In Reply to: It is a choice thing posted by pinkduck on Wednesday, 23. December 2009 at 05:34 Bali Time:
to give you information on officially approved practices only.
The advice your agent is providing is correct.
Paying in other currencies is something that has evolved, but has never been officially endorsed.
Receivals officers have accepted alternate currencies (thereby creating an image of official acceptance) because it provides an opportunity to milk a few dollars in the exchange rate off each "customer".
Holier than thou people, who complain loudly about airport corrupsi happily support this non sanctioned practice, and therefore become corrupsi contributors themselves.
Aside from that, it slows the queues down and contributes to long queues and waits.
We get a reasonable exchange rate at the Post Office, and purchase the required minimum $200 in a mix of 20s and 5s.
These last us for a few trips, gets us quickly through either the normal or VIP channels depending on circumstances, and provides less inconvenience for those behind in the queue.