Withdraw USD Cash in Bangkok

Lwhatmynameis on 24/05/2018 - 17:09

I am going to be travelling around Asia before heading to Africa for an overland tour. I need to take US cash into Africa to pay things like local payment, tours, spending money etc., but would prefer not to carry it around in Asia beforehand. Likely going to need to take about $12,000USD between my wife and I, and will be flying from Bangkok to Kenya.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get that amount of USD in Bangkok without incurring ridiculous double-exchange handling fees?

I am in the process of organising with the tour company to transfer them AUD and get some USD on arrival in Kenya, but that is likely only going to be a couple of thousand and not the whole thing. Spoke to the tour company about withdrawing local currency from ATMs or paying for tours on credit/debit cards, but they are really recommending carrying cash for the whole thing.

Any suggestions would be good!

Thanks

Travel

Comments

  • PissLUR on 24/05/2018 - 17:15

    ING Orange card.

  • Thorn69 on 24/05/2018 - 18:31
    +1

    taking large amounts of cash to those places will get you killed without an armed guard, bankok should be ok with a card as for afrika i have no clue

  • Ocker on 24/05/2018 - 18:38

    Take AUD100 bills with you and use the money changers in Bangkok to go from AUD to USD. You will get near the interbank rates for the transaction(s).

    • battler on 24/05/2018 - 20:09

      this ^. I did the same for USD to go to Cambodia. Take AUD to Superrich and even though you are getting a double exchange of AUD->THB->USD, because the margins are so small, the USD you end up with is fine.

      • whatmynameis on 24/05/2018 - 21:07

        Think I will have to do this…

        I will be in Asia for about 6 months before heading to Africa (leaving from Bangkok) so taking AUD with me won't be possible without carrying it around for 6 months. I will just need to hit the ATMs every day maxing out my limits to build up a very big stash of baht.

        • battler on 24/05/2018 - 21:14

          could talk to citibank in Aus, open a savings (visa debit) acct, and see what options (if any) there are to withdraw in the branch (not ATM) in Bkk.
          - spoke to Citi Live Chat, this is not possible. They said option is to contact them to increase your daily ATM withdrawal limit.

          fee free withdrawals at Citibank ATM in Central World from your Citi acct, and previously I've found x-rate to be very competitive.

  • Peck on 25/05/2018 - 10:13

    Get a Citibank Plus Debit card. Transfer your AUD into it. Withdraw THB at Citibank atm corner Asoke and Sukhumvit roads. This is a great ATM as there are zero fees and zero skimming on the exchange rate. If you ever get a problem with the ATM (Never happened to me) then you can go into the bank branch.
    Then take your THB to Vasu corner of Sukhumvit soi 7/1 or Superrich. Only go to the Superrich stores Rachadamri soi 1 soi 2 area. I find that Vasu is the most convenient, although the superrich will be about .01% better.
    Always carry a good copy of your passport ID page, and leave your passport somewhere secure.
    Vasu/Superrich will skim about 2% which is the best that you are going to get.
    Vasu (Located below Nana Skytrain station) is an easy 1 k walk down Sukhumvit road from CitiBank branch.
    Over USD 10,000 you will have paperwork to complete, unless you and your wife do 50% each in separate transactions.
    For large amounts they might even give you a slightly better rate. My guess is up to 0.25%. A friend negotiated a better rate for '$A30,000 to THB' at VASU.
    If you take AUD cash then you will probably lose about 4% at Vasu/Superrich on the double exchange.

    • whatmynameis on 25/05/2018 - 16:29

      Thanks Peck, great advice!

      Do you think I would need to contact them in advance to ensure they have that amount of USD available? Or is my $12k request just a drop in the ocean for them?

      I also read on a few blogs about over the counter withdrawals - I guess the ATM you suggested is better as it's fee free?

      • Peck on 25/05/2018 - 16:54

        Yes fee free with a Citibank Plus debit card at Citibank Bkk.
        Vasu has a huge turnover, and I doubt that it would be a problem for them, however they do do a lot of trips during the day to the bank and so it might be all about timing. I am sure that if you dropped in in the morning, they could do you a deal whereby you return in the arvo to collect if they are short on stock.
        All of the SuperRich branches are franchised, and will have different rates. Superrich stores Rachadamri soi 1 soi 2 area known to be the best. They too have a huge turnover. There are about 4 stores there, almost on top of each other. I don't know which would be best. Look for the one with the biggest crowd. Yes they are popular and crowded. Rachadamri Rd ones terrible to get to due to Gridlocked with traffic. Unless you do the walk from Skytrain.

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