It has long been known that the bank booths at Suvarnabhumi airport are not the best place to change money.  Many of us know that by simply going down to the basement at Suvarnabhumi, you can get a much better rate than the banks upstairs are offering. I would suggest however, that most tourists are unaware of this.

 

However, on my last entry (late October) I found that Kasikorn Bank has opened an exchange right next door to Super Rich down in the basement and were actually offering a better rate than their neighbour.  But, when you see the Kasikorn booths upstairs offering 36.45 baht for a UK £ and the one downstairs offering 38.65 - the tourist rip off becomes clear.

The rates at airports whether upstairs or basement are usually poor anywhere in the world.

 

It's best to go to downtown where the rates are much better.

 

Have you traveled much ?

Every airport exchange booth practically in the world gives very poor rates.

Most with travel experience and common sense have figured this out.

14 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Have you traveled much ?

Every airport exchange booth practically in the world gives very poor rates.

Most with travel experience and common sense have figured this out.

Read my post properly. Yes, I travel a lot and I did say that the airport booths are known to give poor rates. Its the fact that the same bank, is giving different rates just a few floors down that I object to.

18 minutes ago, EricTh said:

The rates at airports whether upstairs or basement are usually poor anywhere in the world.

 

It's best to go to downtown where the rates are much better.

 

You need to read my post properly to appreciate my point.

It is a service. They pay more rent and have higher overhead for high traffic areas. 

Banks in general give a poor exchange rate compared to the private brokers. But why say it is a scam the rates are posted in view people can decide what they want to do.

5 minutes ago, moe666 said:

Banks in general give a poor exchange rate compared to the private brokers. But why say it is a scam the rates are posted in view people can decide what they want to do.

Because most tourists up in the arrivals hall would have no idea that they just a few hundred meters away they can get a much better rate from the same bank.

 

I should have known better than to post on this forum!

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

Because most tourists up in the arrivals hall would have no idea that they just a few hundred meters away they can get a much better rate from the same bank.

 

I should have known better than to post on this forum!

No no, please keep posting so I can marvel at someone who is surprised by what banks do in the pursuit of profit.

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

No no, please keep posting so I can marvel at someone who is surprised by what banks do in the pursuit of profit.

More disappointed than surprised. Thailand keeps on reporting a depressed tourism market yet allows this kind of thing to go on. They clamp down on other areas where tourist get ripped (or at least say they will) yet allow what in my opinion is a blatant rip off.

 

Most members here will be fully aware of where they can get the best exchange rates - judging by the queues I see at some bank booths in arrivals, a lot of tourists aren't.

 

 

Just now, KhaoYai said:

More disappointed than surprised. Thailand keeps on reporting a depressed tourism market yet allows this kind of thing to go on. They clamp down on other areas where tourist get ripped (or at least say they will) yet allow what in my opinion is a blatant rip off.

 

Most members here will be fully aware of where they can get the best exchange rates - judging by the queues I see at some bank booths in arrivals, a lot of tourists aren't.

 

 

You have not seen a ripoff until you go to an exchange counter in any Australian airport. The staff should be wearing masks.

Most TV posters are long-term residents, and know where to get the best deals. Tourists remind me of the aphorism that the art of taxation is ideally like the art of plucking a goose - getting the maximum amount of feathers for the minmum amount of hissing.

sorry OP but it's general knowledge, to any experienced traveler, that airports are one of the worst places to exchange money, it has nothing to do with thailand it is the same in many/most countries. banks also generally offer worse rates than ForEx booths. o worked out at a very early age only to enter a country with the money i needed for the first few hours or first day. so, yes it's a rip off but one that is easily avoided. as the thais love to say; up to you.

I use my atm card.    no hassel 

This thread has confirmed a long standing suspicion I have had that people do not even know what an actual scam is anymore.

5 hours ago, samsensam said:

sorry OP but it's general knowledge, to any experienced traveler, that airports are one of the worst places to exchange money

Another one missing my point. I am fully aware that airports are not the best place to exchange money - as I think are most tourists. However, the rates are usually better than they would get in their home countries so many wait until they get to Thailand to change some cash - and they may need a reasonable amount for immediate expenses. What they will not be aware of is that at least one of the banks offering a poor rate in the airport is offering 2 baht more a couple of hundred meters away.

5 hours ago, surangw said:

I use my atm card.    no hassel 

Except for the 200 baht fee applied to most foreign cards - which is what a tourist will have.

5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Most TV posters are long-term residents, and know where to get the best deals.

The title of this thread is Banks Ripping off Tourists.

13 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

The title of this thread is Banks Ripping off Tourists.

At this point, I'd suggest a cup of tea, a Bex, and a good lie down. You seem to be getting grouchy.

You are not a tourist yourself, and neither am I. Why should either of us care?

If you are going to run a crusade, you will need followers. TripAdvisor would appear to be a better vehicle to get them.

6 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Read my post properly. Yes, I travel a lot and I did say that the airport booths are known to give poor rates. Its the fact that the same bank, is giving different rates just a few floors down that I object to.

Petrol stations in the UK do the same.

 

A stand alone BP station will charge more than one next to a super market filling

station. If they charged more no-one would go there.

 

 

It's not a rip off and certainly not something to be upset about, when I fly in I have a few 

thousand baht and, shudder, sterling, which I change away from the airport.

 

Common sense really, there are plenty of travel sites on the web to advise.

 

Yes I did read the OP and it seems that you spent a ridiculous amount of time comparing

exchange rate booth prices up and down 4 levels of an international airport.

 

Funny to see the OP's awakening as to how the world of commerce and competition works I wonder how he fares back home. Buy petrol in the UK on a motorway and the price increases by up to 29p per litres, a short distance down the road in the nearby town it's 29p cheaper. How do tourists who visit the UK feel about, are they being ripped off? Sure they are, just like citizens are but it's only the uninformed, naive or lazy ones.

8 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

You need to read my post properly to appreciate my point.

Noooo, don't say that, coz if 'they' do 'they' wouldn't be able to make snitty comments.

 

 

Bear in mind that most  tourists arrive with no Thai Baht and have to change money just to get a taxi and if after 5 or night time where else can they get money ?

The biggest bank extortion racket is being in bed with immigration forcing hundreds of retirees...take a guess of how many.. to have accounts of 800000 baht getting 2% interest and then lending it out a 7/8% to condo and car buyers. Try calculating several hundred times 800 k to see the enormous rip of. Make sure your calculator has lots of Zeroes.

the bigger surprise is the very good rates available in the basement

Different management. Boots in the airport fall under AoT regulations and thus charge a different rate. Boots in the basement fall under BMT regulations and thus can charge out of airport rates.

For somebody who traveled a lot you should have to know: renting a place at the arrival floor is much much cheaper as renting in a cellar where only people what traveled a lot and with some knowledge comes.

It's not a scam and there is no rip-off,. Every rate is clearly advertised, no one has to use the airport services.

 

If you really believe there's a scam and a rip-off going on then you have to concede also that every other exchange facility anywhere that is not offering a rate as favourable as the cheapest one is a scam and a rip-off also.

17 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Because most tourists up in the arrivals hall would have no idea that they just a few hundred meters away they can get a much better rate from the same bank.

 

I should have known better than to post on this forum!

You make a post that any savvy traveler knows about  and get called out on it. Such is life. Why so negative? How about a thread that simply says. Hey travelers be aware you can get a much better rate of exchange from XXX bank by simply going to the kiosk downstairs rather than in the arrival hall.  I would have thanked you for that, as I only knew of Super Rich downstairs.   Negativity breed contempt is true...????

11 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Another one missing my point. I am fully aware that airports are not the best place to exchange money - as I think are most tourists. However, the rates are usually better than they would get in their home countries so many wait until they get to Thailand to change some cash - and they may need a reasonable amount for immediate expenses. What they will not be aware of is that at least one of the banks offering a poor rate in the airport is offering 2 baht more a couple of hundred meters away.

Are you sick of beating your head against a brink wall yet. Reading comprehension is not a strong suit on TV lol

40 minutes ago, johnmcc6 said:

The biggest bank extortion racket is being in bed with immigration forcing hundreds of retirees...take a guess of how many.. to have accounts of 800000 baht getting 2% interest and then lending it out a 7/8% to condo and car buyers. Try calculating several hundred times 800 k to see the enormous rip of. Make sure your calculator has lots of Zeroes.

Last I read there were approximately 75K retirees in Thailand so the actual jumpers would be interesting to see.
Do you think the banks on your home country don’t do exactly what you just described, what’s the difference?