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murmanjake
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:08 am Post subject: where to exchange money for trip |
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Going to Thailand in a coupla days.
I know I should definitely exchange my won to baht here.
I think I've read on Dave's a few times that you get a better rate at the airport than the banks here. I know a few threads down, ttompatz suggests changing at the airport.
My girlfriend is insisting on the bank though.
Can anyone help me settle this?
Which is the better rate? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 4:22 pm Post subject: Re: where to exchange money for trip |
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| murmanjake wrote: |
Going to Thailand in a coupla days.
I know I should definitely exchange my won to baht here.
I think I've read on Dave's a few times that you get a better rate at the airport than the banks here. I know a few threads down, ttompatz suggests changing at the airport.
My girlfriend is insisting on the bank though.
Can anyone help me settle this?
Which is the better rate? |
If you want to exchange won to Baht, do it at the airport.
If you are exchanging won to dollars it makes no difference whether you use the bank of your choice (eg: Woori) in town or the same branded bank (exchange counter) at the airport (Woori). The rates will be the same.
(there are minor differences between banks (eg: Woori and KEB) in town and at the same differences will be seen at the airport).
Make sure you have a few thousand baht to get you through the first few days until you can get to a bank to exchange your US$.
As you must be aware by now, DO NOT TAKE WON OUT OF KOREA.
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Lunar Groove Gardener
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
Location: 1987 Subaru
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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I thought that most people used their ATM card from
their Korean bank accounts to access money while in
Thailand.
Is this not so?
How about Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam?
Should one plan on carrying loads of U.S. $
or can you rely on using your Korean bankcard
and not carry much cash?
My trip to this area will be for 6 weeks and I
had not planned on bringing so much cash.
Thanks to anyone that can clarify this. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Lunar Groove Gardener wrote: |
I thought that most people used their ATM card from
their Korean bank accounts to access money while in
Thailand.
Is this not so?
How about Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam?
Should one plan on carrying loads of U.S. $
or can you rely on using your Korean bankcard
and not carry much cash?
My trip to this area will be for 6 weeks and I
had not planned on bringing so much cash.
Thanks to anyone that can clarify this. |
Unless you have used your Korean ATM card abroad on a previous occasion, DO NOT DEPEND ON IT.
They are notorious for NOT working abroad (even though they are supposed to the banks often restrict foreigners from using them abroad.
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AnsanAnswers
Joined: 16 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Lunar Groove Gardener wrote: |
I thought that most people used their ATM card from
their Korean bank accounts to access money while in
Thailand.
Is this not so?
How about Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam?
Should one plan on carrying loads of U.S. $
or can you rely on using your Korean bankcard
and not carry much cash?
My trip to this area will be for 6 weeks and I
had not planned on bringing so much cash.
Thanks to anyone that can clarify this. |
Unless you have used your Korean ATM card abroad on a previous occasion, DO NOT DEPEND ON IT.
They are notorious for NOT working abroad (even though they are supposed to the banks often restrict foreigners from using them abroad.
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I use KEB and went into the branch to authorize my card for international ATM's. I had to sign some forms and was told I was all set. However, when I got to Thailand, I had no luck, even using a 'Global' ATM. It took a few hours on the phone with KEB customer service and a few hours more of waiting for my card to work. Fortunately I was only accessing the ATM to pull some extra cash (right after payday) to do some shopping.
Do yourself a favor and bring as much cash as you will need to get through your trip and exchange to baht at the airport. Your other option is to transfer money to your bank account back home and use that ATM card.
Do yourself another favor and always trust in Ttompatz. |
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kardisa
Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Location: Masan
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| Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| What would you recommend to someone who wants to exchange Euros into Baht? Is it cheaper to do that at the airport in Korea or in Thailand, or will it not make much of a difference either way? I was thinking about dipping into my stash of Euros instead of converting Won. |
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Spud10
Joined: 26 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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I think there is an old saying that "cash is king" or something like that.
If traveling to SE. Asia, don't put much faith in your credit cards. There are more than enough stories of cards not working, ATMs not accepting the card and a whole bucket more.
Bring the cash. Be careful, don't flaunt it around and don't keep it all in one spot just in case something does happen. You're trip will be a lot easier this way.
In regards to Euros, its been my experience that the US dollar is what they want, that and Baht. Now, I've never taken Euros to SE. Asia, so I can say for certain but I would still suggest to take your Euros, get some put in Dollars and the rest put in Baht.
If someone can correct me about the Euros situation, please do so. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| kardisa wrote: |
| What would you recommend to someone who wants to exchange Euros into Baht? Is it cheaper to do that at the airport in Korea or in Thailand, or will it not make much of a difference either way? I was thinking about dipping into my stash of Euros instead of converting Won. |
Exchange EUROS to Baht in Thailand.
In the LOS they are very familiar with EUROS, European tourists and are just as comfortable with them as they are US$. The same is true of GBP but NOT Scottish notes.
(side note: this is NOT true of many other SE asian destinations. In China, HK/Macao and the Philippines as examples they would prefer to see US$.)
If you exchange EUROS to THB here they will convert Euros to KRW then KRW to THB.
Exchange WON to Baht (or any other currency) in Korea.
DO NOT TAKE WON OUT OF KOREA.
DO NOT BUY WON OUTSIDE OF KOREA.
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Lunar Groove Gardener
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
Location: 1987 Subaru
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| Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 6:15 am Post subject: |
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I really appreciate the advise.
My trip will last 2 months.
I have accounts with Hanna and SC, both with international debit cards,
neither tested outside of Korea.
I suppose I'll really make my point at each bank before leaving.
It seems awfully hard to imagine bringing enough cash for two months,
so I'll have to rely on one of these working.
At potentially $100 per day, I'd be looking at carrying around $5000.
I'm still not sure where I'll leave my credit cards when I go to the beach,
let alone that kind of legal tender.
I'll have to work this out in the next few days.
Again, thanks for the ideas and suggestions. |
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