DFPhuket

I think WU is your only easy option if you don't have a Thai bank. While WU used to be expensive, in the past couple of years fees have gone down due to competition by other online options. Sending 100,000 THB from Thai bank to US bank with today's exchange rate would result in $2631.97 being deposited. It could be different if using cash. The other option is if you have a very trusted friend, deposit it into his/her account and use Dee Mondy. Today 100k would get you $2864.40 into your US bank. Maybe it's not worth the effort to save $33.

Assuming they are separate tickets and you have checked bags, I’d do 3+ hours. That allows some wiggle room if your first flight is delayed or immigration or baggage claim has a long queue. Check in for the second flight will close about 45 minutes before departure. the danger is if there is a mechanical or weather delay with the first flight you would lose the value of your second flight and need to buy a new last minute one.

For an iPhone, while you can have multiple eSIMs installed, only 2 can be turned on/active at the same time. I have a US and Thai eSIM but when I travel and install another eSIM for that country, I must go to cellular settings and temporarily turn off one of my other eSIMs.

It would make so much sense to have an announcement on board saying something like, "At immigration, you will be asked to show your boarding pass and passport. Please hand over both."

I expect there will be some fluctuation in prices over the next 4 months or so. I often travel around Christmas and find prices far in advance are often higher than they will be later. I'd suggest waiting a while especially since BA has announced they will restart the route. With more competition, prices may change. You can use Google Flights to set a price alert to get an automatic email sent to you when the price changes.

I've gotten into the habit of submitting an online TM30 when I return from my last trip before going for my annual extension. I have the online TM30 set up so it only take a couple of minutes. I realize that I'm not supposed to have to do that, but I'd much rather spend 5 minutes doing it at home instead of getting to immigration and being told it's missing/required.

I only use eSIMs (that's the correct name, not virtual SIM). You can have a large number of eSIMs in your phone, but at least with an iPhone only two can be turned on at any one time. They can be turned on or off under the systems > cellular settings on your phone. I currently have both a US and Thai eSIM installed, but when I travel I order an eSIM for that country from one of the many eSIM companies, install it (by scanning a QR code) before I go, and then connect to the network when I land and am still on the plane. I've used MobiMatter, Nomad and Airalo. They and similar companies all offer different country, regional and worldwide packages with different amounts of data and different validity periods. eSIMs are much easier to manage than hard SIMs.

I've been asked on American, United, Qatar, AirAsia (sometimes, in some countries but not others), and Vietnam Air (who for my friend entered his onward trip confirmation into their system). There were likely others but I travel a lot and don't really keep track. I wasn't asked on Singapore Air or Scoot.

I have a US passport and I'm on a Non-0 retirement visa. I flew into Thailand 11 times in 2023 on a one way ticket (or the second half of a round trip ticket). In 7 out of those 11 times I was asked about my onward ticket. Of course once I pointed out my re-entry permit I was ok. What's supposed to happen is that the airline's check in screen should tell the check in agent the visa and other requirements they should check, based upon the passenger's citizenship and visa status. Some are more sloppy than others.

Since you're visa exempt, you should only need to show your new passport and the biometrics/name/birthdate should match the two. I would carry your old cancelled passport with you just in case there is a question.

Regarding Vanguard's website, I was having some issues last year trying to login both with VPN and without a VPN. I cleared my cookies and since then it works fine. I'm no longer using a VPN with it and have no issues. The Vanguard app always worked on my phone so you might also try that.

The digital arrival card can be done up to 3 days in advance (similar to Singapore) and on the first entry if you go to the booth on the far right, they will take your photo/fingerprints and then you can immediately begin to use the automatic gates both to enter and leave Malaysia. The auto gate process take about 5 seconds and saves space in your passport since you don't get a stamp. I've entered Malaysia 3 times using the auto gates in the past couple of months. For each future visit, you must complete a new digital arrival card up to 3 days in advance. Then you get off the plane, go through the automatic gates and you're on your way. It's extremely fast.

Follow the exact instructions as listed on the embassy website and you'll be fine. Any omissions or mistakes will slow things down. I have a relative who is a US consular official at a different embassy. He told me that what happens is that a person in the embassy reviews your submitted details and documents. If everything is correct, the details are electronically sent to the US passport printing office in the US. Since everything has already been confirmed as accurate, the passport is printed in just a couple of days. Passports then go in the diplomatic pouch, but depending on the embassy, the pouch may only be sent weekly and their could be a lag of several days between the printing and sending. Add in some weekends and holidays and that explains why some people get their passports back in 3 weeks while others take 5 or 6 weeks.

The Bank of Thailand publishes a daily update of savings and fixed deposit interest rates for all Thai banks on their website here. The average for a one year fixed deposit is around 1.6%.

The official government site is here: https://www.evisa.gov.kh/. Fill out the form, pay with credit card, and in a few days get the visa that you print out, and then just walk straight to the immigration counter, skipping the visa on arrival counter. My US credit card (MC) was charged $36 for a visa in November. That's $6 more than getting it at the counter, but for me that small amount is worth saving the hassle of queuing up and paying at the counter.