tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post2804173926162268337..comments2023-11-09T02:06:49.126-06:00Comments on Rancho Santa Clara: In Mexico, in No One we trustalcubanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-5284266734309216442017-07-13T19:00:59.790-05:002017-07-13T19:00:59.790-05:00One more thing. You've mentioned that you don&...One more thing. You've mentioned that you don't keep much money down here due to the "volatility of peso-dominated accounts." Investment accounts can be volatile in Mexico or anywhere. Checking and savings account at Mexican banks are not volatile.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-26352319877864946692017-07-13T18:57:28.397-05:002017-07-13T18:57:28.397-05:00Before asking for a Bancomer credit card, you have...Before asking for a Bancomer credit card, you have to open a Bancomer account. Then you have to wait a few months (three, I think) with a minimum balance in that account. I forget what that amount is, but it's not exorbitant in the slightest. Your experience with Banamex is not surprising. Banamex and I got along fine for years, but then the relationship went south fast. Never again.<br /><br />Bancomer, however, is great. There is an annual charge on their credit card. I think it's 600 pesos, but the convenience is worth it. And if it's a joint account, the secondary account holder gets his own card with different card number with no additional annual fee. As for late payments, just don't do that. You can sign up to have the monthly amount paid automatically from your account either in full, as I do it to avoid interest, or the minimum required payment. That involves interest, however.<br /><br />If you're gonna live here, and it appears you are, having Mexican credit cards and debit cards is, in my opinion, one of those no-brainers.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-60113982387909923782017-07-13T17:38:30.783-05:002017-07-13T17:38:30.783-05:00OK, Felipe, Stew and I have meditated over your co...OK, Felipe, Stew and I have meditated over your comments and we will apply for a Bancomer credit card to see how that goes. The problem last time was not the low credit limit but that Banamex wanted me to keep a balance, paying no interest, equal to their line of "credit" on the card, which didn't work for me. And the terms were horrific as far as late payments and so on.<br /><br />We'll see what happens.<br /><br />alalcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-34679675451028906112017-07-13T07:46:10.808-05:002017-07-13T07:46:10.808-05:00If you have not been transferring as many dollars ...If you have not been transferring as many dollars as possible into a Mexican peso account -- and surely you have not -- you've missed a golden opportunity over the past few years due to the exchange rate that has been colossally in our favor. It's still in our favor, just not quite as good as it has been. You need to look into getting a new financial advisor. Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-20503330939033873892017-07-12T16:32:01.232-05:002017-07-12T16:32:01.232-05:00I was referring to one of the major Mexican banks....I was referring to one of the major Mexican banks. Interbanco is not one. I've never even heard of it. As for Banamex, they are not very accommodating with credit cards. Bancomer is the best. As for your long-term relationship with Citibank, Banamex could not care less, even though it is owned by Citibank. Mexican madness.<br /><br />Your first Mexican credit card will have a low limit, and I understand that. Mine did too. Mexican banks apparently have no connection to your credit history in the U.S. so you're an unknown risk. But as you use it, and pay it in a timely manner, they will increase that limit, often significantly. It takes time, a year or two. If you pay the balance in full every month, the interest rate is moot. You pay no interest. It's even possible to have the entire balance taken from your account automatically so you don't have to do anything at all. Quite convenient.<br /><br />Social Security and lots of corporate pensions too (not all) will easily deposit directly into a Mexican account. The exchange rate currently works to our favor. I don't understand what you mean by volatility of peso-dominated accounts. What you have in an account in pesos does not change once it's in pesos. And whatever you buy down here is in pesos. If the exchange rate favors us, we pay less in bucks. If it doesn't we pay more in bucks. But we always pay in pesos. No way around that.<br /><br />Both my SS and my Hearst pension land in my Bancomer account every month, switching to pesos along the way. Works great.<br /><br />And I have credit and debit cards with both Bancomer and HSBC. I rarely use credit cards anywhere but online. In physical life, I pay with cash and debit cards. Actually, FATCA ended up being a blessing in disguise because I want to separate myself from the U.S. financial system as far as possible. I just did not know it till it was forced upon me.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-41450643530378202772017-07-12T10:10:36.616-05:002017-07-12T10:10:36.616-05:00Felipe: One correction: The mutation of Intercam i...Felipe: One correction: The mutation of Intercam is Interbanco, not Interbank, and it is a Mexican bank. So we have a Mexican bank; not a very accommodating one, but a Mexican bank nevertheless. <br /><br />When we came to Mexico we tried to get an account and a credit card at Banamex, thinking that having been long-term customers of CitiBank—which owns Banamex—would grease the transaction. No way. The only thing they would give us is a credit card with a limit no higher than the balance on our savings account, in other words, no really a credit card. Although we pay our balances in full every month, the interest rates in Mexican credit cards at the time were pretty horrific, beyond usury. Maybe they've changed.<br /><br />We don't keep a lot of money at Interbanco because of the volatility of peso-denominated accounts. <br /><br />So for the time being we have a Visa from Liverpool that was approved almost accidentally when we bought a bunch of appliances, but which has only a $400 peso limit. <br /><br />I don't know why Mexican banks treat you so well. Must be your equanimity and sunny disposition, lol.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment Felipe.<br /><br />al alcubanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667546605871850986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672834250325632231.post-36417443764140476862017-07-11T22:05:12.918-05:002017-07-11T22:05:12.918-05:00Don't you have an account at a Mexican bank? I...Don't you have an account at a Mexican bank? I had an account at Banamex, and now have accounts at both HSBC/Mexico and Bancomer. Bancomer is the best by far. After opening an account and waiting a few weeks, and maintaining a fairly low balance -- I forget how much -- they will hand you a credit card in a nanosecond. Banamex and HSBC are far more ornery with credit cards.<br /><br />Bancomer is great, however. Having at least one credit card from a Mexican bank, plus the debit card that automatically comes with it, simplifies life here significantly. I no longer have Gringo credit cards, thanks to FATCA, but I have a credit card from both Bancomer and HSBC, both of which are always trying to get me to come in and pick up their snazzier gold card, but I'm content with the lower-level card they gave me at the get-go. And I have debit cards from both.<br /><br />As for trust, no Mexican worth his salt trusts other Mexicans.Michael Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720359542700663699noreply@blogger.com