Travelling To England - Exchange cash here, there or use Thai ATM Card?

[philthebook]

Travelling To England  - Exchange cash here, there or use Thai ATM Card?

 

I only have a Thai ATM card, is it better to buy sterling here, or wait until I am in uk? Or just use my ATM card while I am there?

[DipStick]

There are a number of questions to be answered and these are (1) is your Thai ATM readily accepted in most machines in the UK (2) is the ATM exchange rate acceptable and (3) is the service charge acceptable.

personally, if I were you I would exchange Baht to Sterling with someone like Superich here in Thailand and use the ATM as a backup.

Although now holding. Thai retirement extension, I spend a lot of time in South China with bank accounts at the China Merchant Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, both banks ATM are Union Pay, and can only be used at Bangkok Bank ATM’s. When coming to BKK, I change RMB and HK$ at Superich upon arrival..

word of warning, do not use money changers within the UK and especially so at places like airports.

[KamnanT]

+1

 

With withdrawal fees increasing at both ends (foreign ATM fee and home bank fee), cash is once again king if you're OK with the risk of carrying cash. On GBP, Superrich in Bangkok charges a very narrow buy/sell spread.

 

And +1 on avoiding UK high street banks and money changers: the spreads they charge are criminal, particularly on exotic currencies like Thai baht.

[skatewash]

You will get a better exchange rate changing THB to GBP in Thailand than in the UK.  In general, you will always do better exchanging a minor currency (such as THB) in the country where it is used rather than in any other country.  A minor currency (that is, one other than USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF) always has more value in the country in which it is used. 

 

If your Thai ATM (Debit) Card is branded with either VISA or MC you will get their worldwide daily exchange rate for those currencies in effect for the day of your transaction, which is a good exchange rate.  The issue with using a Thai ATM card in the UK is whether it will be (widely) accepted and whether you will be charged any transaction fees by the UK ATM and/or your Thai bank. You are also limited to the lesser amount of what your Thai bank or UK ATM will allow to be withdrawn in each transaction and how much can be withdrawn in a single day.  Despite these potential drawbacks, the convenience of using ATM machines and the safety of not having to carry around large amounts of cash may make them the optimal choice.

[happydays]

Travellers cheques?

[yardrunner]

I am hoping to go to the UK for a holiday soon (UK citizen on retirement extension) and have a BKK bank account as well as a Santander UK account, as my BKK debit card is Union pay i contacted Santander and they said that union pay debit cards will work with their ATM,s in the UK but that not many outlets will accept them for purchases 

[jkcjag]

I've always used a Thai issued Citibank VISA or Thai issued AMEX credit card, or KBank ATM card in the UK...never had any issues

[Gillyflower]

Last time that I went back to France from LOS, I didn't have enough euros to pay for the taxi waiting for me at the last airport (won't go into the whys), so as I had more than enough baht on me, changed it at a SuperRich.  I got just about the same rate as if it was the other way round.  I was quite happy.

[simoh1490]

If you use your Thai ATM card in the UK to obtain Pounds you'll get eaten alive by the banks and the forex market, don't even think about it.

[skatewash]

6 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

If you use your Thai ATM card in the UK to obtain Pounds you'll get eaten alive by the banks and the forex market, don't even think about it.

 

If the OP has a branded Thai ATM card (VISA or MC) he may get eaten alive by the banks in the UK but it won't be because of the foreign exchange rate which will be the same daily exchange rate between those currencies used by Visa and Mastercard worldwide that applies to the transaction, which by the way, is a good rate.  He is likely to be charged to use the ATM machine in the UK and may be charged by his Thai ATM for using a foreign ATM machine.  The UK ATM usage fee is usually a flat fee, while the Thai fee for using the card in a foreign ATM may be based on the amount.  If the OP makes infrequent but large (say as large as his ATM withdrawal transaction maximum set by his Thai bank) the fees may turn out to be quite reasonable given the convenience of getting the money from the ATM.

The OP should be able to investigate what fees various ATM owning banks in the UK may charge for foreign bank ATM cards, and he should be able to query his Thai bank to see what their fees for withdrawing money from a non Thai ATM may be.  However, if the VISA or MC logo appears on his Thai ATM card he is assured of getting of good exchange rate.

[mrwebb8825]

I would advise that you go to a Super Rich exchange here in Thailand, buy all small denomination Sterling as they don't value it as much as the large denominations. Then when you get there just trade it into the large notes. Bring the large notes back and get a better buy rate here.

[keith89]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:09 PM, jkcjag said:

I've always used a Thai issued Citibank VISA or Thai issued AMEX credit card, or KBank ATM card in the UK...never had any issues

With the pin number 6 digits for kbank can you still use atm in uk because they are 4 digits pin code. Just wondering because i am going back in the next 2 months

[Jip99]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:03 PM, yardrunner said:

I am hoping to go to the UK for a holiday soon (UK citizen on retirement extension) and have a BKK bank account as well as a Santander UK account, as my BKK debit card is Union pay i contacted Santander and they said that union pay debit cards will work with their ATM,s in the UK but that not many outlets will accept them for purchases 

 

 

Do you have a Santander bank card.

 

Use Thai cards in Thailand, UK cards in the UK..... the other way round attracts unnecessary charges.

 

Consider applying for a Santander credit card for retail purchases.

[natway09]

I would suggest a combination of both.

The writer suggesting that you will get eaten alive using an ATM machine in the UK is talking garbage.

The exchange is converted at the Thai bank end & they are at the very least very fair

But do NOT change Thai Bht in the UK,,, they will fleece you