Buy pesos at airport ATMs?

[Jimchris]

We've used USD in the past for shuttles/taxis.

 

[DandyDon]

We've used USD in the past for shuttles/taxis.

Because it was convenient, even tho it costs more?

Whenever we go to Mexico, I go to my local bank, in advance, and acquire a calculated value of pesos to meet the needs we anticipate during our trip.

And in so doing, you pay a lot more for the pesos than you would by withdrawing from an ATM at the airport.

That varies. Some banks don't charge as much as others. Wells Fargo claims no charges but then they give a lousy rate. Currently 18.9:1 but I think I've seen worse. When I use the bank ATM down the block from my hotel, my experiences have been close to Google rates even after fees.

My local mall has a currency exchange. Depending on if there are any hidden charges, I may be able to get 20:1 soon. I was thinking to exchange 1,000- US$, at that rate for my upcoming trip.

I doubt that it's a charity.

If you can net 20:1, I'll Venmo you another $2,000, and pay for USPS Priority to send the pesos to me.

I've avoided Venmo as I thought they charged 3%, but I see now. "Sending money over Venmo triggers a standard 3% fee, but the company waives that expense when the transaction is funded with a Venmo balance, a bank account, or a debit card. The 3% fee is not waived when users send money from a credit card." So same cost as Zelle if I use my Debit card.

I forgot to specify the CZM airport ATM.

I never have used them. Where are they exactly? It seems like I have not seen any in the departure area, and I don't want to hunt for them. If you use one, make sure it's a bank ATM and declined the first offer on conversion rates.

 

[Centrals]

None of my business.
It is never easy to change "hard currency" to monopoly money aboard/home if looking for "good rate". The difference can be ridiculous.
A lot of searching is required.

Good luck.

 

[AdivingBel]

I've "heard" the airport ATMs are ok. I only use ATMs inside banks and I use them every trip with good results (CapOne current exchange rate that refunds ATM fees). Honestly the difference in paying for one airport van ride with usd or pesos is peanuts, so I would use whatever was handy. I generally have a few pesos from a previous trip. For me it's not like I'm never going back. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[ibj40]

I compare the total cost of acquisition including exchange rate, service fee, delivery fee, and whatever else.
It is an appreciable difference to me. I don't have much money, so need to be thrifty.

Just checked.

With imbedded costs, I pay a 5% premium for having pesos in my pocket when my plane lands in Mexico.

I will tell you that it made a world of difference when I had Guatemalan Quetzals in my possession for that trip.

 

[DandyDon]

Just checked.

With imbedded costs, I pay a 5% premium for having pesos in my pocket when my plane lands in Mexico.

I will tell you that it made a world of difference when I had Guatemalan Quetzals in my possession for that trip.

True, it can be very helpful to have the local coin of the realm handy arriving in another country, but for Cozumel - that's insulting. I found my report on my ATM experiences in 2019.

My net rate with Wells Fargo was 19.27, after fees.

 

[mediumone]

I've avoided Venmo as I thought they charged 3%, but I see now. "Sending money over Venmo triggers a standard 3% fee, but the company waives that expense when the transaction is funded with a Venmo balance, a bank account, or a debit card. The 3% fee is not waived when users send money from a credit card." So same cost as Zelle if I use my Debit card.

I was talking about using Venmo within the US.

If you were to send me money, neither of us would incur a fee if I were to agree to the "Standard Transfer" of 1 - 3 days, However, I always see the money in my account the next day, provided I transfer the funds before too late in the evening - say 8:00 or 9:00 pm.

I can opt for an immediate transfer. The fee is then 1%.

 

[gopbroek]

Last night at the Banamex ATM in Mega, using my 'travel' Schwab checking account, I got an exchange rate of $19.84 : 1 USD and the ATM fee was $30.74 MXN. Banamex gets the $30.74 (which I get refunded at the end of the month) and my bank (Schwab) determines the exchange rate. Unless they were pulled out since December, there is a cluster of bank ATM's near the restrooms in the ticket counter side including a Banamex (Chase?) machine.
If I hadn't had Pesos already I would have had a travel companion watch my bags and gone out and over to the other entrance and hit the Banamex machine.
The reported Wells Fargo rate of 18.9 : 1 is a clip of about 5%, it is lousy. If they are clipping 5% on exchange rates I would wonder what else they are clipping you on.

 

[NeilA.]

I checked my local mall exchange. Lynnwood WA. 18.42 with a $10.00 US commission. 7.7% worse than gobroek’s example (before commissions).

My past experiences with Wells Fargo haven’t been good.

 

[ReefHound]

I checked my local mall exchange. Lynnwood WA. 18.42 with a $10.00 US commission. 7.7% worse than gobroek’s example (before commissions).

My past experiences with Wells Fargo haven’t been good.

I've always used Wells Fargo and I wouldn't rate my experiences as bad simply because I've never been gouged unexpectedly or defrauded or left stranded. I'd rather not pay an ATM fee, both the host ATM and WF $5 fee, but that's small worries. About ten years ago I found myself with over $90usd in fees for 3 transactions with BOA and that's what I seek to avoid. I just opened a Schwabb acct a few weeks ago based on what I've read here so will soon see how that goes.