Large bills

[Marko]

be careful of using the Jamaican $5,000J bill as it often gets confused with the $100J bill as they look similar.......lol
and good luck using the Jamaican $5,000J bill as a lot of places won't have change for it......

and if you use the Scotia Bank ATM downtown...it spits out $5,000J bills........
the NCB Bank ATM only spits out $1,000J bills with the limit being $30,000J's a day....
the ATM's usually give the best exchange rate but your bank at home might hit you with a fee on top.....ugh

as far as the Cambio goes........usually a copy of your Passport suffices for the exchange......
and usually not a good idea to be carrying around your Passport anyways......keep it in the room/safe
the Cambio's like crisp new $100US and $50US bills.....the banks however will take the ones the Cambios don't want

the exchange rate at the Cambios was only $120J to $1US & $92 to $1Canadian in beginning of September....
be interesting to see what it is this Winter.....the online rate did get over $130J to $1US this fall
but you can't use that benchmark for the real world Cambios in Jamaica which are usually much lower........true

having a bunch of ones is the way to go for tips and taxi fare etc......but using using 10's and $20's is a no no cause of the exchange rate
also paying out $100US or $50US bills aren't the way to go cause you get screwed on the exchange rate at different establishments
mi have seen establishments giving as likkle as $100J to $1US....when the Cambio rate is $120J to $1US.....ugh
and never exchange your money at the airport Cambios......going in or out.....you will be on the loosing end for sure

FYI - Always good to save some US dollars for when you leave the island....
so you not on the loosing end on the exchange rate when you turn the Jamaican money back into US/Candadian dollars

Cool Runnings, Marko

[saeyedoc]

nice summary Marko. At $300 US daily limit with ATMs, with my gang I'd be going every day. I think I'll stick with my cambio plan like I usually do. I get too worried the ATMs won't work anyway.

[fuzzy]

I usually skip the $1's and bring $2's so I dont have to carry as many bills. Years ago the Jamaicans did not think they were real but now many find them very special to receive.

[RonMon]

I always bring about 16 US $100 Bills to switch out at the Cambio. Never a problem, I switch about $400 to $800 at at time and never an eye blinked.

[saeyedoc]

It was annoying last trip, I went to exchange about $500 at the cambio by Bourbon Beach and all they had was 500j bills.

[Hussyband]

Make sure you bring your passport to the Cambio if you're going to exchange >$500

This threw me for a loop one year. I changed $700, if memory serves. The girl asked me where I got it from. I was like... my checking account? I really was at a loss until someone explained the reasoning later in the week.

[RonMon]

Yeah, I have never been asked for it. I think $800 is most I have ever done at once.

[Rob]

This threw me for a loop one year. I changed $700, if memory serves. The girl asked me where I got it from. I was like... my checking account? I really was at a loss until someone explained the reasoning later in the week.

This is "required" due to the USA international money laundering regulations. When asked, I just say "it's mine". It doesn't seem to be a big deal, but some cambios take it more serious than others.

This is only asked on larger amounts of something like $300us or more. Nothing to worry about, just a formality.

[gregandkelly63]

I am almost out of smaller US bills with 4 days left to go. I guess I will have to go to the bank to get more smaller bills. After this many trips you'd think I'd learn. smh