jerrybrowne Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Anyone know if the 10% USD to CUC conversion penalty is still in place? I have read both yes and no. Is it still worth it to exchange USD to EUR in the States, then EUR- CUC in Cuba? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaclub Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Not sure about a currency penalty, but what I do know is it depends on where you are and what they want to "tax" as they put it. At a LCDH shop in Cayo Coco if you didn't pay cash in CUC, they would add 2-3 percent, basically a conversion to USD when charging your credit card. Now at the airport it was an absolute mess. The duty free shop at Cayo Coco airport added 13 percent "tax" or conversion as they put it. In other words, they value the CUC more than USD. When for years when I would visit Cuba USD to CUC was basically at par. Now this was in February this year. So when I bought a box of Marquis SLR they are 117CUC a box. They charged my card 132 USD (13 percent). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrybrowne Posted May 30, 2017 Author Share Posted May 30, 2017 Sorry I was referring to getting money changed at the currency exchanges. Although it sounds like you have successfully used a US credit card at LCDH and other shops? Is this using standard Amex/Mastercard/ Visa issued by a major US bank? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaclub Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 No it was a Canadian card. That was an issue at one point. Not sure about it now. I always used my visa from a Canadian bank. Information from my travel agent said they do not accept Us cards. It may have recently changed? Not sure. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaclub Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Mind you I had an MBNA card that years ago I couldn't use. But when I called the card before I left they said it could be used, now that TD bank took over Mbna. Now, I am in Canada so it is a Canadian issued card in Canadian currency. So I cant speak about cards in USD. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLC Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 As of March 2017 and likely still the same you can't us US credit cards. Adding 3% to any credit card purchase is a standard fee. The 10% charge still applies when changing US currency. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrowder Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I think that it depends on the exchange rate that you get when you convert from USD to Euros and whether or not you can find someone in Cuba who will exchange USD with you. When I exchanged at my bank the USD to EURO was $1.00/$1.10, but, the bank charged me $1.18--I should have shopped around. When I converted in Cuba (at the front desk of most hotels) I was getting $1.05-6 CUC for $1 Euro. When my friends exchanged USD to CUC at the same hotels I believe that they were getting $0.87 CUC for every $1.00 USD (I'll double check on this). One interesting side note, when I went to change my Euros in at the airport they would only convert a maximum of $200 euros. After a day or two we found out that our airbnb host would happily exchange USD to CUC for us. We ended up exchanging at a rate of $0.94 CUC for every $1.00 USD. If you're staying at a place that will exchange for you then you're probably better off just taking USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semifan1 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Sounds like you would be taking a double hit. Exchanging the USD to EUR then EUR to CUC talk about a racket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrybrowne Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 Just a quick update. There is still the 10% penalty in place at the major exchanges, so it's $0.87 CUC per $1 USD. For my visit, it was still a better deal than doing the USD- EUR- CUC. Thanks for all the advice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatAlfonso Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 On 5/31/2017 at 2:05 AM, jerrybrowne said: Just a quick update. There is still the 10% penalty in place at the major exchanges, so it's $0.87 CUC per $1 USD. For my visit, it was still a better deal than doing the USD- EUR- CUC. Thanks for all the advice! Agree with this. I tried the Euro exchange my first time and felt I took at least a 5% hit on each exchange. Was a hassle and saved little to nothing. The other problem was any unspent/unconverted Euros aren't useful once you return and you never want to be in the position in Cuba where you run out of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Customsfan Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Currencies are always fluctuating, so I think it's at least worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybermadhatter Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 yes, penalty is still in place, as I was (in Havana), there, this past weekend. 10%, with the added 3% conversion charge. I usually find the casa particular hostess's friend or someone to do it....anywhere from .90 to .95 per dollar. Not all, but some lcdh's will accept USD but as stated above, they add 10 - 13%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPS Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Never bring USD to Cuba unless you know someone privately who needs the dollars. Always purchase Canadian dollars or Euro at an exchange with good rates not a bank. There is one credit card Americans can get for Cuba now and it works reasonably well in Havana. Contact Stonegate Bank for info. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscmd310 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Banks really overcharge on currency conversion. You can find exchange firms that charge about 2.5% vs. Most banks charge 4-6%. If you do the exchange right you should get about 0.94 cuc per $1. That's much better than the 0.87 cuc per $1 that you get at a CADECA in Cuba. For each $1,000 that's about $70. The price of a bundle of coronas. ( I always relate my costs in bundles of cigars) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnflames Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Before leaving for Cuba I exchanged USD currency for euro currency through my bank and when arriving in Cuba exchange euro to Cuban. Then I had also taken USD currency and exchanged to Cuban. To be honest I paid to exchange euro to Cuban .786 to the dollar and exchanged USD to Cuban currency .873 after the 10% penalty and 3% exchange rate I still received a higher $ exchange while enduring the penalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santiago Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 If you can get the Euros (or CAD, Pounds, etc.) without a fee, say from a friend, do it. Otherwise it's not worth the hassle and you may not even make out ahead. Best idea is to talk to your casa host or someone you know before you visit to see if they can change at a better rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscmd310 Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Its probably best to get casa owners to change. Most will do it. But they wont respond to that question by facebook or email. They're afraid of getting busted. So it's a bit of a gamble to go there with USD. My last black market exchange this week was 95 cuc to 100USD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyO Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 In Havana there is a bank that cashes US travelers travelers checks and they take 8%. It is in 1ra y 0 (1st and 0) in Miramar but it is a 9-5 thing and am not sure they do Saturdays. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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