Originally Posted by
maltasr
For anyone who is interested, I executed the Dollar to Dong exchange today in La Jolla. For $252.88 plus a $7.95 service charge (a total of $260.83), I received 3,750,000.00 Dong. Can anyone provide me feedback on the fairness of the exchange? It's actually quite a bit less Dong than I had expected. For me, it really was not worth schlepping around jewelry shops in HCMC to receive a better rate. On the other hand, I am curious about how much I could have saved by shopping around once I got there. I do hope this will be of use to other travelers to Vietnam.
vu0219 already provided that answer. He stated "the going rate at the jewelry stores in VN is ~1,830,000.00 VND per $100.00. USD". So getting 3,750,000.00 Dong in Saigon would have cost you ~$205 USD. Therefore you were overcharged ~$55 USD on the exchange. The rate at the airport would be somewhat less but not allot less. Therefore figure you paid $30-$40 extra plus your time, for getting in your car and schlepping to La Jolla rather than taking an extra 2 minutes and exchanging at the airport or using an ATM on arrival.
As for why jewelery stores? There is a history in Viet Nam over the last 40 years or so of people with large amounts of money in banks suddenly loosing all their wealth overnight. Therefore many Vietnamese do not trust banks and put their faith in gold. That gold chain around some womans neck may well be the families savings account. Gold shops therefore often fill the role as banker in buying and selling gold and currency exchange falls right in with that business.