Exchanging money in Mexico can get very expensive.
Planning a trip to Mexico can be stressful unless you know exactly where you’re going and what you need to do before you get there. Trip planning is not just about flight details, hotel reservations, restaurant choices and local attractions; there are other important things to consider before you leave home. Traveling through Mexico is an exciting adventure, but it can turn into a costly, risky nightmare if you don’t exchange currency before you leave home. Mexican police added more patrols in Mexico City’s Airport last year, because thieves were attacking arriving tourists immediately after they exchange their currency for Pesos. Not only did the tourists pay a higher rate to exchange money in the airport, they risked their own safety to do it.
Internet currency exchange sites are not much better.
Some travelers do make an effort to exchange currency for Pesos on the Internet before they leave home, but they do it without researching the currency market first. Websites like Western Union, Travelex, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are all known for money transactions, but the fees they charge for these transactions can be as high as 23%. For every $1000 you exchange you pay up to $230 in extra fees, which means you have 77% of your budget left for trip expenses.
The value of the Peso is always fluctuating, so unless you follow the currency trading market consistently, meaning every hour, chances are you’re going to blow part of your budget on a phony Internet exchange rate. Visa, MasterCard and American Express will exchange your currency to Pesos online, but not without adding a hefty profit to each transaction. They also add a fee to each credit card purchase while you’re visiting Mexico.
What strategy can I use to save money when I exchange currency for Pesos?
Veteran traveler’s do research and asks questions before they start exchanging money, especially if they’re using the Internet. The first question to ask is: Who is promoting the Internet exchange site? If it’s a financial institution, you can bet they are making a nice profit on each exchange. The next question is: Does the website offer good advice about exchanging currency? Some websites offer you advice based on inaccurate research, or the information is based on personal experiences, which may not apply to your situation. The third question is: Is the advice real time advice, or is it outdated information? Some websites post information that no longer applies to current currency exchange facts and figures.
The two most important things you need to know in order to exchange currency and save money in the process is the current rate for your exchange pair and where to get that rate. In other words, if you’re exchanging American Dollars for Mexican Pesos, you want to know what the actual exchange value is for that pair at the time you make an exchange. A professional currency broker can give you that information. The next thing you need to know is where you can get that rate of exchange. Once again, a currency broker will exchange your currency using a real time rate and will notify you when the market fluctuates, so you can take advantage of the natural movement in the market. A currency broker will help you average your exchanges before you leave home, so you avoid a sudden surge in the value of the Peso. A currency broker does make a couple of points on each transaction, but you will save money when you use one. If you have Internet access once you arrive in Mexico, you can continue to exchange your currency with a broker quickly and efficiently.
Saving money when you exchange currency will give you more money to spend on the things that count, like duty free souvenirs or that sombrero you can’t live without.
ForexTraders.com wrote this article to help save you money before you travel to Mexico. To learn more about currencies and the several factors to consider when doing currency trading, such as; a country’s economy, undercapitalization, brokers, technical and fundamental analysis etc, visit ForexTraders.com.
Flickr photo by Lucy Nieto
I wouldnt even of bothered to thought of exchaning money online period. Just do it in my local branch. Guess it is worth a thought if you can save a packet, but for the sake of pennys, or pesos, i should say, i think id just stick with what I know. Kinda boring like that I guess.
I need to exchange about half a million of TT$ into US$. The local market down in Port of Spain claims to be very short on Dollars.
I can´t get more than $500 per week !!!! any ideas and suggestions
what rate of exchange could I expect from a broker when converting TT Dollars into US dollars? How quickly can it be done? any additional costs?
I don’t think using a broker is the best way. Just take your ATM card and take out the daily limit. The transaction will run you a couple of dollars, but the exchange rate is pretty competitive.
Depends on where you are. As you travel further into the interior, you’ll have to exchange your dollars for pesos. I’d say at the border states (especially Baja Norte, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas), you could use dollars in many transactions, but the further south, forget.
I live in Irapuato, Guanajuato (center of the country) and dollars are useless for daily shopping. However, people will glady take dollars for big transactions (such as rent, buying a car, etc.).
As a traveler, your main concern will be getting the most favorable rate possible. A commonly asked question is: should I convert now, or will my money be worth more when I go abroad? Unless your trip is months away, the answer is that it probably will not make much of a difference. The major currencies tend to move +/- 1% in a given day, which is a relatively minor move unless you are changing thousands at a time. Experts agree that travelers will be best off looking for a place that will change money inexpensively. Below are some of your options.
Thanks for the info! I’ll take it under advisment on my next trip to Mexico next month