The answer, as I don't have PM system!
[QUOTE=Panman]Hi Pija666, I read your Paraguay posts and became interested in the place. I am originally from Brazil, but live in US, speak passable spanish and good portuguese. Maybe you could show me around that place as I need to explore cheaper places than Brazil. Can I enter Paraguay with a brazilian passport? I don't want to pay for a visa as an american.[/QUOTE]All the countries from MERCOSUR(including brazil) don't need a visa with each other, as I understand. So you have to practice Spanish, to try and get the better prices and the rest is just come as soon as you can, man.
Don't try to make the women go to your hotel, or they're going to make you an horrific deal like $200, (and most of that, like 150! Is just for the hotel guy). If you go to the "casas" you never pay more than $20 for an hour with a beautiful Paraguayan. For more advice. Look some other reports here.
CITIBANK Introduces Foreign ATM Fee
Those damned thieving banks are raising there levels of thievery again. The moment I have been dreading has arrived.
Citibank this week introduced a foreign ATM fee of Gs25,000($US5). I was using a VISA card from the US.
I was given a message announcing the charge and an opportunity to cancel, which I did. I then went to an ABM-AMRO and extracted money there. There was no message of a fee, the ATM operated in a normal fashion, so I assume there was none until I can check the account.
It looks like Citibank is leading the pack in robbery. I fear the other banks will follow. Avoidance of ATM fees is becoming an ever bigger issue. If I were to use my Wells FEEgo card(God forbid) to withdraw $US400(an amount still possible here) it would cost me:
Wells FEEgo: Foreign ATM=$5, International Transaction 3%=$12, Total=$17
Visa foreign currency 1%= $4
Citibank foreign ATM= $5
Grand total= $US26 to extract $US400!!! = 6.5%
At a time they are paying <1% per YEAR for checking interest.
And as the banks create greater monopolies, they get harder to avoid. Another classic example of robbing the little people. Thank the corporate imperialists in power.
Thievery by the banks is spreading
Just as I thought, the thievery of the banks is spreading out. After the introduction of the GS25,000 fee introduced at Citibank, I withdrew money at ABN-Amro on Oct 17, 07 without an ATM fee. Yesterday, after returning to Paraguay, I withdrew money from ABN-Amro again on Nov 06, 07.
Looking at my account, it appears that ABN-Amro has introduced a foreign ATM fee of about GS30,000(something over $6) per withdrawal. This is in addition to the 1% Visa fee. There was no warning, no message about it on the machine. In my account, there is no separate fee shown, The fee was simply included in the base transaction amount. Because of this, even those banks that re-imburse foreign ATM fees will not reimburse this. You are stuck.
This is really pissing me off. I will try to start looking for local banks in the hope of avoiding the fees.
One way to punish these bastards is: Even if the fees become unavoidable, do not use the big international banks like Citibank and ABN-Amro that started this crap so that they will profit from this thievery. Go to smaller local banks, preferably Paraguay banks, and let them make the money instead. Take a stand against being robbed.
A $6 ATM fee is like a charge of $6 more for delivering the Coke in a soda machine. It is absolute robbery.
Also, I can't believe that the fee for Paraguayans is Gs25,000 or Gs30,000. That is 6 hours pay for a lot of people. I think they must be charging more because it is an international card. Are there any local Paraguayans with experience on the ATM fees charged to locals with Paraguayan cards?
Does anybody else know anything about avoiding the fees?
More on ATM and Foreign Transaction Fees
Another thing to watch out for. It doesn't necessarily help you to get an account with a big international bank like Citibank or ABN-Amro so that you can use their ATM machines and avoid the foreign ATM fee.
Many of these banks have also introduced an International Transaction fee of 1% to 3%, which they charge even in their own ATM's. DO NOT get an account with a bank that charges a Foreign Transaction Fee percentage. That transaction costs them no more than a local transaction. They are just robbing you. All of the cost, plus profits, are covered by the 1% foreign currency conversion fee that Visa or MC charges. They take all of the foreign currency risk. The US bank sees the transaction as a normal US$ transaction.
Also, an ATM transaction costs a bank practically nothing. A check is far more expensive to process, even today when most physical checks are no longer sent between banks. They are simply trying to introduce ever increasing fees, at a time when the cost to process accounts and transactions has declined tremendously.
ATM Usage Fee Appears Universal, Dollar down, Prices up
If you come to Paraguay, bring lots of cash or be prepared to pay a lot of ATM fees. The Gs25,000-Gs30,000 fee per transaction has spread everywhere in about 4 weeks. With the fall of the dollar, Gs25,000 is over $5.
These goddamned banks are experts at behaving as a cartel. The ATM fee appears to be everywhere. I have tried Banco Continental, InterBanco, Banco Integracion as well as Citibank and ABM-Amro. All have the fee.
I still think the fee must be for an international card. This fee is so high that I can't imagine Paraguayans paying it. That means it is open season on tourists here in the ATM machines. We can probably look forward to various attempts to increase the fee even more in the future.
The dollar has gotten hammered against the Guarani. It is now about 4670 per dollar today, down from 5100 in the past year, and 6100 in the past 2 years. The loss over 2 years is about 24%. So things are getting progressively more expensive for tourists in Paraguay. You can thank the Bush administration and their attempts to bankrupt the country.
There was also a 12% increase in the price of my hotel last month. Combined with the fall of the dollar, the hotel price is up 22.5% in the last 4 months. It appears that the inflation of Paraguay is going to be like that of Argentina: high but not affecting the exchange rate, so tourists get hammered.
Buying viagra or cialis in Asunsion
Hi guys,
Do you have any info regarding buying viagra,generic viagra or cialis in asunsion.If available can you buy it without prescription?and how much does it cost?I will appreciate any information available.
Thanks,
Jim
Exchanging Money in Asuncion
[QUOTE=Lexton]If you come to Paraguay, bring lots of cash or be prepared
to pay a lot of ATM fees. The Gs25,000-Gs30,000 fee per transaction has spread everywhere in about 4 weeks. With the fall of the dollar, Gs25,000 is over $5.
These goddamned banks are experts at behaving as a cartel. The ATM fee appears to be everywhere. I have tried Banco Continental, InterBanco, Banco Integracion as well as Citibank and ABM-Amro. All have the fee.
I still think the fee must be for an international card. This fee is so high that I can't imagine Paraguayans paying it. That means it is open season on tourists here in the ATM machines. We can probably look forward to various attempts to increase the fee even more in the future.
The dollar has gotten hammered against the Guarani. It is now about 4670 per dollar today, down from 5100 in the past year, and 6100 in the past 2 years. The loss over 2 years is about 24%. So things are getting progressively more expensive for tourists in Paraguay. You can thank the Bush administration and their attempts to bankrupt the country.
There was also a 12% increase in the price of my hotel last month. Combined with the fall of the dollar, the hotel price is up 22.5% in the last 4 months. It appears that the inflation of Paraguay is going to be like that of Argentina: high but not affecting the exchange rate, so tourists get hammered.[/QUOTE]Hi,
I am coming to Asuncion on last week of feb 08 from Buenos Aires
Where is the best place to exchange money British £?
Also any info regarding chica friendly hotels in Asuncion.
Thanks,
Jim
Ripoff Exchanging Money in Asuncion
When exchanging money in Asuncion, it is best to change money in the "Casas de Cambio" or regular money exchange houses. There are many of these on Palma in the area between Independencia National and 15 de Agosto. Some have signs advertising the exchange rate. All are generally reliable and offer the best rates.
There is one new thing happening these days. The exchange houses have stopped accepting US$100 bills with serial numbers starting with "D". This has been for the last 2 weeks or so. Supposedly, there were "rumors" of counterfeit bills in this series. This happened once before a few months back with bills of the series "CB". This time, there are obviously a lot more bills being rejected. I fear this may be starting a new game. These bills can be changed by the money changers on the street. They will discount what they think you will accept. They might start out offering GS420,000 and eventually accept Gs450,000, depending on the exchange rate for the dollar. I am a little suspicious, and suspect that they sharpened their discounting skills with the "CB" business, and are now quick to pull the trigger on any rumors, since the street changers love the discount business.
Generally, do not use the street changers. You will be cheated if they think they can. Be especially wary in the area of Calle Alberdi, where there is a whole gang of changers at the intersection of Palma & Alberdi, and a bunch of hangers-on and ripoff specialists on Alberdi toward Presidente Franco.
I was cheated by the street guys a week or so ago. It is easier than you would think. The scam that got me went like this:
1. I was trying to change about $US1500 to open a bank account. I changed $US500 in one change place on Palma, no problem. I then went to Cambios Alberdi, a house on Alberdi I used to use a couple years ago. In Alberdi, they rejected my series "D" bills, but I changed $US500 of other bills. At the time, I was upset about the "D" business, and thought it might be a scam.
2. As I was leaving Cambios Alberdi, a change guy outside approached me and offered to change my problem bills for a discount. I was wary. I generally don't use street changers because of the`problems. First Warning: "Always be VERY suspicious of anyone conveniently positioned to offer you "help" with a problem you have just had. They are the most frequent scammers".
3. I was still upset and wanted to change the bill I had. So I asked, and he offered me GS420,000. The dollar was at GS468,000 for $US100.
I negotiated a rate of GS450,000 and he changed the bill for that. I should have quit right there.
4. A group of 3-4 hangers-on was gathering around us during the exchange. Second Warning: Never try to deal with a group. They will gang up against you and are experts. But I still wanted to exchange the $US400 I had left, and admitted that I had it when he asked if I had more to change. He offered me a rate of GS4,690, good but not unreasonable.
5. We used a calculator one guy had to calculate GS4,690 * $US400 = GS1,876,000. I thought I would remember the number. But the scam was already underway. The hangers-on and the change guy were talking fast and generating excitement, distracting my attention. The change guy sent one of them to go get more money from another changer. Third Warning: There should never be more than one party involved. I was getting suspicious, and even used the calculator to recalculate the amount. But I did not WRITE IT DOWN.
6. The guy returned with the money, all the while the changer and the other guys were NOW trying to rush me and were all talking at once and keeping me distracted. Third “Warning: "Never let people rush you in a transaction. They are up to no good.". The changer takes the money and then puts it down and says: "Here it is, GS1,626,000." I did not notice the change in the number at the time. Believe me, in this situation, you wouldn't either. These are big, unfamiliar numbers that change daily. These guys are experts, and do this sort of thing all the time. Note also that the change leaves a similar SOUNDING number.
7. Obviously, they ripped me off for GS250,000, or about $US50. I didn't realize it until later, when I was reviewing the transaction. I had a very strong suspicion that I had been cheated, but didn't know how. I was looking for counterfeit bills, etc. The beauty of this is that what they did isn't even illegal. If I noticed the change in numbers, they would have said: "Oh, we made a mistake, here is the rest of the money". They would not have tried to force the issue there, as there are a lot of cops around that area. But the cops are no protection against scams.
More obviously, I felt like a horse's ass when I realized how they did it, and I was. I ignored at least 3 major warnings that I normally would heed. The whole thing was set up by my being upset over the nonsense with the rejection of the "D" series bill, which made me receptive to doing something against my better judgement.
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BETTER JUDGEMENT in everything, including and especially when trying to deal with the women. Think with the big head.
