Travellers Cheques: Where best to buy from now?

[lovetravellingoz]

I found out about this card in Choice magazine - who said they had had a number of enquiries asking if it was too good to be true. I think it's too good to last, so use it while it does!

Thanks for that. Yes the 28 card is very well known and well used on this forum, including by me.

However this thread was started to "revisit" the possible use of TC due to the 150 baht ATM impost now in Thailand.

The beauty of the 28 card was that you could us it cost effectively for small withdrawls which was very handy. The 150 baht fee in Thailand changes all of this, though it does remain cost effective for large withdrawls.

 

[JohnK]

Any foreign exchange purchased in Australia would not be as good as the exchange rates offered in Thailand. If you are going to carry ~THB60,000 with you then you may as well carry the ~AUD2,000 with you instead and exchange it in Thailand.

I had a look at the Westpac site earlier and to get AUD1,000 in travellers cheques it costs AUD26 for the privilege. Sounds a little expensive and if you are going to pay that much for travellers cheques then you may as well withdraw from the ATMs using Wizard/28 Degrees and pay the THB150 each time.

 

[ric_melb]

I can't see why you wouldn't withdraw 10,000 or 20,000 baht each time you use an ATM in Thailand. In which case the 150 baht isn't so much compared with the cost and inconvenience of the alternatives.

 

[melaus]

I am married to a Thai and have a Thai bank account, live mainly in Australia but travel several months per year over there.

A Thai bank account is the best way to go and do "TT" transfers from your Oz bank, making sure that the transaction leaves here in Oz$ and hits Thailand as such where the transaction is finally done.
Do not transact to Thai Baht here locally no matter what method you choose and stay well away from Travelex.

BUT.......................

I don't think the OP is planning a longish trip anyway so the Thai account is not really feasible and for a foreigner travelling is not that easy to open anyway. They have become rather strict over there on just who can open an account and this differs with different banks.
AUDTravelers Cheques are widely accepted and attract a slightly better THB rate than AUD cash, but mathematics needs to be done as there is a small fee on each cheque cashed so get the highest denomination possible.
If you are not able to get your cheques commission free it may be better to simply take AUD cash, but if worried about security split amounts between cash and cheques.

Personally if I didn't have an account over there, I would use high denomination cheques purchased commission free here and load up my credit card here before travel to put it well into credit.

Another thing to watch with using Credit Cards (which are widely accepted and convenient) is to demand that the transaction is FULLY activated in THB.
There is a growing trend for some Thai banks to do the conversion to AUD at that end and your final outcome is not as good as letting the whole transaction happen in THB which is later converted to AUD by Visa Mastercard etc.

As well as keeping away from Travelex at this end, I would avoid taking any plastic card over there which needs to be fed into an ATM to obtain Thai cash. Anyone without a Thai bank account will do better with a mix of AUD cash and TC's.

ÍѵÃÒáÅ¡à»ÅÕè¹ ¸¹Ò¤ÒÃä·Â¾Ò³ÔªÂì - SCB Currency Exchange Rates

Don't understand the strange look of the link, but it seems to work!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I can't see why you wouldn't withdraw 10,000 or 20,000 baht each time you use an ATM in Thailand. In which case the 150 baht isn't so much compared with the cost and inconvenience of the alternatives.

1/ I like to optimise things, and knowledge is king. So hence this thread and a different one to deepen my knowledge and to look at the pros and cons.

Another factor on this trip is a lot of my destinations will not have ATM's. So hnc another reason to re-examine TC's.

2/ Having grown used to the 28/Wizard I have enjoyed the convenience of small transactions.


Having said that I will for this trip now take a lot of cash, topped up with large ATM withdrawls.

 

[Travelmonkey]

Re: Do they still exist?

Me too..but the recent per tx ATM charge of 150 baht has me reconsidering them.

I honestly didn't think anyone used TC's anymore as I understood them to be hard to cash in these days. I would get a debit card like the Cash Passport which has a flat rate for the ATM withdrawals. Most of the banks now have a debit card option and some are now linked with Visa or Mastercard so you can use them like a credit card or an ATM debit card. I think the Commonwealth one you can load several different currencies. AUD would be best for Thailand but if you are bartering in the markets USD cash is often good (or it used to be)! Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[yohy?!]

open a Thai bank account and link it up to paypal and email yourself funds via your AUD paypal account. But not sure if the paypal exchange rates are good or if the fees are low enough to make it viable?

Every report I have heard is that it is next to impossible for non-resident, non-land owning foreigners to open bank accounts in Thailand.

Paypal conversion fees are also typically poor.

 

[JohnK]

I would get a debit card like the Cash Passport which has a flat rate for the ATM withdrawals.

Welcome to AFF.

Are you referring to Travelex? I am not trying to offend but I think most people on this site are aware that most Travelex products are a rip-off.

Every report I have heard is that it is next to impossible for non-resident, non-land owning foreigners to open bank accounts in Thailand.

If you go to ThaiVisa you will find that it is possible to open a Thai bank account on a tourist visa. All you need to do is have your passport with you and a deposit. You may need to provide an address at which point you can either use the hotel's address or an address of someone you know.

Generally it is up to the branch manager to decide if a foreigner can open a bank account. Keep trying different branches. It would appear that Kasikorn bank may well be the easiest.

I will be doing some research on this topic when I am back in Thailand next week.

 

[melaus]

As I suggested briefly above, the situation with opening a Thai Bank Account is a frustrating experience for a foreigner, (Farang)
You may need to spend much time with hit & miss results.
Not only do some banks refuse to do so, particularly when you are only armed with a tourist visa and no fixed address, some banks of the same brand will allow in some regions but not others.

I have a Thai wife, a Thai retirement Visa, a fixed Thai address and in some bank branches, I would still have trouble to open an account.

So good luck to anyone attempting to do so...........You may hit the jackpot on your first attempt, or after several foot slogging hours or days in many areas.

I'm also fairly certain a fixed address and not a hotel will be required. I needed one five years ago and it is a lot tougher now!

 

[JohnK]

So good luck to anyone attempting to do so...........You may hit the jackpot on your first attempt, or after several foot slogging hours or days in many areas.

I agree that it may well be a difficult process but for someone like me who plans on spending a little more time in Thailand so the time spent getting a Thai bank account could prove to be valuable.

I'm also fairly certain a fixed address and not a hotel will be required. I needed one five years ago and it is a lot tougher now!

Would a business address do? I know some people in Thailand so could use that address.

Worse case scenario is I know many expats so could always give one of their addresses.

 

[Mal]

So good luck to anyone attempting to do so...........

I wonder if a hotel concierge (with the right incentive) might be able to make this happen... I wouldn't mind a THB based account to add to my UK and AU ones

 

[JohnK]

I wonder if a hotel concierge (with the right incentive) might be able to make this happen... I wouldn't mind a THB based account to add to my UK and AU ones

I will do some investigation next week and let you know how I go.

 

[melaus]

I would go with a friends address and it would be a good idea for he/she to go with you when you are ready to do the task.
It would help also I imagine, if you use the same bank and branch where they have accounts.
I personally use SCB (Siam Commercial Bank) and find them excellent, but have heard in some places they can be difficult to initiate an account with. I have Internet access with them and can do anything with the accounts from here.
A TT Transfer from here sometimes takes less than an hour from activation to arrive at the branch over there, noting as I said above, do the transaction from here in AUD and let the Thai's do the "Baht" part of it. That aspect makes several $'s difference even with modest amounts!