Medellin Reports

[Knowledge]

I'm going to check it out. I don't use Schwab. I have three other no fee ATM cards.

I tried 5 different caja social ATMs at 3 different branches and none of them worked. The one under the metro at parque berrio station, the one on Oriental up a cpl blocks from la playa, and the over by the hotel I used to live at back in 2020/21 (a cpl blocks past the San Jose tranvia station and hang a right). And every single time it says the same error message. It will take my card at first and let me hit retirar and corrientes and then show the amounts I can choose from 20 mil to 300 mil and it will let me go thru the whole process and put in my pin number and everything then when it's processing it takes a really long time like way longer than normal and then it gives an error message in Spanish "temporalmente no es posible completar su transaccion".

I have Capital One 360 though not Schwab, so maybe for you it will work. You should go try it and report back what happens.

Gabacho.

[Knowledge]

Ah ok, thanks, that's one more reason to stay the hell out of Parque Lleras. Imagine being surprised by questions about why you were in Parque Lleras doing whatever the youtuber says you were doing there.

It's a youtube channel that does hidden camera views in the outdoors of parque Lleras and other places. Kinda gives you a view of what it should look like at night in the park.

[Knowledge]

You can get taxis via indriver, didi, or uber and pay with foreign credit cards. Local restaurants and buses are cash. The green colored "integrated" buses, the Metroplus, and the metro accept civica cards but you can only buy or recharge civica cards with cash or (Colombian) bank transfer. The related ATM advice I can give is to avoid ATMs like the plague within one or two days of the 1st or 15th of the month. The lines are slow and long during the so-called "quincena".

Colombia is a cash based economy. With the exception of big stores like exito and maybe hotels that cater to gringos, everything is in cash. Want to take the metro or the bus? You need cash. Cheap lunch at a local restaurant, you need cash. Taxi (although I don't condone using them, cash). Basically everything is cash.

There is a digital system they use to transfer money called nequi but as a foreigner you cannot get nequi.

[Flawless Zeal]

Colombia is a cash based economy. With the exception of big stores like exito and maybe hotels that cater to gringos, everything is in cash. Want to take the metro or the bus? You need cash. Cheap lunch at a local restaurant, you need cash. Taxi (although I don't condone using them, cash). Basically everything is cash.

There is a digital system they use to transfer money called nequi but as a foreigner you cannot get nequi.

Is there any good solution for getting change though? It is so frustrating to get mostly all big bills from the ATM and then when I try to pay for something I either get an exasperated look from the employee and they have to go see someone else in order to get change, or worse, they say they don't have that much change (nothing crazy, just a 50 k or 100 k bill).

[Gabacho]

The Centro branch has been closed for like a year, there is a shoe store there now or smth. Best to check bank website not google maps which is often outdated.

I tried finding the one in Itagui and it too was a shoe store.

[Gabacho]

So much discussion here about ATMs which leads me to ask the question -- besides the chicas and maybe street food stalls, are there a lot of things in town that you cannot buy with a credit card? Do taxis and Metro (if buying a card) accept credit cards?

On the subject of ATMs and terminals at the Metro stations. Do these have options to display in English or is it all totally in Spanish?

Colombia is a cash based economy. With the exception of big stores like exito and maybe hotels that cater to gringos, everything is in cash. Want to take the metro or the bus? You need cash. Cheap lunch at a local restaurant, you need cash. Taxi (although I don't condone using them, cash). Basically everything is cash.

There is a digital system they use to transfer money called nequi but as a foreigner you cannot get nequi.

[Exoticspirit]

So much discussion here about ATMs which leads me to ask the question -- besides the chicas and maybe street food stalls, are there a lot of things in town that you cannot buy with a credit card? Do taxis and Metro (if buying a card) accept credit cards?

On the subject of ATMs and terminals at the Metro stations. Do these have options to display in English or is it all totally in Spanish?

[TheDerilious]

What is KBS Lleras?

It's a youtube channel that does hidden camera views in the outdoors of parque Lleras and other places. Kinda gives you a view of what it should look like at night in the park.

[AdamWl]

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23..

The Centro branch has been closed for like a year, there is a shoe store there now or smth. Best to check bank website not google maps which is often outdated.

[LoveItHere69]

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23.

It was across from KFC and Subway. That one is gone. I used it a few times years ago. But my trip last year (2023) it was gone.

[Gabacho]

Maybe the Caja Social problem was an ATM with no cash at the time you tried to withdraw. The next time I need some cash I'm going to check them out. I've heard before that they don't charge fees foor ATM transactions.

I tried 5 different caja social ATMs at 3 different branches and none of them worked. The one under the metro at parque berrio station, the one on Oriental up a cpl blocks from la playa, and the over by the hotel I used to live at back in 2020/21 (a cpl blocks past the San Jose tranvia station and hang a right). And every single time it says the same error message. It will take my card at first and let me hit retirar and corrientes and then show the amounts I can choose from 20 mil to 300 mil and it will let me go thru the whole process and put in my pin number and everything then when it's processing it takes a really long time like way longer than normal and then it gives an error message in Spanish "temporalmente no es posible completar su transaccion".

I have Capital One 360 though not Schwab, so maybe for you it will work. You should go try it and report back what happens.

Gabacho.

[Zeos1]

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.

Don't think there are any house rules for them any more than for you. But you still might be right and get a lot better deal, because they are not in a room full of gringos that don't know any better.

[BlueChange]

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. .

If you have a six digit pin sometimes depending on the bank it won't work and it can only read a 4 digit pin. I had an issue one time with an updated pin. I switched it back and BAM it worked.

[Fun Luvr]

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.

There are supposedly three branches in Medellin. In el Centro at Cra 49 #50 - 23, in Poblado at Cra 43 A #16 Sur - 63, and in Laureles at Circular 73 be #76 - 16. I have used the one in Laureles years ago, but a couple of years ago I tried it two or three times and it would not accept a Schwab card.

There is also Scotiobank Colpatria with branches in Medellin that allow a higher withdrawal amount, I think 900 mil. I don't know how much, but they do charge an ATM fee.

[Mr Enternational]

Just saw a girl I met online on mileroticos / photoprepagos back when I was in Medellin 3 months. I used to invite her over a lot for 350 k cop. Just saw her in a KBS lleras video from 1 month ago. Small world to be honest.

No this is not a small world. There are just actually way less hookers (and probably way less customers) than you thought there to be.

Also it just once again proves what folks have been saying all along; the same girls work in different venues. It is just like how you can walk in to McDonald's and it costs you one price. You can order delivery from McDonald's and it costs you another price. You can order McDonald's delivery through Rappi and it costs you another price. Same cheeseburger; 3 different prices depending how you obtain it.