Exchange Rates

Hi.

Getting a bit confused by the current exhange rates quoted here in the UK and Malaysia, so I just wanted to ask a couple of questions.

(1) What is the current rate offered for travellers cheques in Kota Kinabalu at the moment?

(2) What is the best online site (ie Bank) to monitor the tourist rates?

We are travelling to Singapore and Malaysia this July/August and wanted to keep an eye on the exchange rates. Appears to be quite a difference between what we are offered here in the UK and what a bank would offer us in Malaysia.

Hope someone can help advise.

Regards.

Exchange Rates

I quoted the different exchange rates from various sources in an earlier posting re a trip in April -

Exchange rates CCs/ATMs/cash - 14 May

I don%26#39;t know about rates in KK.

Maybank has a website and under th eonline banking facility you can look at current exchange rates.

In my experience the best rate is from local money changers but that has to be balanced against carrying lots of cash. Credit cards are not too bad but ATMs carry a high commission charge unless you make one big withdrawal. People tend not to use travellers cheques these days as you pay commission twice.

Exchange Rates

I%26#39;m travelling almost the same time as you. SIN for 3 days then onto KK for 11 days.

As things stand, I%26#39;m inclined just to use my bank cards for withdrawals in local currencies as and when needed. The Pound is still very strong against the USD at the moment and with Malaysian ringgit being pegged to the USD you should be almost guarenteed a great rate with most of the UK banks. Of course you may perhaps get better rates from local currency changers, but the convienience of just hitting the ATM every other day has to be worth it.

Sorry to burst your bubble but the Ringgit is not pegged to the USDollar. Over the past few months the GB Pound has been falling against the Ringgit while rising against the Dollar. You can check commercial rates here

uk.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert…

A mix of cash/CCs and ATMs is good - all I would say is do not hit the ATM every few days. HSBC charged me about 3.50 pounds per withdrawal (on top of the commission built into the exchange rate) so better to limit this to a couple of large withdrawals

But hey - you will be on holiday, not a financial services seminar

Hi

Check this web site out for exchange rates maybank2u.com.my/business/treasury/foreign_e…

I just bring cash and use the money changers they seem to give you the best rates but the Maybank web page is bank rates.

Damn, forgot it was depegged in %26#39;05. Thanks for clearing that up. I hate to pass on duff info.

That being said, I still think a mix of Cash and ATMs is the way forward providing you are not making small transactions a few times a day. The rates will vary depending upon your bank.

I guess it really comes down to personal preference of whether you are happy carrying cash around. Personally I%26#39;ve never felt comfortable carrying more than a couple of hundred with me.

It%26#39;s my first trip to malaysia/Singapore so I%26#39;m struggling to decide how much I would reasonably expect to spend per day. Excluding payments for tours and excursions.

Thank you all for the comments, they are much appreciated.

Looking at the exchange rates with MayBank, there is about 30c in the pound difference between Malaysia and the UK at the moment.

We have booked direct with our hotel in KK this time around and as it is payable in RM I was getting a little concerned about the fluctuation here in the UK. Feel quite reassured now.

We have found that there is also a couple of credit cards here in the UK that do not charge for using the card abroad which is also a bonus when travelling. I am not sure about the %26#39;no advertsing%26#39; rules so did not want to mention which particular credit cards they were in this post.

Kind regards.

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