Getting US$ in Japan or Bangkok?
Dec 14th, 2003, 06:58 PM
#1
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Getting US$ in Japan or Bangkok?
Hello everyone -
I have heard from many people that US$ are the most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia (in fact, my guesthouse has requested to be paid in US dollars).
Anyway, I live in Japan, and if I get the dollars at my bank, it will be horribly expensive. So, my questions are:
1) Does anyone know of a cheap way to get US$ in cash in Japan?
2) Or, should I get the cash in Bangkok? If so, should I bring yen traveler's checks, US$ traveler's checks, or use the ATM to get baht and exchange that? I suspect the yen traveler's checks would be cheapest/safest for me, but will it be even more expensive to convert these to dollars? Should I just bring a lot of yen in cash and exchange that?
Any advice would be appreciated.
I have heard from many people that US$ are the most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia (in fact, my guesthouse has requested to be paid in US dollars).
Anyway, I live in Japan, and if I get the dollars at my bank, it will be horribly expensive. So, my questions are:
1) Does anyone know of a cheap way to get US$ in cash in Japan?
2) Or, should I get the cash in Bangkok? If so, should I bring yen traveler's checks, US$ traveler's checks, or use the ATM to get baht and exchange that? I suspect the yen traveler's checks would be cheapest/safest for me, but will it be even more expensive to convert these to dollars? Should I just bring a lot of yen in cash and exchange that?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Dec 14th, 2003, 09:26 PM
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No, there are no AAA offices to my knowledge (at least to my knowledge).
Just to clarify, I was wondering what the cheapest option was. I will consider cheapness/safety tradeoffs when making my final decision.
Just to clarify, I was wondering what the cheapest option was. I will consider cheapness/safety tradeoffs when making my final decision.
Dec 15th, 2003, 05:22 AM
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As you live in Japan, I assume you have a job and are paid in Yen. If you only have access to Yen, I don't think there is much difference in exchange rates for Yen/Dollars wherever you exchange it; although you might get a slightly better exchange rate if you exchange in Japan, rather than in Bangkok or Cambodia, where they can't really use the Yen. Avoid exchanging at airports, where you will not get a great rate. As your hotel has already asked for Dollars, you might want to get US Dollar traveller checks in Japan for the hotel cost; that way if they are lost or stolen at least you can get back the price of the hotel room. Other than that, I find travellers' checks to not be worth the expense. You can carry US Dollars and some Cambodian cash for the rest.
If you have a major credit card, they may be willing to give you US Dollars and charge it to the card in Yen (usually at a good exchange rate). Call your credit card company.
If you have funds in US Dollars (like a checking account in the US), go to Citibank or another international bank and open a US Dollar account and transfer/deposit funds from your US bank. You should then be able to make withdrawals in US Dollars and won't suffer any loss on the exchange rate. (You should also be able to open the account and or deposit funds in Yen into the US Dollar account, but you will lose something on the exchange rate, so this may not be worth it, esp if you are a Japanese national and not an expat and don't regularly need US Dollars.)
Try to put other purchases on a credit card (even a Yen card) as you generally get a very good exchange rate on credit cards. Some cards like Visa impose a surcharge on foreign exchange purchases, so check with your credit card company.
If you have a major credit card, they may be willing to give you US Dollars and charge it to the card in Yen (usually at a good exchange rate). Call your credit card company.
If you have funds in US Dollars (like a checking account in the US), go to Citibank or another international bank and open a US Dollar account and transfer/deposit funds from your US bank. You should then be able to make withdrawals in US Dollars and won't suffer any loss on the exchange rate. (You should also be able to open the account and or deposit funds in Yen into the US Dollar account, but you will lose something on the exchange rate, so this may not be worth it, esp if you are a Japanese national and not an expat and don't regularly need US Dollars.)
Try to put other purchases on a credit card (even a Yen card) as you generally get a very good exchange rate on credit cards. Some cards like Visa impose a surcharge on foreign exchange purchases, so check with your credit card company.
Dec 17th, 2003, 08:33 AM
#7
The yen is strong against the dollar these days, so you will get a relatively good price if you buy the dollars with yen in Japan. I would just shop around in Japan for the best exchange rate/fee and convert enough yen to dollars cash as required for the guesthouse.
