Traveling in Buenos Aires means having your SUBE card at hand. This essential card ensures you can explore the city without making transportation a burden on your budget.
With Buenos Aires’ excellent public transportation system, you can easily reach different parts of the city with just one mode of transport. The affordability of traveling in Buenos Aires is unmatched, even when compared to other countries in the region.
At ExpatPathways, we guide you through the best ways to utilize your SUBE card, helping you travel cheap and fast. Discover how to get the most out of this indispensable tool for living and exploring Buenos Aires.
SUBE Card: Tips for Traveling Cheap and Fast in Buenos Aires
1. Load Balance Digitally
Since the SUBE card can be loaded digitally, life for Argentinians has become much easier. Previously, loading balance or credit onto the SUBE card required visiting a physical point of sale, such as a subway or train ticket booth, a store, or any other physical location.
In many cases, the old method of loading balance onto the SUBE card was a complete fiasco, either because the machine was not working, there were union measures, or simply because the person in charge didn’t feel like doing it.
For some time now, you can load the SUBE card using the NFC technology on your mobile phone by simply placing the card on your phone. In fact, you can also check the available balance and, based on that, load money instantly.
Forget about cash and physical sales points where sometimes you have to beg to get your SUBE card loaded. Remember to download the SUBE app on your mobile phone.
2. Take Advantage of Transportation Combinations
Many transportation systems in Buenos Aires share stations or intersect at some point along their routes. This means, for example, that if you want to travel on one subway line and then transfer to another, you can do so without having to pay for another trip.
This happens very often with subway lines, which explains why this mode of transport is so popular among Buenos Aires residents: for the price of a single subway ticket, you can travel on the north-south and east-west axes without even having to surface.
In other cases, you can combine different modes of transport, although you cannot avoid paying for two tickets. For example, subway and train. In these cases, there is a discount for the second trip, as long as it is made within a reasonable time frame (that is, if you travel in the morning and then at night, the discount will not apply).
In any scenario, combining modes of transportation is great for saving time and covering long distances without having to walk many blocks. This is particularly relevant when traveling at night and in certain Buenos Aires neighborhoods where safety is not as strong after dark.
3. Subway: More Trips, Lower Cost per Ticket
Just as combining transportation modes is an opportunity not only in economic terms but also in comfort and functionality, the more trips you make with the SUBE card, the lower the ticket cost. This benefit applies only to the Buenos Aires subway system.
Many foreigners who stay in Buenos Aires for several weeks are unaware of this SUBE card benefit. However, the Buenos Aires subway can take you in a few minutes from downtown Buenos Aires to distant areas in the north, west, and south of the city.
The savings from accumulating trips in the Buenos Aires subway system can reach up to 40% of the original fare.
4. Registered SUBE, Cheaper Fare
It is possible to use the SUBE card without registering it under your name. However, since the beginning of 2024, there is a more favorable fare for those who use a registered SUBE.
On the SUBE website, you can register your SUBE card under your name. In fact, SUBE cards can be purchased at any kiosk or store in Buenos Aires.
5. SUBE Card for Trains, Buses, and Subways in Buenos Aires and Other Cities
Remember that you can use the SUBE card on buses, trains, and subways in Buenos Aires. Some major cities in Argentina also use the SUBE system to pay for public transport, so having this card is beneficial from any perspective.
6. Don’t Rely on Negative Balance
The SUBE card allows you to pay fares even if you have a negative balance. This “permission” was implemented with the understanding that, in some cases, a forgetfulness or omission can play a trick on us with our travel credit.
However, the negative balance on the SUBE card has a maximum limit beyond which you will not be able to pay for more trips.
Therefore, we recommend not relying on this benefit of the SUBE card and always having enough credit available to avoid problems when boarding a bus, train, or subway in Buenos Aires.
7. Always Have Your SUBE Card Handy
There is no other way to pay for public transport in Buenos Aires. If you don’t have a SUBE card, you won’t be able to pay in any other way: not with cash nor with a debit card.
That’s why, when you start residing in Buenos Aires, we recommend carrying your SUBE card as you would any other essential document. This way, you will not only save time when paying for your ticket but also avoid forgetting it.
