I will be traveling to the United States soon. My money is all in Chinese renminbi. My understanding is that I have 5 options available for converting my RMB to USD:
- Buy USD from Chinese banks and carry the cash to America
- Wire transfer money from my Chinese account to an American account
- Carry cash RMB into America and exchange at the airport
- Carry cash RMB into America and try to deposit it at a bank into an American account
- Try to make ATM withdrawls in America using my CHN bank cards
I have not done this before. My research has turned up the following possible caveats for each method:
- Chinese banks may not allow me to convert as much RMB, or may not have enough USD on hand, to meet my needs
- Chinese international wire transfers are heavily restricted and require an intentionally discouraging amount of paperwork to complete
- Easy, but potentially yields very poor exchanges rates.
- American banks may lack the equipment necessary to check the validity of my CHN currency and refuse to accept it
- American ATMs might refuse my CHN cards, or my CHN accounts may not allow overseas access. Exchange rates are generally poor.
I am looking for the best combination of low hassle/reasonable exchange and am expecting to convert in the neighborhood of $8,000 for this trip.
If anyone has some suggestions on the best course of action I would be very grateful.