AS some one who brings cash to thailand , I have wondered, how guys change money , ie Enough to last a week, and then a few days at a time or enough to last the whole holiday
AS some one who brings cash to thailand , I have wondered, how guys change money , ie Enough to last a week, and then a few days at a time or enough to last the whole holiday
Get yourself a plastic ATM/Debit card linked to your home account. Then draw down money in 10,000 or 20,000 Baht amounts.
Expect to pay B 150 - 200 per withdrawal as banks in LoS have found another easy way to gouge foreigners.
Generally speaking, ATM exchange rates (ER) are among the best available.
Personal Opinion: I would not have large amounts of foreign and Thai cash in my wallet or my hotel room. That is just fool-hardy.
However, if you have an at-home surplus of cash and it makes sense to use it, find a SuperRich currency exchange for the highest rates.
Withdrawing cash from your home account to exchange after arrival in LoS (a) is fool-hardy, and (b) does not give the best ER.
If you shop around in your home town, the ER for Baht may be beneficial and you have Baht in your pocket when you arrive.
All ER are available on the Internet.
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arsenal (January 17th, 2017)
One of the subjects that come up regularly and is better treated in kind of a wiki. I made an attempt here:
http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/201...-exchange.html
I exchange enough for 2-3 weeks (I don't frequent areas that have exchange booths with good rates, so I have to plan my trips there in combination with other activities in the area, and I only spend about 10 kTHB per week).
Not in my case. Last time I withdraw from ATM, I lost about 2.5% compared to exchange booth (1% from 200 Baht fee for 20 kTHB withdrawal and 1.5% poor exchange rate).
That brings me back to a recommendation on a recent tread on the same subject: when I withdraw with Visa card, the transaction is shown only two days later on my bank statement (online banking, I checked immediately, following morning, evening: nothing).
Last edited by christianpfc; January 17th, 2017 at 11:47.
1) Open an account with the Bangkok Bank (the others can be a bit fussy with farangs) you will need your passport and a Thai correspondence address. You will be given an account book and a Be1st debit card on the spot.
2) Use a specialist currency transfer outfit to move funds (I use SAT Worldwide) DO NOT use a UK high street bank, unless the amount is less than £1k. They will cut a deal for you that is at the published rate, and make their money from a flat service charge.
You BACS them the funds and they forward the THB to your BB A/C
3) You then draw funds as needed from Thai ATMs - there is no 200 baht fee.
This way I get over 99% efficiency in converting GBP in my UK A/C to THB cash
fountainhall (January 17th, 2017)
Yeah our class facilitator took us to Bangkok Bank last year where it was too easy to open a savings account with a debit card. I had brought some Thai Baht for my expenses over the first few days but I had mostly Singapore Dollars which I then changed and deposited into my BB account. I did the same thing this year and changed my SGD to Thai Baht at Superrich money-changer somewbere near the night bazaar (we passed by some "lady" bars and got the obligatory "hello hansum man" 5555). They gave us better rates than those exchange kiosks you see everywhere, the money-changer that is, not the lady bars.
Yes I am a brit , and only visit twice a year for approx. 2 or 3 weeks. When I first starting coming it was trav cheques , then went onto using atm but the bank charge of 150 and the uk end charge of 2.75% for overseas use , stopped that , so now I only bring cash , and use the yellow fronted exchange shops in pattaya
To answer your original question, I know of two guys who come once a year and both bring cash to exchange. One guy just makes one exchange at beginning of his trip while the other makes exchanges as Thai Baht is needed. A lot may depend on how the exchange rate is trending, up or down.
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You can add me to that list too.
If I am on my usual December to March stay I change it as soon as I arrive.
I've noticed over the last 10 years that the amount of baht I get reduces from December onwards. It has happened every year since I've been coming.
I used to think that the Thais were doing it deliberately in high season! However I may not be far off the truth as the Baht must strength during high season.
Just look at the Baht/Pound this year since December and it's not just Brexit!
That is good advice.
Also getting over 99% is a good target.
Another way is to take a wad of £50 notes, change at one of the best currency exchange shops in town and then pay it all into your Thai bank using one of the automatic paying in machines.
On my recent trip, I got 44.95 baht to the £. The XE rate was 45.35, so I got 99.1% efficiency.
The key is to know what the best level rate is and get close to that, not throw away 2% more. Once you have a good idea where the best exchange rates can be had, it takes almost no effort.
Here is a good starting point.
https://daytodaydata.net/
As I write this today, you do not get 99% efficiency from the best places on that list , but it looks like the pound has rallied after normal Thai banking hours. I guess they will be back to competitive rates swiftly.