Money

Bring dollars

Dolphingirl said:

My trip is around the corner and I want to be ready or at least get some advices from you guys on regarding the USD money. This might sound like a stupid question but I have no idea how it works. Can I use my Debit card to pay on restaurants and stuffs there in DR? Would I be able to write a check or use my debit card to exchange money or should I bring the cash or travelers cheques? I heard someone saying not to exchange at the hotel because they wont give me the best rate out there, then, where is the best place to do this once I fly in?
Thank you!

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and travelers checks. If your debit card functions with ATMs in the states, it will probably work in the DR as well, but I wouldn't count on most businesses accepting it. You are right about not exchanging money at the resort. There will be a cambio at the airport, and you will get a decent rate there. Exchange enough for a couple of days. Then ask around for a convenient exchange place in town with competetive rates.

Dolphingirl said:

1.Can I use my Debit card to pay on restaurants and stuffs there in DR?
2. Would I be able to write a check or use my debit card to exchange money
3. should I bring the cash or travelers cheques?
4. I heard someone saying not to exchange at the hotel because they wont give me the best rate out there, then,
5. Where is the best place to do this once I fly in?
Thank you

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1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. True they are not very good
5. At the many airport cambios in the arrivals area

My experiences...

I always take $20US per person to pay the departure tax and my debit card. Depending on what time my flight lands, I may go to my local bank and get a couple of thousand Dominican pesos (in small denominations) so that I can pay for a taxi/guagua to my final destination. That way, I do not have to use the cambio at the airport or the expensive ATM there. I can get to an ATM at a bank where I am going (cheaper fees).

Other than that, I get all of my other currency out of the ATM. It is by far the easiest way to get local currency, and it is the best exchange rate. I have not had a problem getting funds at the ATMs, except that the one at the bank in Rio San Juan is occasionally out of money and I have to go to the next closest one (Bahia Prinicpe). In larger places (POP, Sto Dom, Santiago, Sosua, Boca Chica, Cabarete) there should not be a problem.

Send me a PM if you would like more info.

I use my debit card when I go to restaurants. I also use ATMs but I ask around first to see which bank has the lowest fees.

Word Of Advice

Dolphingirl said:

My trip is around the corner and I want to be ready or at least get some advices from you guys on regarding the USD money. This might sound like a stupid question but I have no idea how it works. Can I use my Debit card to pay on restaurants and stuffs there in DR? Would I be able to write a check or use my debit card to exchange money or should I bring the cash or travelers cheques? I heard someone saying not to exchange at the hotel because they wont give me the best rate out there, then, where is the best place to do this once I fly in?
Thank you!

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If you are coming from the states, bring US cash, it is good anywhere you go, you should not need to exchange into pesos unless you plan to visit the interior. Do NOT bring travel checks, most places don't even know what they are. I had a banker in PuntaCana (Banco Popular) look at me funny when I tried to exchange some,they would not do it. I'm sure the hotel probably would. Bring cash and get a key to your room safe. DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD You will find with the peso up and down, not stable, the rate can change affecting what you pay when you get home. It can work both ways but usually is NOT in you favor. I charged a hotel 800US on a debit. When I got home it was 950US. The bank will do nothing for you. They use the rate at the time of their transaction in the states...days latter which is not right, opposed to the rate at the time of transaction in the DR. It's not right, but there is nothing you can do. Stay away unless you use an ATM which will give you the current rate at a fair exchange....in pesos, also you don't have to worry about exchanging back to US when you leave. They don't want you taking their money out of the DR(any amount anyway) US cash talks, all the other bulls--- walks........................Have a good time

Bring cash.

You can exchange your cash to pesos in many of the "casas de cambio" throughout the country. When you do exchange, do it in small amounts, enough for one or two day's pleasure. That way you will not be burnt trying to convert excess Pesos into Dollars just before you return home. When you do exchange at a casa de cambio or bank; bring some form of photo identification with you, a color photocopy of your passport is sufficient.

Regards,
PJT

Good Advice

PJT said:

Bring cash.

You can exchange your cash to pesos in many of the "casas de cambio" throughout the country. When you do exchange, do it in small amounts, enough for one or two day's pleasure. That way you will not be burnt trying to convert excess Pesos into Dollars just before you return home. When you do exchange at a casa de cambio or bank; bring some form of photo identification with you, a color photocopy of your passport is sufficient.

Regards,
PJT

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You really don't need pesos, they are harder to transact, most places will kindly accept the good ol US cash. If you are living or staying for an extended period of time....pesos yes. I pay for everything(including my hotel) in cash when I'm there. I only pay here for airfare. NEVER use ATM debit cards for tranactions.......your $20 diner just became $30 when you get home. NEVER book a hotel through a travel agency or online. Call them direct and pay CASH when you get there(or leave) You can save big $$$ The longer you travel, the wiser you get, you learn "the tricks of the trade"

Debit Cards

ricktoronto said:

1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. True they are not very good
5. At the many airport cambios in the arrivals area

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Hey Rick, Why can't you use your debit card at a restaurant ? I have with no problems, anywhere(although I wouldn't recommend it, per previous posts)

ggn420 said:

You really don't need pesos, they are harder to transact, most places will kindly accept the good ol US cash. If you are living or staying for an extended period of time....pesos yes. I pay for everything(including my hotel) in cash when I'm there. I only pay here for airfare. NEVER use ATM debit cards for tranactions.......your $20 diner just became $30 when you get home. NEVER book a hotel through a travel agency or online. Call them direct and pay CASH when you get there(or leave) You can save big $$$ The longer you travel, the wiser you get, you learn "the tricks of the trade"

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Anyone who pays in US cash gets taken. They will give you a lousey exchange rate everywhere you go and some places like the Waterfront in Sosua will only give 22 when the rate it 28.50.

Spend pesos in the DR but bring US dollars to exchange since that gets you the best exchange rate of all the currencies.

Escott

I completely agree with Escott. Be safe about it, but take cash with you. Exchange your cash into pesos at either the casa de cambio or the bank, and keep a keen eye on the rate. When I go, I pay the taxi fare from the airport in cash, but exchange money as soon as I arrive in the capitol. If I arrive on the weekend, then and only then would I use an ATM to get only the amount of pesos I will need until I can access a casa de cambio or bank. The rate is awful at the ATM and even worse trying to pay in cash. This, however, does not hold true for paying your hotel bill. You can get a nice discount at most hotels if you pay in USD. Restaurants, shops, etc., forget it.

Pesos

Escott said:

Anyone who pays in US cash gets taken. They will give you a lousey exchange rate everywhere you go and some places like the Waterfront in Sosua will only give 22 when the rate it 28.50.

Spend pesos in the DR but bring US dollars to exchange since that gets you the best exchange rate of all the currencies.

Escott

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MAYBE SO IN SOSUA............But I have always got the same rate with US$
It depends on where you are and how long you are going to be there.
Sosua, that figures, I was just in LasTerrenas last March, paid the hotel in US Actually did better in US money. Certain parts of the country are more RIP-OFF oriented, like Sosua.

My situation is slightly different, since I am Canadian.
I would loose HUGE amounts of money if I changed my Cdn $'s to USD..and then to pesos.

The best way to get a fair exchange rate, is to withdraw my money from my interac...large amounts at one time, so I don't get service charges for taking out $50 at a time, and the bank will automatically give you the best rate avalible.

But you cannot use interac to pay for anything anywhere in the DR. You must withdraw it from a ATM...which there are quite a few all around the DR. Shouldn't be hard to find. Sometimes you have to try a few machienes, because they will be out of service, but I find that the best way to go.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, somebodys dollar is actually worth less than ours ? Good point, you get "screwed" twice being Canadian. How bout investing in the US dollar when the rates are in your favor ?

PeachezNcream84 said:

My situation is slightly different, since I am Canadian.
I would loose HUGE amounts of money if I changed my Cdn $'s to USD..and then to pesos.

The best way to get a fair exchange rate, is to withdraw my money from my interac...large amounts at one time, so I don't get service charges for taking out $50 at a time, and the bank will automatically give you the best rate avalible.

But you cannot use interac to pay for anything anywhere in the DR. You must withdraw it from a ATM...which there are quite a few all around the DR. Shouldn't be hard to find. Sometimes you have to try a few machienes, because they will be out of service, but I find that the best way to go.

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ggn420 said:

Hey Rick, Why can't you use your debit card at a restaurant ? I have with no problems, anywhere(although I wouldn't recommend it, per previous posts)

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Well you can here at almost all restaurants and pretty well all stores (more than most if not all countries) but I doubt my debit card is useful for direct pay at a Dominican restaurant. I haven't seen debit terminals , some don't even have credit card terminals. And if you want to wonder about a location that could install sniffers to take your mag card info and your PIN, a 3rd world restaurant is a good place to start.

PeachezNcream84 said:

My situation is slightly different, since I am Canadian.
I would loose HUGE amounts of money if I changed my Cdn $'s to USD..and then to pesos.

The best way to get a fair exchange rate, is to withdraw my money from my interac...large amounts at one time, so I don't get service charges for taking out $50 at a time, and the bank will automatically give you the best rate avalible.

But you cannot use interac to pay for anything anywhere in the DR. You must withdraw it from a ATM...which there are quite a few all around the DR. Shouldn't be hard to find. Sometimes you have to try a few machienes, because they will be out of service, but I find that the best way to go.

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Actually you lose on the CDN/US/DR rate through ATm transactions too as they take a 1.5% cut just like with Visa. And the fees.

Let's get it clear

1) Do NOT buy any Dominican pesos wherever you live. That is just stupid.

2) Do bring some good old US cash. Some in smaller denominations, but not too much.

3) You can exchange a few dollars at the airport when you arrive and proceed from there. If you need cab fare, look for the posted rates and make sure the cabbie knows that you know.

4) Once settled in, you can find a good place to exchange anything you will be needing money for, but never, never at the hotel.
A tip: Never use the taxis at the hotel, they are generally much more expensive than normal cabs.

5) Yes you can use your debit card a most ATMs, and most of the makor cities and tourist areas have ATMs.

Don't sweat this. Treat it like it was a shopping trip and use your head...

HB

ricktoronto said:

Actually you lose on the CDN/US/DR rate through ATm transactions too as they take a 1.5% cut just like with Visa. And the fees.

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Really thats odd...
but reglardless of what they take...I have found looking at bank statments and doing calculations I get a much better rate doing this..then I would changing my Cdn $'s to USD's..and then to pesos....

My dad is a very "thrify" guy, and smart about money..and he has come to the same conclusions, that when the come to visit me and the in-laws it's easier to just use visa or debit then change all the money before hand.

Of coruse we both always bring some cash, cuz that is important...but for the majority of spending money it is just easier in general and cheaper to go through ATM's and Visa...

And p.s. Always listen to HB's advice..he is the resident pro on just about everything...

I always take US dollars and pay for everything in pesos.
It costs around 2% to buy the US$ and the cambios have been paying 1-2% less for US$ than the official exchange rate.
This is still way better than the 15-30% hit they will give for Canadian dollars.
Although I do take enough US$ to get me by, I always spend much more than I take down so I usually save my US$ and just take out cash advances on my Mastercard.
As long as you take out a few hundred dollars worth of pesos per transaction, the service charge is only 1% or so and the exchange rate is very good.

I would never change money at a hotel reception or an on-site cambio that is run by the hotel ( like Jack Tar), but some hotels have bank cambios which give excellent rates (like Paradise and Fun Royale).
They were typically giving 1-1.5 more pesos per US$ than at the Plaza.

I recognized one of the girls working in the cambio at Fun Royale.
She also works at Paradise and the airport.
One day I changed some money, the rate had gone up from 28.6 to 29.
She punched in the old rate 28.6 and she wrote up the receipt with this figure.
I pointed out the new rate so she simply crossed out the 28.6 on the receipt and put 29 but she did not recalculate and change the total!
I pointed to the calculator and told her to do it again with the right number!!!
I told her that is much better, and even though she was yapping on the phone the whole time and behaving so stupid, I still gave her a 20P tip.

Malibook said:

I still gave her a 20P tip.

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You tip someone to change your money who rips you off? (ok not by that much..bu tin my opinion...every little bit helps!)

I know you are a very nice and smart guy

Maybe too nice..I have never tipped someone for changing my money...

Maybe I am jsut too cheap...lol. And I am bad at tipping..I never know what to tip, and my husband will never give me ANY advice on what to tip..cuz he always just says "tip what you feel they were worth"

Speaking of which...in Canada it is common to tip an approx amoutn of 10-15% at resturants...what is the common "tip rate" in the DR if they do not include it??