Money in Chile: cash, cards and tipping
What holds for the whole country, in one place: where a card is enough and where it is not, where to change money, whether to tip, and the taxes nobody mentions until the bill.
The currency is the Chilean Peso (CLP). $1 ≈ CLP 971 · rate of October 6, 2026
Where a card is enough
Only the places a source speaks about. Where it says nothing, neither do we.
| Where | How you pay |
|---|---|
| In general | Card From the source |
| Markets and stalls | Cash From the source |
| Rural areas | Cash From the source |
From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.
Where to change money
The cheapest route is usually an ATM and a card that does not charge for converting; whether yours does is up to your bank. These are the places that change cash.
- Exchange counters
Tipping
| Restaurants | Optional |
|---|---|
| Bars and cafés | Optional |
Taxes and charges
- Consumption tax: 19%, and 0% at registered hotels and furnished rentals for foreign tourists who live abroad and pay in foreign currency.
- None of its cities charges a lodging tax: each city page cites the source that says so.
What each city costs
Per person per day, mid-range, for two travelling together. Without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer, so the cities can be compared.
| City | Per person per day |
|---|---|
| Santiago | CLP 41,000–49,000 |
| Valparaíso | CLP 41,000–46,000 |
If something goes wrong
The numbers and where to go, as the official source publishes them.
- Police
- 133
- Fire brigade
- 132
- Ambulance
- 131
What applies to any trip: before you go, and if you lose your card
SourcesWhere every figure comes from
Every fact on this page carries its source. Reviewed: October 2026.
- Chile Travel (Sernatur) · Pack your bags! All you need to know for your trip to Chile
- Chile Travel (Sernatur) · Currency and costs
- SERNAC · SERNAC oficia a peluquerías Palumbo y Glam&Co por reclamos de solicitud de propina (14 de octubre de 2024)
- BCN LeyChile · Decreto Ley 825, Ley sobre Impuesto a las Ventas y Servicios (arts. 12 E 17 y 14)
- Chile en el Exterior (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) · Condiciones de seguridad
- European Central Bank, euro foreign exchange reference rates
- Frankfurter
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