WHAT IS THE BEST Bank Account For travel in Hanoi?

If you're American, I'd recommend CapitalOne. It’s easy to access and does well with international travel. I have lots of expat friends who bank with them that live in all sorts of places, so this is a good account that you can take on the road with you.

I also have an account with Chase because they make remote online banking easy. I have never had issues accessing my Chase funds in Hanoi — even at ATMs.

What Is The Best Travel Credit Card To Have?

Personally, I use the Capital One Venture Card. If you want to learn how to start playing the travel rewards system and earning yourself free flights, I think this is actually a GREAT starter option. Why? Well there are a few reasons, but the biggest one is this...

The Venture Card will let you retro-actively erase travel related expenses. This makes it better than any airline specific credit card out there by a LONG shot. Flying around this part of the world, you may find yourself flying some weird routes, connecting through places you have never heard of. You probably won't be flying with airlines that are included under the qualified expenses of most western travel programs. However, with the Venture Card, you can charge your card anyway and then go back and erase it later. This means that every possible flight is covered. And it also means that you can rack up a few extra points before using them to cancel out the cost of your plane tickets.

Another cool thing you should note is that if you manage to spend 3,000 USD within the first 3 months of using the Venture Card, you get 50,000 free points. That will get you pretty much anywhere you want to go on this planet. Obviously 3,000 USD is a lot of money, but if you can get a close friend or a family member to make a large purchase with your card and then transfer you the money, you just might be able to get to Hanoi for free!

If you want another option, check out the Bank Americard Travel Rewards Credit Card. This is a cool one because there are no annual fees and, most importantly, no foreign transaction fees.

SHOULD/CAN I OPEN A VIETNAMESE BANK ACCOUNT?

Yes, you should if you can. Vietnam is pretty anal when it comes to money though. As a foreigner you won’t be able to open an account without a labor contract and you won’t be able to make deposits without a ‘pay slip’ to verify the information of your payment. If you don’t have a contract, you won’t be able to open the account in the first place. If you don’t have the pay slip you’ll need to find an alternative way to get your money out of the country besides a simple wire transfer. In order to have these things, you’ll probably need to have a pretty stable job situation with a bigger English center or international school.

If you can’t swing this, or don’t want to be tied down in that way, don’t worry. Most expats in Hanoi conduct their business in less formal ways. They are paid in cash under the table and the save their money in a shoe box under the bed. That makes me a bit uncomfortable, but I’ve had to do it from time to time. From there, if you are saving for a plane ticket, you can pay in cash for a travel agent to make the booking for you. I recommend my friend Lai ( cozyhotel@gmail.com ). She’s the bomb dot com, so if you are in need of a booking done in cash (or getting a new visa), she is a good person to be in business with.

WHAT IS THE BEST VIETNAMESE BANK ACCOUNT TO HAVE?

I bank with HSBC Vietnam, but there are other good options. The bank that seems to be the other front-runner if everyone’s mind is called Techcom Bank. Either of these would be good, but HSBC is a bit more reliable internationally if you plan on making frequent trips out of Vietnam during your time there.

CAN I TRANSFER MY MONEY OUT OF THE COUNTRY WITHOUT A VIETNAMESE BANK ACCOUNT? 

Normally, no. If you have cash but nowhere to deposit it, then you can’t transfer it back to your bank account at home. That’s the problem with working “under the table.” Many expats who are doing this will just keep their savings as a wad of cash! And then, when it comes time to purchase a plane ticket, they will do so through a travel agent. (Hanoi still has quite a lot of them in the Hoan Kiem area). It’s a surprisingly normal practice. The issue is that Vietnam has some strict financial regulations prohibiting domestic banks accounts from transferring money internationally. That means that, even if you do have a bank account, you STILL can't transfer money back to your home country. THANKS COMMUNISM! But if you’re desperate to transfer money out of the country, there is a way… but it’s sketchy.

Hà Trung Street (a.k.a. Gold Street) is full of shops that sell jewelry and (you guessed it) gold. Some of these shops also make substantial profits on commission for international wire transfers. This is sketchy territory, but it's used pretty commonly by the locals. Wealthy Vietnamese parents who send their children to universities in the West will often use these transfer services to send their children money. So, it should be pretty reliable... but it's sketchy nevertheless. 

If you're interested in trying this out, here's what you do...

First, find a Vietnamese friend that you trust to help you. They will not help foreigners, so you NEED a local to do this on your behalf. Take your Vietnamese friend and the wad of cash that you want to transfer over to Hà Trung Street and find a gold shop. I’d suggest starting with a shop called Thịnh Quang. In the back of the shop, behind closed doors, there are crowded rooms full of Vietnamese men counting money and yelling to each other. They are the key to you transferring your money. They also don’t speak English so let your Vietnamese friend do the talking. Also, be advised that fees will apply smaller amounts of money. I'm not sure what the threshold is, so this is something that you should ask your friend to clarify. 

This CAN 100% work, but that doesn't mean it won't require some street smarts to pull off. Swim at your own risk. 

WHERE CAN I EXCHANGE MY MONEY IN HANOI? 

Pretty much any jewelry store or gold shop in Hanoi doubles as a money exchange. So if you have to change Vietnamese Dong with some other currency, just head to your neighborhood gold shop. If you’re not sure where that is, then head down to Hoan Kiem District/Old Quarter and go to Hà Trung Street. This street is where most of the city’s gold shops and located. Not every store on this street is going to have every currency, so you may have to poke your head into a few of them before you find one that can help you.