Best place to change $ in BKK
 

Am I making a mistake changing upon arrival at BKK? Last time I just
changed enough there to pay for the taxi downtown, then used one
of those bank exchange counters in the mall next to the IC. I have
been told to avoid the shady money changing places. Any advice?

Changing Money In Bkk
 

I just came back from BKK, 4 days ago. I changed $50 at the airport and $50 at a bank in the city, the difference were not much, less than 50 ba. I usually get $500 from my AMEX and use the leftovers ba to pay for the hotel

Anecdotal evidence from around 10 days ago: I noticed a difference of roughly THB 1 (i.e., a little under $3 per $100) between the bank exchange counters at the airport vs in town.

I imagine that the difference will be slightly greater if changing at Superrich or the place on Sukhumvit (can't remember the name right now - I think it starts with a V).

Bring an ATM card. The best rates are found there.

ATM's only offer the best rates if you don't have to pay ATM fees on international transactions.

In general, the rates at the airport will get you 40-70 baht less per $100 than the better banks and change kiosks in downtown Bangkok. But smaller bills are better deals at the airport, because the downtown changers give better rates on $50s and $100s than for $5s, $10s, and $20s

Once you are within Bangkok, I find that the various banks and change kiosks are generally all within 10 baht (which translates to around 30-35 cents) of each other per $100 US.

ATM is the way to go provided you are sure you will not get hit with any fees, and can be assured of getting a good rate. Occasionally I use an ATM, I think I get 30 free transactions per month, and I get a slightly better rate than the best wholesale currency exchange shop.

How much money are you planning on exchanging? One-hundred U.S. Dollar bills get the best rate (vs. 50/20/10/5/1), so maybe cash one at the airport, just to get local currency for first-day incidentals, then change more in town. I'm surprised, but maybe not too much, that SCB and TMB offer different exchange rates at the airport vs. other locations. I guess I wrongly assumed a bank offered the same rate at any outlet throughout the country.

Once in town, wholesale shops like Superrich (Ratchadamri Road, across from Central World) and Vasu (Sukhumvit Soi 7/1: Nana BTS) offer the best rates. These shops are crowded with Thai, Asian and Japanese customers. Obviously I wouldn't spend 100 THB in transportation costs in order to get an extra 50 THB, but for large transactions the wholesale shops are advantageous.

Make sure your card works
 

I was in Thailand in Feb. and used ATM card twice to get cash. I was in Thailand in June and tried 6 different ATMs on two different days trying to get cash. Each time the screen said "Transaction cancelled, contact your bank." As soon as I returned home I went to the bank to find out what was going on. They told me that Thailand was now on a "blocked" list. They said you must now get approval to have the block removed before a specific set of dates of travel. There were 6 countries on the list. Pakistan was one of the other countries. It was nice of them to let me know of the new rules before I travelled. Luckily, I had enough cash to make the 4 days I was there.

does it matter what bank's atm you use when getting cash out? does anyone khow how the rates compare vs. changing 100 and 50$ bills? tia.

Yeah I agree it's better to wait to get into town rather than change at the airport.

The difference in the rate between 50's and 100's is not that big. It stands to bit for notes smaller than a 50 though.

oh i mean how does the atm rate compare to changing out cash. everywhere i have seen has the same rate for 50's and 100's when changing cash.

Typically, if you have ZERO ATM fees, you will get around 0.35 to 0.5% better with ATMs than you will cashing 100s at places with good rates. However, if you have ATM fees, they will typically be between 1% to as much as 3% of the transaction. So obviously, even a 1% ATM fee makes the rate worse than the cash rate for changing 100s. Of course, the safety of using ATMs vs carrying lots of cash may make a 1% ATM fee a very reasonable price to pay. But if the fees are as much as 2 or 3%, that starts to get pretty bad.

I can get foreign currency from my local bank here in the states. Unfortunately, the rate they quoted seems to carry a 10% penalty compared to the published exchange rates.

I can get 28 Baht per 1 USD at my bank, vs. 31.7 Baht advertised exchange rate.

Should I do this, or will it be cheaper in Thailand?

28 Baht is a rip off. Wait until you get to Thailand. I usually get my ATM max when I arrive ($400), and then use some of the exchange counters in town if you need more.

Cool thanks!

Excactly! That really is the fact. ATM does not apply to me and I leanrt the facts at Superich!h