Exchange Dollars/shekels/baht

[bina]

which is a better plan:

1. to exchange dollars to baht at airport

2. OR to keep the dollars, exchange the shekels at the airport, and try to exchange dollars when arriving at bf's muubaan (korat area) he doesnt really know either what is best. i wont use my atm internatl card as the rate is too high per withdrawal and we have the cash in hand and i dont think there's any atm less than an hour away from his house.

3. which is better, large dollar bills or small???

4. the third option is to exchange the shekels to dollars here in israel. its obvious that no one in his muubaan will need shekels unless they are coming to israel to work.

comments anyone???

bina

israel

[Farma]

Bina,

Compare the exchange rates. For Shekel – Baht, Shekel - $ then $ - Baht. See which works in your favour.

I’m in a neighbouring country and I find it’s better for me to change the local currency into high denomination Dollars first then change Dollars into Baht once I arrive in Thailand.

Even though it’s a double exchange, I get a better local currency to Baht exchange rate (10+% better) by first changing local currency to Dollars then to Baht.

[bina]

too true.... fortunately (for buying plane tickets) the dollar/shekel was weak. unfortunately now, for getting dollars for trip,the reverse is true.

and i never was good at math either.

[Soju]

Bina, Shekels are not really welcome anyplace in Thailand from what I can see, and even if you could find a place to exchange them, you'd likely get an awful rate. So change them to USD in Israel before you come. If you're changing them to cash, get USD 100 notes. 50 Dollar notes are also welcome. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 denominated notes will get you a less favorable rate, so don't get those.

Do not change your USD to Baht outside normal business hours, Monday to Friday as the rate you will get will likely be lower than during normal banking hours. To see what the current rates are, look at Bangkok Bank's Rates. I'd check the online rates right before you're leaving, and if possible after you arrive to be sure you're getting a good rate.

An alternative which you may want to use, depending on your situation, is travellers cheques. Travellers cheques get a better rate than cash, and I've been able to cash them even after hours and get a good rate. I'm in a similar position to you, here in Korea, where my Korean money isn't really welcome in Thailand, so I have to change first to USD. But if I change Korean Won to USD travellers cheques, I get a better rate than if I change to USD cash. And I don't pay a fee for the travellers cheques. And in Thailand I get a better rate for the travellers cheques. So all around travellers cheques are a much better deal for me than cash, but your situation may differ depending on if there is a difference for you to exchange Shekels to USD cash or USD travellers cheques, and if there is any fee for purchasing them. When cashing travellers cheques in Thailand, there is a per cheque charge, something like 30 Baht I think. So buy the largest denomination travellers cheques you can. I don't know about in Israel, but in Korea they sell $1000 denominated cheques, so very little is lost in the per cheque charge.

Regarding using an ATM, that varies a lot from bank to bank and you'd have to check first with your bank to see what exchange rate they'd use and what surcharges they have for using an ATM in Thailand. For some people it works out ok, but for a lot of people there are hidden charges that will mean using an ATM can be a very expensive method.

Edited October 17, 2006 by Soju

[bina]

soju

u answered another question that i forgot to ask.... so i will gather up all the snippets of 5 dollar bills etc and turn them in to 100$ bills

will be mostly in a dinky rinky little muu baan they havent a clue to deal with dollars i would guess. so trav. checks wont work either; will not be in big city except for short visits to do beauracracy so will stick with cash... also dont think i will be getting to the 1000 dollar level ) ; we have baht waiting for us (sinsot for me more or less) but again not much

unfortunately dont have even one baht on either of us (gave them to thai worker going back home)so will have to exchange when arriving regardless of hour.....

maybe will do some exchanges here among the guys who want cash shekels and have baht on them....

thanx

will check rates also

my mother calls shekels, monopoly money, to her, only dollars are real money.

atm's charged me a lot last time (visa internatl) this time its mastercard internat'l but again, its shekels but charged in dollars as israeli economy goes by the power of the dollar and not the euro ; this time i doubt i will be near an atm at all unless we go to korat city to see the mall or something.

[Boo]

Bina has anon got a thai bank account? If yes, do as we do, take travellers cheques, then whilst in BKK (as you will be for paperwork) change all into baht & then put into local account. If you carry cash & it gets stolen you will be screwed. I find the security of just having a thai atm takes all pressure off.

Sorry don't know about exchange rates!

[Soju]

soju

u answered another question that i forgot to ask.... so i will gather up all the snippets of 5 dollar bills etc and turn them in to 100$ bills

will be mostly in a dinky rinky little muu baan they havent a clue to deal with dollars i would guess. so trav. checks wont work either; will not be in big city except for short visits to do beauracracy so will stick with cash... also dont think i will be getting to the 1000 dollar level ) ; we have baht waiting for us (sinsot for me more or less) but again not much

unfortunately dont have even one baht on either of us (gave them to thai worker going back home)so will have to exchange when arriving regardless of hour.....

maybe will do some exchanges here among the guys who want cash shekels and have baht on them....

thanx

will check rates also

my mother calls shekels, monopoly money, to her, only dollars are real money.

atm's charged me a lot last time (visa internatl) this time its mastercard internat'l but again, its shekels but charged in dollars as israeli economy goes by the power of the dollar and not the euro ; this time i doubt i will be near an atm at all unless we go to korat city to see the mall or something.

Yes, definitely try to convert your small bills into $100 bills. One thing I forgot to mention about that is that be sure they are the newer design bills, not the very old style ones. Also I've heard that a few places don't like certain year $100 bills, specifically 1996, so avoid those. Also don't get any bills which are torn, marked up, or look too old. I think most places in Thailand are better at accepting them than in certain other countries, but better to be safe than sorry and get new crisp $100 bills which you won't have any trouble exchanging.

If the village you're going to is as small as you say, they may not have any bank to do any foreign exchange and you'll be at the mercy of getting whatever rate you can. I'd personally change my money at the airport in that circumstance. If you're talking about exchanging less than 1,000 USD, it won't really make that much difference anyways. Or depending on when you need your Baht, exchange what you'll need and leave the rest in USD, then as you need more and when you pop into the city change it there at a bank.

[sungod]

I used to work in Israel and always changed what shekels i had into $us before arriving in Bangkok. As stated above, if you are lucky enough to find somewhere that will exchange them, the rate will be terrible. Just look at the websites for the major banks here in Thailand,on most the shekel is not even listed.

Edited October 17, 2006 by sungod

[Kan Win]

Foreign Exchange Rate - KasikornBank

Hope this help you all.

[Larry]

You cant even exchange shekels at the airport in Thailand. Sad but true.

On the other hand, Israeli ATM cards (cirrus or other system on the back), work beautifully. If youre ever in Chiangmai for shabbat, contact us.

All the best

Larry and Becky

[bina]

dont think he has his own account; he always sent money home to mom as he was the single son...

larry, thank you very much, we wont go anywhere this time round; hopefully, after all the visa stuff for israel etc, we will go back to visit (two years time) and it would be nice to see virtual friends in reality...are u living there, or vacationers/part timers?

good you let me know cant exchange the shekels; will do all over to new improved dollars at the russian exchange poeple in jerusalem (just afraid i will get the counterfeit ones like some israeli girl did recently and get arrested or somthing)... and will now plow over all my old bills

will have to think about carrying the stuff though;its not like we have a lot but still...

thanx for practicle advice...

[bina]

theres a kasikorn bank 10 km from his muubaan; can i exchange american express travellers checks there for baht?

i've tried their website but couldnt find anything about that; and couldnt find info on amer. express checks (in dollars, from here in israel) etc...

that seems to be the best and safest solution.

also, since we are really tight with finances, if its in trav. checks, less tempting to start spending all around; i guess we will do one major family outing for them at our expense besides helping in daily living expenses but it is literally our last dollars/shekels on this trip so to save face, easier to have it not too convenient-- we are not ki nieow but poor and i dont like flaunting the cash/ its like the 5 dollar 100 dollar trick: if its a big bill, u never use it, if its loose change in same amount, it gets eaten, drunk and worn til u have none left w/o even noticing where it all went.

dont think its worth it to open an account just for that, and then maintain it. if its like in israel, u pay a fortune just to keep an account open, and baht is not something i want to invest in at the moment; although i am thinking of purchasing a young cow or two for future investment. SIL has cows.

[pete_r]

For changing USD to THB, I'd say your best bet is one of the bureau de change at the airport. In my humble experience they offer the same rates as the banks in Bangkok, with less paperwork (the banks usually want to keep a photocopy of your passport, which takes time). I expect the charges for travellers cheques are similar in both places too.

The kasikorn bank near your bf's house may be able to change travellers cheques, but even if they can, it's likely they will not be familiar with the procedure, so don't rely on it 100%. Get some Bahts in Bangkok, and keep some travellers for later.

Maintenance fees don't exist in Thailand, at least for a basic savings account with one of the main banks (Bangkok bank, SCB, Kasikorn...). There is no charge for opening such an account either, but if you want an ATM card for withdrawals you need to pay around 100 Bahts.

Enjoy your stay!

[bina]

thanx

word from someone living near bf's town is that the kisakorn bank doesnt know how to deal w/ exchange of anyhting...

went and bought baht, enough for the three of us to have some ready cash for airport/first few days etc. anon will deal with dollars after that.

surprisingly enough, in jerusalem, where every other shop is now a money exchange shop (used to be tourist souvenier shops, now its russian run money shops), i was told to buy baht now, since the season is starting and all the winter tourists are buying them up before they go on their packaged tours and they might not have enough!!! (what? its like cherries, in season or out of season suppley?)

thanx

bina