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[QUOTE=JoeBrooklyn;2954925]My brother and I are planning our first trip to Colombia in March. I wanted to do Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena, but he doesn't like traveling a lot, so I have to pick one city. If you could only visit one, which would you choose?[/QUOTE]Bogotá never get warmer than 70 degrees, and can be chilly in the morning. Also the city is known for its rainfall.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955399]Davienda has been charging a fee for almost a year, but it has been 15 mil per transaction. Most of their ATM's show the fee, but it's in an area I don't read closely. I think it's at the top of the screen that shows the exchange rate if you accept their rate.[/QUOTE]Also depending in what bank issued his debit card, the fee charged csn be different than what others pay. Remember for the longest I wasn't getting a fee with BBVA with my capital one card while others with different cards were.
Also the limits csn be affected by which bank he had too. Davivienda would always let me take out up to 2 millones but some people report that they get a smaller limit around 400 k.
So I think it matters what bank your card is from and the fees as well as the withdrawal limits can be different amounts for different people.
[QUOTE=JoeBrooklyn;2954925]My brother and I are planning our first trip to Colombia in March. I wanted to do Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena, but he doesn't like traveling a lot, so I have to pick one city. If you could only visit one, which would you choose?[/QUOTE]For me, Barranquilla, but that is not on your list. Next one I would pick is Bogota. But my motives may not be the same as yours. Nobody knows what you like, your goals, or objective. So asking someone which one they would chose, you may get an answer back which could be the last one you would choose.
I don't have an opinion but BOG is not very good weather, CTG is hot as fuck, MDE rains some but you have to deal with the rain making bruthas and shit.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955399]Davienda has been charging a fee for almost a year, but it has been 15 mil per transaction. Most of their ATM's show the fee, but it's in an area I don't read closely. I think it's at the top of the screen that shows the exchange rate if you accept their rate.[/QUOTE]They just changed it to 26 mil per transaction. Good thing to have Schwab or Fidelity or one of the card companies that reimburses the fees.
[QUOTE=Huacho;2955570]I don't have an opinion but BOG is not very good weather, CTG is hot as fuck, MDE rains some but you have to deal with the rain making bruthas and shit.[/QUOTE]What about the women (looks, prices, quantity, attitude, etc.) in these places?
[QUOTE=Villainy;2955576]They just changed it to 26 mil per transaction. Good thing to have Schwab or Fidelity or one of the card companies that reimburses the fees.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the information. I wonder how long it will be until those card issuers stop reimbursing or put a limit on the amount. That's approximately $6 per transaction and I usually take about 10 withdrawals per month when I'm there.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955812]I wonder how long it will be until those card issuers stop reimbursing or put a limit on the amount. That's approximately $6 per transaction and I usually take about 10 withdrawals per month when I'm there.[/QUOTE]Why do you think they will stop? Schwab is a financial services company. I have been a customer for years. I use my card constantly around the world. They are not going to stop because Fun Luvr went to Colombia and all of a sudden made 10 withdrawals in 1 month.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2955844]Why do you think they will stop? Schwab is a financial services company. I have been a customer for years. I use my card constantly around the world. They are not going to stop because Fun Luvr went to Colombia and all of a sudden made 10 withdrawals in 1 month.[/QUOTE]Being a financial services company, one of their objectives is to generate revenue for themselves. If one part of their operation is not making money, or is losing money, they will look to change something in that part. They may make a little on the conversion of foreign currency, but very little if so. They can't maintain a loss leader forever. Why are you being so shallow? I stated what I do as an example. I'm sure there are many other people using their debit cards in a similar manner.
Why do you think all the banks in Medellin now charge a fee for using their ATM's? It's not because they want to stick it to their customers. It's because ATM's without fees were an expense to them.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955812]Thanks for the information. I wonder how long it will be until those card issuers stop reimbursing or put a limit on the amount. That's approximately $6 per transaction and I usually take about 10 withdrawals per month when I'm there.[/QUOTE]I don't have schwab but I have Fidelity (which also reimburses ATM fees. I've been using it since August in Thailand (where it was over $6 per withdrawal) and now Philippines too and they've reimbursed me over $500 so far in 3 months.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955812]Thanks for the information. I wonder how long it will be until those card issuers stop reimbursing or put a limit on the amount. That's approximately $6 per transaction and I usually take about 10 withdrawals per month when I'm there.[/QUOTE]I just made an ATM withdrawal here in Rio at a higher end hotel.
The fee was unbelievably, approximately $60.
I'm with Schwab, I always get reimbursed and I've being using the card for years.
I imagine that there's some sort of courtesy waiving of fees between banks.
I don't know that as a fact though.
It just makes sense.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955892]Being a financial services company, one of their objectives is to generate revenue for themselves. If one part of their operation is not making money, or is losing money, they will look to change something in that part. They may make a little on the conversion of foreign currency, but very little if so. They can't maintain a loss leader forever. Why are you being so shallow? I stated what I do as an example. I'm sure there are many other people using their debit cards in a similar manner.
Why do you think all the banks in Medellin now charge a fee for using their ATM's? It's not because they want to stick it to their customers. It's because ATM's without fees were an expense to them.[/QUOTE]You are right, of course, if the policy of reimbursing fees worldwide becomes an unprofitable policy it will likely be reviewed and potentially changed. But here is why they have that policy. They wish to incentivize people to have their financial assets held at Schwab. How does this benefit them? Well cash balances pay rates that are less than Schwab earns on its short term investments. But the real winner for Schwab (and others) is that stock and bond positions (mostly stocks) can be lent out to customers who are short or on margin and the margin rates Schwab charges are a big earner for them. So they love paying out less than $100 a month in ATM reimbursements to you Fun Luvr and to me and in return they are earnings high margin rates on securities they borrow from your account. I guess it depends on the size of your account. But even a very small account of around 100,000 should generate margin fees far in excess of the $100 a month they are reimbursing.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955892]Being a financial services company, one of their objectives is to generate revenue for themselves. If one part of their operation is not making money, or is losing money, they will look to change something in that part. They may make a little on the conversion of foreign currency, but very little if so. They can't maintain a loss leader forever. Why are you being so shallow? I stated what I do as an example. I'm sure there are many other people using their debit cards in a similar manner.
Why do you think all the banks in Medellin now charge a fee for using their ATM's? It's not because they want to stick it to their customers. It's because ATM's without fees were an expense to them.[/QUOTE]Since they've been doing for over 20 years, they have likely concluded that the goodwill is worth it. I know many people who opened Schwab accounts primarily for that reason.
[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2955892]Being a financial services company, one of their objectives is to generate revenue for themselves. If one part of their operation is not making money, or is losing money, they will look to change something in that part. [/QUOTE]Evidently they are making so much money in other areas that they are able to forego it as pertains to ATM fees. Another thing they did a couple of years ago was to stop charging on trading transactions. If I recall correctly, it used to be $8. 95 per transaction. I figure they are missing out on way more money not charging for trades than they would be for reimbursing ATM fees.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2955844]Why do you think they will stop? Schwab is a financial services company. I have been a customer for years. I use my card constantly around the world. They are not going to stop because Fun Luvr went to Colombia and all of a sudden made 10 withdrawals in 1 month.[/QUOTE]Since it is free you have guys that abuse it taking $10 out everyday for a month instead of $300 once a month. All that has to be tracked and documented. That is a cost that needs to be recouped somewhere. ATM fees keep going up and up because the machine needs filled with money, paper for receipts, and machine maintenance. Nothing free lasts forever. Think of more and more grocery stores doing away with bags (bring your own) and charging for bags. Some stores charge a quarter to use the shopping cart but the quarter is returned if you return the cart to the builing rather than leave it in the parking lot because the expense of paying a worker to round up cart all over the parking lot.
I would guess that the use of cards for overseas has increased by 5 times from 10 years ago as people learned about the few companies that offer fee free ATM cards.