Understanding Currency Exchange Rates

[bat69]

I am wanting some advice on the best way to maximise our money through exchanging currency. I have a Thai gf and we are both living is Oz. She has some insurance money in Thailand which she wants to cash in. We are looking to travel to Thailand in Aug/Sept.

Firstly is it a good time now to cash in this insurance money and convert to AUD. I have looked at the websites of BOT and Bangkok bank and also local Commonwealth bank but find it very confusing about what the best option is.

Secondly, when travelling to Thailand later this year is the best way to maximise the exchange rate to take AUD cash to Thailand and get it exhanged over there because at the moment one of the banks I use in oz is only giving bt25.17 per AUD.

Bangkok Bank Exchange Rate

My uderstanding of this table is the following:

If i walked into a bangkok bank in Thailand

Bank Note Buy rate = They will buy $1AUD for bt26.68

Bank note Sell rate = They will sell $1AUD for bt 27.60

Is this correct??

TT means Telegraphic Transfer?? Is this just bank transfer? If so does this rate apply to both exchanging AUD into Baht and Baht into AUD.

I have no idea what sight bill means or the last column.

Any clarification and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[tijnebijn]

Your post should be in the business section,there are a lot of people who can tell and find a lot of information you can get your answers from.

[bat69]

Thanks for the reply. How can I move it to the business section??

[wamberal]

Work out how much money you need in Thailand in baht to spend when you are there later in the year, and leave it there in a term deposit or similar after your girlfriend cashes out her insurance policy.

The worst thing you can possibly do is exchange one currency into the other, and then exchange it back again.

TT means "telegraphic transfer". It basically means that the bank transfers the money for you, and they should be able to do it in either Thai baht or Australian dollars. You would need to get a quote on the day, because rates vary.

I do know that it is far better to send Australian dollars to Thailand by TT than it is to get your bank to buy Thai Baht here and send it by TT, but do not know about transferring Thai baht to Australia. The rates in the paper are a guide, but bear in mind that there will be bank charges as well. My bank charged me AUD25 the last time I TT'd AUD to Thailand, but the end result was still considerably better than if I had bought Thai baht here.

If you want to take relatively small amounts of cash to spend in Thailand, take Australian dollars in cash.

[khunandy]

If you want to take relatively small amounts of cash to spend in Thailand, take Australian dollars in cash.

Yes that bloody exchanging money is frustrating, whatever you do, do not buy baht when making a TT transfer, always send Aussie dollars in the transaction.

Interestingly my mate who has lived in Thailand for 15 years told me that good old Travellers Cheques (remember them) offer a better rate. I have a gold visa in Aussie and one of the perks is free travellers cheques so I gave it a bash and he was right.

On the day I cashed them I was fortunately in Phuket and was able to hop on the Motocye and pick out the best rate (and boy did it vary) from the banks. There is a Thai website that gives you all the Thai bank exchange rates for the day which is helpful.

The only hassle was that the TCs were in small ($100) demoninations and I got RSI signing 50 cheques

I now keep a stash of Travellers cheques in Thailand for emergency money until I am online for TT transfers.

Khun Andy

[bat69]

Do you know what that website is Khun Andy?

[khunandy]

Do you know what that website is Khun Andy?

Sorry mate, I was in an internet cafe in Phuket and was googling around, I wish I had saved the address and will try and find it again. If I am lucky I will post it and pm you.

It was a service from a website...happy hunting.

Khun Andy

[Ling Kae]

I would be inclined to use your g/f's insurance money for vacation purposes and just repay her later, that way you got no exchange hassles. Always TT your home currency so the bank in Thailand will exchange into baht.

[bat69]

But would it be better to change the insurance money into AUD because the baht is a lot stronger at the moment.

[wamberal]

But would it be better to change the insurance money into AUD because the baht is a lot stronger at the moment.

It costs you something every time you change currencies.

If you believe that the THB is going to depreciate in value against the AUD, then maybe you should buy some AUD with your THB from your girlfriend's insurance policy.

But you have to ask yourself this simple question: is it worth all the hassle and all the worry. IMHO keep some THB in Thailand for when you need to travel there and spend local currency, otherwise save and keep your money in the currency of the country that you intend to live in for the rest of you life.

If you plan to live in Australia, leave your money in AUD.

[Maestro]

There is a Thai website that gives you all the Thai bank exchange rates for the day which is helpful.

Do you know what that website is Khun Andy?

The larger Thai banks have a website and each bank has its own exchange rate table, similar to the one you quoted for Bangkok Bank. Rates vary only minimally from one bank to the other.

--

Maestro

[Maestro]

My uderstanding of this table is the following:

If i walked into a bangkok bank in Thailand

Bank Note Buy rate = They will buy $1AUD for bt26.68

Bank note Sell rate = They will sell $1AUD for bt 27.60

Is this correct??

TT means Telegraphic Transfer?? Is this just bank transfer? If so does this rate apply to both exchanging AUD into Baht and Baht into AUD.

I have no idea what sight bill means or the last column.

Bank notes: your understanding is correct:

TT: also known as SWIFT. Get the SWIFT code from your Thai bank, as you will need it when giving a transfer order to your bank in Australia. Like for banknotes, the Thai bank quotes a buying rate and a selling rate for TT, and the buying rate is lower than the selling rate.

Sight bill: also called bill of exchange. This is an instrument used in international trade, paying for imports. It does not apply to your situation.

--

Maestro

[bat69]

Thanks for all the posts. It has pointed me in the right direction.

[sfokevin]

But would it be better to change the insurance money into AUD because the baht is a lot stronger at the moment.

Even better rate if you stuff all the Baht into your suitcases and exchange it offshore

[peter991]

I just noticed a dramatic variation between the quoted rates. What sparked my interest was a phone call from my partner in Thailand.

My last Commonwealth Bank statement shows a conversion rate of 27.26 baht to the $AUD1 (plus a $AUD5.86 non-CBA ATM fee.

The current rate on ThaiVisa is: AUD Australian Dollar 27.356 THB

The current rate on XE.com is: 1.00 AUD = 25.4461 THB

That's a huge drop.

Who do I believe?

Peter