Bank Charges??

[Flannel]

I found out recently that there is now a charge of 150 bath to take money out of cashpoints in Thailand.

However, is it still free if you go into the bank to take the money out??

I know it's not a lot but over 3 weeks, I could use cash machines 15-20 as I am not a big fan of having lots of money on me.

And you could be talking £50-£60 (2,500-3,000 bath) just on withdrawing money!!.

Cheers

[Big Boy]

How would you get your money to the bank to draw out in the first place? Surely, you would need a local account, and pay your UK bank £20ish to transfer the funds there in the first place. What about any money left at the end of the holiday?

[BaaBaa.]

Flannel, I don't want want to sound pedantic but it's BAHT.

I don't think the over the counter trick works, the best option is to withdraw as much as you can and store it somewhere.

[Flannel]

Yeah fair enough guys. I suppose i just always worry about money. No problem, i will just run with it. I have too much time on my hands to worry!!!

I'm just clutching at straws!!!

Anyway, 1 month to go

[Big Boy]

I usually take Sterling travellers cheques, which don't cost me a penny to obtain. OK, you have to pay when you change them, but so long as your cheques are in £100 denominations, you still get a better deal than changing cash. Travellers cheques are protected in the event of them being stolen, and usually replaced in hours (although I've never had to try it).

[hhfarang]

I agree with BB. Travelers checks give you the best exchange rates and are safer than cash.

[BaaBaa.]

Nationwide account from the ATM still offers the best value.

[Big Boy]

Really? How much better is it than travellers cheques?

[JimboPSM]

I usually take Sterling travellers cheques, which don't cost me a penny to obtain....

Be careful to shop around to get them without charges, some banks now charge fees - e.g. from HSBC website:

Sterling Travellers Cheques incur a 1.5% handling fee

[Wanderlust]

I would warn people off American Express Travelers Checks* (*horrible US spelling - sorry!) - I had a very bad experience where I had to start court proceedings to get them to replace/refund mine when they were stolen in Bangkok about 9 years ago. Basically although they never said it outright, they never believed that they were stolen, even though when they provided the 'evidence' it was clear that the signature was not mine, and the passport used wasn't either. I don't have experience with any other companies though, so what Big Boy says is probably right. Just to add to that though, before the ATM charge was brought in (and it still isn't universal incidentally - the yellow bank, I think Bank of Ayudhya, has not been charging and still isn't) I had to go inside the bank when I had a problem with my card on the ATM and was not charged extra, but that may have been because there appeared to be a fault with the ATM system; and Big Boy you don't need money transferred to a Thai bank to obtain money from inside the bank, just your bank card and passport. It is effectively a 'manual' ATM transaction, similar to a shop taking your card for payment.

[Big Boy]

Sterling Travellers Cheques incur a 1.5% handling fee

I wasn't aware of that. I usually pay a 55 Baht fee, which is more than covered by the better exchange rate. £1.50 equates to about 83 Baht, so you'd still be better off exchanging travellers cheques rather than cash, with free security.

Wanderlust wrote:

Big Boy you don't need money transferred to a Thai bank to obtain money from inside the bank, just your bank card and passport. It is effectively a 'manual' ATM transaction, similar to a shop taking your card for payment.

Thanks for that - I didn't know. Very useful information.