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I did a search and came up with nothing, so….
My friend Linda and I are coming to CR for a possible moving recon, Aug 15 – 29. We are taking George Lundquist’s tour and also looking around by ourselves. So, this is probably the first of several queries, posted as they occur to me.
Today I read in in A.M.Costa Rica that many CR businesses do not accept US $100 and $50 bills because of counterfeits. First of all, is this common? And if so, what do folks recommend we bring with us? Lots of cash in $20’s? What about my Chase Bank VISA debit card? Can I get cash with it? Will businesses accept it as a VISA card? Also, what about my Citibank American Express credit card? Accepted by many businesses?
thanks, Fred
Take some cash. Your ATM card will work at most machines. Visa and MasterCard almost everywhere, American Express less so.
Big bills are a problem so carry 20’s or smaller. Also – NO TRAVELERS CHECKS! The only people who can cash them quickly are the thieves!
Have fun!
Fred, I am from Texas and spent 3 monts here last year and on a 6 month trip this time. I would never suggest you carry much cash Ever- No point in casting frightening thughts but small thefts on individuls is not uncomon. I carry a few dollrs max 50. in us usually much less and only small one, 5´s for cab fair tipping etc. I brought lots of American Express Travelers checks in $100 size and cash them at any bank. They pay me more than $100 because of the difference of value…not much but a few bucks.
I stopped carrying my visa when my wallet was stolen in San Jose….my carelessness….carry in front pocket and watch everyone. Yes your visa will work in most places. The problem with Travelers checks is I understand can take months for the hotel to get their cash back. Simply cash at bank and give Colones to hotel $1,000 is 2 bucks 10,000 20 bucks plus a little.
Good luck.
OH stick to this site for really good information from people who know and not just talk about it….Scott Oliver the King dog is tops in my book
Terry from Texas )now Costa RicaAnother vote for what they said. Bring a VISA credit/debit card that has a Plus or Cirrus logo on the back and you can get cash — dollars or colones — at any of the zillions of ATMs all over the place. Every ATM I’ve seen has an English-language menu option.
Plan to deal in colones rather than in dollars. You’ll always get the current exchange rate at the ATM and never have to worry about figuring out how much something should cost. The ATM service here is as fast as it is in the U.S. You’ll think you haven’t left home.
Many places will not take U.S. $50 or $100 bills or Travelers’ Cheques at all.
Terry makes an interesting point, although it’s unrelated to the money issue. Costa Rica is reknowned worldwide for the theft of passports. You’ll need to identify yourself from time to time, however, so the minute you land, go to a copy place and get a photocopy of the picture page of your passport and the page that Immigration stamped when you arrived. The police, banks, etc will all accept that photocopy in lieu of the original.
Thanks for the responses. This is probably all the info I need on this topic, unless these something unique that I should know.
Trust me, I’m sure I’ll have more questions in the next couple of weeks.
Fred
I know this topic has been pretty well exhausted, however I have one bit of advice. Bring an extra debit card. My experience is that even though a card has the Cirrus logo it may or may not work for you..depending on the ATM/ATH machine. I have had numerous discussions with my bank in the USA re the fact that some machines do not “read” the card and will not honor it. Also, my husband tried a machine and the machine “ate” the card. We made several calls to the bank to try and retrieve our card and got the runaround. We finally had our bank in the USA Fed Ex us new cards.
Yikes! That could be problem. I’ll go to Chase tomorrow and see if they can get me a duplicate card before I leave.
A further bit of advice . . .
Everyone, residents of the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, etc should advise their bank when they will be using their credit/debit cards outside the country where they normally use them. We live full-time in Costa Rica and have advised our U.S. bank of that fact. When we’ve gone back to the U.S., however, we’ve advised the bank what cities we’d be visiting and the dates of our trip. Otherwise, you may get snagged up in the bank’s secutity system.
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