Baht To Pound Or Keep The Baht?

[Dont Panic]

As most will be aware the pound has dropped against the baht. I will be visiting the UK shortly and something I cant get my head around is whether to change 30,000 baht into pounds or just use the pounds from my UK bank account. Despite what’s happened in the economic world I would rather keep the vast majority of my money in the UK……..but I don’t mind spending that if changing baht to pound is a waste. I’m really scratching my head on this one……….can anyone shed some light??

Cheers

[Slip]

Well I'd change money as you get a lot of pound for your baht at the mo.

No doubt someone who is cleverer than me will be along to give you the correct answer shortly.

[offset]

As most will be aware the pound has dropped against the baht. I will be visiting the UK shortly and something I cant get my head around is whether to change 30,000 baht into pounds or just use the pounds from my UK bank account. Despite what's happened in the economic world I would rather keep the vast majority of my money in the UK……..but I don't mind spending that if changing baht to pound is a waste. I'm really scratching my head on this one……….can anyone shed some light??

Cheers

Why not change half of the money then you cannot lose

[MKAsok]

If keeping GBPs are more important to you, change the baht. It's not like you're getting hammered on the exchange rate.

[machlad]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

[tattoodrob]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

its late but let me think....i live in thailand so if i change thai baht now into pound at say 56 then wait till baht goes up then sell my pound back at say when it gets to 62 then surely i have made 6 baht to a pound which is about 10 percent.....not bad if it goes up in say 3 to 6 months.....bank only gives max 3 per cent on a long term account. am i right?? ive had a few beers and only just thought of it that way

[ThaiPauly]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

My thoughts exactly

[Gary A]

Spend half and half. You won't make anything but you won't lose anything either.

[kmart]

I will be doing the same as the OP (visiting UK) soon also. I plan to exchange Baht to fund my trip due to the exchange rate... Anyone recommend the best place / exchange to buy Pounds?

[alantheembalmer]

As most will be aware the pound has dropped against the baht. I will be visiting the UK shortly and something I cant get my head around is whether to change 30,000 baht into pounds or just use the pounds from my UK bank account. Despite what's happened in the economic world I would rather keep the vast majority of my money in the UK……..but I don't mind spending that if changing baht to pound is a waste. I'm really scratching my head on this one……….can anyone shed some light??

Cheers

When you get to GB borrow any spending money from a relative or friend. That way you don't spend any of your money. Then tell them you will give them the money back, in Baht, when they visit you in Thailand. If they don't come then you are quids in. If they do come then tell them how much Baht you will give them at today's exchange rate, and then hope to God that the GBP/Baht exchange rate improves, and you are quids in again. Simple. Good luck. Alan.

[easyride]

Hardly a vast amount. I'd keep the baht.

[tattoodrob]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

its late but let me think....i live in thailand so if i change thai baht now into pound at say 56 then wait till baht goes up then sell my pound back at say when it gets to 62 then surely i have made 6 baht to a pound which is about 10 percent.....not bad if it goes up in say 3 to 6 months.....bank only gives max 3 per cent on a long term account. am i right?? ive had a few beers and only just thought of it that way

sorry to gatecrash a thread but what does anyone think of my post.......is it worth the risk of 1 mill or 500k baht??? or have i missed something,obviously if the rate goes down then i lose so has risk involved

[johnwills]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

its late but let me think....i live in thailand so if i change thai baht now into pound at say 56 then wait till baht goes up then sell my pound back at say when it gets to 62 then surely i have made 6 baht to a pound which is about 10 percent.....not bad if it goes up in say 3 to 6 months.....bank only gives max 3 per cent on a long term account. am i right?? ive had a few beers and only just thought of it that way

sorry to gatecrash a thread but what does anyone think of my post.......is it worth the risk of 1 mill or 500k baht??? or have i missed something,obviously if the rate goes down then i lose so has risk involved

Not sure the returns are worth it on a small investment 1 million baht, however the pound has dropped to 51 today, so it is cheap, but the downside is you may have to hold onto the pounds for a long time before it gets back into the 60's again. Plus you pay commission on buying and selling so you have to take that into account also. Maybe check out http://www.fxcm.com/ if you are interested in currency trading. Good Luck

[chiang mai]

Change your Pounds into US Dollar, sharpish. That way you will get a stable minimum 35 baht per dollar plus you will benefit as the Pound falls against the Dollar.

[12DrinkMore]

Change your Pounds into US Dollar, sharpish. That way you will get a stable minimum 35 baht per dollar plus you will benefit as the Pound falls against the Dollar.

NO! Change everything into GBPs and push it up!

Nobody has a clue where all this turmoil is heading. But those Scottish twits Brown and Darling are doing their level best to send the UK into an Icelandic style meltdown.

Today the "city", that bunch of overpayed, underqualified and immoral lemmings, is calling for "zero rate interest". The "terrible twins", who will go down in history as the "Men who bankrupt the UK" are trying to force more credit taking, both private and public, to get the savers to spend their savings and turn into debtors and ensure that everybody has to work until they drop dead. I honestly cannot see how the pension schemes in the UK can continue to pay out pensions in the current conditions. They must all be heading rapidly and irrecoverably into insolvency. I cannot think of a single investment that is currently generating any profit. So a policy of "keep 'em in work until they die" is possibly the only option left.

I really cannot see any light at end of this tunnel.

Please give me some hope!

[torrenova]

It is only £500 so it doesn't matter. 1% change is £5 or just over a pint in London. Leave the baht and spend pounds. Now if it was £30,000 you'd put your thinking cap on but for beer money, nah.

[tattoodrob]

I guess the question is what will you be doing when you return to Thailand.

It may be in your favour now to exchange Baht to GBP, but when you return to Thailand will you then be exchanging your savings of GBP back into Baht? if so you could be worse of then, if your changing money twice I dont think you could be onto a winner unless the exchange rate changes dramatically before your return.

its late but let me think....i live in thailand so if i change thai baht now into pound at say 56 then wait till baht goes up then sell my pound back at say when it gets to 62 then surely i have made 6 baht to a pound which is about 10 percent.....not bad if it goes up in say 3 to 6 months.....bank only gives max 3 per cent on a long term account. am i right?? ive had a few beers and only just thought of it that way

sorry to gatecrash a thread but what does anyone think of my post.......is it worth the risk of 1 mill or 500k baht??? or have i missed something,obviously if the rate goes down then i lose so has risk involved

Not sure the returns are worth it on a small investment 1 million baht, however the pound has dropped to 51 today, so it is cheap, but the downside is you may have to hold onto the pounds for a long time before it gets back into the 60's again. Plus you pay commission on buying and selling so you have to take that into account also. Maybe check out http://www.fxcm.com/ if you are interested in currency trading. Good Luck

thanks for link.

no commision to pay when changing at banks here(thailand)...what they buy and what they sell for are the exact rates they advertise to customers. i understand its not a great investment but if it pays double the bank rate then its better than leaving it there and hopefully it will improve enough within 6 months...i hope .

thanks for input.

[Rinrada]

It is only £500 so it doesn't matter. 1% change is £5 or just over a pint in London. Leave the baht and spend pounds. Now if it was £30,000 you'd put your thinking cap on but for beer money, nah.

Depends on where and wot you imbibe...

My local ( North London ) and its not a Weatherfork pub does a Light and Bitter (pint ) for £1-75 and the other night I was 'Up West' near the Circus ...Anglo-Thai 'Do' ...where I had a couple of pints of good old Sam Smiths Lager for £1-99...(lov-lay Yorkshire outfit)

Anyone who is getting charged more than 100 baht a pint..anywhere .in the world is getting RIPPED OFF...right...

[ps21]

I am getting my stash of UK money out of pounds tout-de-suite. From what I have read we can expect virtually zero interest rates at some point in 2009 and the titanic borrowing by Darling and Brown may also cause huge sterling problems. Worse still and this is the coming calamity! - the Fed have said they are going to start 'quantative easing' - this is econo speak for printing money to prevent a Japanese style deflation - the UK will follow suite - it will have little choice. The B of E can create unlimited amounts of money and it may start using this power very soon (you may notice they don't mention their inflation targets any more) - over a pretyy short period of time this could substantially reduce the value of our savings (and our ability to keep living the good life). I am now buying gold coins and Sing dollars - they dont pay interest either but at least I will have something left when all of this is over.

[spiderman2]

I am getting my stash of UK money out of pounds tout-de-suite. From what I have read we can expect virtually zero interest rates at some point in 2009 and the titanic borrowing by Darling and Brown may also cause huge sterling problems.

If you had transfered your Pounds 9 months ago id have commended you, but doing it when its at such a low is hardly going to make you rich.

If the UK economy was the only one in such a position id vaguely understand you panic, but havent you seen whats happening to nations who use Euros, US Dollars, Yen, AUD, CND etc etc......

As for virtually zero interest rates this will mean many companies pouring money into the UK economy as they can borrow at such good rates hence more money backing the UK economy making Sterling stronger.

[Kerryd]

Personally, knowing I would be returning to Thailand in the (near) future, I would keep the baht. I generally make sure whenever I leave that I have a quantity of cash on me for the return, to cover little problems like exchange booths being closed, ATMs broken/out of money, airports seized by protesters, bus is broken and have to take a taxi instead, and so on.

I try to make sure I have enough to get me through 3-4 days at least, though it hasn't been a problem in the last few years.

[mommysboy]

Change your Pounds into US Dollar, sharpish. That way you will get a stable minimum 35 baht per dollar plus you will benefit as the Pound falls against the Dollar.

NO! Change everything into GBPs and push it up!

Nobody has a clue where all this turmoil is heading. But those Scottish twits Brown and Darling are doing their level best to send the UK into an Icelandic style meltdown.

Today the "city", that bunch of overpayed, underqualified and immoral lemmings, is calling for "zero rate interest". The "terrible twins", who will go down in history as the "Men who bankrupt the UK" are trying to force more credit taking, both private and public, to get the savers to spend their savings and turn into debtors and ensure that everybody has to work until they drop dead. I honestly cannot see how the pension schemes in the UK can continue to pay out pensions in the current conditions. They must all be heading rapidly and irrecoverably into insolvency. I cannot think of a single investment that is currently generating any profit. So a policy of "keep 'em in work until they die" is possibly the only option left.

I really cannot see any light at end of this tunnel.

Please give me some hope!

Looking at the pound it's insanely undervalued. UK is just taking it's count that's all. Even now it's adjusting to a deep recession.

Looking at the bt it's insanely overvalued. Thailand is only just entering the downturn and has been downgraded. What chance this lot rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done?

As one poster pointed out it may be worth buying pounds at the moment and cashing them in when the exchange rate capitulates as it surely will and maybe by 30% or more over a longer period. But IMHO any form of investment involving Thailand has the potential to go belly up in the most extraordinary and unpredictable way so beware.

[mommysboy]

Change your Pounds into US Dollar, sharpish. That way you will get a stable minimum 35 baht per dollar plus you will benefit as the Pound falls against the Dollar.

That's plain daft. The pound has already fallen 30% or more against the dollar and over the medium term can only go up. If you'd have given this advice 6 months ago it would have been great. Your advice is like advising someone to buy a house right at the top of a boom.

[Maizefarmer]

Change - the Pound is close to a record low against many currencies and the Baht is close to a record high.

The Baht is almost certainly going to turn round (and quite dramaticly so I think) sometime over the next year or so - as we will see with ALL South Asian currencies as the effects of Western economic downturn start to impact on Asia and it's manufacturing based economies.

Its just starting now to kick in in China now.

While its impossible to predict exactly how low the Pound will go and how high the Baht will go, we are pretty much near the limits for both, and while there may be further movement, I can't see it been so much as to significantly change what you are going to get at the moment as to make it worth hanging onto much longer. Change it now - and if you're down in the 3rd quater of next year I'll give you the differance.

...and for those of you who have Sterling - hang on it: this time next year you're going to get a lot more Baht than you will now.

[mistresserika]

As most will be aware the pound has dropped against the baht. I will be visiting the UK shortly and something I cant get my head around is whether to change 30,000 baht into pounds or just use the pounds from my UK bank account. Despite what's happened in the economic world I would rather keep the vast majority of my money in the UK……..but I don't mind spending that if changing baht to pound is a waste. I'm really scratching my head on this one……….can anyone shed some light??

Cheers

Keep the baht if your coming back.

What with the pound falling to 1.11 to the euro, it's probably a strategy to join the euro when it's 1 to 1.

Then you'll only get 45/46 baht to the pound/euro.

[churchill]

Why do you think the UK will join the Euro - There would need to be a referendum and I would say virtually No chance .

I also think that the Baht is at a high level and pound at a low and think it probable that the pound will be gaining against the baht next year from these levels .

[mistresserika]

Why do you think the UK will join the Euro - There would need to be a referendum and I would say virtually No chance .

I also think that the Baht is at a high level and pound at a low and think it probable that the pound will be gaining against the baht next year from these levels .

Hope you're right churchill, but I seem to remember reading that when the UK decimalized in 1971, there wasn't a referendum. Maybe going euro would warrant a referendum, maybe it wouldn't!!

[soundman]

Moved to banking forum.

[churchill]

A lot in the UK still haven't accept decimalization , pints , lbs , stone , feet , miles etc etc

but I am sure converting to the euro would require a referendum .

[loverboy44]

If you think like this you should invest in the US and not in the Uk because the prices there are far more down.

The UK didn't reach the bottom yet.