Those are all great tips. I will add that if you plan on using a credit card in Jamaica, first check to see if there are any foreign transaction fees associated with your card. Some cards have none, while others have a range of diff. fees, and they can add up rather quickly!
Gone are the days when you used to get an advantage paying with foreign currency when Jamaica started to allow her citizens to readily access foreign currency in their own bank account. In the early days (in my case early 80s), everyday Jamaicans were told by their government that "changing money" from Jamaican to a foreign currency was "unpatriotic".
In fact, in those days the Jamaican Dollar was actually stronger than the US dollar but you needed US dollars to go to Miami to buy goods to bring back to sell to make a living. Hence, the "higgler" in auto parts etc. was born. As the Jamaican Dollar started to lose its value against the US dollar, speculators would offer more Jamaican Dollars than the actual value of the US Dollar (and I am sure other currencies but I don't have first hand knowledge about those) because it was not possible for them to get US dollars at a bank and it was illegal to take Jamaican Dollars out of Jamaica.
Now a guy who changes money outside a bank or cambio has no real reason to give you more for your foreign currency because he can get it himself anytime he wants it. His only angle now is to either shortchange you or to slip in a few counterfeit bills to make his money.
My advice is to just deal in Jamaican Dollars and get used to the exchange rate. It is true that tipping in US dollars lets the person who gets the foreign money save it for a later trip to the US but it also becomes a hassle for them to change it to Jamaican Money for everyday transactions.
If you go into a small business and pay for a $800 Jamaican meal with a $10 US bill, I would bet that you would not get any change in return and thus lose @ $.80 cents on the transaction. Multiply that by several purchases over several days and you are just throwing money away. In fact, when is the last time you got any coin currency back? Anything less than $50 Jamaican will usually just be rounded off anyways.
Everything is priced in Jamaican Dollars anyways (except at resorts or other fancy-dancy places) so just pay the price posted and be done with it. If it is a service you want, then pick a price you will pay and negotiate from there. It really isn't all that difficult it just takes practice and that means you will just have to come back to Jamaica more times to practice!
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Once again, that is the bank rate. That meaning the XE or other converter site rates. It doesn't mean that's what the banks pay out. It's what the bank gets when they exchange $$$. Maybe interbank rate would be a better term. When you take your US$ to a bank or cambio & get J$ in exchange, you will get slightly LESS than the bank rate. This is how they make their money & can offer their service to you. I hope this helps. I guess it never hurts to explain it again :-)Originally Posted by SweetSue
I will also add, as have many others, DO NOT exchange from the guy hanging out in the parking lot. He makes his $$$ by ripping you off.
Last edited by Yvonne; 08-04-2012 at 01:20 PM.
I have quite a few of the hand made wooden Mario Palomino boxes upstairs, back in the day anybody could find find a way to bring a Cuban (real or counterfeit) home to friends but friends at home could not find a Jamaican Mario Palomino at home, hence a good gift.
The story I heard was that Mario escaped Cuba with his seeds ahead of Castro and relocated to Jamaica, his next generation of decendants did not want to dedicate the time and hard work it took to keep the brand going, the brand migrated to Dominica for a short period.. That said I have heard that there is now a trademarked Nicauraga Mario Palomino.
I will light a fire here. I agree ATM is the best 0 to J conversion, I drive so I am out of car into ATM and back on road in a flash, I like to run through in Lucy at Scotia or the one up by the airport Shell station, secure, but I have sat in front of the China Man's store and watched people hit the ATM and walk off down the road and wondered at the security of the street. I do keep quite a few Benjamen's in the safe that I convert during the week and I do use the exchangers in the parking lot, reason is it is quick and I do not mind giving up a 100j tax on a 100 U.S. exchange to avoid the hassle of getting out of the car and standing in a line at a Cambio. That said I have been to Negril over 40 times and have very specific guys I deal with that I have known for years, I do not do more than 1 or 200 at a time and follow a very consistent standard of exchange. I would not recommend this for all, agree to the rate ahead of time, exchange in $100.00 U.S. increments, keep your money in your pocket, watch him count, take the J and recount (newbies might get double folded bills spread the bills like a card hand then pat back together for count - most guys use the same rules that I do when I'm running a lot of cash in the states - all bills are faced the same way), hand him the U.S. ------- Me – wappen’, Him – how much mon, Me-$100 U.S. what’s the rate, Him - 84, Me – hell I might as well go to the cambio 85?, Him – Yah Mon 85 (he counts out 8.5 grand) Me – (I recount 8500) respect mon (hand him my $100.00 U.S.) later dawg,,,,,,,, I do it 5 or 6 times a week, before cambio's open after they close on my time schedule. Once again that is me and I am not reccomending this practice to anyone.
I have won many awards in a lifetime of competition and service. But the highest was offered without plaque or fanfare on a hilltop in post Ivan Jamaica. A true Rasta and a dear friend observed "Chet you are like a father of men, you see need and fulfill that need without being asked". Let us be travelers and not tourist.
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