Chromeman wrote:I used Aeon Bank ATM's in August and there were no extra charge for withdrawals with a Visa card.
According to their website Aeon Bank were due to start charging 150 Baht ATM withdrawal fee from 1 January 2014, in line with all other ATM providers.
For those of you from UK, the Metro Bank current account does not charge for foreign withdrawals.
I think they only have branches in and around London at present, and you have to attend in person at a branch with id and proof of address to open an account, but you will get the bank card immediately.
I will be opening a current account with them as my usual bank charges a total of £8.75 for a £300 withdrawal.
A friend and colleague who is just back from 5 weeks in Hua Hin told me that there is an ATM in Market Village that allows 30.000 baht withdrawals at a time. He did not remember the name of the bank, but thought they were yellow in color. Anyone knows which one he is talking about?
Bank of Ayudhya ATMs are yellow. I used to use them a while ago and the transaction limit then was 20k then, but you could pull your card out and put it right back in and get another 20k for a total of 40k per day (of course paying the transaction fee twice when done that way).
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Indeed, Kasikorn Bank (green) allows me to withdraw 50,000 THB per day from an ATM but in maximum chunks of 20,000. I'm not sure of the ATM charge, though, and think it only applies to withdrawals from other banks' machines.
"A man who does not think for himself, does not think at all." Wilde
Chromeman wrote:I used Aeon Bank ATM's in August and there were no extra charge for withdrawals with a Visa card.
According to their website Aeon Bank were due to start charging 150 Baht ATM withdrawal fee from 1 January 2014, in line with all other ATM providers.
For those of you from UK, the Metro Bank current account does not charge for foreign withdrawals.
I think they only have branches in and around London at present, and you have to attend in person at a branch with id and proof of address to open an account, but you will get the bank card immediately.
I will be opening a current account with them as my usual bank charges a total of £8.75 for a £300 withdrawal.
I have been told by Metro Bank that they will be charging for ATM withdrawals outside Europe from 21 March 2014.
The rate will be 1.90% non-sterling transaction fee + £1.00 non-sterling purchase fee, so £6.70 for a £300 withdrawal, still a couple of quid less than my usual bank.
..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Third Visit wrote:..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Ian
The worst FX rate you can get is by exchanging a foreign currency in cash notes for the local one , why ? - because the bank has to sell it on to another, keep it on its books and meanwhile, pay insurance whilst keeping it, and no interest return or else bundle it up and claim the equivalent from another bank.
It is worth checking the difference which for the Sterling Pound could well be a 2BHT difference.
It does not matter where you come from, it's where you are going that matters.
I have found the worst rate was to buy bahts in the UK, I have usually brought sterling cash and exchanged in Thailand - must look into the Halifax card though.
Third Visit wrote:..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Ian
The worst FX rate you can get is by exchanging a foreign currency in cash notes for the local one , why ? - because the bank has to sell it on to another, keep it on its books and meanwhile, pay insurance whilst keeping it, and no interest return or else bundle it up and claim the equivalent from another bank.
It is worth checking the difference which for the Sterling Pound could well be a 2BHT difference.
Has this been other peoples experience also?
Is the consensous you are better using a bank card at an ATM or a bank rather than UK bank notes?
Third Visit wrote:..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Ian
The worst FX rate you can get is by exchanging a foreign currency in cash notes for the local one , why ? - because the bank has to sell it on to another, keep it on its books and meanwhile, pay insurance whilst keeping it, and no interest return or else bundle it up and claim the equivalent from another bank.
It is worth checking the difference which for the Sterling Pound could well be a 2BHT difference.
It's ages since I researched this, although exchanging cash in Bangkok (as well as Bali) last June felt OK in terms of value. Tonight's spot rate GBP to Baht is 54.5355, so I think using an ATM I'd get that less 1.75% (and maybe other fees ). Can anyone say what the exchange bureaus are offering today for cash?
One of the reasons I've always felt comfortable with cash is that at street bureaus the range between Buy and Sell is always very tight (except at airports of course.....).
Third Visit wrote:..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Ian
The worst FX rate you can get is by exchanging a foreign currency in cash notes for the local one , why ? - because the bank has to sell it on to another, keep it on its books and meanwhile, pay insurance whilst keeping it, and no interest return or else bundle it up and claim the equivalent from another bank.
It is worth checking the difference which for the Sterling Pound could well be a 2BHT difference.
It's ages since I researched this, although exchanging cash in Bangkok (as well as Bali) last June felt OK in terms of value. Tonight's spot rate GBP to Baht is 54.5355, so I think using an ATM I'd get that less 1.75% (and maybe other fees ). Can anyone say what the exchange bureaus are offering today for cash?
One of the reasons I've always felt comfortable with cash is that at street bureaus the range between Buy and Sell is always very tight (except at airports of course.....).
Ian
Courage is grace under pressure and when circumstances change you change your mind.
Third Visit wrote:..Halifax Clarity card remains the best card to use abroad. There's no transaction fee. Even if you get cash out, there's still no fees, and you can avoid highish interest rates on the credit card by ensuring your card is in credit before you leave.
Having said that, I prefer to bring cash for currency purchases and use the card for all other purchases.
Ian
The worst FX rate you can get is by exchanging a foreign currency in cash notes for the local one , why ? - because the bank has to sell it on to another, keep it on its books and meanwhile, pay insurance whilst keeping it, and no interest return or else bundle it up and claim the equivalent from another bank.
It is worth checking the difference which for the Sterling Pound could well be a 2BHT difference.
It's ages since I researched this, although exchanging cash in Bangkok (as well as Bali) last June felt OK in terms of value. Tonight's spot rate GBP to Baht is 54.5355, so I think using an ATM I'd get that less 1.75% (and maybe other fees ). Can anyone say what the exchange bureaus are offering today for cash?
One of the reasons I've always felt comfortable with cash is that at street bureaus the range between Buy and Sell is always very tight (except at airports of course.....).
Ian
I just checked TMB bank and for TT the rate was 54.38 and Notes 52.89
Courage is grace under pressure and when circumstances change you change your mind.
I've just checked on another web site and it seems banks may charge 30 baht per travellers cheque, so TCs are not cheap - and the Post Office charges 1.5% for getting them. So I think cash still seem like best value (unless you put your Halifx Clarity into credit in which case you'll get spot rate and no charges).
I bought NatWest Amex TCs. If you buy online or on phone they charge 1%, but with a maximum charge of £25. I bought £5,000 worth so as the maximum was £25 they refunded £25 of the £50 charges. So it would have worked out at 0.5%.
As it turned out though when I went to collect the TCs from my bank they were all in £100 denominations, when I had specifically asked for £200 notes to cut down on the charges to cash them. I pointed this out to the cashier who had a word with the manager who said she would refund the £25 charge to my account to offset the increased encashment charges. Which she has done, so the TCs cost me nothing.
Nice to get something free from a bank!
I got 55.12 Baht to the £ when I changed them at the Market Garden Centre last week, slightly more than the rate for sterling notes. I can't remember offhand how much the charges were, but I will let you know when I find the transaction slip.
