I Am flying to HK on thursday and wondered how and ware ppl changed their money.
should i
1) change money in the UK to HK $
2) Take UK 拢 with me and change them in HK
3) Take traveller cheques
If i should consider option 2 where would be the best place to change the money??
many thanks in advance!!!
which is better??Hi, below is something I had posted earlier to another similar question...
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I personally think the best way to go about this is to see if you can use your debit/bank/checking account card (I don%26#39;t know what they call it where you live) in Hong Kong to get cash. Check if your bank has any branches in Hong Kong. If so, check how much fees you will be assessed to withdraw your money from their branch ATMs using your debit card. If your bank does not have any branches in Hong Kong, find how much fees you will be charged for using your debit card at ';same network'; ATMs (by ';networks,'; I mean like Cirrus, Plus, Maestro, etc.).
Note that, when I talk about using your card to get money from an ATM, I am only talking about your debit card (aka bank card or checking account card in some places I think). I do NOT mean your credit card. Do NOT use your credit card to get cash from an ATM (called a ';cash advance'; in the U.S. - which is essentially taking out a cash loan from your credit card company) unless you have no other options available at the time (i.e. emergency). As you are probably aware, the interest rates for such a transaction are much higher (as compared to using a credit card for say, a store purchase) and there are almost always fees incurred as well.
But, if the fees for using your debit/bank/checking account card to get cash are not economical and you choose to change cash in Hong Kong, I would recommend doing so at the ChungKing Mansions building at 36-44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. There are many money exchangers doing business here on the first floor. They each have a small booth storefront and usually offer different exchange rates. Some say that some of the better rates are found as you go further into the buidling (as opposed to the exhangers who are right near the entrance). Walk around in Chungking Mansions and take a look at the exchange rates each exchanger has posted in their respective windows. Note, that there are no hidden fees in addition to the exhange rates that are posted in the windows of these exchangers.
If you have never been to the Chungking Mansions building before, at first sight of the place you may be put off - it is not a new or luxurious building or anything like that. But, the money exchangers doing business there are honest and do offer very good rates. I have never had a problem changing cash with these exchangers nor has anyone I%26#39;ve known.
If exchanging cash is your strategy, then I might suggest you bring a few HKD or exchange a little bit of cash (or get cash with your debit card from the ATM) at the airport, and then when you have time, visit ChungKing Mansions to exchange the bulk of your travel cash. Note, that the Travelex money exchanger counters at the airport do not give good exchange rates, so don%26#39;t be tempted to exchange all your cash there.
I have also exchanged cash at a few banks in Hong Kong where I did not have a bank account. The exchange rate was still fair (but ChungKing Mansions was still considerably better). I just had to provide my passport for ID.
As for using a credit card to purchase things - I actually never used my credit card in Hong Kong before. On one trip my friend did use his credit card to pay for something in Hong Kong and when he got back to his home country, he said the bill was pretty fair (that is, the exchange rate and any fees incurred were not much at all). But, again, I didn%26#39;t analyze that bill, so I am not sure how much extra he was actually charged. You may want to give a call to your credit card company to see if they can give you some details (but in my experience, they don%26#39;t always give you the most accurate information, or simply don%26#39;t know). But, I have read that, whenever you do use your credit card to buy something, that you should make sure that the credit card payment is in local currency i.e. HK Dollars. Do not agree to have the charge made in your home country curency or else the transaction will not be calculated at a good exchange rate.
Overall, I would check with the bank you have your debit card with and see if they have branches in Hong Kong and what fees would be involved if you use their ATMs there. If they don%26#39;t have a branch, see what fees would be involved if you use ATMs that are on the same ';network.'; If that does not seem to be economical, then I would plan a cash strategy as I talked about above.
FYI, for example, I have an HSBC debit card here in the U.S. (because I hold an HSBC checking account here in the U.S.). Last summer, when I was in Hong Kong, they charged me no fees at all for taking cash out of HSBC ATMs in Hong Kong with my debit card. Also, the fee to take cash out of non-HSBC ATMs that were part of the same ';network'; (Cirrus, I believe?) was only USD $1.50 each transaction. So, in my trip last year, I used HSBC ATMs exclusively for all my cash needs. But, even with HSBC, their policies could have changed since then, so be sure to check with your bank for the latest rules.
which is better??Take some HK money for the first day. Then as suggested use debit card in cyrrus or similar, but check charges. If you can get travellors cheques let%26#39;s know - we havn%26#39;t been able to for yrs., but it was our preferred way.
I have a Nationwide flexaccount debit card which I use everywhere as it has no charges.If you don%26#39;t have a Nationwide card,use whichever debit card you have at the ATMs.Easier than carrying around a lot of cash.
Your best bet is your debit card to use in the ATM, however, you are likely to attract a service charge of about 3%.
If you take UK拢 with you change them at one of the booths in ChungKing or Mirador Mansions on Nathan Road.
What I normally do is change 拢50 or so at Heathrow before I go and that will last until i get the chance to draw some more at an ATM in Hong Kong
Forget travellers cheques you could have problems changing them.
If you plan on using your credit card for purchases, make sure that you are billed in HK$. You may be given the option to be billed in UK拢, if that is the case, it is likely that you will be fleeced with a special exchange rate
Many thanks everyone, you have all really helped!!!
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