Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 Guys, CVB started a thread on where he should exchange money (Don Muang or LAX)....this made me wonder where most people exchange their money in BKK. Where do you exchange money? It would be useful to know locations which exchange money at good rates and which are bad. Sanukboot. [ December 29, 2001: Message edited by: SanukBoot ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 Depends on the amount.. For larger transactions (US$1,000+) I will execute these at TFB's main Ratburana Branch.. They will give you a "live" quote for round lots (of $1,000 increments).. For smaller amounts I go to either Bank of Asia/HSBC or Bangkok Bank.... all of these places don't/won't give you a lower rate for smaller bills (except the US$1 & US$5).. However, when you factor the difference in rate, multiplied by the amount of USD that is being converted the actual "savings" usually adds up to less than the taxi fare to/from the bank in the first place... --UPSer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 UPSER, Do you every exchange money from other institutiosn other than banks....such as the "black market" places.... Sanukboot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 In a word, no... Why? because if anything goes "bad" you got no recourse and you may find that you were engaging in illegal activity (without you even knowing it)... Plus, unless you are exchanging LARGE amounts of USD$ into THB it's just not worth it... I stay with the major banks in BKK.. --UPSer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 Is there really even a reason anymore to bring cash or travellers checks to LOS? Now ATM's are on about every street corner, have favorable exchange rates, are available 24/7, and you do not need to keep watch over a stack of bills/travellers cheques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 Escape Rabbit has an excellent point.. For **most** places that you go a debit/credit card will work.. this only gets "iffy" when you go upcountry... even then you really should not be toting that much cash with you.. With that said.. When I do larger exchanges I will use one of the afore mentioned places to do it.. --UPSer [ December 29, 2001: Message edited by: UPSer ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 Escape Rabbit, I never bring TC to Thailand but I will bring cash in to pay for airline tickets....I buy all airline tickets in BKK and not in HK......much cheaper... The thing with atms is correct, but I do not like to use an ATM machine in BKK and withdraw 15-30,000 Baht.....plus the max amount to withdraw at one time is 20,000 Baht... The airline tickets is the only reason i bring foriegn cash in and the rest of time i use atm machines... Sanukboot. PS Have to be careful on bringing the cash into Thailand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 SanukBoot-- That makes perfect sense.. Applying a surcharge to customers who pay with a c/c technically violates the merchant agreements of Visa/Mastercard (but not Amex)... So it makes perfect sense to aviod this "fee" by going with a pure cash transaction.. About the import of $$ into BKK.. I think you're referring to the restriction on the importation or export of BAHT into or out of the country.. Like alot of places, Thailand has some fairly tight reporting/permit requirements when it comes to the import or export of their national currency. However, according to the current customs regualtions there is no restriction/permit required for importing or exporting non-thai currencies in to or out of Thailand. The only rule is that if you IMPORT over USD$10,000 you must simply report this to customs (with copies to BOT and Anti-Money Laundering Office) --UPSer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 quote: Originally posted by UPSer: Applying a surcharge to customers who pay with a c/c technically violates the merchant agreements of Visa/Mastercard My experience is it is very normal for businesses of every kind in Thailand to add 2-4% to the bill if you pull out a Visa card. If it is against Visa/MC policy (which makes sense), it would be nice if Visa/MC did something about this. Out of principle, I've made it a policy to pay cash if I can and if not walk unless they wave the surcharge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2001 Report Share Posted December 31, 2001 SanukBoot-- Do you get a better deal on your commercial air tickets when you pay with hard currency, or do you simply avoid a "surcharge" for using your c/c?? Also, can you shed some light on your last comment about importing lots of currency? I checked my importation book for Thailand and it says that you may legally import unlimited amounts of foreign currency BUT if the amount IN AGGREGATE exceeds US$10,000 then a filing must be made with thai customs with a copy to the BOT and the Office of Anti-Money Laundering Office.. --UPSer I'm always on look for new info about thai customs (plus any of the other 37+ countries that are on my normal itinerary) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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