how to pay the card in July to avoid 60% surcharges and save

Those who in recent weeks traveled abroad, booked tourist services on foreign websites or used the “door-to-door” purchasing system will soon have to pay the bill for all expenses in foreign currency made with the credit card.

As the exchange rate is still in forcesettling that debt in the conventional way could be a bad deal because the bank will settle the consumption automatically by applying the “tourist” or “card” quote.

And that type of change, today, is clearly the most expensive on the marketbecause it includes a 60% surcharge above the official value.

Any consumer, however, can avoid this by resorting to a 100% legal operation which allows expenses to be settled in foreign currency sacrificing much less pesos.

The trick is to do not pay with pesos he balance in dollars of the summary, but to do with dollars own purchased by another wayat a lower price.

These days the game allows a Savings of more than 10%although to do it without problems it is necessary to take some Precautions. Here’s everything you need to know.

For example, if these days someone received a summary with US$1,000 of consumption made in foreign hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, at the current “tourist dollar” that would represent about $1,487,000taking the value of Thursday, June 27.

Why? Because at the official quote of $929.50 a is added 30% surcharge for the PAIS tax and another 30% from a perception on account of Profits or Personal Property.

Expenses abroad, thus, ended this Thursday by being converted into pesos at a total cost of approximately $1,487 per dollar.

However, in case of cover the debt with dollarsthe market offered options to obtain the necessary “greens” paying close to $1,325 each with the Dollar Bolsa MEP modality or some $1,355 in the informal market.

For the traveler in the example, then, resorting to the MEP allowed him to pay for the US$1,000 of consumption only $1,325,000instead of $1,487,000. That is, $162,000 less. He saved a eleven%.

Many people, in fact, are also using this mechanism before travelling. Pre-purchase the dollars you plan to spend abroad with a card so ensure the exchange rate Current MEP, and cover against a possible devaluation.

The key is that the “tourist dollar,” with its 60% surcharge, applies only when a consumer pay with pesos the dollar balance on your credit card statement.

However, if the user chooses to pay for these consumptions handing out dollars that you already have in your savings account or that deposit before maturity of the settlement, surcharges do not apply because there is no exchange transaction involved.

Likewise, the issue has its complications and is usually raise doubts. First, because the summary is prepared assuming that the dollar balance will be pesified. So, the two “card dollar” surcharges, which are settled in pesosappear already included in it total in pesos to pay.

The second difficulty is that many users have automatic debit scheduled of the card, either for the full payment or for the minimum payment, which will be activated on the expiration day also assuming pesification.

So, before paying the dollar balance with dollars, you will have to take care of stop direct debit. And then pay the part of the pesos discounting the surchargesas detailed below.

Banks warn that payment in dollars is only available until the due date of the liquidation. And to avoid inconveniences, these steps can be followed three steps:

1. Ask for a stop debit. It involves asking the bank not to apply the automatic debit this time. It can be done online, by phone or by other means, and will be key to avoid duplicate charges.

2. Pay the balance in dollars with dollarsMany banks allow you to do this via home banking or at self-service machines with funds from your own savings account in dollars. You can also take the dollars in cash to a branch.

3. Pay the balance in pesos with pesos. It can be done online or at the bank. But in this case, instead of paying the total pesos that appear in the settlement, the surcharges identified as “COUNTRY Tax” (30%) and as “Perception RG 4815” or “RG 5463” may be subtracted from that sum ( 30%).

In this way, both surcharges can be left unpaid. without generating interest. Another option is to pay them: in that case, the money must be Returned as soon as possible or will be in favor for the following summary.

Likewise, as the procedures and management channels may vary from bank to bankBefore starting the maneuver, it is always best to consult.

Yeah. If a traveler has an account in pesos and also one in dollarsboth linked to the same debit card, You can choose which one will be charged every time you make a purchase abroad.

That option may be available through the home banking or by other means that the bank offers.

So, if the debit were scheduled in pesosthe amount of each consumption will be immediately pesified at the official exchange rate plus the 60% surcharge.

To avoid this, the debit must be pre-configured in dollarsIn this case, the bank will deduct the dollar amount of the transaction from the account, without the PAIS tax or the perception.

Each time you will use the foreign currency deposited there, which may have been previously purchased on the market at a lower price that the “card” quote.

A possible disadvantage of not peso-izing used to be that the consumer lost the opportunity to recover a part of what was paid.

It happens that, if consumption in dollars is pesified, whoever makes a procedure before the AFIP will later be able to deduct from your taxes or charge as a refund the 30% perception (not the PAIS tax).

When you finally recover 30%, each dollar will then have been paid at a final value close to $1,208 (official + 30%), a value today a little less than that of the MEP and the blue.

The big problem is that the money returned from the 30% perception will return to the pocket only in 2025and without updating for inflation. Therefore, when the amounts are recovered, their purchasing power will most likely already be greatly diminished.