How to bring pretty penny to Europe to buy your dream watch

[loong1019]

Dear Mod,

My apologies for posting this topic as I have no idea it is classified as “kopi talk” or “travel”. Pls assist to bring the subject over if I posted into wrong classification.

Good morning Folks,
I am planning to go Germany for a holiday, was heard that the watches’ prices are quite decent compare with SG due to current exchange rate. Hence I intend to get my dream watch which cost about 20k Euro. However a traveler who enters or leaves Singapore is required to give a report if he carries with him an amount exceeding Singapore dollars 20,000 (extract from below link)

http://www.changiairport.com/passeng...reporting-cash

I believe many bros and sis here could have the similar experiences, I would greatly appreciate you could share with us how you tackle this problem.

I have thought of some options with cons as follows:-

1. Report to relevant authorities for the exact amount when leaving to Europe.
Con is got no idea how long does the process take, and the procedure could be tedious.

2. Leaving to Europe with pretty penny but do not report
Con is I might be charged for laundering if get caught.

3. Bring the cash which does not exceed 20k SGD, remaining balance swipe by credit card.
Con is bank exchange rate is not as high as money changer and there is an oversea charge also.

4. Withdraw from Citibank ATM as I was told that I could withdraw money for free from Citibank ATMs worldwide. Con is limited transaction per day

Last to no least, Could someone please kindly advise which way is most ideal and which banks would be better for me to set up an account with?
My requirement is that their ATM machines are easily found throughout Europe and keep the unnecessary charges as low as possible.
Looking forward to your favorable reply. Thank you and wish you have a nice weekend.
Cheers!

[papapig]

Hi, personally I will just use credit card. Reasons being

1. There is a cap in the amount of money that u can bring in.
2. It is not safe carrying tons of cash. Even if u do cash withdrawal at ATMs, Pickpockets/robbers are everywhere.

The custom officers in Europe are generally not so friendly bunch of people, especially to Asians. They seems to be particularly strict with us asians, I.e. check thoroughly, asking many questions, etc. I myself had experienced it when I was in Munich Airport.

So to avoid unnecessary issues, just use credit card. U may lose a few percent on the exchange rate, but u have less worries.

[satch]

I will strongly discourage bringing wads of cash to Europe. No doubt Germany is relatively safer but still, even if you manage to clear the customs, you will be worrying about keeping your €20k safe, in the car/train/bus, hotel, while shopping etc. Why add this burden to your happy holiday?

And frankly in Germany, many of the hot models are hard to find especially in the big cities like Frankfurt or Munich where Asian tourists are aplenty and snapping up the popular models. One thing I dislike about German ADs is that they like to ask where you are from before returning you a quote. I believe the amount of discount they grant depends on what you can get in your home country.

[loong1019]

Bro Satch, thank you for your fruitful information. In fact, Frankfurt is one of the cities in our itinerary. We will not spend much time on that city in searching hot models. Nevertheless, I believe the treatment from German AD will not be so bad if we tell them we are from Singapore.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
Cheers.

[loong1019]

Hi, personally I will just use credit card. Reasons being

1. There is a cap in the amount of money that u can bring in.
2. It is not safe carrying tons of cash. Even if u do cash withdrawal at ATMs, Pickpockets/robbers are everywhere.

The custom officers in Europe are generally not so friendly bunch of people, especially to Asians. They seems to be particularly strict with us asians, I.e. check thoroughly, asking many questions, etc. I myself had experienced it when I was in Munich Airport.

So to avoid unnecessary issues, just use credit card. U may lose a few percent on the exchange rate, but u have less worries.

Hi Papapig, thank you for sharing your experience with us. Btw, do u have any idea which bank charges are most reasonable among all banks? I heard Citibank just imposed oversea charges when we swipe our credit card in shopping: 0.8% + currency conversion

[Linda]

Don't bring so much cash if you are traveling overseas unless you can show where the money is coming from. If customs in country of destination picks you out for a full luggage check, you have to declare the money and are required to show where the money is from. If you can't do that, they will confiscate the money!

You can try to make a deal with your bank, thats what I always do when I am traveling overseas to buy watches for my customers. Inform your private banker that you will be traveling overseas and that you intend to buy something worth EUR20k. Ask whether he can increase your spending limit on the day you would like to buy a watch.

If you intend to stay for a couple of days in the country of origin, you can always spread the payments over a couple of days.

Alternatively, contact me.