Transferring U.s. Dollars From Thailand To U.s. Via Traveler's Checks (Problems Anyone?)

[newbegin4]

I am a U.S. citizen. My Thai wife and I are thinking about converting her Thai baht savings to U.S. dollars (actually buying U.S. dollar Traveler's Checks) and then cashing them back in the States upon our arrival this summer.

I've been living here several years and my employer transfers money to our Thai account. Unfortunately, I never kept open a U.S. bank account so there is no convenient way to send money back the other way.

Now that we are planning to resettle back in the States, we would like to convert her savings in baht to U.S. Dollars (good time for the exchange rate) now, then physically bring the dollars (i.e. via Traveler's Check) with us back to the States at which point we could open a new a bank account and deposit the funds.

I haven't heard of anyone using Traveler's Checks in many years. Assuming these instruments are still available (and can be purchased in Thailand), are there are any 'gotchas' that we should be aware of (i.e. legalities, hidden costs, or other pitfalls)?

Thanks all!

[Pib]

Don't know if there will be a monetary limit of traveler cheques you can buy (probably is otherwise this would provide an unlimited way to flow funds out of the country), but there will be an approx 1% of check value plus 3 baht fee for each cheque when buying them from a Thai bank. For example see this Bangkok Bank Link for their traveler cheque selling fees. And of course there might be a small fee in the U.S. when cashing them at a bank but I expect the great, great majority of fees would be on the Thailand end.

[isawasnake]

I would definitely explore other options. I dont know how much nerve you have, but 100 dollar bills are so "small" (relative to denomination). I think people are WAY too paranoid about carrying cash. There is very little risk with carrying large amounts of money if you do it properly; a Thai bank is more apt to go under than losing that money for example. There are limits you can carry too of course. Anyway, I need to do this also so i'll be curious to see other responses. Myself, I am just not into losing money for effectively nothing.

Edited February 13, 2013 by isawasnake

[Gonsalviz]

USD $10,000 and up must be declared according to the law..

[newbegin4]

USD $10,000 and up must be declared according to the law..

And who do we make such declarations too? I understand that we must declare to the U.S. authorities upon arrival, but do we have to make such declarations to any Thai authorities upon departure?

Also we may have a layover in Japan, Korea or Hong Kong along the way back (and staying a few days as a mini-vacation). Does anybody know if we would need to declare to these governments?

[Pib]

USD $10,000 and up must be declared according to the law..

And who do we make such declarations too? I understand that we must declare to the U.S. authorities upon arrival, but do we have to make such declarations to any Thai authorities upon departure?

Also we may have a layover in Japan, Korea or Hong Kong along the way back (and staying a few days as a mini-vacation). Does anybody know if we would need to declare to these governments?

Regarding the layovers, since you are not actually entering the countries (i.e., going through their customs to roam the streets of the country) but instead kept in the airport controlled layover areas/gages then there shouldn't be any requirement to declare anything....and no one should be handing you a customs form at those layover locations. I know I've never been required to go through customs at a layover point....but you might go through some extra security screening depending on the next destination of your flight like if the next stop is entering the U.S.

[onlycw]

You could buy a USD check drawn on an American bank like J.P. Morgan CHASE, BofA, WFC etc. Krungsri - Bank of Ayudhya sells such checks for a few hundred Baht. TCs have a 1% fee - way too much for my liking.

You need to declare foreign holdings next time you file a tax return - and send the form to an address in MI. (Am too lazy to look up the form's name).

Thai banks sometimes ask for paperwork like a form for tha Bank of Thailand.

I have been using www.currencyonline.com and they have their THB account in New Zealand.

[Microwave]

I've bought $US travelers cheques to get money out of Thailand. I suggest buying cheques from various banks/branches instead of buying all of the cheques at one bank branch as there used to be a limit as to how much a person could buy at some bank branches. I bought travelers cheques at various banks in the Silom area. If you're staying over for holiday in any of the countries you mentioned, simply cash some of the travelers cheques for use for your holiday. Keep the cheques with you while traveling, perhaps using one of those neck holders for cash and passports.

When you arrive in the U.S. (or any other country along the way) don't declare that you have more than $US10,000. I don't think that one has to declare the amount of cash you're bringing into any of the countries you mentioned, but I'm not certain. If you can buy cheques in amounts of $US500/cheque, then you won't have a thick wad of cheques. You'll have no problem opening a bank account in the U.S. using travelers cheques.

Fyi, I transited Shanghai (from Bangkok to Toronto) just before Christmas and was forced to go through immigration and customs, then grab my luggage, turn right around and exit China. Fortunately my plane to Toronto from Shanghai was delayed, so I was able to catch my flight. I reckon that the Chinese officials wanted to get a concrete number of transit passengers in Shanghai's Pudong airport to determine landing fees. No other airport in China requires transit passengers to go through immigration and actually enter the country and then turn right around and leave the country. So now I have a China stamp on my passport...

Have a safe trip, you'll be fine!

[craigt3365]

Please don't supply inaccurate information. If you have more than 10,000 USD, between you and your travel partner, you MUST report it. You won't be taxed on it, but it needs to be reported. If caught without reporting it, the fines can be huge.

http://www.customsandinternationaltradelaw.com/2012/01/articles/customs-1/currency-seizure/can-i-bring-in-more-than-10000-to-the-united-states-when-travelling/

On a side note, reporting requirements are not limited to cash dollars. The same requirements apply for various monetary instruments, including foreign currency, traveler’s checks, domestic or foreign bank notes, securities or stocks in bearer form.

[Pib]

Yea, don't report you are carrying more than $10,000 into the U.S...take that chance...with my luck I know how that bet would probably work out--I'd be hiring an attorney.