travelers checks in Cozumel?

[scubajen]

If I take travelers checks with me are they accepted at many
restaurants and stores or what is the best way to pay for things in Cozumel? Credit card, going to the bank machine???

 

[ggunn]

scubajen once bubbled...
If I take travelers checks with me are they accepted at many
restaurants and stores or what is the best way to pay for things in Cozumel? Credit card, going to the bank machine???

All three work, though I myself mostly shy away from the credit card method. Some places will tack on a surcharge when you use one, and I know of some instances of fraud. I usually take traveler's cheques, which in my experience are universally accepted, and hit the cash machine if (when) I run short.

 

[scubajen]

ggunn,
do you know what the normal fee is to use the money machines in Coz?

 

[ggunn]

scubajen once bubbled...
ggunn,
do you know what the normal fee is to use the money machines in Coz?

I'm somewhat embarassed to say that I have no idea, although I have used them several times. The philosophy I use there is the same as I use here, though; make one large withdrawal rather than several small ones so that the fee only applies once.

 

[scubajen]

If I need to make a withdrawl, I will make sure I only need to do that once. I am guessing the service fee might be somewhat
expensive, plus I hate paying service fees anyway.

Thanks!

 

[rjdiver]

I haven't been there since '95, but we used to walk around on our way to lunch and compare the exchange rates at the Currency Exchange booths. The US$ kept increasing in value while we were there two different times that year, so we would only exchange a day or so amount of travellers checks. It was almost a game.

Gee, I miss Cozumel. More for the diving than the currency game.

Rob

 

[scywin]

I have worked in financial services for my whole career. You will find credit cards widely accepted, especially in tourist destinations like Cozumel. You will also find US currency quite popular, so if you simply take some cash with you, you will not have a problem having it accepted.

The fees on credit cards and cash machines are reasonable. Where you will get taken advantage of is on foreign exchange.

When you start swapping one currency for another, you find the price works against you in both directions. You want to minimize swapping from dollars to pesos back to dollars. Fortunately in Cozumel this will not be a problem as you will find the dollar accepted everywhere.

Take your credit cards and an amount of cash you are comfortable carrying. Then enjoy your vacation!

 

[rjdiver]

We were told that many restaurants give change at a different rate of exchange (to your disadvantage) than you could get at the foreign currency exchange. That is why we only exchange the amount we thought that we would be spending. You definitely don't want to get a HUGE stack of pesos when you get there and then try to get back US$ at the end of the trip.

I'll have to make another trip to Coz to test both theories.

 

[HammerNoMore]

It is true that there is often a service charge with using your credit card in Cozumel. I love Cozumel and it is by far my favorite diving location. That being said, I have unfortunatly found merchants who tried to "take advantage of me." The worst being a rental car company who attempted to tack on a bunch of crap when I returned the car, i.e. too late for me to decline the transaction.

It is for this reason that, in spite of whatever service charges you might find, I prefer to use a credit card so that when someone tries to rip me off I can simply call Amex when I get home and fix the problem.

James

 

[fishfry]

Just got back from CZM last week. I would only use Travelers Checks for your dives. The stores love cash, remember they only want to give change in Pecos.