Has anyone been to Chile, Argentina and Brazil recently?
I’m going on this tour in March and want some advice about currency. I’ll buy currency for Chile and Brazil but I don’t think Argentinian pesos can be bought in the UK.
I’m considering a MasterCard currency card, loaded with US Dollars, and this should be accepted worldwide.
Has anyone used a prepaid currency card on this tour? Was it widely accepted?
Thanks.
I have just returned from a trip to Antarctica on the MS Midnatsol (booked directly with Hurtigruten) - the one before the Just You trip with the same ship, travelling out via Santiago (because of the G20 in Buenos Aires) and back via Buenos Aires. Recommended!
Before I went, I asked in my local John Lewis about purchasing AR and CL pesos, and was told that they stocked both currencies, but not locally, so I would have had to order online. I didn't bother - and didn't need to.
I took my TransferWise card (https://transferwise.com/), which allowed me to load both ARS and CLP, and I used this when in Santiago and and Buenos Aires, where the card functioned correctly in the ATMs which I tried (both, incidentally, have an English-language option to facilitate cash withdrawal - and both charged a fee for withdrawals (CLP5 in Chile, ARS386 in Buenos Aires).
I also took cash in USD as backup, which I could have used in the airports and in at least the larger shops and restaurants - in fact, I did use these successfully in a Chilean research station on the Antarctic Peninsula and in the Argentinian part of Tierra del Fuego as in each case I had no local currency available.
I also took a CAXTONfx card, loaded with GBP: on past experience, I could have used this to withdraw GBP which is dynamically converted to and dispensed in the local currency in the ATM. Other such cards presumably provide similar functionality
I didn't try paying with either card as a credit card, but normal credit cards worked as usual.
Interestingly, in a lot of places I could have paid in Euros so, if you have any, it may be worth taking them as well. I don't recall GBP being offered as a payment option.
The Santander Bank is also prominent in both countries so, if you have the right Santander account and debit card, you can make fee-free withdrawals in pesos from their ATMs
I have no experience of Brazil, but I imagine this will be much the same.
Jim
PS-1: I can recommend the hop-on, hop-off bus tour in Santiago (tour buses every 30 minutes), which comes with a commentary in umpteen languages (earpieces provided) and gives a very good overview of the city.
PS-2: If you are thinking of a trip to China in the future, you may again wish to consider the TransferWise card, as this can also be loaded with CNY (Yuan)
