Where to change money in Thailand: airport, city, bank or hotel
Article updated: 2026-10-15
Best rate USD · Bangkok: 33.65 — Superrich Thailand — Headquarter Rajdamri 1 · Oct 24, 13:59 → Details
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On any given day the gap between the best and the worst money changer in a Thai city is around 1%. On 15 October 2026 it was 0.36 baht on the dollar in Bangkok, 360 baht on US$1,000, for a decision that takes ten seconds. This guide is about making that decision well.
The airport: only what you need for the first evening
The bank booths in the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi do not publish their rates, so the site cannot give you a figure for them; by reputation they are the weakest boards in the building. Change 3,000 to 5,000 baht there, enough for the taxi, a SIM and a first meal, and no more.
If you are taking the Airport Rail Link, you pass two tracked counters from the big city chains on level B. On 15 October the better of them was buying US dollars at 33.41 against a city best of 33.51, a tenth of a baht or 0.3% behind town rather than a few per cent, with the same 0.10 gap on euros and pounds. The Happy Rich counter there is open from 05:00 to midnight. Don Mueang has a counter from the same chain on the walkway to the Red Line station, open 05:00 to 22:00. The comparison is spelled out in Suvarnabhumi airport exchange rates.
Where the best boards are in Bangkok
Pratunam and Ratchadamri are the centre of it. Superrich Thailand’s head office on Rajdamri 1 and Grand Superrich on Soi Ratchadamri 1 sit within a block of each other, and on 15 October they held the city’s best boards: the head office at 33.51 for dollars, 37.50 for euros and 44.40 for pounds, Grand Superrich at 0.0253 for won. The catch is hours: the head office closes at 18:00 on weekdays, 17:00 on Saturday and does not open on Sunday.
Silom is the second strong area, with X-One on Surawong Road and Value Plus on Soi Thaniya, open until 23:00. Vasu is further east, by BTS Nana. X-One and Vasu both close on Sunday.
Shopping malls (CentralWorld, Terminal 21, MBK) are convenient but run slightly behind the main branches; which floor each counter is on is in mall exchange counters, and the street-by-street picture in where to change money in Bangkok. The bottom of the Bangkok table on 15 October was K81 Exchange on Ram Inthra 81, at 33.15 for dollars.
The branch matters more than the brand
Superrich Thailand (green) and SuperRich 1965 (orange) are two different companies, and within each chain every branch sets its own rate. On 15 October the green chain’s best dollar board was 33.51 at its head office and the orange chain’s best 33.44 at Big C Place Ratchadapisek. “Go to Superrich” is only half a decision; the other half is which one and which branch. Superrich vs SuperRich 1965 untangles the names.
Banks and hotel desks
Thai bank branches change money too, and so do many hotel front desks. A bank counter is a reasonable fallback where there is no specialist nearby, and a poor choice in a city that has one; the site tracks one bank-run counter, on Koh Samui, where it is the only option.
Hotel desks are not tracked here, so there is no number to give you. Treat them like the arrival hall: a convenience for a small amount late at night, not the place to change the trip’s cash.
City by city, as of 15 October 2026
| City | Tracked counters | Best dollar rate | Spread, best to worst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok | 86 | 33.51 | 0.36 |
| Pattaya | 62 | 33.43 | 0.38 |
| Hua Hin | 4 | 33.50 | none |
| Chiang Mai | 2 | 33.48 | none |
| Phuket | 4 | 33.41 | 0.09 |
| Chiang Rai | 2 | 33.50 | 0.02 |
Bangkok has 86 tracked counters across nine chains, the deepest competition in the country. Hours run from 05:00 at the airport to midnight; 58 of the 63 counters with known hours open on Sunday.
Pattaya has 62 tracked counters, 59 of them T.T. Currency Exchange branches, many open until 21:00 or 22:00 and the Central branch until 23:00; 54 of the 56 with known hours open on Sunday. The best dollar board, 33.43 at Terminal 21, was 0.08 behind Bangkok, and the T.T. branches sit within a few hundredths of each other; the 0.38 spread comes from the one independent, Damini on Soi 13/2, at 33.05. See Pattaya money exchange.
Chiang Mai has two tracked counters, both Super Money, on Loi Kroh Road by the Night Bazaar and on Sri Phum Road at the Old City’s north moat, open 08:30 to 17:30 seven days a week. Plan around the early close. See Chiang Mai money exchange.
Phuket has four tracked counters, three Lion Currency Exchange desks in Patong and at Central Phuket plus Mamy Exchange at Koh Kaew. The spread was 0.09 on dollars and zero on euros and pounds; it is the untracked beach booths that drift. See Phuket money exchange.
Hua Hin has four Twelve Victory branches, two in Market Village, one in Bluport and one on Naresdamri Road open until 22:00, all quoting the same rates, which matched Bangkok’s best on euros and pounds. See Hua Hin money exchange.
Koh Samui has one tracked counter, at the airport. Change on the mainland before the ferry; see the island rate penalty.
Provincial and border towns. Udon Thani, Hat Yai, Chiang Rai, Mae Sai and others usually have a single Twelve Victory, Super Money or K79 branch, and some close on Sunday. The rate is rarely the problem outside the big cities; the hours are. Isan money and border-town exchange cover them.
Bring large notes
A US$100 note earns more baht per dollar than a $20. On 15 October the best Pattaya counter paid 33.43 for US$50 and US$100 notes and 32.95 for US$5 to US$20, 1.4% less for the small ones. Bring the largest clean, undamaged notes you can; torn or written-on notes are refused or discounted. Pounds are tiered far less and Australian dollars not at all; which banknotes to bring has the currency-by-currency detail.
Bring your passport
A licensed money changer must record ID for every transaction. A photo on your phone is often accepted for small amounts; the original is safer. See passport and ID rules.
Cash or ATM?
Thai ATMs charge foreign cards 220 baht per withdrawal, on top of your own bank’s fees. Because it is a flat fee, small withdrawals are the expensive ones: 220 baht on 5,000 is 4.4%, on 30,000 it is 0.7%. Against a best Bangkok board 0.2% below mid-market, the counter wins on any amount that matters. At the machine and at every card terminal, decline the offer to be charged “in your home currency”; that is dynamic currency conversion, and it adds 3–8%. The full comparison is in cash, card or ATM.
When you do not need this
- A short Bangkok trip paid mostly by card. Change a small amount on level B at the airport and top up once in Pratunam.
- Pattaya. With 59 branches of one chain within a few hundredths of each other, walk into the nearest one.
- A no-foreign-fee card and a 20,000-baht limit. One large withdrawal costs about 1%. The counter is still cheaper, but not by much.
Check before you set off
Board rates change several times a day. This site reads them every few minutes from each chain’s own website, for 183 counters in 23 cities, with the mid-market rate alongside. Start from the Bangkok page or the shop directory. The board in the branch when you hand over your notes is the one that counts.