| just a new boy needing advise on currency in China. | |
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| Dec 23, 2007 03:23 |   |
 | G'day and Merry Christmas. i am soon to visit China and need some help concerning currency. i will have a visa card and australian dollars. i have been advised to convert say $A50 into small denomination Chinese currency for spending each day. i was told that most hotels have an exchange desk. i also understand that to buy say ipod i can use a visa card fairly widespread. in country areas i should calculate my cash requirements and arrange such matters in the main cities. you will gather that i am finding out from diverse sourses and ask for your opinions on these matters and guidance as to the denominations of the currency i should carry. i do value all the assistance i have gathered from this site and do appreciate your valuable time in advising me regards peter |
| Dec 23, 2007 09:21 | #1 |
| #1 except from Hong Kong and Macau, foreign CC’s are not fully accepted in China, as we know in the Western countries, exception to Chinese CC’s. $50.00 is not a lot of cash money, since you do not know if you can use your CC at the next stop. I found many small bills annoying and complicated. #2 Yes, bigger hotels do have an exchange desk, nothing against any foreign currency, not everybody take’s other than US Dollars. #3 Remember that if a foreign CC is accepted, it will be accepted by a high-end store. #4 Yes, you do not want to run out of cash in a village, it is more difficult to exchange any foreign currency if not impossible. Your foreign CC is use less in the village. Merry Christmas |
| Dec 23, 2007 13:08 | #2 |
| is it possible to get a Chinese cc i wonder? thanks for the advise - most appreciated Merry Christmas regards peter |
| Dec 23, 2007 20:53 | #3 |
| Peter, Exchanging money at an Hotel can be expensive. Visa is taken in most large store but be careful to check what they are asking you to sign for and of course to not let it out of your site. I am assuming that you do not plan to wonder too far off the beaten track. Dodger. |
| Dec 24, 2007 04:52 | #4 |
| Hey whats up, Peter, if you plan on relying on your Visa Credit Card as your main method of obtaining currency, I would suggest you check with your carrier as to what charges may apply. In the past, Credit Cards were the safest and cheapest way to obtain currency in a foreign country but as times have changed its best to check first, here is an interesting article on the subject: http://www.ticked.com/ The only use I found in using my Credit Card for my trip to China was to purchase my plane ticket with it. My carrier is one of the largest financial companies in the US so I was covered to an extent for travel delays and medical, 50,000 and 100,000. If you do plan on calling your Carrier's Customer Service to research any hidden fee's or coverages, remember to ask for a "reference number" or some type of code that you can refer to if any problems that may arise from a representative's error. If you plan on carrying your native currency and plan on converting it as you need them, most exchange booths/counters will give you the best rate only if you exchange the highest denomination, but I am not sure about AU currency. Every major city I visited as well as HK would display rates for currencies such as US Dollar, Canadian, Euro and Pound but I do not recall seeing AU currency. If you are curious how I got my currency, I converted most of my spending money here in the states through my bank. There wasn't any fee's, I just get what the previous days exchange rate is and they deliver it to my door via Drivers License and Signature. But I am not sure if they have that available there in AU. As for the $A50 and small currency, its definitely a very bad idea. First of all JCNILE123 is right about the annoyance of small currency. If you ever had Chinese RMB, the small denominations vary in size from the larger denominations and can be frustrating. $A50 converts into 43.5781 USD which converts into 320.234 CNY which is very little to go on if you stay in the city. A night in a hotel with 2 single beds is already around at least 200RMB. Once you figure in your 3 square meals, transportation, shopping and other misc needs, it may be hard to stretch. For example, I spent +/-1000RMB a day in the city for the usual tourist thing and light shopping but when I stayed in a rural village, 300 RMB covers a personal taxi/ Hotel/ food and other little things. 320RMB is a lot of money to the locals there in China but its pretty hard for us foreigners to stay within that range on a daily basis. China is still fairly cheap to have fun in but not as cheap as you think, and depends on where you go as well. Hope that helps, Danny |
| Dec 24, 2007 10:57 | #5 |
| You will NOT find many shops that will accept a credit card, but you can use it in ATM's readily enough. If you are going to country areas you should get a supply of local currency first. If you are staying a while it is easy to open a bank account (though you will need to take a translator to most banks) and get an ATM card, not a credit card. Then you can use your visa card to get a large sum and deposit in the local account. There are small charges for using ATM's away from your home bank. You mentioned $50 which at 6 point something to the Aussie dollar (the real dollar these days) that's over 300 rmb. If that is purely spending money on top of a pre-paid tour it should be plenty as long as you keep away from the Shanghai pubs and clubs. If you plan to pay for everything out of that sum, you can still do it. I travel on under 200rmb a day, but I stay in very basic hotels and hostels, don't eat in big restaurants, and rarely go to a bar (I drink my beer sitting a plastic stool outside a shop and observe life). I am clearly very different from Danny! - I wouldn't know how to spend 1000rmb a day! If you want to know more about costs I suggest you explain your needs/style and we can answer more. |
| Dec 24, 2007 11:03 | #6 |
| hey Destructok, there's an interesting cultural difference you pointed out - you mentioned that it is annoying that the size of Chinese notes varies and that is annoying and frustrating. When I was in the US I couldn't understand how a country could be so dumb as to have all the notes (bills if u prefer) all the same size and colour. It means that you have to look at every individual note and see the number in the corner... very frustrating! I am intrigued to know that you find it preferable. The US is the only country I know of that has all notes the same. Of course all the best countries have plastic notes ... don't we :) (and some SAR's too) |
| Dec 24, 2007 15:04 | #7 |
| Well Apault, It is evidently clear how different we are seeing as you can be considered a "local" there in China. It would be easier for you to get around and get the things you need in a place that is familiar to you. I do love all my bills in the same size and color, I could have 20 100 dollar bills or 20 single dollar bills and a thief wouldn't know the difference. If we did have varied color and sizes it would be easily distinguishable for any common thief to know that your carrying 100RMB because its a special red and easily recognized. So I don't think its dumb to have all bills the same size and color. Since everybody checks there wad before pulling any notes out to pay for anything, they look at which note fits the bill. So dumb doesn't really fit but if you have to have all your notes color coded and in various sizes, it just seems like it was something made for kids. |
| Dec 25, 2007 09:47 | #8 |
| ((((You mentioned $50 it should be plenty as long as you keep away from the Shanghai pubs and clubs. If you plan to pay for everything out of that sum, you can still do it. I travel on under 200rmb a day, but I stay in very basic hotels and hostels, don't eat in big restaurants, and rarely go to a bar (I drink my beer sitting a plastic stool outside a shop and observe life). I am clearly very different from)))) Let us see, 50.00 to 75.00 Yuan [hostels?], A noodle soup for breakfast 7.00 Yuan, Fried rice and egg lunch 8.00 Yuan, 2.00-Yuan tea, Noodle soup for dinner 7.00 Yuan [you must drink tap water all day long], 2 or 3, beers by the side walk on a plastic cheer seeing the world passing by, 12.00 Yuan, Dreaming of a trip around the beautiful exotic China. Bus, a taxi, or a train? Not possible, Seat there to a halt, Do not move. Walk to your Hostel? Have fun, You just traveled around China, on a 200.00-Yuan budget and have money left to save for your elder days. 200.00 Yuan = to $26.00 USA Dollars average. Do not know nothing about other currency [except that it is not so welcome in China as the USA Dollar] but maybe you can get a lot more from other than USA Dollars? HE, he, impressive. |
| Dec 25, 2007 20:56 | #9 |
| My trip is prepaid and i am looking just to have change in my pocket for casual spending . i do want to buy some articles such as a 160mb ipod an a pearl blackberry but i will use a credit card for those purchases i expect - not shure how much i would expect to pay in China but would love some guidance . what about prepaid sim cards - are they available and can they be used to receive and sent in most parts of China hope you had a great Christmas and now have a Happy New Year regards peter |
| Feb 7, 2009 01:34 | #10 |
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