Exchange baht to dollars - in U.S. or in Thailand?

[loofa]

Hey all,

we have been living and working in Thailand and are thinking about what we will do with money when we go back to the U.S. Is it best to carry cash baht back to the U.S. and exchange it there or is it better to do the exchanging in Thailand? Or is there something I'm not thinking of?

Many thanks for any kind input

[Pib]

Exchange your baht before you leave Thailand as outside of Thailand the Thai baht is not used by anyone (except maybe somewhat in neighboring countries) and is considered a minor currency. It's just not a major world currency and little to no demand for the baht exists outside of Thailand. You should get at least a 3 percent better exchange rate within Thailand.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

[dddave]

Germane to this topic; what is the currency limit for exiting Thailand; the standard US$10,000? Actually, is it a limit or just a point at which it must be declared?

[sas_cars]

Exchange your baht before you leave Thailand as outside of Thailand the Thai baht is not used by anyone (except maybe somewhat in neighboring countries) and is considered a minor currency. It's just not a major world currency and little to no demand for the baht exists outside of Thailand. You should get at least a 3 percent better exchange rate within Thailand.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

I second that. You'll usually always get a much better exchange rate of a minor currency in their home countries. This not only applied to thai baht, but all other minor currencies.

[loofa]

Thanks so much!

As for the question about how much you can bring into the states, it says here that you can bring any amount, but over $10,000 you have to declare and fill out a specific form.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/195/kw/carrying%20cash%20in%20excess%20$10,000/related/1/suggested/1

[Naam]

Germane to this topic; what is the currency limit for exiting Thailand; the standard US$10,000? Actually, is it a limit or just a point at which it must be declared?

-in/out any currency value USD 20,000

-out Thai Baht to neighbouring countries limit 500,000

-out Thai Baht to non-neighbouring countries limit 50,000

[stoli]

Thanks so much!

As for the question about how much you can bring into the states, it says here that you can bring any amount, but over $10,000 you have to declare and fill out a specific form.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/195/kw/carrying%20cash%20in%20excess%20$10,000/related/1/suggested/1

I second this. You can take into the US $4,000,000 if you wish, you just have to declare and fill out the correct paperwork. It is after all, your money.

[USNret]

Your best bet is to sell your excess baht to someone in Thailand that has dollars & wants baht. Then you both end up getting a better deal than you would each get at a bank.

[Pib]

Exchange your baht before you leave Thailand as outside of Thailand the Thai baht is not used by anyone (except maybe somewhat in neighboring countries) and is considered a minor currency. It's just not a major world currency and little to no demand for the baht exists outside of Thailand. You should get at least a 3 percent better exchange rate within Thailand.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

Let's use an example. Let's say you leave Thailand with 100,000 baht hid in your underwear and then you walk into a Bank of America branch to exchange that baht to dollars. You can use this BoA currency exchange webpage/calculator to determine the dollars they will give you for your baht. At this moment in time the branch would give you $2,876 for your smelly 100,000 baht. However, if you had exchanged your baht to dollars at a Bangkok Bank branch at this moment in time using their current 32.46 baht/USD "Selling Rate" they would given your $3,080. Other Thai banks would have had a very similar rate, give or take a few stang per dollar.

Or said another rate the BoA Selling Rate is 34.77 baht/USD (i.e., number of baht you must pay to buy one dollar) compared to Bangkok Bank Selling Rate of 32.46. In the case of "selling" your baht to buy another currency a lower rate is better.

That over a 7% better exchange rate from baht to dollars by exchanging in Thailand. Exchange your baht back to your home country currency in Thailand; not in your home country.

[ichingguy]

I had a friend who sold his stuff here and had his money in Thai account; when he returned to USA he went to the atm machine in a US bank and withdrew the limit; around 500$ each day till his Thai account was dry

[loofa]

Thanks for the idea ichingguy, but wouldn't this just be the U.S. bank's exchange rate?

[Pib]

I had a friend who sold his stuff here and had his money in Thai account; when he returned to USA he went to the atm machine in a US bank and withdrew the limit; around 500$ each day till his Thai account was dry

Thanks for the idea ichingguy, but wouldn't this just be the U.S. bank's exchange rate?

The guy's friend would have had to be using the debit card issued by his Thai bank. Like most debit cards, whether they are debit cards issued by Thai banks, U.S. Banks, European banks, etc) the card issuing bank usually applies a foreign transaction/currency conversion fee and possibly a flat fee charge. And the debit cards would get the Visa or MasterCard exchange rate, probably not the U.S. bank's exchange rate for Thai baht when in cash.

Using the Thai bank issued debit card you would get the Visa/MasterCard exchange rate (depending which logo is on the card) with a X-percent currency conversion/foreign transaction fee(s) applied by the Thai bank....plus a fee of $2-$5 use fee by the U.S. ATM you are using....like how Thai bank ATMs charge Visa foreign cards Bt150 and Mastercard foreign cards Bt180. Now if the guy's friend had a "no foreign transaction fee" Thai bank debit card there would be no fees applied other than the U.S. bank ATM use fee, but I know of no Thai banks that issue such no foreign transaction fee debt/credit cards....like most (not all) card issuing banks they like collecting foreign transaction fees since many customer don't understand them or maybe even notice the charge....so sad.

Example: if the guy's friend was using the Bangkok Bank Visa Be1st debit card he would have got the Visa exchange rate minus a 2.5% fee plus another Bt100 flat fee plus a U.S. ATM use fee of say $5. This is typical for Thai bank debit cards, not just Bangkok Bank cards, when used for cash withdrawals/purchases outside of Thailand. Below is a cut and paste from this Bangkok Bank webpage when clicking on the sublink titled "Quick and Easy Withdrawal". Since the guy was withdrawing $500 (approx. Bt15K) per day I expect the card has a daily withdrawal limit of 15,000 baht/500 USD when outside of Thailand which is also typical for U.S. debit cards which usually have a $300, $500, or $1000 daily cash withdrawal limit. So, the guy's friend doing daily $500 withdrawals would have been hit with a 2.5% fee or $12.50 plus the Bt100 or $3.12 flat fee from Bangkok Bank plus the U.S. bank ATM use fee of say $5 for a fee total of $20.62 which equates to 4.1% in fees.

Your Be1st Visa Debit card can be used just like an ATM card. You can withdraw cash or use it to make a transaction at a Bangkok Bank Bualuang ATM or other ATM participating in the ATM pool in Thailand. You can also withdraw cash from any ATM anywhere in the world where you see the PLUS or VISA logo.

When making payments or withdrawing cash overseas with your Be1st Visa Debit card, the amount will be converted to Thai Baht based on Visa's normal exchange rates with a conversion charge added which will not exceed 2.5% of the exchange rate applied. Cash withdrawals will be charged a flat fee of 100Bt.

[loofa]

Pib, I just want to send you an extra thank you for your extra effort responses khup khun maak khaa