ATM fee. I think ElMechanio is confused. He said he received an exchange rate of 3836:1 at a Davivienda ATM. That was during the last week of January. The Visa exchange rate hasn't been below 3900 this year. Then he said every ATM asked him to accept the transaction fee. Those of us who have used the Davivienda ATM's know that is not the case. He had a lot of good points about his trip, but his use of ATM's wasn't one of those good points.

BTW, Davivienda was charging that fee in December. I don't know when it started, but they weren't charging it in October.

[AmorPorFavor]

That's a good deal. I've never seen a Davivienda ATM asking for approval of a transaction fee. Maybe you are referring to the conversion rate (which you should decline), or maybe your are thinking of another bank. I rarely use any ATM other than Davivienda's. When I do use another bank's ATM, they ask me to accept or decline the transaction fee. Maybe the undisclosed fee that appeared in January was rescinded. That would be good. I haven't made a withdrawal in a couple of weeks so there is hope my information is out of date.

I used the Davienda on 43rd in late January. They did not ask about approving a transaction fee nor did it show on my receipt. I know that they did charge a 15 m fee because Schwab refunded it to me.

[MidwestMan91]

Was this the Lexi that had her own ad?? I saw a Lexi a few times that was mentioned here some time ago. She did nuru. Had seen her 2 times after that. Last time I was in Medellin she didn't answer and I just chalked it up as her not working. Wondering if this is the same Lexi. I know she had her own place but I had her come to Energy for outcall each time.

Be.

I saw her twice in August of 2023. Her whatsapp profile says Robert. I haven't message since then but maybe she's out of the game?

[Knowledge]

That's a good deal. I've never seen a Davivienda ATM asking for approval of a transaction fee. Maybe you are referring to the conversion rate (which you should decline), or maybe your are thinking of another bank. I rarely use any ATM other than Davivienda's. When I do use another bank's ATM, they ask me to accept or decline the transaction fee. Maybe the undisclosed fee that appeared in January was rescinded. That would be good. I haven't made a withdrawal in a couple of weeks so there is hope my information is out of date.

If this is true, I made money at the Davienda ATM. After adding in the 15,000 COP, the rate I received on the smaller withdrawals would have been over 4000:1 and the official rate hasn't been over 4000:1 since Dec of 2023. Schwab refunded every bit of the ATM transaction fees, like they always do. I also remember every ATM asking me if I am ok with their transaction fee and I always agree to it because I know that Schwab will refund it. So unless there is another transaction fee that they don't tell me about, like the 15,000 COP you are talking about, I am not charged for it and it does not affect my exchange rate.

El Mechanico.

[El Mechanico]

Davivienda began assessing the 15,000 peso per transaction fee last month. Its ATMs don't disclose the fee. You can back it out of the exchange rate applied to withdrawals by adding 15,000 pesos to the amount of pesos the ATM distributes. The 10 or so times I've made withdrawals so far this year the exchange rate I've gotten from Davivienda ATMs matched almost exactly with official rate you can look up on the Internet once you add 15,000 pesos to the amount you receive. My point is you should check whether Schwab is refunding you 15,000. That might not be the case because the Davivienda transaction fee is cleverly embedded in the exchange rate. Other banks' ATMs call out the fee.

If this is true, I made money at the Davienda ATM. After adding in the 15,000 COP, the rate I received on the smaller withdrawals would have been over 4000:1 and the official rate hasn't been over 4000:1 since Dec of 2023. Schwab refunded every bit of the ATM transaction fees, like they always do. I also remember every ATM asking me if I am ok with their transaction fee and I always agree to it because I know that Schwab will refund it. So unless there is another transaction fee that they don't tell me about, like the 15,000 COP you are talking about, I am not charged for it and it does not affect my exchange rate.

El Mechanico.

[Mechanic88]

Gustos is only a bar or club, the girls there are all independent. So it is not like a strip club or a casa or anything. So what you experienced is all that is offered there. The girls you interact with there may be working girls, probably most are, and they ask for US dollars or high end prices just because they can in that environment, but the house as far as I know is not involved in any way.

I'm Hispanic so I guess I kind of blend in. But I've never been quoted prices in dollars there. Last time I went chica quoted me 800 k for all night. I offered 500 k and she accepted. Great service. Maybe they only quote gringos in dollars LOL.