Down under or Thai? Aussie mum trades Oz for Land of Smiles

[MaiDong]

Afternoon!

As the title says, I'm going to the UK in March and I'd like to know of any services I can take advantage of whilst there.

I'd previously heard of the Nationwide's FlexAccount with free ATM withdrawal fees but that's been replaced with a 2% & £1 charge, are there any other banks offering free withdrawals?

I'm looking at getting a Pre-paid Mastercard with FairFX from the moneysupermarket website so that may make flight purchases or hotel bookings easier sometimes, any other deals I should be aware of?

Thanks, as always, in advance!

MD

[timekeeper]

can you bring back some Thornton's treacle toffee?

[MaiDong]

can you bring back some Thornton's treacle toffee?

hehehe

I had thought about being the perfect tv member and offering to bring things back to Tailand for people but can you imagine the list??

So unfortunately I'm simply thinking of myself

[cardholder]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

[WilliaminBKK]

If you are into itunes, pick up a prepaid card and activate your account there.

If you dont have skype open it there and purchase your call plans and inbound UK phone number. I noticed with Skype the Unlimited call plans are OK for UK account holders but for some reason other accounts on renewal they are saying Not Available in your Area.

Enjoy

[MaiDong]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

Yes, I do have a UK bank account.

[MaiDong]

If you are into itunes, pick up a prepaid card and activate your account there.

If you dont have skype open it there and purchase your call plans and inbound UK phone number. I noticed with Skype the Unlimited call plans are OK for UK account holders but for some reason other accounts on renewal they are saying Not Available in your Area.

Enjoy

Good tip, but I don't purchase songs for iTunes, I'm sure someone else will find this info useful though

[cardholder]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

Yes, I do have a UK bank account.

Then I am confused ! - or you are confusing Nationwide Flexaccount charges in Thailand with England.

There are NO charges for withdrawing cash from N/Wide in the UK.

[gmac]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

Yes, I do have a UK bank account.

Then I am confused ! - or you are confusing Nationwide Flexaccount charges in Thailand with England.

There are NO charges for withdrawing cash from N/Wide in the UK.

I don't think the OP is confused, he is going to the UK for 3 weeks and, I think, asking what services he can set up whilst he is there to save himself money on cash withdrawals once he returns to Thailand.

[cardholder]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

Yes, I do have a UK bank account.

Then I am confused ! - or you are confusing Nationwide Flexaccount charges in Thailand with England.

There are NO charges for withdrawing cash from N/Wide in the UK.

I don't think the OP is confused, he is going to the UK for 3 weeks and, I think, asking what services he can set up whilst he is there to save himself money on cash withdrawals once he returns to Thailand.

I refer to this part of post #1:-

I'd previously heard of the Nationwide's FlexAccount with free ATM withdrawal fees but that's been replaced with a 2% & £1 charge, are there any other banks offering free withdrawals?

[MaiDong]

Do you not have a UK bank account ?

Yes, I do have a UK bank account.

Then I am confused ! - or you are confusing Nationwide Flexaccount charges in Thailand with England.

There are NO charges for withdrawing cash from N/Wide in the UK.

I don't think the OP is confused, he is going to the UK for 3 weeks and, I think, asking what services he can set up whilst he is there to save himself money on cash withdrawals once he returns to Thailand.

You are right.

[thecatman]

The Norwich and Peterborough Building Society currently offer free withdrawals abroad on their visa debit card. (Account can be opened online/via post).

I've not looked in to it too much to be honest, but I believe certain conditions may apply. I'm sure you can find out more details on their website

Failing that, just bring back a huge wad of cash and change it here.

Edited February 10, 2011 by thecatman

[SantiSuk]

The Norwich and Peterborough Building Society currently offer free withdrawals abroad on their visa debit card. (Account can be opened online/via post).

I've not looked in to it too much to be honest, but I believe certain conditions may apply. I'm sure you can find out more details on their website

Failing that, just bring back a huge wad of cash and change it here.

I tend to bring wads. It is surprisingly difficult to reliably get say £5,000 in £50 notes out of my main banks - branches are hit and miss and even if you order them they don't always come up with the goods. £5,000 in 20s is a bit cumbersome.