Currency question
 

Hi

Apologies if this has been answered in the sticky thread but I couldn't find it (maybe it's worth having a wiki for an FAQ section or something to make finding common questions easier?).

Anyway, I am visiting HK and Macau for the first time (then later onto Singapore).

When I usually travel to the Middle East, I usually change around £50-100 from the airport so that I have enough for the taxi to the hotel and food etc. I then exchange more when I get to my destination with more favourable exchange rates.

Would the same apply in HK?

If so, whereabouts can I get the best rate? I will be staying at the Sheraton in TST.

I will be visiting Macau for a day. I've heard many retailers accept HKD - is this true? If not, again, where can I get the best rate?

Thanks!

The exchange places at the airport are expensive; best to use an ATM there.

There are reasonable and fair cubbyhole exchange places throughout Hong Kong, but on basic principle I would not use any in TST. Not to say you'll get ripped off there (and not elsewhere), but the likelohood is greater. Look for "No Commission" and check the posted rate carefully:there can be a big difference.

Yes, in Macau you can use HKD at par with pataca, though make sure you get HKD in return. If you're spending a great deal, there's a small advantage in changing to pataca first. Of course, the reverse does not hold true in Hong Kong.

Thanks.

Do you have any exchange places that you can recommend?

I heard the places inside Chungking Mansions etc should be no go areas for currency, is that right?

I've never changed money in TST. It's more a matter of bad reputation than anything else.

You can head up to Mongkok or over to Causeway Bay or just about any major shopping area: there are plenty of small exchange places around. Most cater to Mainland visitors and post RMB/HKD rates in the window, but they also do USD/HKD. Rates are almost always posted on the back wall, so it's not hard to eyeball two or three shops and get a feel for the right rate. As I said, there are a small number of shops known for rip-off rates -- usually the spiffiest-looking ones -- so check the posted rates very carefully.

Banks will charge fees and are not worth the hassle.

I'd say prejudice more than reputation. The rip offs happen in the camera shops.

Why go so far when TST has places with the best rates.
Try Chungking Mansions, 1/F, Pacific exchange. Do not change outside banking hours for the best rates. Also in Mirador Mansions on G/F are a few changers with good rates.
Exception: Best rates for RMB exchanges are on and around Cleverly Street in Sheung Wan near the Macau Ferry terminal.

For an idea what the spreads should look like on that day, check here
http://bcel1985.blogspot.de/

Also, if you plan on gambling, note that gambling in Macau is denominated in HKD, not the local pataca currency. For this reason, ATMs in casinos will dispense HKD (or perhaps give you a choice of HKD or pataca - I can't remember).

There are pataca chips playable at some places on some tables.

I'd say just use an ATM at the airport and then as needed throughout your trip. You don't need to change any in advance in the UK. You could spend an hour shopping around to save 1-2% on the rate, but is that really a good use of your time?

Thanks all.

So many varied responses! I'll take a look at them all properly and decide what to do, but it's definitely given me some 'direction'.

Chung King Mansions in TST has some of the best if not best exchange rates in HK for tourists.

Chungking not only has decent rates, but the exchange booths also are willing to exchange a wider variety of currencies.

I also recall finding decent places within a 10-minute walk of Shun Tak Centre (but not in it).

+1 for Currency Exchange in Chungking Mansions.

Avoid the two booths at the entrance and go deeper in. I tend to use KSME Currency exchange

http://www.ksme.hk/

Can these CKM places really beat ATM/credit card rates by more than, say, 2%? I really don't understand the rationale for using them unless they can... Given that these days you should be able to get 1% at least back on credit card spending through miles etc then you only need cash for the things that need cash. Which is taxis and a few low end food joints (and Octopus cards for non-residents). I simply don't see the justification for using them for people who have credit cards and aren't in a situation where they have to spend in cash.

For high-stakes gambling I get it, but not otherwise. Please could someone explain (with examples)?

Any advice as to RMB for a day trip to Shenzhen? I only need petty cash for metro, meals, admission fees and maybe a bit of small time shopping at Luohu. I guess I need enough for my family to pay for the visa on arrival too... is there a suggested source for this in HKG?

Just use those same hole-in-the-wall places, and check two or three places beforehand to insure you're getting the market rate.

Are you Canadian? If so, check the current charge for a five-day visa at Luohu for Canadians. With the new 10-year visa, China seems to be charging Canadians about US$100 for a visa no matter the length of the visa. It would not be surprising at all if this is now the cost at Luohu as well.

Thanks for the currency advice and the heads-up re: visa at Luohu.

Yes, I'm Canadian... I was only planning to go for the day to wander around Shenzhen for the day as part of our HK vacation, maybe shop and check out an attraction or two. I was prepared to pay around C$150 for me, my wife and son under the old going rate, but if it's now US$100 a head that more than doubles the cost. I'm not so sure I'm going to do it anymore... maybe I'll just spend an extra day in Macau instead. I'll look into it!

Pacific Exchange upstairs has better rates. They offer among the best rates fo all currencies except CNY (Cleverly Street, Sheung Wan) and IDR(Chandra Exchange, Sugar Street Causeway Bay) .

Chinese Embassy charges US$140 for US Passport, and US$90 for other nationalities.

There isn't a Chinese embassy at luohu, and Americans can't get visas there anyway. Canadians can, but $90 for a 5-day visa that is only valid in a small area seems kind of silly to me.

So $90 USD for the 5-day visa, this is confirmed? Yikes. I only wanted to go for a day trip to SZ with the wife + child... I might rethink that now.

Not confirmed by me fwiw.

Fair enough... I'd be grateful for any details anyone can provide as it would affect my trip plans if it's true! Seems like a steep price for a 5-day visa.

In vague reverse order of the questions I remember (too lazy to click back and take notes :) ):

Shenzen visa: available on arrival for Canadians at Lo Wu (might also be available at Huanggong, and Shekou). HK$150/person (around CA$24), good for 5 days. The price quoted above is for a regular Chinese visa; the Shenzen visa limits travel to the Shenzen Special Economic Zone.

Money changing: my friend brought US currency with him as he has a USD bank account and the HK dollar is pegged to the US dollar. Walking around, we found the best rates at the currency exchange booths outside the Wan Chai MTR station (as much as 7.7 to 1 and no extra charges, when the bulk rate (only available to people trading massive amounts of money, like banks and governments) is about 7.75 to 1. The more touristy the area, the worse the rates will be. Using ATMs you'll be hit with the PLUS or CIRRUS ATM fee, unless you have an account at Citibank or HKSB. Using credit cards you'll be hit with a foreign currency exchange fee, unless you're lucky and have a fee-free credit card.

Is that HK$150 based on visit to Luohu since March 9?

The concern is that visa fees for Canadians were changed to CND100 "no matter what type of visa" on that date, when the new 10-year visas were introduced. In the case of at least some other nationalities, the Shenzhen fee tracks the standard visa fee.

https://www.visaforchina.org/YVR_EN/...s/276232.shtml

From reading the website, those appear to be for long term visas which have to be applied for in advance. There are dozens of different Chinese visas, reflecting the purpose of your visit, the length of you visit, and where you want to go, and pricing varies depending on the nationality of the person applying. The information I provided is based on a web search, with an idea of which sites are generally reliable and which ones aren't.

Also: logic. If the 3 day transit visas, the 5 day Shenzen visas, and the various 10 year regular visas were all the same price, nobody in their right mind would ever apply for the shorter duration visas, unless they were stuck.

US citizens have paid the same price for all PRC visas for the past 5 years (10 years for most useful visas; the outliers were varieties like exit visas and VOA), so it's not especially hard to fathom Canadian citizens now being subjected to the same principle.

Do you have any evidence proving border visas for Canadians were exempted from the March 9 price standardization?

The fee for Americans at Luohu is indeed 967RMB:

http://welcometochina.com.au/hot-tip...ewal-2047.html

(In general, Americans can't get the Luohu visa, but apparently there are a few exceptions for Huaqiao and such, thus the fee listing.)

If I were a Canadian, I would not head to Luohu until someone posts a current price list. The whole point of the 10-year visa for Canadians is to pretty much track the American treatment.

"From reading the website, those appear to be for long term visas which have to be applied for in advance. There are dozens of different Chinese visas, reflecting the purpose of your visit, the length of you visit, and where you want to go, and pricing varies depending on the nationality of the person applying."

I think it's reasonable, though admittedly not absolutely certain, that "no matter what type of visa" means no matter what type of visa. And of course, this is all about Canadians, not other nationalities.

The only absolutely certain answer would be to go to the border and find out, as even Chinese embassies have been known to give conflicting answers (not actually that surprising. Anything else is just argument for the sake of argument, since we're the website is not actually clear. Do they mean visas that can be applied for through the Chinese Visa Application Service Center, since in the same sentence they talk about their fees?

Once you show up at the border, you're already committed to crossing it (because you've already left hk).

This is true. Although I suspect that there is some way to go back if you're turned away at the border, I definitely can't guarantee that you won't be thrown into some sort of immigration holding cell for refusing to pay the fee. We may have to wait for a traveller to actually make the trip, pay, and then report back to know for sure.

I'm guessing that a simple phone call could shed light on the situation.

If they want to play rough, they have the power to fine and deport you for trying to enter China without a visa. They can also be nice if they want and arrange your return to HK without a fine. Point is, it's an administrative hassle for them to get you back to HK, and you should not show up at Luohu unless you're prepared to pay the fee, whatever it is.

There are certainly examples of people leaving HK, being refused entry to China, and returning to HK with no great extra hassle. It happened recently to someone who had taken part in the Occupy protests (but who had not been arrested or charged with anything) - she tried to enter China at Ching Ming with her family to visit an ancestor's grave and was told at the Chinese border that her entry permit had been withdrawn (unknown to the HK authorities).

Apart from the phone call idea, all it would take to confirm the current fee structure, would be for a single one of us to check out details on their next pass through a relevant checkpoint. Failing this sort of DD, be prepared to pay up if you don't want a headache.