I've been denied entry to Thailand - Now What ! ?

[Murf]

I'm currently in the UK and i want to avoid the ATM fees when i get back to Bangkok. I know the best place to exchange cash is VASU suk 7/1 or the other place near Pratu Nam - can't remember the name now.

Would cash or travelers cheques be better? Do they accept travelers, i've never checked, only changed cash.

Cheers.

[Bpuumike]

I would say travellers' Cheques. Up to GBP2,000 commission-free at any Post Office, easily cashed here and replaced if lost or stolen.

For that last reason, keep the printed receipt with the numbers in a different place to the TC's. There is a Thb30 tax for each cheque cashed so go for 100's rather than 50's.

If you have any left when you go home you can cash them if free of charge at the Post Office again.

[alfalfa19]

I would say travellers' Cheques. Up to GBP2,000 commission-free at any Post Office, easily cashed here and replaced if lost or stolen.

For that last reason, keep the printed receipt with the numbers in a different place to the TC's. There is a Thb30 tax for each cheque cashed so go for 100's rather than 50's.

If you have any left when you go home you can cash them if free of charge at the Post Office again.

This is what I remember from using them in thailand, 30 baht for each check. Not 150.

[larsjohnsson]

You pay a fee for traveller cheques also. If not when cashed do when buying them.And it's very old fashioned. IMO not better than other solutions. Get a bank account

[alfalfa19]

You pay a fee for traveller cheques also. If not when cashed do when buying them.And it's very old fashioned. IMO not better than other solutions. Get a bank account

I get them free from chase bank. The only fee associated with them is the 30 baht in thailand, unless the fee has gone up. They are very safe, even if lost or stolen.

[DogNo1]

A new money changer has sprung up inside of the ticket wicket at BTS Chidlom Station. When it was open, its rate actually was about a baht better per USD than Bangkok Bank, also inside the wicket. It was closed today for some reason. Don't know if it will open again.

[Satcommlee]

But I hate the inconvenience of changing travellers cheques...

My old man always brings them over.. and it's often a good 20 mins to do the transaction in the bank, with them looking at you like you are some sort of scamster.. Multiple phonecalls, photocopies and the requirement for the manager to sign off on them.

You can replace them if lost and that is a good thing but you have to weigh up the odds of them being lost compared to the convenience of good old hard cash..

[robertthebruce]

Gosh now theres a rave from the ''Grave'' ... Travellers Cheques..

I prefer cash, much easier, and you get a better rate, especially if its 50 pound notes, (as you mentioned you were coming from the ''UK''

[54321]

Cash is King. £50 notes get a better rate.

If you are prone to losing money take travellers cheques, if not cash is easier. if you are here for a long time, open a bank account.

superrich is the one near (ish ) pratunam, its actually more or less next to Big C, check the website for their rates, and compare them with the other thai banks or indeed the rate in the UK, you will get a pleasent suprise

[Pib]

I would say travellers' Cheques. Up to GBP2,000 commission-free at any Post Office, easily cashed here and replaced if lost or stolen.

For that last reason, keep the printed receipt with the numbers in a different place to the TC's. There is a Thb30 tax for each cheque cashed so go for 100's rather than 50's.

If you have any left when you go home you can cash them if free of charge at the Post Office again.

This is what I remember from using them in thailand, 30 baht for each check. Not 150.

Over the last month most/all Thai banks have transitioned from 30 baht plus 3 baht stamp duty for a total of 33 baht per travelers cheque to 150 baht plus 3 baht stamp duty for a total of 153 baht per cheque. This has been talked about in some other recent threads. And I personally saw the charge as for the last few weeks I've had a friend visiting from the U.S.....the friend brought over some traveler cheques and was charged 153 baht per cheque at two different banks to cash "each" cheque. She bought cheques $100 in denomination and basically got charged a $5 fee (approx 153 baht) to cash each cheque...that equates to a 5% fee....if she had brought cheques say $500 in denomination (like I told her in advance but she didn't listen) that $5 (153 baht) cashing fee would have only equated to a 1% fee. So, bring LARGE denomination cheques to minimize the fee impact because "each cheque, regardless of denomination, will incur a 153 baht cashing fee."

By the way, notice the 3 baht stamp duty (the govt fee) remained unchanged; the increase from 30 to 150 baht is purely Thai banks increasing their fee....a five fold increase. Similar to how AEON ATMs in Feb started charging a 150 baht withdrawal fee for foreign cards (before they didn't charge any local ATM fee) just as Thai banks have been charging 150-180 baht local ATM fee for foreign cards....guess AEON caught the "increase fee disease" from the Thai banks.

Edit: to further help a person analyse which method, cash or travelers cheques, would put the the most baht in your hands you can use this webite to see exchange rates for various Thai banks...select Notes to see the cash exchange rate and Cheque for the travelers cheques exchange rate. While a travelers cheque does come with a 153 baht per check fee now you do get a higher exchange rate compared to cash "at a Thai bank" so it still may be to a person's advantage to use travelers cheques depending on the denomination you have ....but at a money exchanger like SuperRich (if you happen to have access to one) you should get more for cash than at a Thai bank....here's the SuperRich website.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Pib

[larsjohnsson]

You pay a fee for traveller cheques also. If not when cashed do when buying them.And it's very old fashioned. IMO not better than other solutions. Get a bank account

I get them free from chase bank. The only fee associated with them is the 30 baht in thailand, unless the fee has gone up. They are very safe, even if lost or stolen.

But you don't get the same exchange rate as sending money from a bank in your home country to a bank here.

Traveller Cheques was good 25 years ago. Today there are better solutions. In many smaller places it's difficult to get cash with TC. And what's good about paying a fee every time you get cash, when there exist both more safe and more economical solutions. And did you read about the large price raise of the fee. With TC you will get a lot less money compared to the other solutions people tell you in this thread.

Edited March 27, 2014 by larsjohnsson

[isawasnake]

I used to carry a fake travelers check on me to try and trick potential thieves into

thinking I had no cash on me (which I did). That was the only use I ever got out of them.

[phetphet]

I bet Amex won't be happy about this increase. It will stop a lot of people using T/C's, myself included. No more for me once I finish my last unspent ones.

I would say travellers' Cheques. Up to GBP2,000 commission-free at any Post Office, easily cashed here and replaced if lost or stolen.

For that last reason, keep the printed receipt with the numbers in a different place to the TC's. There is a Thb30 tax for each cheque cashed so go for 100's rather than 50's.

If you have any left when you go home you can cash them if free of charge at the Post Office again.

This is what I remember from using them in thailand, 30 baht for each check. Not 150.

Over the last month most/all Thai banks have transitioned from 30 baht plus 3 baht stamp duty for a total of 33 baht per travelers cheque to 150 baht plus 3 baht stamp duty for a total of 153 baht per cheque. This has been talked about in some other recent threads. And I personally saw the charge as for the last few weeks I've had a friend visiting from the U.S.....the friend brought over some traveler cheques and was charged 153 baht per cheque at two different banks to cash "each" cheque. She bought cheques $100 in denomination and basically got charged a $5 fee (approx 153 baht) to cash each cheque...that equates to a 5% fee....if she had brought cheques say $500 in denomination (like I told her in advance but she didn't listen) that $5 (153 baht) cashing fee would have only equated to a 1% fee. So, bring LARGE denomination cheques to minimize the fee impact because "each cheque, regardless of denomination, will incur a 153 baht cashing fee."

By the way, notice the 3 baht stamp duty (the govt fee) remained unchanged; the increase from 30 to 150 baht is purely Thai banks increasing their fee....a five fold increase. Similar to how AEON ATMs in Feb started charging a 150 baht withdrawal fee for foreign cards (before they didn't charge any local ATM fee) just as Thai banks have been charging 150-180 baht local ATM fee for foreign cards....guess AEON caught the "increase fee disease" from the Thai banks.

Edit: to further help a person analyse which method, cash or travelers cheques, would put the the most baht in your hands you can use this webite to see exchange rates for various Thai banks...select Notes to see the cash exchange rate and Cheque for the travelers cheques exchange rate. While a travelers cheque does come with a 153 baht per check fee now you do get a higher exchange rate compared to cash "at a Thai bank" so it still may be to a person's advantage to use travelers cheques depending on the denomination you have ....but at a money exchanger like SuperRich (if you happen to have access to one) you should get more for cash than at a Thai bank....here's the SuperRich website.

[Pib]

Edit: to further help a person analyse which method, cash or travelers cheques, would put the the most baht in your hands you can use this webite to see exchange rates for various Thai banks...select Notes to see the cash exchange rate and Cheque for the travelers cheques exchange rate. While a travelers cheque does come with a 153 baht per check fee now you do get a higher exchange rate compared to cash "at a Thai bank" so it still may be to a person's advantage to use travelers cheques depending on the denomination you have ....but at a money exchanger like SuperRich (if you happen to have access to one) you should get more for cash than at a Thai bank....here's the SuperRich website.

Although we are were talking cash and traveler cheques, i do want to add one more comment regarding the website I gave above to see exchange rates for various Thai banks. While the various rates reflected for Notes, Cheques, TT, etc., are accurate there is a statement on the site that is completely bogus. And that statement is: "For ATM rates, select the TT currency type."

While ATM rates are usually "pretty close" to the TT Buying Rate (used for incoming wire transfers), the rate you get at an ATM is the Visa/Mastercard rate (or whatever other card logo your card carries) minus any foreign transaction/cross borders fee your "card-issuing bank" may apply and of course don't forget the local ATM use fee of Bt150-180 for foreign cards which Thai banks/AEON charge. As long as you don't accept the 3-4% lower Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) rip-off rate the ATM operator may offer you with the DCC rate probably being displayed as some warm & fuzzy name like Home Rate, Bank Rate, etc., you will get the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate (and remember, that rate will be reduced by your card-issuing bank foreign transaction fee if they charge one...most do in the 1 to 3% ballpark...but some still don't).

Yes, the statement is completely bogus...plus Thai banks don't even publish their ATM rates at their web sites. Why don't they published them? Because they use the Visa/Mastercard exchange rates. I expect the website uses the bogus statement simply because the ATM rates will be pretty close to the TT Buying Rate before adjustment for any card-issuing foreign transaction fee and they know many people come to their website to see if they can determine the ATM Rates of the day....if people knew the statement was bogus for ATM rates then many people would stop visiting the website which would hurt the website's hit-count which would impact their ad revenue/how popular their site is. For the Visa/Mastercard exchange rates go to their currency exchange websites at: Visa Link. Mastercard Link.

[larsjohnsson]

And when sending money from a bank in your home country to your account here in Thailand, then the rate is better than both TT, cash or Visa rate

[Pib]

And when sending money from a bank in your home country to your account here in Thailand, then the rate is better than both TT, cash or Visa rate

Wrong!!! Your home country sending bank will almost for sure give you a lower exchange rate since the Thai baht is rarely used outside of Thailand/not a world reserve currency...it's basically monopoly money outside of Thailand. Plus it's a great way for your sending bank to make a indirect fee via a lower exchange rate which will most likely be 2 to 4% lower that the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks. Most home country banks will use warm & fuzzy & vague words in trying to get you to convert to baht before sending. Why? Because it makes them a nice little fee via lower exchange rate. And as mentioned earlier the TT Buying Rate and Visa/Mastercard exchange rates are usually pretty close to each other.

No shortage of posts on ThaiVisa where people through personal experience have said to not allow your home country bank from converting to baht before sending, because you'll get a significantly lower exchange rate even though your home country bank may make their rate sound really competitive...when a bank/company says their rates are competitive that usually means their rates are not as good as other rates and the best they can say is that vague "competitive" word. And at some banks you can even use their exchange calculator to determine the exchange rate they will use in advance...but only a few home country banks over provide such an exchange rate converter for a good reason...they don't want people to see their lower rate.

And not only will your home country bank give you a lower rate for outgoing baht, they will give you a lower rate for incoming baht. If sending money from Thailand back to your home country always let the Thai bank do the conversion using their TT Selling Rate.

Summary: do your currency conversions, inbound or outbound, on the Thai bank end.

[larsjohnsson]

And when sending money from a bank in your home country to your account here in Thailand, then the rate is better than both TT, cash or Visa rate

Wrong!!! Your home country sending bank will almost for sure give you a lower exchange rate since the Thai baht is rarely used outside of Thailand/not a world reserve currency...it's basically monopoly money outside of Thailand. Plus it's a great way for your sending bank to make a indirect fee via a lower exchange rate which will most likely be 2 to 4% lower that the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks. Most home country banks will use warm & fuzzy & vague words in trying to get you to convert to baht before sending. Why? Because it makes them a nice little fee via lower exchange rate. And as mentioned earlier the TT Buying Rate and Visa/Mastercard exchange rates are usually pretty close to each other.

No shortage of posts on ThaiVisa where people through personal experience have said to not allow your home country bank from converting to baht before sending, because you'll get a significantly lower exchange rate even though your home country bank may make their rate sound really competitive...when a bank/company says their rates are competitive that usually means their rates are not as good as other rates and the best they can say is that vague "competitive" word. And at some banks you can even use their exchange calculator to determine the exchange rate they will use in advance...but only a few home country banks over provide such an exchange rate converter for a good reason...they don't want people to see their lower rate.

And not only will your home country bank give you a lower rate for outgoing baht, they will give you a lower rate for incoming baht. If sending money from Thailand back to your home country always let the Thai bank do the conversion using their TT Selling Rate.

Summary: do your currency conversions, inbound or outbound, on the Thai bank end.

You are wrong. When I send money from my account in my home country, I can decide what currency I will send. And I never send Thai baht. So the actual exchange rate will be done here in Bangkok. But even if I did like you wrote I would get a better rate than the money/TT rate.

I do it with internet banking so I can see what the rate is for me. And also the rate fot Cash and TT

Edited March 27, 2014 by larsjohnsson

[Pib]

Now you are reversing your story by saying you never send Thai baht and you get the Thai bank TT Buying Rate...and that is good.

In your earlier post you said the rate is better than the TT, cash or Visa rate which implied you are letting your home country bank accomplish the conversion/send in baht.

Why don't you cut and paste some baht exchange rates provided by your home country bank to support your post? But if you mean by "TT" Telegraphic Transfer rate "in general terms" that your home country bank uses then maybe we are on the same wavelength. But when you then say you can see the Cash and TT rate also that implies you can see the Cash and TT Buying Rate the Thai bank offers through you home country bank ibanking system....then again, maybe you mean you are reviewing the Thai bank web site separately to see what their Cash and TT Buying Rates are for the second. I'm just confused with your posts...maybe it's just me.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Pib

[Loles]

So you want to avoid the ATM fees and this reason you are thinking about travel check.

Very bad idea.

The TC is high cost. When I bought before 4000 USD TC (some paranoid idiots convicted me) I lost over 100 USD about fees.

Never again.

You come back, change your money, open a TH bank account, take a debit card from bank, make 10 000 B / day limit, and enjoy the free service.

I guess.

And the procedure in bank to change TC for money is long and you can feel yourself in ancient times.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Loles

[larsjohnsson]

Now you are reversing your story by saying you never send Thai baht and you get the Thai bank TT Buying Rate...and that is good.

In your earlier post you said the rate is better than the TT, cash or Visa rate which implied you are letting your home country bank accomplish the conversion/send in baht.

Why don't you cut and paste some baht exchange rates provided by your home country bank to support your post? But if you mean by "TT" Telegraphic Transfer rate "in general terms" that your home country bank uses then maybe we are on the same wavelength. But when you then say you can see the Cash and TT rate also that implies you can see the Cash and TT Buying Rate the Thai bank offers through you home country bank ibanking system....then again, maybe you mean you are reviewing the Thai bank web site separately to see what their Cash and TT Buying Rates are for the second. I'm just confused with your posts...maybe it's just me.

Yes it's just you and I didn't imply anything.

When I send money from my bank in my home country, I choose what currecy I send. I can choose all existing currencies. Bank to bank transfer also give me a better rate than the cash or TT rate give me. With any currency it will be better than Cash or TT in the same currency. If I do it over internet instead of going in to my bank it's nearly without any charge also. It normally takes one day for the money to arrive. And I always send the money in my home currency

Edited March 28, 2014 by larsjohnsson

[Pib]

Can you further explain what you mean by "bank to bank rate" because when you do such a transfer you are doing a Telegrahic Transfer (TT)...also known as a wire, SWIFT, electronic transfer, etc. You seem to be saying a bank to bank transfer is something different than a TT. Thanks.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

[larsjohnsson]

I transfer money from my bank account in Sweden to my Kasikorn account here. I don't know what you call it in English. We don't use English names in our banks

Edited March 30, 2014 by larsjohnsson

[Pib]

OK, since you said in post number 20 that you "...always send in your home currency..." that means when the funds arrive your Kasikorn account as you mentioned in your post #22 that is when Kasikorn converts the funds to baht using their "TT Buying Rate." Therefore, you are getting the TT rate; you are not getting some some baht rate from your home country sending bank....yes, you can choose what foreign currency to send but you said you are sending your home country currency.

It's just in your first post (#15) your stated: "And when sending money from a bank in your home country to your account here in Thailand, then the rate is better than both TT, cash or Visa rate." That is when I jumped in just to clarify that based on foreign bank exchange rate calculators I've seen and probably hundreds of posts from other ThaiVisa members saying never allow your home country bank to convert to baht when sending because you'll surely get a lower exchange rate than what the Thai bank TT rate will be. I think you were just having problems with the terminology/English terms.

I'll now leave you alone...I just wanted to get some more info and make sure you were not falling into the trap of letting your home country bank convert to baht when sending which would surely give you a lower exchange rate. Cheers.