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Mexican Credit Card


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Banamex will easily give you a card and when I went to retrieve one after approval, the costs were finally disclosed. NO THANKS! I went to BancoAzteca and opened a deposit account (free) and received a debit card with my choice of Visa or MasterCard affiliation. As long as you have the funds the card will work just fine as a credit card.

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I Have Santander Light, the interest rates are scary, 36.5% !! but if like me you are a "totalero" (pay the total balance of the card on the due date) then the interest rates are of no concern.

You can use the cut off dates and enjoy upto 50 days interest free credit as long as you are totally disciplined and pay in full on the due date.

 

regards

 

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I think the issue, at least for me, is not what interest they charge, but how much does it cost annually to have the card.  I have a Bancomer card and they  charge approx. 2100 pesos a year just to have the card, payable in three monthly instalments.  Not sure what other banks charge but seeing I have it already, I don't plan on switching banks as I have all my other accounts there as well and it is conveniently located.  In Canada, I have a CIBC Dividend credit card, and there is no annual charge and I get a 2% discount on all my purchases annually.  Go figure.

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I have a Bancomer Platinum card that costs well over $2,000 pesos per year. It took a long time to build up enough of a credit line to make the card usable for large purchases like appliances, electronics and travel. While the fee is high the points system Bancomer uses gives you credit toward purchases. You can use the points to make purchases in many locations and if you charge a lot, the money saved by using points far exceeds the cost of the card. Credit cards are becoming more widely accepted in Mexico which also helps reduce the need for cash withdrawals. I got a microwave and a cold water dispenser for free and a discount on a refrigerator using points in the last year. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

If you buy everything with the credit card,  the points will more than pay for the annual cost of the card. ( In my case anyway) Also there are many purchases that can be made with an interest free time up to 18 months you just need to ask the merchant. 

My Bancomer Gold Card usually has a promotion once a year for all your purchases that are above a certain amount. They will receive interest free payments for 3-6 months when you register them.  They usually offer double points if used abroad at vacation time. 

You can pay for government services such as predial, SIMAPA, Refrendo, DL etc, and get points as well as not having to carry cash.

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On 6/26/2018 at 10:52 AM, AngusMactavish said:

I went to BancoAzteca and opened a deposit account (free) and received a debit card with my choice of Visa or MasterCard affiliation. As long as you have the funds the card will work just fine as a credit card.

If the card can be used for Visa or MC purchases for air travel, that may help booking of flights out of country - avoiding foreign traveller taxes. Despite being a RP if using a foreign credit card the taxes are charged, albeit recoverable later.  This seems a better way to avoid that hassle.  Just need to make sure the pesos are in the bank for the transaction. AngusMactavish any thoughts on that??

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