Dianne's Nook

Prior to our Hong Kong trip, we decided to exchange our peso to Hong Kong dollars here in the Philippines. Aside from the convenience of having readily available Hong Kong dollars, I believe we won't be exchanging that much to incur a lot of losses.

We chose to buy Hong Kong dollars at Czarina Foreign Exchange because it's a highly recommended money exchange company that constantly offers the best rates.

I called the Main Branch of Czarina Foreign Exchange yesterday to reserve some Hong Kong dollars. I also told them that I'll be picking up the money at Ali Mall branch the next day. By the way, it is recommended that you reserve before walking in at the branch since Hong Kong dollars are quite in demand right now. The staff from the Main branch in Ayala also gave me the contact number of Cubao branch so I can talk to them personally.

The next day which is today, I received a text from Czarina telling me that the amount I reserved is already available at their branch in Ali Mall. They also asked me to bring a photocopy of my ID since it will be my first transaction with them.

Today's selling rate for one Hong Kong dollar is 5.62 pesos. I asked them if I can buy more. They told me that they don't have extra Hong Kong dollars so I will have to check with the other branches. I opted to exchange my extra money to US dollars so I can exchange them at Wing Hoi Money Exchange in Hong Kong. The selling rate for that day is 43.50 pesos for 1 dollar. When it comes to US dollars, you can buy them with reserving at all.