Money

Exchange for taxi at the airport in Vietnam. Later you can exchange anywhere in HCMC.

Exchange a small amount (around 200 - 300 USD) at the airport. Not more than that because at the airport exchange rate is a rip-off.
Later, exchange USD to VND from one of those gold shops or money exchange centers in D1. You can do it from a bank as well.
Personally I prefer VCB (Vietcombank) for USD to VND and gold shops for VND to USD.
If you go to VCB (or any other bank) bring your PP with you.
It's now illegal in Vietnam to do cash transactions in USD.
VCB exchange rates

How hard is it to figure out the dong like 1dollar and so on like for eating out and things like that and thanks for the info to

Street food between VND 20k to 50k. Same for fruit drinks, coffee and fruits from a street seller.
Food in a restaurant for locals wetween VND 40 and 150k.
Coffee and fruit drinks in a coffee shop between VND  30 and 80k.
Food in a restaurant for foreigner between VND 80 and 300k.
1 L milk VND 40, Vietnamese bread VND 5k, western bread between 20k and 300k.
1 kg apples between 40k and 300k.
You will see in the supermarkets, most can be bought from cheep to very expensive (e.g. apples or bread).

Is there some kind of chart one can pick up to carry around to get familiar with the money change it took me about a week in Japan to figure there's out, but the good thing about being in Japan they would help me and show me the exact amount it cost and count it out to me it made it easier to learn

supertaper wrote:

How hard is it to figure out the dong like 1dollar and so on like for eating out and things like that and thanks for the info to

Current exchange rate is I USD = 22,735 VND.
Most of us keep in mind "20,000 VND == little less than 1 USD (approx.)".
Get the app (www.xe.com) on your smartphone for a quick check anytime anywhere.
Take your time to get used to the colours of the currency notes.
Don't confuse 20k (<1 US) with 500k (<22 US).
- vietnamese-dong-how-to-do-it-right/

It depends on the restaurant of your choice.
A bowl of Pho is a sumptuous meal, costs around 30,000 to 70,000 VND (roughly $1.5 - $3.5) in a decent restaurant in D1.
- http://pho24.com.vn/page/detail/product

What about ATM machines there are they easy to find and do the restaurants take them and the street vendors I bank with Citibank which has satellite branches there have you seen any around in HCMC

Hey thanks for the info my friend it will help make it a bit easier to deal with have a good day

supertaper wrote:

What about ATM machines there are they easy to find and do the restaurants take them and the street vendors I bank with Citibank which has satellite branches there have you seen any around in HCMC

Yes there are around 14 Citi ATMs in HCM. Check HERE or HERE.
They have one at the airport as well.

I use an app called "Currency Plus".  Handy, just need wifi or data.  Right at the moment it's 22,714 VND to 1 USD.  I use bank machines, but problem with them is bank fees, unless you have an account with no foreign bank machine fees ( I have one from Canada, I assume you can get them in the US as well).  And the other problem with ATMs is you can generally only take out 3,000,000 at a time (170 CAD or or 130 USD). Sometimes lower, haven't found any where you can take out more.  You can do the 3,000,000 transaction as many times Mrs as you want to your daily limit, just sort of a pain...hope this helps.

726dbr wrote:

I use bank machines, but problem with them is bank fees, unless you have an account with no foreign bank machine fees ( I have one from Canada, I assume you can get them in the US as well). ...

And the other problem with ATMs is you can generally only take out 3,000,000 at a time (170 CAD or or 130 USD). Sometimes lower, haven't found any where you can take out more.

Many American expats have accounts with Schwab where ATM fee is reimbursed.  Citibank is the same, but you have to use their ATM network.  With Schwab, it doesn't matter which ATM you use and how many times you use it, it's always free.

There are many banks where you can withdraw more than 3M each time.  Vietcom: 5M;  Agri: 5M;  Vietin: 5M;  BIDV: 5M;  Citi: 8M;  Dong A: 10M.

Good to know, I usually just use sacom, as I tried a couple others (vietcom, bidv) and bank card didn't work...will try the other next time I get to town I a couple weeks

supertaper wrote:

How hard is it to figure out the dong like 1dollar and so on like for eating out and things like that and thanks for the info to

Ha! You will figure it out, crazy money. It all looks the same on one side, uncle Ho. The bills go from 200 to 500.000 !  Yes, use periods, not commas here.

Here is your complete money chart:
- 20.000 is $1.  Drink money.
- 100.000 is $5.  Food and taxi money.
Carry lots of 100.000, you can use them anywhere.

I hope you are bringing a smart phone, over 10 apps you can use for stuff, like senwl said, XE for currency, also translator, maps, gps, flashlight, alarm clock, timeanddate.com for timezones, web browser, telephone you will never use, texting you will use, skype, etcetery.

Bring cash, at least a grand or two, no more than five. Must be brand new bills, $100s best. Banks don't like wrinkles. Gold shops might take them tho.

But keep those greenbacks for emergencies. Like for when your ATM card breaks. No money in a foreign country can be a big problem, something I worry about.
Use your ATM card at the airport when you arrive, get 2 million baht. That is the limit of some ATM  machines. About 100 bucks. Enough until you need to cough up 2 months rent + deposit for your apt.

There are some Citibanks, and they have a higher ATM withdrawal limits too which is good at rent time. But it is not exactly the same bank as in the US. Your account won't work (so I have heard) but maybe they can link a new account to your US Citibank? dunno.

gobot wrote:

Use your ATM card at the airport when you arrive, get 2 million baht. That is the limit of some ATM  machines. About 100 bucks.

Gobot, we're in VN!  

gobot wrote:

There are some Citibanks, and they have a higher ATM withdrawal limits too which is good at rent time. But it is not exactly the same bank as in the US. Your account won't work (so I have heard) but maybe they can link a new account to your US Citibank? dunno.

They wll, with $5000 combined global balance.  Too rich for my blood, so I made a quick exit and haven't looked back.

it is easy to exchange cash at the airport as you exit customs.  You can either exchange cash or use an atm machine, they are right next to each other.  Unlike other countries, the exchange rate at the airport, every time I use it and it has been alot, is market rate and not a ripoff.  I usually get 1 million which is more than enough for travel to the hotel (usually 250k to 290k).  I use my debit card from my U.S. bank and never have a problem withdrawing and there are -0- fees because my bank covers all atm fees. 

What is important, tell your bank that you are traveling and staying VN and give them the dates so they do not reject your ATM transactions.  If they do not know you are going, they might lock your card for security reasons and then you will have to call the bank from VN and get it cleared up.  So avoid it by telling them your plans and make sure you get their international number just in case you have a problem.

Also important, do not leave the airport and ask for a cab from the street, you could have a big problem.  When you exit customs and next to the banks and atms, you will see a taxi service desk before you exit the airport, I recommend you prepay the taxi, get the receipt and let them take you to your taxi. The service is reasonable, they take you to the hotel and no need to tip as it is included in the price of the taxi.  You should know and understand, tipping is not like in the USA.

vndreamer wrote:

no need to tip as it is included in the price of the taxi.

I don't often use taxi, but I always tip Uber drivers.  I speak to every single one of the drivers I ride with, and all the stories are the same:  if they pick up every ride, if there's not a lull between rides, if they don't pay for lunch and drink, and if they don't have a car payment, then after 16 hour/day and the 29.5% cut from Uber, they MAY clear 400K.  That's about $1/hr. 

Anytime there are promotions, especially the free rides, I give the driver a tip big enough to make up for the loss in his fare.  After all, a few dollars in tips every week will not break me, but it may make the driver's day a bit better.

Ciambella wrote:

gobot wrote:

Use your ATM card at the airport when you arrive, get 2 million baht. That is the limit of some ATM  machines. About 100 bucks.

Gobot, we're in VN!

I got to get out of here. Not sure I can do two more months of Thai food. Every. Day!

When was the last time you took a taxi "from" the airport?  Not cheap as the other way around.  I am not talking about what you are talking about, apples to oranges.  If people want to live a western lifestyle in the East, their choice, but not very smart in my humble opinion for lots of reasons. 

vndreamer wrote:

When was the last time you took a taxi "from" the airport?  Not cheap as the other way around.  I am not talking about what you are talking about, apples to oranges.  If people want to live a western lifestyle in the East, their choice, but not very smart in my humble opinion for lots of reasons. 

Assuming it's me whom your comment was addressed, I took a taxi from TSN home just last month, on Jan 2.  December 16 was the time before that.  Then November 3 was the time before the December ride.  Our next ride will be on March 12 and the one after that will be on June 30.  I hope that answers your question on my knowledge of taxi fare from TSN, which is also the reason we use the bus and Uber instead of taxi when running around town. 

I didn't disagree with you on not tipping taxi.  I only shared the reasons I tip Uber drivers:

- because the fare is at least half of taxi fare

- because I frequently receive promotions that reduce a very low fare to a ridiculously low fare and the drivers must bear the loss so I can profit

- because in my mind, enjoying a comfortable ride for two across 3 districts for less than $1, sometimes even free of charge, without giving a good tip is not fair dealing to the service provider (the drivers, not Uber)

- because I think everyone deserves a halfway decent living, even ones who live in a poor country, not by choice but by birth (there but for the grace of God go I)

Does tipping someone who deserves a little extra mean living a Western life in a non-Western country?  I can assure you it doesn't.  My two dozen relatives, all of them natives and locals, some of them have never been out of the country, are doing the same thing.  I believe they call it empathy.

Ciambella

My point was that a prepaid taxi from TSN to our home is usually 270k but the ride back is usually 110k to 125k.  Thus, no tipping. However, if I was using the same fact pattern as you (e.g., uber, discounted etc.) then that would be a very different economic transaction and yes, I would tip.

"- because I think everyone deserves a halfway decent living, even ones who live in a poor country, not by choice but by birth (there but for the grace of God go I) "

We could talk about this subject for centuries and will most likely disagree.  What is a "halfway decent living".  That is a very subjective term.  When i live in VN, I don't have AC or hot water, but that does not mean I do not have a decent living.  To the contrary as the home is large, electronics of all sorts, cooking of all sorts and better foods than most people eat in the west.  So from my perspective, my life in VN is more decent than in the west, despite the fact we have a large home, AC, heat, garages, cars, bikes, privacy and most people would say was have the good life.  I guaranteed you that 99% of people would take our home in the USA over VN, but not us (both me and my wife prefer VN).

I do not want a debate over this subjective matter, just keep in mind that is just that, subjective.  People have been brainwashed into thinking they need all the luxuries of the west to be happy and that is a lie.  It is done to make you a consumer, a debt slave, work until you die while those in power retain it and their wealth.

I regularly go to HSBC 235 Dong Khoi with 2 different credit cards and get 2 * 5 mil VND almost every day.
A few times though, can withdraw only 2 mil per credit card.

DELAFON wrote:

I get 2 * 5 mil VND almost every day

Whoa, livin' the high life!