Anybody still use American Express Travellers Cheques….Interested to hear the experience..?

[mikey88]

Hello,

 

Some might think it’s an odd question in the current era of digital payments etc…..

But I’d be interested to hear firstly if it’s still possible to cash TCs at a bank or money changer…?

And I’d be interested to hear your experience and recommendations. What type of rate do they get as opposed to say a WISE transfer….

I’m not all that concerned about cost, although it’s always a factor to some degree.

I like the idea of the security and not relying absolutely on digital transfers.

Kind of an emergency Plan B.

I’m Australian and we were locked out of our own country by the government during COVID……so I’m (understandably) paranoid.

Thanks in advance…

 

[Excel]

Do such things still exist. I remember those from the 60's but thought they had been discontinued yonks ago, maybe I am wrong

[phetphet]

I used to use them a lot, but the costs for changing them became far too expensive. Even for the £100 ones. Especially when the THB/GPB exchange rate got so bad. I think the last time the commission on each cheque, plus the exchange rate meant I was getting around 36 baht to the pound.

 

Most banks that I used here in Samui gradually stopped accepting them. Finally, only Bangkok Bank.

But at all banks, it was always a really long drawn out process. Often taking more than an hour, while the bank staff rang Amex in Bangkok gave them the details of each cheque, and get a verification number for each one. Sometimes because the chequers were three or four years old, I was questioned by Amex as to where I bought them and asked for receipts.

 

I took my last lot back to the UK last November and just changed them back into GBP in a money changers. Too much hassle here nowadays.

[mikey88]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

I used to use them a lot, but the costs for changing them became far too expensive. Even for the £100 ones. Especially when the THB/GPB exchange rate got so bad. I think the last time the commission on each cheque, plus the exchange rate meant I was getting around 36 baht to the pound.

 

Most banks that I used here in Samui gradually stopped accepting them. Finally, only Bangkok Bank.

But at all banks, it was always a really long drawn out process. Often taking more than an hour, while the bank staff rang Amex in Bangkok gave them the details of each cheque, and get a verification number for each one. Sometimes because the chequers were three or four years old, I was questioned by Amex as to where I bought them and asked for receipts.

 

I took my last lot back to the UK last November and just changed them back into GBP in a money changers. Too much hassle here nowadays.

Ok…thanks for that ….good to hear your experience….they’re supposed to ‘never expire’…….that’s what the ad says…..

They way see it they’re just another way of storing money…..or they used to be. Shame.

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by mikey88

[Lacessit]

I believe banks here will still cash them, IIRC the last time I had any was over 30 years ago. Kind of like top hats, bustles and button-up boots.

 

If you want a bit of extra security, have an Aussie bank account and an Aussie debit card, plus a Thai bank account and a Thai debit card. I would only use the Aussie debit card in an emergency, any ATM in Thailand will accept them and dispense baht. No idea what the exchange rate would be.

 

Pro tip: Always use cards when drawing cash from an ATM at a bank during business hours. Less stress if the ATM swallows the card.

[phetphet]

17 minutes ago, mikey88 said:

Ok…thanks for that ….good to hear your experience….they’re supposed to ‘never expire’…….that’s what the ad says…..

They way see it they’re just another way of storing money…..or they used to be. Shame.

 

They say that, and maybe in the US they still work smoothly. But here, it seems like the staff don't like going through the long drawn out process. I was often told "We don't accept them any more."

 

If you do intend to use them, I would advise getting the biggest denominations available. Otherwise the commission per cheque really adds up.

 

Better for me today to use Transferwise.

[Lemsta69]

11 minutes ago, phetphet said:

They say that, and maybe in the US they still work smoothly. But here, it seems like the staff don't like going through the long drawn out process. I was often told "We don't accept them any more."

 

If you do intend to use them, I would advise getting the biggest denominations available. Otherwise the commission per cheque really adds up.

 

Better for me today to use Transferwise.

they really went hard on the commission/exchange fee here didn't they? iirc it was only 20 baht plus 2 baht duty then they bumped it up to something silly like 200 baht which pretty much killed TCs.

[moogradod]

The net says they never expire, but were not available anymore at my Swiss bank some 20 years ago or so. For holidays I was then told to use Swiss Traveller Checks instead - but this period did not last long either and they introduced some plastic card.

 

But this was not to my taste so from then on I carried cash and payed the money shortly after arrival to a local bank account with ATM card I opened felt centuries ago (with a hotel adress and without visa (normal tourist 3-4 weeks max at entry) - this was possible at the time. But it was so long ago I hardly remember.

[elektrified]

Don't bother. 15 years ago I had a few Amex cheques which had been sitting around for a decade. I tried to cash them while in Europe where I received the most unfriendly reception! The bank was really unhappy that I wanted to trouble them with this antiquated procedure. As I recall, it took two days to successfully complete the transaction and I was charged a crazy fee to cash them. When I completed the ordeal, the woman at the bank told me that they would not be able to accommodate me (or anyone) again with travelers checks.  No doubt it would be the same here. In fact I'm sure of it.

[Everyman]

People have said they are useless, but they have also been replaced. Thai QR code, credit card and debit card.

[mtls2005]

The stamp fee used to be 33 baht per check.

 

Bangkok Bank says they still buy Travelers’ Cheques

 

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/Currency-Exchange/Notes-Drafts-TravelersCheques

 

I think you get the TT buying rate.

 

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/View-Rates/Foreign-Exchange-Rates

 

 

On 3/30/2022 at 12:30 PM, mikey88 said:

What type of rate do they get as opposed to say a WISE transfer….

You can do your own comparison.

 

I would think WISE would be better.

 

 

[KhunLA]

Good luck getting a vendor to take them, and do you really want to Q'up in a bank, for probably the most expensive way to change money ... no thanks.  It is the 21st century, and I thought they were pain to use, the very few times I did use them, back in the 70s.

[Stocky]

This has reminded me I've a couple hundred dollars in TC somewhere. Bought back in the 80/90s as emergency money, but never used. I ought to dig them out next time I'm in the UK. I doubt my signature matches thirty-odd years on.