US or Bhat

[diesel1973]

Will be doing a 15 day tour of Thailand next Feb. and was wondering which currency to take. Should I take mainly Bhat or US dollars? I usually take some local currency with me for incidentals and use credit cards for major purchases. Will this work in Thailand? Thanks in advance.

[mom says]

You are unlikely to find many places that will accept USD.  WE were able to get baht at a good exchange rate at home,so brought it with us. Our friends just use the local bank ATMs  to get cash. Credit cards work for larger purchases at most stores, hotels, etc.

Edited May 17, 2019 by mom says

[diesel1973]

I usually purchase foreign currency from Wells Fargo before I go. I usually take 300-400 US worth. I just need money for some meals and possibly tips and mementos.

 

 

[iancal]

Baht.  We have spent five of the last seven winters in Thailand.  I cannot imagine using anything except local currency.

 

We always keep, or buy in advance, about 600 bhat to get us from the airport to the hotel.   Last winter we took $2000. cash with us and exchanged much of it in Bangkok.  The exchange rate was appreciably better than what we could get at home from the FX store.  ATMs are everywhere.   Keep in mind that all ATM's charge a fee of 200 bhat.

 

We have only used cash for meals...with the provisio that we only eat in smaller, local restaurants.  Some accommodations will take credit cards but there will be a surcharge.

[diesel1973]

Thanks for your response Iancal. Where did you exchange US for Bhat when you were there besides ATM? Was it at banks or currency exchanges and if so was there a fee?  Just wondering if Wells Fargo back home might be the way to go. Of course the only downfall with that is carrying all that cash. Getting very excited about this trip!

[iancal]

This time, prior to leaving we found a website (google is our friend) that list FX stores in Bangkok, their rates, and their location.

 

We changed our at a large fx store very close to Siam Square.  It was actually between Jim Thompson House and Siam SQ,  just over the bridge and across for Siam Sq.  We would not run all over town.  The banks are not so great but if your hotel is in a tourist area chances are there will be an FX store nearby.  Really, for small amounts it does not matter.   On our first $1200. buy I think the delta between the bank and the store was only 400 bhat.    We were walking right buy after leaving the canal boat so it was right on on way.    

 

One thing that we have learned is to buy currency in the target country.  If we buy it at home we always pay up to five points more. Not a big difference for a short vacation but ours tend to be elongated.

[diesel1973]

Thanks for the info. I don't think we will need a large amount of cash but it is wise to know what my options are.

[iancal]

Enjoy Thailand.  We went once and were hooked. Not so much the usual tourist places but some of the out of the way areas along the coast.  So much so that we keep going back!

[diesel1973]

Same thing happened to me in China. Went there 3 yrs. ago solo (wife can't handle long flights) and returned again last year with a friend I worked with who finally retired. We are now expanding our horizons and trying Thailand. Have other Asian areas to see. Have to see the world before I leave it!LOL

[yoolykeme]

BKK is a major city in Asia. It's not a small cruise port in the Caribbean where Americans come in for the day, and buy trinkets so they take dollars.   It's like being in NYC. 

 

That being said, treat it as if you are going to Italy or Spain. Get local currency. 

 

You are overthinking the "best" place to exchange.  Take USD, walk into any random bank or FX, and change. It's about 30-1, with less than a .5% fluctuation between all of them, exchange and enjoy. 

 

Edited May 17, 2019 by yoolykeme

[diesel1973]

Sounds like a plan! Thanks

[dani negreanu]

When changing USD to bahts, you'll get a better exchange rate for 100 bills...

[iancal]

I did not know that.  We only take 100 dollar bills for exchange because we are there for weeks at a time. 

 

I do know that when you exchange money in SE Asia it is best to have bills in good condition.  Some places will reject torn, soiled, or otherwise damaged bills.

[dani negreanu]

8 minutes ago, iancal said:

I do know that when you exchange money in SE Asia it is best to have bills in good condition.  Some places will reject torn, soiled, or otherwise damaged bills.

 

On the other "hand", it was very difficult for me to find 1$ bills in good condition for the last cruise in SE Asia, since those bills are the most used ones. My "exchanger" in Israel kept an eye for pristine 1$ bills for weeks, before reaching the goal of 30$ in 1$ bills 😀

[iancal]

It is unclear to me why you would ever need one dollar bills in SE Asia.  We take 100 dollar bills plus a few twenties in case we just need a few bhat at the end of the trip or we need some for next years taxi from the airport to town. .  Same for ringits and dong.

[Hoyaheel]

13 minutes ago, iancal said:

It is unclear to me why you would ever need one dollar bills in SE Asia. 

Most recommendations we've read for Cambodia say to bring lots of small US bills for purchases at local markets. (we're doing a Mekong cruise in August) So we will - but we also use the ATM for local currency when it's most appropriate (which we would do ALWAYS, but I've seen SO MANY recs for USD in Cambodia....)

[dani negreanu]

20 minutes ago, iancal said:

It is unclear to me why you would ever need one dollar bills in SE Asia. 

 

It was highly recommended mainly for the Vietnam stops (we had 3 in our last cruise). I bought also dong (value of 50$) just in case.

My "policy" is always take some local currency when on a cruise. I can always sell it back to the "exchanger". Worth my peace of mind, and not looking for the nearest ATM or getting a bad exchange rate.

[iancal]

USD is the defacto currency in Cambodia.  A least it was two years ago.  Whenever we used an ATM in Cambodia out came USD.

Edited May 18, 2019 by iancal

[yoolykeme]

Here's another thing to consider with regard to value for your money:

 

Say you buy a an iced coffee that costs 40THB.  If you paid with THB, you would pay the exact price, 40THB = $1.33.  If you pay with USD, you would end up giving them $2USD, and more than likely, you're not getting any change back.  Well, you just lost 70%of that extra dollar.

 

Paying for things with USD means that you are going to round up the the nearest $1-$5 for the convenience, because vendors can set their own exchange rates.  There's a lot of leakage there, more so than asking which bank or FX gives the best rate, when the delta between all of them isn't going to be any more than 5%, and all of them are going to be giving you 30.5-31.5 THB/$1, which is less than 3% leakage.

Edited May 18, 2019 by yoolykeme

[yoolykeme]

I also bring 100 $1 bills when going on a cruise, but mainly to tip and sprinkle around.  The people on cruises work really hard and, I find, appreciate a couple of bucks when given.  We tip a lot more for a lot less in America, so that's just something that I do.  I'll also tip random workers at ports and in some situations, give some to the poor.

[BruceMuzz]

I live in Tokyo, but will be visiting the USA next month. Should I take Japanese Yen for shopping  - or get US Dollars?

[dani negreanu]

5 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

I live in Tokyo, but will be visiting the USA next month. Should I take Japanese Yen for shopping  - or get US Dollars?

 

US dollars

[iancal]

brucemuzz.....good sense of humour.  It always amazes me when someone wants to know if they can use US currency in Europe or Asia. 

[Hoyaheel]

15 hours ago, iancal said:

brucemuzz.....good sense of humour.  It always amazes me when someone wants to know if they can use US currency in Europe or Asia. 

 

True - and yet there are always exceptions, and how do you know what they are unless & until you ask?

[Floridiana]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 10:23 AM, Hoyaheel said:

True - and yet there are always exceptions, and how do you know what they are unless & until you ask?

 

Good point. As another poster has written already, Cambodia uses  USD as default currency. Ecuador uses it as official currency. In Vietnam, street and market vendors had USD prices, but we needed dong in the department store. On most Caribbean islands including Mexican ports with lots of cruise ships, USD are readily accepted.