jnoseye Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 Do you know how much the transaction fees might be?
erichyung Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 Not a lot, maybe like 2%? The exchange rate will hurt you more.
erichyung Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 citibank atms have been disappearing lately as well and replaced with some other bank's, not sure why.
k-couture Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 honestly best rates are with credit card. UNLESS you can find a no commission money change which I dunno if they exist in korea? In melbourne theres 2 in the cbd where i frequently xchange my smuggled in usd to aud with bwhahhahahaha
jnoseye Posted September 17, 2016 Posted September 17, 2016 I think 2 percent is quet a lot, then the exchange rate really going to hurt more. Do you guys know a place that charge least?
twocupcakes Posted September 17, 2016 Posted September 17, 2016 This is kind of sucky, but I don't think the US Citibank offers the same fee-free options as the Australian Citibank Plus accounts, so this might not be the best option for you. Myeongdong is a central suburb of Seoul, north of the river. It's super, super touristy, mainly for shopping and street food (though Gangnam is better for munchies), and the stores in the area usually have staff who speak Chinese, English or Japanese. They mostly sell clothes and cosmetics, and there are random stalls selling generic kpop stuff and trinkets. The cosmetics stores in Myeongdong also seem to charge a bit more than in other places in Seoul, so watch out for that. The subway system in Seoul is really convenient, and there are signs in English. Just buy a T-Money card, top it up with credit, and you should be good to go. Don't worry; you'll pick it up pretty quickly. Accommodation depends on how long you're staying for. Hotels are expensive, and there are cheaper options. Guest houses, airbnb, goshiwon places (if you're desperate). For people staying more than a month, I'd recommend just visiting a real estate agent and renting your own studio apartment. It's maybe around one million won (including your initial fees and utilities) for a decent place in Gangnam, but that's still way cheaper than staying at a hotel for the same amount of time. Plus, you can have people visit and you can cook to save money and stuff like that. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Ha. Sometimes it's hard to bribe consultants with money if they get a commission on what you're paying. But I've bribed a consultant before. We had already negotiated down the price to 1.5 million won. "That's the lowest you can go?" I asked. "Yes," she assured me, "I can't discount the price any more, sorry." "Oh? What if I gave you this?" I said, pulling a cute koala plushie out of my bag and placing it on the table in front of her. 1.2 million won. The koala cost me about $18 and saved me $300. Good deal~
ijustloveyou Posted September 19, 2016 Posted September 19, 2016 i know a few bank money exchange branches in seoul that just waive the commission - i've never been charged any extra commission fee on top of the exchange rate. The exchange rate against the AUD is quite similar to the non-bank money exchange vendors at myeongdong as well (probs cos AUD is not as popular as the RMB and USD in korea), which is why I choose to go to a bank to do it since its safer and more reliable.
oclenn Posted October 6, 2016 Posted October 6, 2016 Im going around december as well. You have kakao? It would be great to have some company Im from Australia as well, sydney to be specific.
reikanon Posted October 8, 2016 Posted October 8, 2016 Hi all, fellow Aussie here heading over in November! Would love to be added to any aussie group chats etc I totally agree about not bringing cash. Basically once you put all your eggs in that basket you'll be stuck having to accept whatever exchange rate they give you if you need it ASAP (like to secure a surgery spot) and it might not be as great as you assume once you get over there. If you're worried about maximising your money (me too) Citibank uses the official VISA exchange rate which will almost always be better than a cash exchange rate! If you can't find a citibank ATM you can use another bank's ATM which should be all over Seoul and they'll probably hit you with a fee but if you're planning to withdraw a few k just once then $5-20 might actually be a better deal than a cash exchange rate. Maybe you can ask a clinic where's the best place to exchange/withdraw? Haha they'd probably want you to get a good deal since you'll have more $$ to spend with them! Also if you need to exchange before going and you're from Sydney I reckon the best rates are at a place in Town Hall (at least for yen, I don't know if they do krw yet but will find out.) +It might sound a bit mothering but personally I'd be a quite wary of being seen exchanging 10k AUD in cash on the street no matter what country especially if you're going alone. @iJUSTloveYOU Thanks for all the info! Could I know the bank branch in Korea that you use to exchange with a good rate? Do you exchange a lot of money at one time?@yasminn_n If you’re staying in the city areas/Tokyo you should be able to find ATMs (maybe not citibank every time, but general ATMs that will accept your citibank card in 7/11) but if you're heading out of Tokyo I would bring enough yen to cover everything and don't rely on ATMs being there. My friends went out of the city for a 3 day ski trip and there were ZERO places they could use a card/withdraw within like a 2 hour radius so they basically had to skimp on all the things they were planning to do I find the best rate for jpy in Town Hall in Sydney (if I remember correctly it was better than exchanging in Japan) so if you want to exchange some before going I'd recommend KVB Kunlun!
ijustloveyou Posted October 8, 2016 Posted October 8, 2016 I only remember the location of it - i go there every year i visit seoul haha. I don't think it's a big sum... Usually I exchange 1000-2000 max each time. And use my CC mostly. PM me! I'm going in Nov as well I'm also from Sydney and have exchanged yen at Kunlun before too! I don't think they do krw but I'm not 100% as it would have been many years ago when I checked.. I've just been exchanging when I get to seoul ever since.. !
reikanon Posted October 8, 2016 Posted October 8, 2016 @iJUSTloveYOU PM'd! Also sorry guys I just checked on KVB Kunlun looks like they don't exchange krw! Some googling mostly brings up people saying it's cheaper to do it after landing in Korea but the cautious side of me always wants to have at least some money at the airport/the first day etc so if anyone happens to know a good place to change AUD > KRW in Sydney it'd be much appreciated! Has anyone tried withdrawing KRW with a citibank card from an Incheon airport ATM? Worked for me in Malaysia/KLIA so I was thinking that might be a good option!
yasminn_n Posted October 8, 2016 Posted October 8, 2016 Oh really? Yeah I might exchange some cash here in WA before going to Tokyo. That's what I did last time, I was just worried in case I ran out if I would literally be broke or if I could manage to find somewhere to withdraw! But you're definitely right, good to exchange some KRW before going so you have money for the first day We have a KK group for people going in Nov/Dec, there's a lot of us aussies there so if you pm your kk id I can add you
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