Where To Buy Baht Whilst The Pound Has Risen?

[themikeymeister]

Hi there,

I will be holidaying in Thailand in Jan/Feb 2010 for three weeks or so, and want to get my baht now whilst the pound has risen.

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this, or an online facility that would allow me to store the money to be used for when I holiday.

Dont really fancy getting it all in cash.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

[chiang mai]

Hi there,

I will be holidaying in Thailand in Jan/Feb 2010 for three weeks or so, and want to get my baht now whilst the pound has risen.

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this, or an online facility that would allow me to store the money to be used for when I holiday.

Dont really fancy getting it all in cash.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

Somewhat risky buying THB that far ahead but if you feel it's the right thing to do, go see a broker and buy an option to buy. The only other alternative, assuming you are UK based (?) is to open a bank account in Thailand - you can do this from the UK with HSBC and potentially with Bangkok Bank in London although the latter may not work. If you already have an HSBC account, opening the Thai account will be simple and you can then transfer funds into it as needed.

[Soutpeel]

Somewhat risky buying THB that far ahead but if you feel it's the right thing to do, go see a broker and buy an option to buy. The only other alternative, assuming you are UK based (?) is to open a bank account in Thailand - you can do this from the UK with HSBC and potentially with Bangkok Bank in London although the latter may not work. If you already have an HSBC account, opening the Thai account will be simple and you can then transfer funds into it as needed.

Agree with CM, why buy so far out, and also if the money only for your 3 week holiday expenses, you are better just bringing the GDP with you and change it here ie travellers checks...

Really wouldnt go through all the hassle of opening accounts to faciltate this anywhere..

[TerraPosse]

Hi there,

I will be holidaying in Thailand in Jan/Feb 2010 for three weeks or so, and want to get my baht now whilst the pound has risen.

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this, or an online facility that would allow me to store the money to be used for when I holiday.

Dont really fancy getting it all in cash.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

Somewhat risky buying THB that far ahead but if you feel it's the right thing to do, go see a broker and buy an option to buy. The only other alternative, assuming you are UK based (?) is to open a bank account in Thailand - you can do this from the UK with HSBC and potentially with Bangkok Bank in London although the latter may not work. If you already have an HSBC account, opening the Thai account will be simple and you can then transfer funds into it as needed.

I bank with HSBC in the UK and tried to open an account with them in Thailand.  I gave up on it...to much hassle (and I doubt it's possible to do from the UK unless you're a Premier account holder) and the conditions stink too.

[Abrak]

Hi there,

I will be holidaying in Thailand in Jan/Feb 2010 for three weeks or so, and want to get my baht now whilst the pound has risen.

Can anyone recommend the best way to go about this, or an online facility that would allow me to store the money to be used for when I holiday.

Dont really fancy getting it all in cash.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

I have a vaguely practical solution that wont go too far wrong.

You have seen the pound bounce from 1.37 to around 1.66. Rather than buying baht forward which might be difficult and expensive why not switch into dollars. It is unlikely the baht will move more than about 3% over time against the dollar, so you have effectively hedged what you see as the possibility of a GBP fall.

Its not exactly what you want but it is pretty close.

Maybe someone will come up with a better idea, I am not an expert but it is easy and fairly effective.