Best place for Baht conversion

[PSY]

Hi all, I need to convert ₹2 lakh to Baht for upcoming family trip. I have few queries:
1. Which is the ideal way to go about it ? Should I convert to USD here and then convert to Baht in Thailand? Or directly convert to Baht here itself?
2. Which is the best place for this conversion? I am in Bangalore now.

 

[ankurarora898]

Also, I have Infinia and Atlas. Should I directly use that there instead of converting?

ofcourse use them directly and the amount you wish to carry in cash get usd from your city,there are multiple currency changers there,usd gets better value in exchange than rupee.

 

[PSY]

After going through all responses and some of my own research, this is what I am going to do:

1. Use Infinia/Atlas wherever accepted (Infinia with GVP enabled).
2. Need to carry cash for local shopping and small eateries. For cash - carry 1K baht (for taxi services) and rest convert to USD
3. Convert USD to Baht in Thailand through Super Rich.

 

[tbk]

After going through all responses and some of my own research, this is what I am going to do:

1. Use Infinia/Atlas wherever accepted (Infinia with GVP enabled).
2. Need to carry cash for local shopping and small eateries. For cash - carry 1K baht (for taxi services) and rest convert to USD
3. Convert USD to Baht in Thailand through Super Rich.

Immigration at Delhi just asked for proof of stay and return ticket, nothing asked at bangkok airport, another top don't book prepaid airport taxi they charge almost double than grab/bolt (700thb on app vs 1500thb at airport counter)

I'm currently in Thailand, there's a new app called jamjang (beta phase) download it to get a wallet for normal scan and pay txns (thai qr) at small stores. If you want refferal DM me.

To load money we can directly to bank transfer using stripe, rates are better than cash conversion.

Everyone accepts scan payments, cc only works on apps like grab, bolt, malls, big restaurant and hotels. Small stalls don't have card machine or might ask 3% extra for cc.

 

[Sriim]

I have no experience with Baht exchange.

But theoretically, is withdrawing from local ATM using a debit card without charges (Eg. Indusind exclusive DC) the best way to get local currency as cash better than any currency exchange conversion?

 

[tbk]

I have no experience with Baht exchange.

But theoretically, is withdrawing from local ATM using a debit card without charges (Eg. Indusind exclusive DC) the best way to get local currency as cash better than any currency exchange conversion?

It will work on visa dc atleast, but need to pay some atm usage fee.

 

[telescope]

It is required to carry 20K Baht per person. Airport staff may ask for declaration and Customs may ask for exchange slips.
Plan accordingly.

It is not necessary to have cash in baht. If asked then showing cc limit / bank account balance from app is sufficient.

 

[sourpai]

To load money we can directly to bank transfer using stripe, rates are better than cash conversion.

Never used stripe. What are the charges for using stripe to load Thai wallet?

 

[PSY]

Immigration at Delhi just asked for proof of stay and return ticket, nothing asked at bangkok airport, another top don't book prepaid airport taxi they charge almost double than grab/bolt (700thb on app vs 1500thb at airport counter)

I'm currently in Thailand, there's a new app called jamjang (beta phase) download it to get a wallet for normal scan and pay txns (thai qr) at small stores. If you want refferal DM me.

To load money we can directly to bank transfer using stripe, rates are better than cash conversion.

Everyone accepts scan payments, cc only works on apps like grab, bolt, malls, big restaurant and hotels. Small stalls don't have card machine or might ask 3% extra for cc.

Hey, please send the referral. Looks like useful app to have and as you informed about this then it's better that you get the referral benefits!

 

[nrj1007]

I took both Baht and USD from Bookmyforex for my trip.
The amount of Baht that I took was the estimate of my sure shot expenditure. For buffer I took USD.

 

[tbk]

Never used stripe. What are the charges for using stripe to load Thai wallet?

I used stripe for simplicity there no fee they charge little bit higher exchange rate compared to visa interchange rate on using credit card.

It provides bank account details to send money you can use any method, transfer wise/western union/stripe, direct bank transfer etc whatever you prefer.

When I loaded calculation was like
google rate 1 thb = 2.43 inr
icici forex card load 1 thb = 2.52 inr
rbl world safari cc 1thb = 2.44
stripe transfer 1 thb = 2.51 inr

Do keep in mind it's new app and kind of work in progress, so direct loading payment gateway is not fully integrated yet, hopefully they'll streamline the processes.

 

[sourpai]

I used stripe for simplicity there no fee they charge little bit higher exchange rate compared to visa interchange rate on using credit card.

It provides bank account details to send money you can use any method, transfer wise/western union/stripe, direct bank transfer etc whatever you prefer.

When I loaded calculation was like
google rate 1 thb = 2.43 inr
icici forex card load 1 thb = 2.52 inr
rbl world safari cc 1thb = 2.44
stripe transfer 1 thb = 2.51 inr

Do keep in mind it's new app and kind of work in progress, so direct loading payment gateway is not fully integrated yet, hopefully they'll streamline the processes.

Thanks for the info... It is almost 3% markup vs RBL safari rates. So it really depends on your preference on swiping the card directly vs using stripe. Both are going to be similar, except for convenience when small vendors do not accept the card

Personally I will still prefer using zero forex debit card / IDFC Wow cc to withdraw money from ATM directly in Thailand

 

[telescope]

Thanks for the info... It is almost 3% markup vs RBL safari rates. So it really depends on your preference on swiping the card directly vs using stripe. Both are going to be similar, except for convenience when small vendors do not accept the card

Personally I will still prefer using zero forex debit card / IDFC Wow cc to withdraw money from ATM directly in Thailand

Thailand unfortunately has no ATM which allows free cash withdrawal with foreign dc/cc

 

[Quiksilver27]

Thailand unfortunately has no ATM which allows free cash withdrawal with foreign dc/cc

Yes I withdrew from a Bangkok atm with infinia and though there was no interest or cash withdrawal charges as I had credit balance but still the rate was almost 6-7% loss as compared to convert dollars to bahts.. this was due to the local atm charging higher fee for foreign cards as you rightly pointed out..