Leave for hong kong in 25 days to study

[goldingds]

Hey everyone! I'm David, an 18 year old currently living in the U.S.. I will be studying in Hong Kong for the next three years (to be specific, I will be in Kowloon Tong). I'm wondering what advice you guys have for me. I plan on wiring money from my United States bank account to a Hong Kong bank account, and then using the exchange rate of the Hong Kong bank account. Is this a good plan? Any tips on how to get good exchange rates with minimal fees? I'm also wondering about what cell phone services you may reccomend (I'd like 1000 minutes a month, good service, i have my own gsm unlocked quadband phone).

thanks guys!

[geo-seb]

You can try to use your US ATM card to withdraw money here in Hong Kong. The fees should be lower than the fee for wiring money.

[goldingds]

Any idea which bank/card gives the best deals on that?

[hello_there]

If you are banking with a large US bank, they should either have branches here where you can use the ATM without a fee (Citi, etc.) or they will have a bank here they have an agreement with that will let you use their ATMs without fees (BofA and China Construction Bank, etc.). Finding an ATM you can use w/o fees will save you US$5-10 per withdrawal.

If you are wiring larger sums over to a HK bank account a few times a year, that is also a good option for a student.

Your life will be easier if you open up a HK bank account either way.

[goldingds]

thanks for the reply! i will be wiring relatively large amounts of money (probably 20k-25k a year). My bank in the U.S. charges no wiring fee beyond a $25 base fee. I'm wondering if the Hong Kong bank will likely charge me a percentage fee.