@John ******

the only way is: fly back home on his full passport. On the way out there is no more exit stamp from Thailand through the automated gates. However, he will need a little bit of space for the OVERSTAY STAMP in his passport. If there isn't even this little space, he needs an emergency passport from his embassy

@Andrew *******

it will take much too long to get a new passport. He will sum up too many days of overstay and he is running the risk of getting arrested, detained and blacklisted. He needs an emergency passport from his embassy, it takes a day or two, and then immediately leave Thailand on a flight back to his home country. Pay 500 THB for every day of overstay at the airport. He should not stay in Thailand any longer

@Thaimer *****

he needs to immediately leave Thailand on a flight back to his home country. Pay 500 THB for every day of overstay at the airport. He should not stay in Thailand any longer. I hope that there still is enough space in his passport for the ugly overstay stamp

@Dany *******

It is more than just stupid- it is absolutely crazy to think that he just needs to visit Immigration with a new passport, being on XY days of overstay, and expect to receive a touristic extension? How stupid can people be?

@Stuart ********

that was me thinking as well. He could get an emergency passport issued from his embassy, which can be had within a day or two, then buy a flight ticket back to his home country and pay the overstay fine at the airport. He shouldn't wait much longer! The plan of his friend is outright stupid, because not even a new passport will enable him to receive a touristic extension from Immigration - on the contrary, he is running into the risk of getting arrested

IMMEDIATELY book a flight, leave Thailand, pay the fine for the overstay at the airport Immigration, 500 THB for every overstay day. DON'T attempt to stay in Thailand! As long as he surrenders to authority at the airport on a ticket out of Thailand, everything will be fine. But if he gets caught inside Thailand on an overstay over 11 days, he will get arrested and detained and be forced to buy a flight ticket and held in airport detention center, some will stay there for weeks (!!) and will be banned from further entries into Thailand

😲😮😲 Your plan will not work!! He should NEVER remain on overstay and he won't be able to receive any extension, not even with a new passport! He must IMMEDIATELY buy a flight out of Thailand, go to the airport ASAP and leave Thailand. Showing his overstay at the airport Immigration, while holding a ticket out of Thailand, will be regarded as "surrendering to the authorities", which will prevent him from being arrested, detained and banned from Thailand. He also can visit Immigration, show them the overstay, he will be made to pay the fine and asked to leave Thailand right after. He will need to pay a fine for the overstay, 500 THB for every day. 12 days x 500 THB = 6000 Baht. KEEP IN MIND - if he gets outed inside Thailand on an overstay, he will face SEVERE consquences

@Fred *****

so pray tell - do tourist who visit Thailand generally already have a Thai bank account? 😅😄 Are you dreaming ? What are you trying to tell a traveller? They can't pay using the Q-code. You need a Thai bank account for that. . . . . SO, as a result , a normal tourist needs to FIRST come with a good wad of cash, and SECOND has a credit card that offers provision-free ATM withdrawals

@Paul *********

5000 quid a month just for beer and chicks? Mum said you are nasty boy 🤣😃

What’s best when travelling to South East Asia and Thailand: cash or credit cards?

A good mix of cash, plus one or two credit cards will do the trick.

In Thailand, Cash is king. Restaurants, street vendors, clothing shops, night markets = everyone loves your cash.

At the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok you can get one of the best exchange rates in all of Thailand.

BE CAREFUL: you can't get this best rate in the arrival area or in transit, or on the level with the shops and restaurants. Briefly explained - you should NEVER change your cash in the upper floors of the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

There are bank exchange booths, but at these you get a terribly bad rate, which is at least 3-5 THB per Dollar or Euro or Pound Sterling worse than the rate at the money changers in the basement.

If someone tells you that the exchange rate at the airport is bad, it's because this person has only seen the upper levels exchange booths, and has never been to the Suvarnabhumi Airport basement.

You should also never change in your home country before you travel, the difference is 5-6 THB compared to the rate you will receive in Thailand.

After you have passed Immigration on your arrival, you will be in the area with the baggage belts - before Thai customs. You will see a first ATM in this venue, at which you could withdraw cash with a credit card.

NOTE: There are no ATM’s airside BEFORE Immigration (although some people have mentioned that since 2024 there is an ATM across from the counters where citizens of some countries have to buy the Visa-On-Arrival)

Drawing Thai Baht at an ATM using your credit card offers the daily foreign exchange spot rate, and that's a really good rate. If your card-issuing bank doesn't charge any commission for using the card abroad, it means you will get Thai Baht for a really, really good exchange deal.

It would actually be a better exchange rate than anything you would get with those money changers in the streets and on the beaches.

The bank that operates the ATM will charge a flat 250.- THB fee for each withdrawal. So, you should spread this fee across the maximum amount which you can draw at the ATM.

At most ATMs you get 20.000.- THB in one draw. At the yellow Krungsri Bank ATM you can get up to 30.000.- THB with one draw.

You shouldn't withdraw 2000.- THB or 5000.- THB from the ATM. The 250.- THB fee would hurt a lot!

CAUTION is advised at an ATM: if the ATM offers to show you the exchange rate in your currency on the monitor (dynamic currency conversion), you should ALWAYS refuse! You will lose a lot of money if you agree with the “conversion”!

You will never see the exchange rate applied when using the normal withdrawal method. You will be able to check the rate much later on your account statements. However, I can rest assure you that the credit card provider rate is a very good rate!

One of the advantages of a credit card is: You don't have to take a lot cash with you.

The disadvantage of a credit card however is: If you lose it, or make a mistake at the ATM and the ATM eats your card, you will be left standing in the rain

PAY ATTENTION: at a Thai ATM, the bills will come first, followed by the card! This might be different from the ATM’s in your home country. Many people get caught off guard and forget to take the card from the slot, and Bingo! - the ATM eats your card

WHERE at the airport are the money changers with the best exchange rates?

After passing Thai Customs, you need to take the escalators or the elevators down to the basement of the airport, which is called "Floor B” – or just follow the signs to the "Airport Rail Link"- this is the shuttle train to downtown Bangkok.

Right at the platform of the “Airport Rail Link” there are three money changer booths. With them, you can get the best exchange rate of the whole of Thailand. This is NO exaggeration! At the booths of Superrich, HappyRich and Kasikorn, you will get an identical rate.

Maybe you may get a marginally better rate at the Superrich Head Office in downtown, but you don’t arrive there after your flight. You should take your chance and exchange your cash right here in the airport basement, and right now.

Large denomination banknotes will get you a better exchange rate than smaller denominations. The banknotes should not be creased or torn, or contain any markings and scribbles.

The three money changers in the airport basement are open from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m

On the southern islands the exchange rate is always by far less. On the islands I recommend you exchange over a bank counter. Always compare between the bank rate and the rate offered by private moneychangers.

The exchange rate over across a bank counter is rather mediocre, but in the south and on the islands, it is usually the better choice.

Using your credit card or debit card for a change across a bank counter saves you the 220 THB fee that would otherwise be charged at the ATM, but the rate is not as good compared to a withdrawal at the ATM

Exchanging cash right after arriving at the Suvarnabhumi BKK airport is a perfect choice for all travellers. It saves you from having to find a private money changer.

Don’t forget: exchanging cash at private money changers will not get you any better rate than if you are drawing at an ATM with your credit card. With the exception of a marginally better rate at the green and orange Superrich booths in Bangkok and the yellow/black TT-Exchange booths in Pattaya, your credit card is the perfect choice.