General Info

[LionBacker]

Hi,

I'm I've been living in Medellin for the past 4 months and my spanish is decent. I came here looking for a girlfriend. Yet the only girls that I match with on dating sites are working girls and I joined salsa clubs, roller skating clubs and went to language exchanges yet it seems like in Medellin many (not all) local normal non working girls look down on dating foreigner guys, but when I first went to Medellin in 2017, so many local girls wanted to know who I was, where I was coming from and had so many questions about why I am in Colombia.

Where in Colombia can I go where I can meet a normal girl and have a relationship with her. My friend says Santa Marta or Cali would be where I can get the attention I got in medellin in 2017. What do you guys think?

[Dcfan77]

All of the above and some cubanas!

Great interview Doom. So the passport bros know that they are a problem. That is good. Recognizing the problem is the first step to correcting it.

I have an Ecuador question for you bro. Are the street girls working in Salinas / La dieciocho are they mainly ecuatoriana women or are they Venezolanas?

-Gabacho.

[Gabacho]

The ATMs of Davivienda are having a (reported and known) problem with international cards. Anyone know of a good alternative, meaning either high withdrawal limit or low charges?

I just made a withdrawal at Davivienda this morning and it worked fine.

[Euphori]

Hello.

I remember last time I travel to Colombia 2022, I had someone at airport ask me about filling out a form before arriving in Colombia. I don't know if that still the case.

Search Colombia checkmig. It's free so don't fall for a scam service site that has you pay a fee, just use the government site. Once completed it's in their computer system and likely it'll never be mentioned again. Same process when you leave Colombia.

[Butch145]

Hello.

I remember last time I travel to Colombia 2022, I had someone at airport ask me about filling out a form before arriving in Colombia. I don't know if that still the case.

[Gabacho]

The ATMs of Davivienda are having a (reported and known) problem with international cards. Anyone know of a good alternative, meaning either high withdrawal limit or low charges?

I remember bsngo cheto mentioned that he uses Servibanca and it also has a 2 million COP withdrawal limit. Not sure what the fee is though.

How long is this problem expected to last?

[JustTK]

The ATMs of Davivienda are having a (reported and known) problem with international cards. Anyone know of a good alternative, meaning either high withdrawal limit or low charges?

[Gabacho]

I had an interview with a passport bro about the current batch of guys who are going to Colombia.

https://youtu.be/XKRfTFY39-0?si=zHMKj1cAclEGDuiT

Great interview Doom. So the passport bros know that they are a problem. That is good. Recognizing the problem is the first step to correcting it.

I have an Ecuador question for you bro. Are the street girls working in Salinas / La dieciocho are they mainly ecuatoriana women or are they Venezolanas?

-Gabacho.

[DoomBringer321]

I had an interview with a passport bro about the current batch of guys who are going to Colombia.

https://youtu.be/XKRfTFY39-0?si=zHMKj1cAclEGDuiT

[Gabacho]

Your Schwab account acts much different than mine. The transaction shows in my account quickly. After making a withdrawal, it shows in my account by the time I get back to my apartment. Until Friday, I hadn't made a withdrawal that charged a fee for years. I don't remember if the fee showed separately. I do remember the refund was at the end of the month or the end of my statement period, not sure which one.

I've had a Schwab checking account tied to a brokerage account for probably ten years. I don't keep any money in the brokerage account.

FunLuvr you were absolutely correct bro. My apologies for doubting you. It is in fact true that Davivienda is now charging a hidden fee of 15 mil without asking us to decline or accept it. I did some digging around and found this showing the transaction amount to and ATM fee (see the attached screen shots). One is from November without any fee and one of from December showing the fee.

Cargo de ATM $3.72 (15 mil COP) as of December 2023.

[Huacho]

The money is subtracted from your account immediately. What might confuse some people is that sometimes the transaction doesn't show up in the history buffer immediately, but your "balance available" will be subtracted instantaneously.

Yes, that's true.

[GreenBud]

Your Schwab account acts much different than mine. The transaction shows in my account quickly.

The money is subtracted from your account immediately. What might confuse some people is that sometimes the transaction doesn't show up in the history buffer immediately, but your "balance available" will be subtracted instantaneously. No way Schwab will allow us to "double dip".

I don't remember if the fee showed separately. I do remember the refund was at the end of the month or the end of my statement period, not sure which one.

The refund is given to you at the end of the month.

The refund fee is given in a separate lump sum. That irritates me. Since it's given in a lump sum, you don't know which ATM charges, and the amount. Takes too much work for me if I want to calculate.

[Huacho]

Your Schwab account acts much different than mine. The transaction shows in my account quickly. After making a withdrawal, it shows in my account by the time I get back to my apartment. Until Friday, I hadn't made a withdrawal that charged a fee for years. I don't remember if the fee showed separately. I do remember the refund was at the end of the month or the end of my statement period, not sure which one.

I've had a Schwab checking account tied to a brokerage account for probably ten years. I don't keep any money in the brokerage account.

I've had mine for more like 25 years and I do have mid-five figures in the brokerage account. E-Trade, BTW, does charge (me) a 1% foreign transaction fee, and they do this even in Panamá where the USD is used. So, I use Schwab when traveling and E-Trade at home, since I like seeing the transaction instantly. Having both is not a bad idea IMO.

[Fun Luvr]

I have both Schwab and E-Trade. E-Trade the refund of the fee is instant and shown separately. Schwab, neither the withdrawal nor the refund show up until the next business day but again is shown separately. This has been true no matter what country I'm in. Others say they don't get their Schwab fees refunded until the end of the month; these people may have a slightly different type of account? IDK.

Your Schwab account acts much different than mine. The transaction shows in my account quickly. After making a withdrawal, it shows in my account by the time I get back to my apartment. Until Friday, I hadn't made a withdrawal that charged a fee for years. I don't remember if the fee showed separately. I do remember the refund was at the end of the month or the end of my statement period, not sure which one.

I've had a Schwab checking account tied to a brokerage account for probably ten years. I don't keep any money in the brokerage account.

[Bango Cheito]

In all of these discussions it seems like people are claiming that they get the mid-market rate somehow, whether it was from closing 2 business days back or whatever. Through the Visa or Mastercard clearing systems. What about the currency conversion cost? Visa and Mastercard supposedly charge 1%. So people say that gets refunded by Shwab or whoever, but I don't get how you can look at your bank statement and not see that?

In my case it is 2. 5 or 3. 5 percent and my bank (and all other Canadian banks) charge that. And in the past they did not use Visa or Mastercard for clearing, but now some do I think, but the minimum is 2. 5%. Anyway.

So with those using American banks. Who pays the 1% and do you see it on a statement anywhere or does Shwab just pay it directly to the clearing house.

All I know is that my cost is usually around 3% and I can get pissed off about it, or I can own bank stocks and collect dividends to recoup their highway robbery.

I actually do get the mid-market rate with my Schwab card and with my Capital One credit cards. Sometimes a little bit less, sometimes even better than mid market, but always within 1% or so, and it tracks very closely in all cases. I've been watching it for years now.