Best way to get wedding money in/out of Thailand

[ding 1]

We want to have a Buddhist ceremony at Lek's home up-country. It's custom to give a show of money to the family. What's the best way to get a few thousand$ US into Thai Baht and back to US dollars? I want to put it right back into my bank when we return to Bangkok but want to avoid transaction fees and transfer fees, as much as possible.

[andrew va thuy 0]

I have never heard of getting money without a transaction fee. Can you bring that much legally into the country ??

Oddly enough people have fake money when they die. The consulate takes a certified letter from your bank or I-134. But I know you would not want to make such a pragmatic suggestion Please dont be offended.

[ding 1]

Not offended at all, no worries.

Washington Mutual has a no-fee free checking account. You get the Gold Card and there are no international ATM fees, just from the machine's operator/bank. The double exchange rate -from USD to TB and back to USD into my bank- is what trips me up. I know guys doing this ceremony in Thailand go through this all the time. I bet the fees are just a cost that is accepted.

[Lurker 0]

Can they not accept your tax transcripts? Not trying to be funny here....but if you laugh...well..then let it out.

[K.Robert 0]

Your lucky.

In some cases the Dowrey is kept if they are a poor family.

[ding 1]

Your lucky.

In some cases the Dowrey is kept if they are a poor family.

Yes, I am sooooo lucky! I just can't get over it.

My secret plan includes leaving behind more Bhat than they think. Shhhhh

I'd rather send her mom money every month than leave a big lump sum behind for everyone to swoop down on.

Lek and I talked it out and her mom is just very happy for Lek. Doesn't expect a cent/satang.

That my think! (But not too mut)

[mRx 16]

Your lucky.

In some cases the Dowrey is kept if they are a poor family.

Yes, I am sooooo lucky! I just can't get over it.

My secret plan includes leaving behind more Bhat than they think. Shhhhh

I'd rather send her mom money every month than leave a big lump sum behind for everyone to swoop down on.

Lek and I talked it out and her mom is just very happy for Lek. Doesn't expect a cent/satang.

That my think! (But not too mut)

I have always used cash in Thailand. I bring 100 dollar bills, they get the best exchange rate. Also i believe AE travelers checks do pretty good too. I always try to estimate exactly how much i will need during my trip, without having too much extra baht left over. Cuz the exchange rate will always screw you on the flipside.

[ding 1]

Thanks Matt, I use $100's too for spending. And carfry Am Exp TC's for back-up. The deal is the amount is more this time, thousands, and I will have to deposit it for security after the ceremony.

I will likely have to bring in $100's, exchange them to Baht, and then exchange them back to US$ again.

But I've never deposited into a Thai bank for transfer into my bank, though. It's not a big enough amount for SWIFT, I don't think. Maybe I'll give some to Lek's mom and leave the rest for Lek who can bring back the rest.

The US probably is more concerned about money going in & out these days (for obvious reasons) than Thailand.

[nate&nid 0]

Good Luck with your plan. Maybe I am a little ol'fashioned, I gave what I gave, no expectation of getting any of it back, her mother was very happy. In my case her mother just used it to pay off debts that the daughter would have ended up having to pay anyway, so it wasn't a total loss. Get used to it gents, in Thai culture, especially in Isaan, daughters with a samee-farang will be expected to pay. In Thailand respect comes at a price, don' be seen as khi nio!

If your going in just for the show, then I suggest you just absorb the cost of the fees, the price you pay for having the Thais give you respect by allowing you to give the family large sums of baht. Just my opinion.

[anya-D 8]

At my wedding we use US dollars for the sinsod.. go figure My family know too well of the cost of exchange and dont want me to lose those money so they dont mind... may be u can try talking to her family about this as well..

[ken and mintra 0]

Good Luck with your plan. Maybe I am a little ol'fashioned, I gave what I gave, no expectation of getting any of it back, her mother was very happy. In my case her mother just used it to pay off debts that the daughter would have ended up having to pay anyway, so it wasn't a total loss. Get used to it gents, in Thai culture, especially in Isaan, daughters with a samee-farang will be expected to pay. In Thailand respect comes at a price, don' be seen as khi nio!

If your going in just for the show, then I suggest you just absorb the cost of the fees, the price you pay for having the Thais give you respect by allowing you to give the family large sums of baht. Just my opinion.

I, too, will be giving my fiances family a token cash payment. Actually dowry is Chinese in origin and not Thai. In Thailand they call it Sin Sot, or Mother's Milk. It is a Thai custom meant for Thai men marrying Thai women. Honestly, if your a farang, you have no requirement or obligation to pay this. The amount you pay is also based on the families status, her age, whether she's a virgin, whether she was married before and has children, etc. Many modern day Thai women and their families don't ask for it and are just happy that their daughters found someone that loves them and will take care of them. I think it's a beautiful custom and tradition so I will participate in it and don't feel that I'm being "forced" to give. My fiance is from Lampang, northern Thailand, and her family are poor but they did scratch together enough money to put her through college and earn her bachelor's degree. They are also wonderful people who raised a beautiful daughter. The amount I give them is not large by American standards but will make a huge difference in their lives. Mintra never did bring the subject up to me but I did ask her if she would like me to participate in this tradition. It made her very happy. On the joking side, I told her that I would honor the Thai tradition of Sin Sot but she had to honor the American tradition of the brides family paying for the wedding in the USA. I thought she was going to die until I told her I was joking. Good luck to all of you and let the journey begin.

"Not all who wonder are lost"!!!!!

[Kang Lang 7]

in terms of giving your mother in law on an ongoing basis i suggest doing what my thai ex-pat friends do for their families, open another account just for her (at wamu or whatever) and send her the atm card w/ the visa or mcard symbol on it and then she can use it at most of the "big" atm machines and or in stores where they are accepted. it is a very fast way to get money to them w/ low fees also it is quicker than a wire transfer etc.

[Yodrak 7]

ding,

I like anya-D's suggestion - present the sinsot in US dollars. A plate full of US $100 bills will look pretty impressive to up-country Thai villagers.

Or, try what I did - about half the sinsot in baht, half in the form of a [rubber] check. Pretty tacky, but due to a number of circumstances I simply wasn't liquid enough at the time to show the full sinsot amount in cash at the time that my wife and her family wanted to hold the ceremony. This was our compromise in order to display the amount that the family wanted. After the ceremony, my wife and I used the cash to cover our vacaton expenses for the next few weeks and the check was shredded. (A check might not impress a group of up-country villagers, though.)

Yodrak

We want to have a Buddhist ceremony at Lek's home up-country. It's custom to give a show of money to the family. What's the best way to get a few thousand$ US into Thai Baht and back to US dollars? I want to put it right back into my bank when we return to Bangkok but want to avoid transaction fees and transfer fees, as much as possible.

[ding 1]

Thanks Yodrak -and everyone.

We had a great engagement ceremony ...after NOK Air screwed us out of our seats and made us 6 hours late!

NOK Air no-care.

I brought US$ and hit the exchange booth. It was easy and I did what you did with the remainder Yodrak. I used all Baht and it seemd 9 is a lucky number. That's good because the first lucky number was a millionB!

I didn't need to use my ATM card all the time this trip and had cash for 2 weeks back at home.

There were 100 guests and they waited a long time, 30+ waited until Thai Air got us there. The ceremony was a LOT more than I was told. I expected to see Glen Levit and Absolut empties piled to the rafters the next morning.

[mRx 16]

Thanks Yodrak -and everyone.

We had a great engagement ceremony ...after NOK Air screwed us out of our seats and made us 6 hours late!

NOK Air no-care.

I brought US$ and hit the exchange booth. It was easy and I did what you did with the remainder Yodrak. I used all Baht and it seemd 9 is a lucky number. That's good because the first lucky number was a millionB!

I didn't need to use my ATM card all the time this trip and had cash for 2 weeks back at home.

There were 100 guests and they waited a long time, 30+ waited until Thai Air got us there. The ceremony was a LOT more than I was told. I expected to see Glen Levit and Absolut empties piled to the rafters the next morning.

Hey Ding

Glad you had a good engagement ceremony. We had about 90 guests at our engagement ceremony. I remember smiling so much, that i could barely talk by the end of the day. But definetely an unforgettable and totally worthwhile event. Congrats again man.