Rates are on the websites and seem to be updated frequently IME

https://www.superrichthailand.com/#!...e#rate-section
http://www.superrich1965.com/index.php?lang=en#exchange
Bank foreign currency exchange rates - Compare currency exchange rates across banks

To make things simple, assume USD/KRW is 1 to 1000.

For KRW 50k/10k/5k, you will lose about 0.3% off the spot rate.
For USD $100, you will lose about 0.03% off the spot rate at HQ, 0.06% or more elsewhere.

So on exchanging $100 you lose 1-2 baht at HQ, maybe up to 5 baht at other places. On exchanging 100,000 won you lose about 10-20 baht.

Therefore, to make it worthwhile to exchange KRW to USD and bring USD to Thailand, you need to 1) get a KRW to USD rate in Korea which is better than 9 baht = 300 won per 100K, i.e. 0.3 won per USD and 2) hope the rate does not worsen by more than 0.3% between making the two exchanges.

For 1), you would need to see a buy/sell in a Korean exchange shop like 1080.2/1080.8 for USD, which is not going to happen, since they would need a large supply of 10 won coins in order to fulfil such rates. Although, sometimes they pay more than spot to buy foreign currency, but they will never sell it for less.

For 2), when I started typing this the USD/KRW rate on XE was 1078.6 and it went up to 1079 before dropping to 1078.7 again, i.e. in the space of a few minutes, the rate can go up or down by more than the potential savings even if you could teleport between Korea and Thailand.

Another way to look at it is, the time you spend going to 2 exchange places is not worth it, you might as well spend the time following the trends and trying to speculate when the rate will go up.

Thanks everyone. Took a minute to wrap my head around the numbers haha. I never actually calculated before.

So if we change to THB directly here, it is based on USD rate at 620 USD.
BUT if we exchange directly to USD here, we are only paying a 2$ fee for the exchange (massive 80% coupon). And we get 644$. So we get an extra 20$ roughly.

So, basically, we are getting an additional 20$ out of this effort. All in all, it's not like extra work since we can pick up the USD at the airport (just submit through app first) when we leave and the Super Rich is in Silom, so, hey.

What's or rather where can I find the best exchange rate using an Bank/ATM machine?

Ran out of cash!

Thank you :)

You're using a Visa or MC designated ATM card from your home bank in the U.S.?

I think that Visa, MC determine the rate, excluding any local ATM fees (ranging from 150 - 220 THB) imposed here, and by your bank (potentially a percentage)?

Personally, I use AEON ATMs; they continue to charge 150 THB (even though my bank reimburses the 150 baht), dispense a maximum of 20,000 THB. The exchange rate is determined by Visa in my case, AFAIK.

Have 2 accounts, Citi ATM is MC while my Chase is Visa. AEON using Chase ATM card then would be my best bet? 20K would make sense to justify the THB 150 fee - my banks don't reimburse.

How about GSB? Any experience there? There is a branch by the Conrad at the All Seasons.

Thanks again! :)

Hmmm. 20,000 limit huh. I did not know that. In that case, using Krungsri or the few others that will dispense 30,000 THB is an equal or better deal. No need to seek out AEON.

Yes, as long as your bank does not have any sort of ATM withdrawal limit, a 220 THB fee on 30,000 THB (0.73%) is less than a 150 THB on 20,000 THB (0.75%). Also note that some/many/most ATMs are physically limited by size, and can only dispense a maximum of 20,000 THB.

GSB, AFAIK, charges 220 THB. I don't know if some/any/all of their ATMs have any sort of physical limit, nor do I know if your bank(s) have any withdrawal limits, or charge any additional percentage based on say, a foreign ATM usage?.

I'm not sure what you mean here. The physical size of the ATM machine? The Krungsri ATMs are exactly the same size as all the rest in any given group, yet they will dispense 30,000. TMB also did 2 years ago. I haven't tried them this trip. There are/were others. AFAIK, the dispensing limit (20K or 30K) is arbitrarily set by the bank.

I'm not sure what you mean here. The physical size of the ATM machine?

I'm referring to the vertical dimension of the slot dispensing cash. In some cases this is limited to 20,000 THB, meaning that given the thickness of 20 one thousand baht notes, it is physically impossible to pass more than a certain amount.

I think Bangkok Bank's ATMs have a 25,000 physical limitation, while other banks like Krungsri and TMB may go up to 30,000?

I confess to not having tested these limits as I usually only get 5,000 THB from my Bangkok Bank and SCB accounts at any one time. I also have placed daily limits of 25,000 withdrawal on both accounts. (I've also disabled the Visa debit card ability on both cards to zero.)

I would imagine that the ATM would give you a notification if you asked for some amount which might exceed the physical limits?

To get 30,000 THB your home bank would have to have a one-time/daily limit of nearly $1,000 USD.

Sure. they basically say: "20,000 limit" "Enter another amount". They don't say why.

Yes, I have had a one-time/daily limit of $1000USD set on one of my ATM cards for over 15 years. Not that unusual I'm told.

funny .. I tried to get 30k from a Bangkok bank ATM and I thought it rejected it because of a limit on my account or source bank. I think you are right about that. I don't remember the exact message, but it wasn't obvious to me that the machine itself was rejecting the amount. 30k is under my limit also.

What happens when machines dispense 500s as they sometimes do? Do they limit it to 10k? Hmmm.

-David

Does the Citi ATM at Asok charge a fee with your citibank card?

-David

I experienced the Bangkok Bank 25K limit just the other week. The message wasn't clear - it just mentioned that notes of 1,000, 500 and 100 baht were available - but when I reduced the request to 25K then everything was OK. A long term expat mate who was with me was surprised as he's used to a 20K machine limit with his bank.

Aah, so that's how you know I ran outta of cash!

Citibank is horrible even though I've been their customer since the 1980s. Not only they charge the THB 220 at the ATM machine, but there is also another higher fee that appears on my statement!!! I called them on it before and shamed them on twitter that they claim to be a global bank but they still charge international fees even when using their own ATMs. No dice, they still won't remove such fees.