Traveller's cheques

[jacko 8,822]

Thanks for the response Dr Pat.

 

Very interesting but I fear that there is a lot of homework ahead for me checking terms and conditions of credit cards. One other issue that I didnt quite understand. I didnt understand the final paragraph. I would have assumed that once you had your money in your hand at a pre determined exchange rate that it was fixed in concrete what your charges would be.

 

I am also unsure how to pay with local currency. If I borrow for example $1000 to buy some baht surely I need to pay that in the currency of my credit card? How do I pay it off in baht?

Teelack I think he is talking about any purchase of goods/services when using a credit card not paying off the cash advance.

 

He would pay his cash advance off in £stlg as that is how it would appear on his statement, likely get onto internet banking soon after and pay it from his Sterling account with the same bank that issues the CC.

 

When I bought some duty free in Dubai, for example, with my UK CC, they offered me the choice of paying in Dirhams or £. DrPat says pick local. Maybe they even offer you that choice with a cash advance.........personally I have not tried that (I am old fashioned, credit cards used to start charging interest immediately on cash advances at a high rate).

Edited March 26, 2015 by jacko

[nkped 1,208]

Thanks for the response Dr Pat.

 

Very interesting but I fear that there is a lot of homework ahead for me checking terms and conditions of credit cards. One other issue that I didnt quite understand. I didnt understand the final paragraph. I would have assumed that once you had your money in your hand at a pre determined exchange rate that it was fixed in concrete what your charges would be.

 

I am also unsure how to pay with local currency. If I borrow for example $1000 to buy some baht surely I need to pay that in the currency of my credit card? How do I pay it off in baht?

 

Not quite an explanation but, perhaps, an example. When I use my US debit card in a Thai ATM, the machine asks me if I want to do it with conversion or without. At first I thought it was going to give me USD if I said with conversion as I had keyed in an amount in baht. Recently used an SCB machine which set it out in concise detail. With conversion was a rate set by Mastercard,

[teelack 9,645]

Teelack I think he is talking about any purchase of goods/services when using a credit card not paying off the cash advance.

 

He would pay his cash advance off in £stlg as that is how it would appear on his statement, likely get onto internet banking soon after and pay it from his Sterling account with the same bank that issues the CC.

 

When I bought some duty free in Dubai, for example, with my UK CC, they offered me the choice of paying in Dirhams or £. DrPat says pick local. Maybe they even offer you that choice with a cash advance.........personally I have not tried that (I am old fashioned, credit cards used to start charging interest immediately on cash advances at a high rate).

 

Thanks Jacko. I think that this is the crux of the problem. I would imagine that every country has different conditions. I have never been offered the opportunity of paying in local currency but I guess that coming from a small country our levels of competition are that much less.

 

Irrespective of the above at least the topic got me looking at the costs that I pay (astro-bloody-nomical) I rang my bank and asked them for better ways to handle the issue. Thanks for the various responses for this topic as I have at least started the process of looking for a better deal.

[DrPat 423]

...I am also unsure how to pay with local currency. If I borrow for example $1000 to buy some baht surely I need to pay that in the currency of my credit card? How do I pay it off in baht?

 

I think it's all been said above, but, as is traditional, can I add that I think it’s UK or (God forbid) EU law that you must be offered the option of paying in home or local currency, sometimes called: 'with or without conversion'.

 

When I use my card in Europe (and I think also in my usual BKK hotel) before taking the actual payment, the credit card machine prints a slip (in English) asking if I want to pay in the local or my home currency. Choosing ‘local’ always gives a better exchange rate by the time it reaches my statement. In the LoS if I did ask to be charged in £s, the payment slip would show the charge in Baht and £s. When I ask to be charged in Baht I don’t know the exact £ cost until I check my statement – but I know it will be less. In any case, when I use my credit card abroad, I always try to remember to say I want to pay in the local currency, not £s.

 

As Nkped points out in #27, ATMs often give the choice of charging in home or local currency. Again, local always gives a better exchange rate.

 

To save some work, you need to check comparison web sites in your home country for the best international credit cards. Unlike the UK, it may be the case that in NZ the best deals are with debit cards?

[teelack 9,645]

 

I think it's all been said above, but, as is traditional, can I add that I think it’s UK or (God forbid) EU law that you must be offered the option of paying in home or local currency, sometimes called: 'with or without conversion'.

 

When I use my card in Europe (and I think also in my usual BKK hotel) before taking the actual payment, the credit card machine prints a slip (in English) asking if I want to pay in the local or my home currency. Choosing ‘local’ always gives a better exchange rate by the time it reaches my statement. In the LoS if I did ask to be charged in £s, the payment slip would show the charge in Baht and £s. When I ask to be charged in Baht I don’t know the exact £ cost until I check my statement – but I know it will be less. In any case, when I use my credit card abroad, I always try to remember to say I want to pay in the local currency, not £s.

 

As Nkped points out in #27, ATMs often give the choice of charging in home or local currency. Again, local always gives a better exchange rate.

 

To save some work, you need to check comparison web sites in your home country for the best international credit cards. Unlike the UK, it may be the case that in NZ the best deals are with debit cards?

 

Thanks for the explanation. This clears it up for me. Who said that the EU was all bad!!!

[DrPat 423]

 

...Who said that the EU was all bad!!!

It's not all bad, but it is mostly bad.

[teelack 9,645]

It's not all bad, but it is mostly bad.

 

[JONPAT 222]

I use a Schwab ATM card... They pay all the ATM fees and do not charge any fee for international use...pretty simple.

Well yes, but does one Thai Bank's ATM give a better exchange rate than another ?

The exchange booths have different rates so I would think the bank ATM's give different rates.

Of course, the next question is which bank ATM gives the best exchange rate ? Kasikorn gave me 33.87 on 14th of July when taking out 18K with the Schwab card.

[MM 6,562]

When I used the Schwab debit card, the rate I got was the same or very very near the telex wire rate, which is better than the rate for cash notes.

I was very impressed by that, myself.

[jacko 8,822]

I don't think there is much difference between the banks, and the kiosks belonging to the banks match their posted rates.

You will see small differences, for example, I just checked and Bangkok Bank offer 0.2 baht more than SCB for cash notes. But if I had cash notes I would be going to the TT kiosks which are consistently better than banks.

Don't the ATMs just offer the standard Visa rate?

[Baht Man 26]

I opened a Kasikorn A/C, either SWIFT It over, or just bring Sterling, change it up at the best rate found, then deposit it. That way you can withdraw when you want, no need to carry big amounts about ( except when first arriving) and no fee, except a small one if using an ATM outside of Pattaya.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I set up an account that is unseen to my other bank accounts and use that debit card primarily.

 

Then I have a backup of TCs

 

I usually have some baht left from the previous trip for transportation and incidentals getting to Pats.

 

I always have a few hundred in cash for my return to the USA and as a last resort.

 

I also set up a bank account in Thailand and can wire money there from here if I need to.