Question about Travellers Cheques Please?

[tull 0]

Hi

 

I am arriving in Thailand this coming Fri from the UK and I am a little confused as what to bring money wise. I am going to bring some Thai Baht with me but I also want to bring Sterling travellers cheques aswell. Do the Banks/tourist exhange places accept Sterling travellers cheques or do they only accept American express travellers cheques. What do you guys suggest.

 

I am looking forward to visiting Thailand for the first time. I am having 3 nights in Bangkok, 7 nights in Pattaya and 8 nights in Koh Sumi. Any help advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Regards

Paul.

[deadman 0]

welcome to the forum,

you shouldn't have too much of a problem with sterling t/c but amex t/c would be preferable. most places will probably charge a handling fee, more so with the sterling t/c. best option is to take some t/c as backup along with a debit card, credit card & cash. you will get a decent rate for cash though, better than UK rates.

 

i'm also coming next week, flying in on sat morning. i'll just be bringing cash & cards, so i might see you there!!!

[ArcticCat 0]

On a similar note, if you bring cash you should ensure the bills are in good condition. Exspecially with American greenbacks, ensure you have the new bills with the counterfeit protections and avoid bringing any that are near the end of their life cycle. The exchangers are wary of counterfeit bills and will not hesitate to refuse to accept a bill that they cannot feel confident is genuine.

[Emil 0]

Unless you already have the Thai baht, wait until you get to the airport. As a rule your home country doesn't provide a good exchange rate. I prefer to use an ATM card as there are mackines everywhere and you have access 24/7.

[marleyboy 140]

ditto the other replies! i alway take sterling travellers cheques,can change them very easily! and as said before NEVER!! buy baht in the uk you will get a much lower rate than you will get in thailand! and you can change your cheques at the air-port anyway as there are two exchange booths on the way out of thre airport! have a good trip!

[Trvlr 50]

You get hit with a handling charge when you exchange travelers checks, so bigger denominations are better. I haven't used them for a while, but I think the charge was 3 baht per check plus a 20 baht transaction fee. So if you exchanged 1 check you'd end up paying 23 baht. However, you do get a better exchange rate for TCs, so that helps.

[sinbinjack 251]

all TCs seem to be accepted, cash is great ,as is an ATM card but you must not change any money into Baht in the UK as they will rip you off big time. you will need to take your Passport with you when you want to change your TCs ,and you will be charged a fee every time you use your ATM card (unless you have a Nationwide Flex account,if not get one its great value for all travelers)and cash can be changed almost anywhere easily, but don't use the hotels service as they charge you far too much for the privilege.and also watch were you use any credit cards as there is a lot of card fraud in SE Asia.

Edited January 8, 2006 by sinbinjack

[wrassell 0]

I have been here for four years and my weapon of choice is the good ole ATM card from my home country. I keep three of them handy in case one gets damaged or stolen. The exchange rate is better than at the money changers by about one baht, it adds up in time. Unless you have a werd bank you shouldnt have a problem using your ATM card. As per some of the other comments you should have some sort of back up you never know. As a last resort there is Western union but they are a big rip off.....

[tull 0]

Hi Everyone

 

Thank you for the advice guys..much appreciated. Well what i will do now is i will bring a little cash (Baht) just for upon arrival and I have decided to get sterling travellers cheques and obvioulsy will bring my cards aswell. I would feel much safer bringing T-cheques than cash.

 

Thanks again..Thailand here we come. This FLB bar looks great.might have to have a look in there for sure!

 

Regards

Paul.

[partyanimal 0]

If you already have baht then bring it. But if you don't wait until you get to Bangkok aorport to exchange. Airport moneychangers are open 24/7 and you get a good rate, probaly much better than you can get in the UK.

[Bagwan 0]

You get hit with a handling charge when you exchange travelers checks, so bigger denominations are better. I haven't used them for a while, but I think the charge was 3 baht per check plus a 20 baht transaction fee. So if you exchanged 1 check you'd end up paying 23 baht. However, you do get a better exchange rate for TCs, so that helps.

Using an ATM card issued by a local bank requires thought if you have miserly inclinations. You can draw cash anywhere but will be charged 20-23 baht per transaction if the machine is from another bank. Similarly if you bank in Pattaya and use an ATM belonging to that bank in say Rayong, your bank will charge you for getting YOUR money back. As a resident I use my UK credit cards for big bills here and get a very good conversion rate. Some try to inflict a 3% service charge but I always refuse to pay it stating that it is without the terms of their contract with Visa/Mastercard.

 

All banking in Thailand is chaotic, inefficient and greatly overpriced. Talking to my bank manager the other day I lamented that foreign banks cannot operate here. He admitted that if they were, he would be out of a job within a month.

 

Have a good holiday and be careful out there.

[pattaya_mad 208]

yes but what exchange rate do you get from ATM machines?, my bank also charges a pound for every transaction, I ve also been known to have trouble changing TC,s because the signiture didnt match up after a night on the piss

Edited January 9, 2006 by pattaya_mad

[phantomtiger 0]

You get hit with a handling charge when you exchange travelers checks, so bigger denominations are better. I haven't used them for a while, but I think the charge was 3 baht per check plus a 20 baht transaction fee. So if you exchanged 1 check you'd end up paying 23 baht. However, you do get a better exchange rate for TCs, so that helps.

Just got back from LOS recently in NOV, and all I carried were mostly Amex TC.

I believe all TC will be charged 33b per check now as handling fee/transaction fee. I am pretty sure the sterling TC are also charged 33b/check? So exchanging large bills are best, but unfortuately for me, my banks only carry max of $100 US amex TC but since only 33b=.75cents US per check still ok and cheap as I consider this the price of "insurance" against loss/theft.

Note: shouldnt have hard time exchanging any TC even if signature dont match exactly (I never had a problem and believe me, my signatures Suck big time-they only seem to care that your passports are in order) but if any problems with any changers, just walk across street to next changer- there are too many to choose from most of the time.

Also, be aware to shop around as most changers offer different rates of exchange. The only constant is the TC transaction fee- seems to be set everywhere at 33b/check.

 

PT

Edited January 9, 2006 by phantomtiger

[LilWilly 0]

As for size of TCs, I'm thinking it also depends on how comfortable you are carrying large sums. My bank carrys $100 & $500 TCs (CAD). Converted, that's either 3,400B or 17,000B. Not sure if I'd be comfortable carrying around 17,000B even if it's only from the bank back to the hotel to lock the extra up in the safe. 33b works out to about $1 CAD per check.

 

I know, carrying around $500 at home isn't that big a deal, but 17,000B sounds like a lot to be carrying around in Thailand.

Edited January 9, 2006 by LilWilly

[lawling 0]

Just a brief comment. Some of the Bureau de Change places don't accept Visa Taveller's Cheques but don't let that put you off if that is what your Bank give you. There are quite a few places that do accept Visa TCs the ones that don't will usually direct you to a place that does.

[jballstate 326]

welcome to the forum,

you shouldn't have too much of a problem with sterling t/c but amex t/c would be preferable. most places will probably charge a handling fee, more so with the sterling t/c. best option is to take some t/c as backup along with a debit card, credit card & cash. you will get a decent rate for cash though, better than UK rates.

 

i'm also coming next week, flying in on sat morning. i'll just be bringing cash & cards, so i might see you there!!!

You will get a better exchange rate if you use your ATM card to withdraw cash from your bank account.

[Trvlr 50]

.....You will get a better exchange rate if you use your ATM card to withdraw cash from your bank account........

 

 

Unfortunately that is not necessarily true any more. It depends on banks, and many are getting really greedy. I returned from an Asian trip last week, and discovered that my bank has slapped a 1 percent "international service fee", on top of all the other fees they used to collect, on ATM withdrawals abroad. Many banks in the US take an additional 3 percent.

I think, overall, cash is again getting the better rate, with some exceptions. However, you need to have the capability to withdraw from ATMs for various reasons.

[Emil 0]

Unfortunately that is not necessarily true any more. It depends on banks, and many are getting really greedy. I returned from an Asian trip last week, and discovered that my bank has slapped a 1 percent "international service fee", on top of all the other fees they used to collect, on ATM withdrawals abroad.

I noticed the 1% charge on my October trip. When I questioned my credit union about this charge, because I'm susposed to have free ATM useage from my credit union, they told me that is what the Thai banks charged them and they were just recouping their cost. My credit union told me that this charge had always been there but that it was not identified seperately and was rolled up into one line. When I checked this out closely I could see that they were not feeding me any BS. Before when I used my ATM card the exchange rate would work out to less than if I had used cash. Now when I calculate the first line it is higher than cash, once I deduct the 1% fee it's less. No change in my exchange rate, only the way it is now portrayed on my statement.

[Trvlr 50]

I had called my credit union too, to find out what an ISA fee was. They did not give the sort of explanation Emil posted - just said it was a new fee imposed from November.

I was already being charged $1 per transaction. On top of that, since I was using a Visa debit card, I am sure Visa was taking its 1 percent cut (this is generally rolled into the exchange rate).

Bottom line? The rate I was getting for exchanging cash was better than what I got using an ATM. This was not in Thailand - I am not sure how it will work out in Thailand.

[valentinoxxx 4]

Hi

 

I am arriving in Thailand this coming Fri from the UK and I am a little confused as what to bring money wise. I am going to bring some Thai Baht with me but I also want to bring Sterling travellers cheques aswell. Do the Banks/tourist exhange places accept Sterling travellers cheques or do they only accept American express travellers cheques. What do you guys suggest.

 

I am looking forward to visiting Thailand for the first time. I am having 3 nights in Bangkok, 7 nights in Pattaya and 8 nights in Koh Sumi. Any help advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Regards

Paul.

You've made a slight mistake, in assuming that American Express TCs are only denominated in US$.

 

They aren't. So what you need to do is to purchase American Express Sterling TCs.

They tend to be more widely accepted than the other types.

 

Secondly, if you have time to apply for a Nationwide Flexaccount, you can use their cost effective cash card. http://nationwide.co.uk/banking/current_account