Help Uk Travellers Cheques Confusion Best Way?

[brian123]

WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED trav cheqeus from barclays.

1 weve been told that banks in thailand will cash them for 33 bhat per cheque for any amount

( i though TC cost a lot more than that)

2 we have also been told that it is best to get the cheques in USD currency since we will get slightly more for the dollar?

can some one validate thboth these questions?

thanks

PS i was going to open a thia tourist account. is this still advantageos to do so?

Edited September 20, 2006 by brian123

[naka]

1. If you are coming from UK, then no reason not to bring Sterling cheques.

Only bring large denomination cheques, forget the 10, 20 pound units.

2. No reason why you should not open a savings (passbook + visa debit card)

Go to the bank early when they are not busy and it should only take 15 mins.

Kasikorn seems to be 'helpful' at the moment.

Naka.

[endure]

Go to http://www.nationwide.co.uk/travel/travel_money/default.htm and buy Sterling traveller's cheques. MAKE SURE that you pay for them with a DEBIT card. Your cost will be whatever you buy plus £3.50 for Special Delivery next day. It's the cheapest deal in town as long as you're buying more than £350 worth. If you're buying less find your local American Express office where they'll charge you 1% of the face value of the t/cs you buy.

[IMA_FARANG]

WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED trav cheqeus from barclays.

1 weve been told that banks in thailand will cash them for 33 bhat per cheque for any amount

( i though TC cost a lot more than that)

2 we have also been told that it is best to get the cheques in USD currency since we will get slightly more for the dollar?

can some one validate thboth these questions?

thanks

PS i was going to open a thia tourist account. is this still advantageos to do so?

1. Sterling travellers checks should get you a better exchange rate than USD checks. I don't know about cost on purchase end.

2. Some Thai banks have a fee for cashing travelers checks. Many of the banks have a special relationship with a particular travel check supplier. You will get a better deal if you cash the travellers checks with the bank that has a deal with that supplier.

Edited September 22, 2006 by IMA_FARANG

[marshbags]

Go to http://www.nationwide.co.uk/travel/travel_money/default.htm and buy Sterling traveller's cheques. MAKE SURE that you pay for them with a DEBIT card. Your cost will be whatever you buy plus £3.50 for Special Delivery next day. It's the cheapest deal in town as long as you're buying more than £350 worth. If you're buying less find your local American Express office where they'll charge you 1% of the face value of the t/cs you buy.

The problems i had with the N.Wide was that a large quantity is in small denominations ( 10, 20, with only one of 100 out of the lot. )

I enquired at my local branch about getting 200,s and asked if it was possible to do this.

My B. manager said unfortunately they couldn,t do nothing as it was up to the suppliers.

On her advice i telephoned them and was told that it wasn,t possible to do this and all transactions where / are in mixed denominations.

I then asked to speak to a supervisor and was told the same.

If you don,t mind the lower ones then you can get the service free apart from the 3.5 pounds delivery charges with your flexi account.

The relevance being that if you cash them in Thailand you pay exchange charges for each cheque.

The majority are tens and twenties.

Sterling is indeed the best currency for baht rates and generally you get approx. 1 baht more than you would for cash.

I usually order in excess of 3,000 sterling to take for my emergency funds, so it really makes a difference.

If you want 200,s then you are best to pre order them.

Another point being the size of the wad isn,t to my liking, as you will probably appreciate.

marshbags

P.S.

I usually get a couple of 100,s for convenience purposes and i only get Thompsons or American Express.

Edited September 23, 2006 by marshbags

[Soju]

The last time I checked the situation with travellers cheques, this is what I found:

When changing money into THB, there are various rates to consider: the basic rate, the T/T rate, the T/C rate, and the cash rate. You pay a slight percent over the basic rate for a T/T, and a slight additional percent for cashing a T/C. Cash will cost you a larger percent beyond the T/C rate. So if you are transferring a very large amount (tens of thousands of dollars/pounds), doing it by T/T will get you the best rate possible. For amounts up to a few thousand dollars/pounds, there likely won't be that much of a difference being the T/C fee can be substantial. For amounts less that a thousand dollars/pounds, it's probably not worth your hassle for getting the T/C, unless you just want them for security sake.

The percent above the basic rate charged for T/T, T/C, cash depends on the currency you are changing into THB. USD get the best rate, but for cash, small denomination ($1, $5, $10, $20) notes get a much lower rate. GBP and EUR still get a good rate, but it is slightly lower than USD. But the difference is so little, that you're better to just bring whatever currency you have. Do not change from GBP to USD just to get a slightly better rate, because you will lose much more than what you save in the conversion between GBP and USD. If you have a choice between the two currencies, and don't need to do any conversions, then you're probably better off bringing USD.

Travellers cheques come in denominations up to 1000 USD. I don't know what the highest denomination is in GBP or EUR, but for USD it is definitely 1000. If you're exhanging a lot of money in the form of T/C, get the highest denomination you can because for each T/C you cash you will be charged a fee, not to mention it's just easier to carry a few large denomination T/C's than many smaller denomination.

When figuring out what is best, you have to calculate in all the factors. My breakdowns for the cut-off points for which form of exchange is best are very general and the actual thresholds will vary depending on which currency you are using, how much your bank charges you for T/C or T/T, and what denomination T/C you are using. It's best to always do a quick calculation of the approximate amount of THB you will receive using the various methods to see if it's really worth your while to pursue a more difficult method over an easier method. Sometimes people go through hoops just to save a couple hundred baht and it's really not worth it for all the time they spend.

Edited September 23, 2006 by Soju

[Chris.B]

Go to http://www.nationwide.co.uk/travel/travel_money/default.htm and buy Sterling traveller's cheques. MAKE SURE that you pay for them with a DEBIT card. Your cost will be whatever you buy plus £3.50 for Special Delivery next day. It's the cheapest deal in town as long as you're buying more than £350 worth. If you're buying less find your local American Express office where they'll charge you 1% of the face value of the t/cs you buy.

I am surprised you recommend Nationwide. I believe they offer Thomas Cook travellers cheques which are not easily exchanged in Thailand. Go elsewhere and obtain American Express cheques in pounds sterling... no problem exchanging.

[englishoak]

I Always go for sterling T/C but do use americam express as they are more famous. Sterling is far more stable than the dollar atm. I always pre order ( only 1-2 days) only denominations of £100 and £200. Forget the small notes it's all a scam and costs a lot when you change. £100 T/C = 33bht 5x £20 =33bht x5 = 165bht.

Only problem i've had with large notes is if you go into a bank in the countryside. It can freak them out when they have never seen a £100 T/C before. expect them to check and check again, then check your signature then passport etc, go see the manager, check again etc. I find it quite amusing.

[endure]

Go to http://www.nationwide.co.uk/travel/travel_money/default.htm and buy Sterling traveller's cheques. MAKE SURE that you pay for them with a DEBIT card. Your cost will be whatever you buy plus £3.50 for Special Delivery next day. It's the cheapest deal in town as long as you're buying more than £350 worth. If you're buying less find your local American Express office where they'll charge you 1% of the face value of the t/cs you buy.

The problems i had with the N.Wide was that a large quantity is in small denominations ( 10, 20, with only one of 100 out of the lot. )

How long ago was this, mb? The last time I bought any via Nationwide (last January) I asked for and was given all 100s without any hassle.

[Richard W]

The problems i had with the N.Wide was that a large quantity is in small denominations ( 10, 20, with only one of 100 out of the lot. )

How long ago was this, mb? The last time I bought any via Nationwide (last January) I asked for and was given all 100s without any hassle.

In July orders of £600 and above were available from NatWest in 100s only, at least if you ordered as a customer. (Orders of £500 or less were only available in mixed denominations.) However, allow time to re-order in case you are given mixed denominations instead of what you order. It's happened to me twice - one from the Midland as was, and once this year from NatWest. NatWest waived the commission charge when I ordered the replacements for the small denominations.

[endure]

The problems i had with the N.Wide was that a large quantity is in small denominations ( 10, 20, with only one of 100 out of the lot. )

How long ago was this, mb? The last time I bought any via Nationwide (last January) I asked for and was given all 100s without any hassle.

In July orders of £600 and above were available from NatWest in 100s only, at least if you ordered as a customer. (Orders of £500 or less were only available in mixed denominations.) However, allow time to re-order in case you are given mixed denominations instead of what you order. It's happened to me twice - one from the Midland as was, and once this year from NatWest. NatWest waived the commission charge when I ordered the replacements for the small denominations.

How much was the original commission charge that you paid?

[Richard W]

How much was the original commission charge that you paid?

1%. Can't check their on-line rate because the web page is broken. It does seem a rip-off if ordering by phone would have been free. I don't understand how it can be free - isn't there a cost in the insurance element?

Edited October 8, 2006 by Richard W

[edd]

I just got my Travellers cheques from LLOYDS TSB, 4 days ago.

You don’t have to be a customer

http://www.lloydstsb.com/travel_main_page.asp

£200 cheques

No commission

No fees

Order with debit card; collect at a branch for free or for about £3.50 they can be delivered to your home.

[Chris.B]

I just got my Travellers cheques from LLOYDS TSB, 4 days ago.

You don’t have to be a customer

http://www.lloydstsb.com/travel_main_page.asp

£200 cheques

No commission

No fees

Your link only mentions foreign currency commission-free. What currency did you get your cheques in?