So I am heading back to the US soon from my trip in Asia.

I am going to have excess RMB and HKD, roughly $1,000 worth of each (in US equivalent dollars)

Is it better to convert (rate wise) them both here in Hong Kong, or do back in the US at my bank?

I'm a member of Wells Fargo Private Bank, so while that wont matter rate-wise, not worried about them not wanting to convert for me.

Do wherever you want, but not at the airports. You will loose at least 200$ worth of your money if you do at the Airport.

You need to do it in china or HKG, at least for RMB. I don't believe it's "convertible" outside of china or HKG.

Get it changed in HK at the various money changers in Mongkok/TST or major stations - much better rates.

Also, consider applying as much as you can to your final hotel bill. Often, this will consume all of your remaining local currency, and then you've used its value without having to convert it at all. It's easy to do this - just apply your excess cash to your folio at the front desk, and then they'll charge the remainder to the credit card on file upon checkout. This is assuming that you have a post-pay reservation. Note that even if you have a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card, this method still saves you money, as you end up paying nothing to convert your spare cash back into USD.

Dont know why I didnt think of this.

thx.

This is what I have been doing for years. Just remember to keep some local currency if you need it for exit fees, taxi rides to the airport, etc...

Very important tip!

A few years ago when leaving Bangkok we used up almost all our Thai currency to pay down the hotel bill, but didn't have enough left for the departure tax at airport checkin, had to convert more USD to Baht at the airport!

And whatever residual you have left over, use it to buy some small snacks, candy, etc. in the departure area to have handy during your trip. Also, for leftover coins, many international airports have donation bins for them where proceeds go to local charities.

This is my method also, although I never, ever have anywhere near as much cash left over as the OP does. I can't imagine changing/withdrawing that much currency--who carries around that much cash?

If I have amounts less than $50 or so, and if it's a country that I know I will be returning to (my business travel tends to send me to the same places year after year), I just keep it in ziploc bags in my "currencies of all nations" box at home until I go back.

If you can't do the hotel bill thing, and you don't want to get hosed on the exchange, consider selling it to a friend or colleague who might be traveling to that destination in the next few months. I've done this also. Everybody wins, except the rapacious currency exchange guy!

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So what are thr odds of needing onr or more legacy european currency.
I have Portuguese, Spanish, Frnech, Austrian, Belgian, Luxembourgese, German, Dutch and Slovakian.
I wouldn't mind if some countries bailed out of Euro.

But you don't earn miles/points from the credit card spend.

I do the ziploc bag thing too! (I thought I was the only one)

I have currency from: Hong Kong, UK, euro, Switzerland, Barbados, Bermuda, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Macau, Gibraltar, India, Singapore, Canada, and probably others too!


I seldom spend much cash because, as noted, I don't earn miles for spending cash. But sometimes you need to have it in case a particular restuarant's machine is broken or you need to take a taxi.

The one issue I have encountered in keeping bills in ziploc bags is that when I eventually return to those places and try to use the stored bills, sometimes they are no longer in circulation, and I must go to a bank during business hours to exchange them for the latest version. A bit of a pain. But still, fun souveniers!

True, but I still figure that losing a couple percent in rewards beats doing a high-street currency conversion.

Although anymore I rarely have much foreign currency on me at all. If it's under $50 worth, I just take it home so I have a little in my wallet at the start of the next trip. If it's $50-150, I pay cash for some regular expenses on the last day...the cab ride, lunch at the airport, etc. If it's $150 or up, then I use it for the hotel bill.

Most airport duty-free shops can also split payment. That's another option if you're in the $100 and under range. I've overheard people in shops before saying something like "I need to find an item that costs exactly 19 Euros"...not aware that they can purchase anything, hand over all of their currency, and then pay the remainder with a credit card.

you can also donate excess cash to UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org/campaigns/changeforgood
this for the currencies still circulating
and
www.unicef.at/unternehmen.html via Euromoney24 for
all the pre-EURO currencies you might have like Dutch guilders, German mark, Slovenian tolar, Austrian schilling, Portugese escudo, Spanish peseta, Belgian and Luxembourg franc, Maltese Lira, Irish pund, Koruna of Estonia and Slovakia - that migth be a nice way of using them for poor children.

UNICEF Austria relauched their site (beeing a supporter i follow them regularly)
so my link above isn�t correct anymore - just fyi
Anyway the search-function does the trick there or directly euromoney24.com/donations on can decide between UNICEF an Peta (for animals)