Money Advice?

[zanzibard]

hi folks.

im due to fly to bangkok on the 13th june for 3 weeks and was wondering what to do money wise.

the last time i went i took £200 in baht with me and £1300 in travellers cheques and exchanged the cheques while i was there.

this time i was going to just draw the cash out of an atm while i was there.im looking to spend no-more than £1500.

basically im after getting the best rate for my money and was after some advice as to which option to take,ie.get cash exchanged over here or get it changed over there or just withdraw from the atm's?

i bank with lloyds tsb and i would be using a visa debit to withdraw.

thanks in advance.

[chiangmaibruce]

It depends on your plan - if it's to spend the entire time in a decent hotel in BKK, then bring pommie cash and exchange it here, leaving 99% of it in the hotel's safe deposit box. This will save you the most money for sure. But if you are travelling around - or getting drunk and falling over - then risks mount up with cash about.

[kennkate]

Do not bring Baht. Bring Pounds and Change it here. Banks at Airport

T/Cheques might be your best bet You will save on ATM fees.

Now it Is 150 Baht to withdraw at Most ATMs in Thailand

Plus you may get A better rate with T/Cheques

Even if you drop on the Banks that dont yet charge the 150 baht You will have costs involved using your Card

Nationwide are about to Charge 1% in june Not sure of the Exact Date but it is Free at the moment

[zanzibard]

thanks for the reply's.

so taking it with me and exchanging it in thailand sounds the best way?

will i get a better rate exchanging sterling or travellers cheques?

thanks

[BigSnake]

thanks for the reply's.

so taking it with me and exchanging it in thailand sounds the best way?

will i get a better rate exchanging sterling or travellers cheques?

thanks

My experience Travellers Cheques get the best exchange rate.

[zanzibard]

any ideas on where to go for the best deal on travellers cheques?

[jimbeam1]

any ideas on where to go for the best deal on travellers cheques?

Certainly get Travellers cheques. As you bank with Lloyds try them, or Nationwide, no commision for their customers, if not try the Post Office. I think they charge 1%.

jb1

[zanzibard]

ok.thankyou

[loong]

I haven't used my Lloyds debit card in an atm for some time now, but it used to work out that you got 4% less Baht with the debit card than with travellers cheques.

Now with the new 150 Baht atm charge, if you drew 5000 Baht at a time from an atm you'd be losing 7%, that's quite a difference.

Obviously, it's a lot safer to bring travellers cheques than cash. I used to get them commission free at Lloyds, but you will have to look around for current deals. If you don't stipulate the denominations of the TC, you may find that you get a mixture with a lot of small denominations. When you change TC in Thailand, you are charged for each one, so if you are changing 200 pounds and is 20 x 10 pounds, you will pay the fee 20 times. Also you will have to sign 20 TC and processing will take a lot longer. If you are getting 1,500 pounds worth ask for 15 x 100 pounds.

I have known a few people from Uk buy US$ TC, for some reason they think that they cannot change Sterling TC here. No need as Sterling TC are just as easy as $ and you wont get stung by the Uk banks exchange rate.

I would not buy any more Baht than absolutely necessary from a UK bank - the exchange rate is scandalous. After my first trip here, I never bought Baht in the UK again. I always changed some TC at Bangkok airport if I didn't have enough left over from the previous trip. I dont know how many exchange booths there are at the new airport as I have only been there once and didn't really pay attention.

Enjoy your holiday