Cash Or Cards

[chris5346]

if your worried put cash in the hotels main safe 5* hotels should be almost gauranteed ?<br>make sure your insurance is good enough.<br>exchange rates vary from banks so if you can shop about and compare in a large bank away from the tourist hot spots.<br>i would happily walk around thailand with thousands of pounds in my pocket.<br>atm's are everywhere they all charge 150 baht extra per transaction but you can avoid this by going inside with passport, check with your own bank to see what they charge - mines barclays and they charge £4.5 min. and 2.75% for overseas. tell card services that your using abroad if not they will freeze it and will be a nightmare trying to re-activate it.<br><br>

[Jimi007]

I can't believe the amount of people willing to risk so much cash over a small fee. I'm assuming they've never had anything stolen while travelling? Cards and traveller's checks can be replaced, cash is gone forever. You think people don't get robbed often in Thailand, and that hotel safes are secure?

The old saying "Penny wise, and pound foolish" comes to mind.

When you are listening to the police explain the above to you after your cash disappears, how terrible does that 150 baht atm fee seem?

You just spent a few thousand dollars on plane tickets, why put yourself at a risk just to penny pinch over atm and other small fees, which in the big scheme of things, adds up to a very small portion of your budget?

Security and peace of mind have value that should not be underestimated.

I agree! I always use ATM cards when traveling. But I live in Thailand, and I don't carry much cash with me ever or even leave it in my house. I've never been robbed or broken into, but why take the chance? I leave my money in my Thai Bank accounts and just get out what I need for a day or two. The Foreign ATM card I used to use charged 1% plus $5, but I can get 25,000 Baht per pull at Bangkok Bank. Yes they now charge 150 Baht per pull. But it's usually a higher rate than a cash exchange. I used to call customer service and complain about the $5 fee as they said it was the Thai bank charge. No, it isn't and they would refund that fee. My credit card just charges 1%, so it's great for charging airline tickets online and it's also a higher exchange rate than cash. As someone suggested opening a bank account here, you can't do that with a tourist visa as far as I know. I was declined when I tried to years ago. They want to see a work permit or a residence statement.

Better safe than sorry! Have fun!

[chris5346]

hi,

i managed to open a savings account on a tourist visa with bangkok bank but i had been in thailand a while and thinking about it my girlfriend also signed the application - it wasn't a joint account but maybe she vouched or gauranteed something ?

you need to make sure your cards will work abroad i came to thailand a year ago and now 2 of the cards don't work in atm's for the past 6 months i phoned the providers and they said they have changed there policy - the cards still work for purchases just not in atm's ?

also no good just phoning your bank and getting someone to add it to your file that your going away - better to phone card services who actually do the activation.

[F4UCorsair]

You won't have aproblem wiht hotel safes if you're staying 5 star