Currency conversion or ATM?

[Frank_Black]

With the ATM rates getting up there, would it save more money to convert foreign exchange to Thai baht or keep on using the ATM's to withdraw funds from back home? On top of what the Thai banks charge, my bank at home charges their own fee on top of that.

[cavanami]

Right now, cash is king.

 

I have used Aeon ATM and they do not charge the 150 Baht fee and give a good exchange rate.

Last Friday, I got 33.323 Baht when pull USD out of my US account.

Yahoo showed: 33.53 for the USD

Bangkok Bank showed: 33.07 for the USD

Nto sure on T/C but unless you are changing $500 T/C, then you will lose because of the fee that the LOS banks charge for each T/C.

 

[devils reject]

As an Australian resident I have found that exchanging cash in Bangkok gives me a much better deal.

The exchange rates I get in Bangkok are always higher than the ones I get from my Aussie bank.

 

Add to that the ATM fees and you're better off bringing cash over.

[Mekong]

DR,

 

Onshore v Offshore exchange rates have been discussed numerous times over the years on this board, Onshore always gives a slightly higher rate since "Hard Currency" is going direct into Thai banks.

 

Frank B

 

Bring cash and exchange in Thailand, you could also try to open a Thai bank account whilst you are here, again this is a hit and miss process (see other threads on this topic). If you do manage to get a Thai bank account then you will be able to transfer foreign currency to it for future trips when the exchange rate is in your favour.

[zen4dummies]

With the 150 baht charge and the fees my US bank charged it was costing me more than 12USD to go to the ATM and all that I could take out was the equivalent of $500 per day. I have been wiring money from my IRA/Savings account to Thailand in $10k chunks plus using the ATM but started having my entitlements deposited into my money account. I bring over the wires a bit more often but do save a lot on ATM fees. A wire transfer costs me $24US.

 

I have looked, as has a friend, and cannot find a transparent way to transfer money to Thailand. HSBC was recommended by a banking friend but they also have their charges. You can transfer with PayPal but they want a piece of the action.

 

zen

[HeartThais]

Zen, if you are transferring a lot of money regularly, you should look into an fx broker like HiFX. Their fees are very low and their rates are better than any bank rate.

[ThaiHome]

Some banks, such as BofA, will do ACH transfers to the Bangkok Bank New York branch which then sends it to your Thailand account. I think the cost is about $5.00.

TH

[cavanami]

Chase bank.

Open an online checking account and the money transfers are free.

A couple of catches...pays no interest and to do an international transfer, you have to be in the USA to initiate the transfer.

I keep the minimum in the account, $500, and when I am in the US I load the account with the funds I want to transfer, done and for free.

 

Using the Aeon ATM with my US Citibank ATM card, I incur no fees, at this time. None from Aeon and none from Citibank. Exchange is reasonable, usually 0.2 baht under the published Yahoo daily rate.