For those that do a lot of traveling.  Where is the best place to exchange currency?  I was gong to exchange money from my local bank at Wells Fargo because it was free, but then I noticed why they didn't charge.  The exchange rate that they offered sucked.  My credit card does not charge a fee and converts currency based on the Visa exchange rate, but I can't charge everything.

ATM is normally the best option but this depends on where you bank.  Most banks charge a 3% currency conversion rate but there are a few who offer this service for less.  See the link below.  If you travel internationally often, opening a second account might be a good idea.  But if you travel outside the US only a 2/3 times a year, it might not be worth the trouble. Lets say you withdrawal $2000 in cash on a trip and are charged 3%, that is only $60.  Annoying to pay that, but I would not bother opening another account.   Now, if you plan to take out more, and will be traveling more often, then the second account would seem to be a good idea.

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/i ... nd_Foreign_Exchange

I take it you are referring to HKD? There are many different ways but I found that the exchange rate was higher when in HK than in home country.

However, if you choose to exchange at a bank, the banks in HK will record your personal details if the foreign exhange is over HK$8000 (equiv). Its the money laundering issue there.

Additionally, banks in HK will charge you ~HK$20 - 50 (admin fee) for each exchange if you dont have an account with them.

For converting your money to HKD, carry USD or Euro, and go to Chungking Mansions. It's not the cleanest place, but has the best rates. There is an equivalent of Chungking Mansions in most major cities. Don't exchange in the US, unless it's just a small amount for getting home from the airport at your destination.

in my experience the best is when you have bank account that is based in two of those countries.

For example, usd, to hkd, i find having an account with HSBC, Citibank or Chase bank is a great way to go.

I notice HK has a Bank of America, wonder if you could withdraw without a fee since I'm a customer

i set up a capital one account just for traveling.
no atm fees and no foreign exchange fees when withdrawing from an atm.

Their credit cards also have no fx fees too.

I'm guessing they'll charge you: even the global banks are set up as completely separate legal entities for local licencing, as a result of which they have their own P&L.  Travelling around Asia Citibank certainly charged me any time I used a local branch even in spite of their huge advertising campaign about being an integrated Global bank.

We just had a long thread on currency conversion:

http://forum.sex141.com/eforum/v ... hungking%2BMansions

If you're a cash is king guy like myself, the most convenient place to exchange money in HK is Chungking Mansions; best rates, anonymous, no commission, no waiting in line. Just be sure not to go to the two or three agencies right there at the entrance, go in ten meters or so and compare the rates on the display boards.

Example on US dollar to HK conversion my last trip to HK: buy 7.73; sell 7.76. That's a 0.2% loss over the interbank rate. Change money back in the States and you lose at least 3% on the major currencies; with an obscure currency like the HK dollar you can lose anywhere from 5 to 10%.

People talk about no commissions/fees on credit card withdrawals from overseas ATMs; don't believe it, nobody, esp banks, does anything for free.

On my last trip, I spent quite a while wandering around shopping with friends, and checking out the exchange rates.  They were all over the place.  Where the going exchange rate was 7.7 or so per US dollar,  I saw rates as low as 6.45 and as high as 7.4 or so in street booths.  

The best exchange I got was in Wan Chai, right here:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=7+Gloucester+Road,+Wan+Chai,&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=&hnear=7+Gloucester+Rd,+Hong+Kong&ll=22.276612,114.173277&spn=0.001996,0.003962&t=k&z=19

It's close to the Wan Chai subway, in the low rise building between the subway and the playing fields.  The rates there during the summer were signficiantly better than anywhere else (including the airport).

If you can get close to actual exchange rate before leaving on a trip, do it.  If you have an ATM card, you should get decent exchange rates on that.  Just remember that you may have to change your pin code to a 4 digit pin as some asian systems do not accept longer pin numbers (or don't properly transmit them for approval).  You will typically lose about 3% or so this way, sometimes more if the ATM fees are high.

But be careful with quoted rates; often the rates look amazingly good - and this is almost always the case with those street-side money changers in touristy areas like Tsim Sha Tsui - but when you get your money, you find that they have deducted a large transaction fee. When you complain, they point out the tiny print on the display board.

thank you for all the helpful advice.  i have accounts with b of a, chase, and citibank, so I'll look out for that and figure out whether they will charge me.  I also called capitol one to let them know i'll be traveling.  I only have a credit card with them, so if i pull money out from an ATM, I think that's considered a cash advance and they start charging me?  Anyway, my hotel is near Jordan Station, so I'll definitely stop by the Chungking Mansions.  Thanks!

For the last five years, I have used the WING HOI MONEY EXCHANGE located on the ground floor of the Mirador Arcade on 58 Nathan Rd. Shop 9B. (near the back entrance).
They have given me very good current rates from USD to HKD and RMB.  The 100 RMBs are marked by them as proof as being genuine.   
Avoid the shops located on some the main streets with signs like: No Commission etc  They advertise with a high exchange rate but they take a big chunk for service fee.

Good luck!

Having a HSBC account myself I find it gives the best rates going direct through the bank.

If you don't have a bank account with them, my friend has often got good rates around TST.
One advice is to not accept the rates advertised on the boards, there were several money changers around Cameron Road who were willing to negotiate and he managed to get very very competitive rates.

I've been coming in and out of HK for 30 years and I've tried almost all the money changers in the TST area, nobody beats Chungking Mansions. You can run around Cameron road or Wachai or wherever, haggle all you want, but you'll still end up with a lower rate. That 0.2% loss on the US to HK$ conversion I quoted above means you lose 20 cents for every 100 dollars exchanged. I don't think anyone is going to do better than that.

I hope that's HKD , not USD!

(JUst kidding.)

you will get charged a cash advance.
just setup a bank account with capital one. You only need to leave $1 in the account.

Marsupial: yeah, I was joking. Obviously, the loss is in whatever currency you're exchanging!