Holiday Money to Thailand

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  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    :j Wahey! I think I've found them. :j
  • pin
    pin Posts: 4,265 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Sorry, my bad. Didn't read your post properly, I thought you meant take the £100 to change at the airport. Got it wrong.
    "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" - Mahatma Gandhi
  • edwardandtubs
    edwardandtubs Posts: 37 Forumite
    I'm off to Thailand in a weeks time and dont have a Nationwide account, I'm with Barclays (Connect Debit Card).

    I'm trying to figure out whether or not to take travellers cheques (in sterling) or my debit card??.

    Can anyone advise whats the best option??
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    American Express Sterling Travellers Cheques will be slightly better value, though the debit card will be convenient.
  • edwardandtubs
    edwardandtubs Posts: 37 Forumite
    Thought as much, just wanted to confirm. Barclays slap quite a bit of a charge on it dont they...
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
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    edwardandtubs wrote:
    ... Barclays slap quite a bit of a charge on it dont they...
    http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?task=articleFWgroup&value=6295&target=_self&site=pfs :
    Charge for Barclays handling costs and any VISA processing fees (included in the sterling conversion on your statement) 2.75%

    Additional charge for all foreign transactions via a cash machine
    or in a bank over the counter .... 1.5% (min £1.50, max £4.50)
    I think with cheques you will lose about the same - but will have less flexibility. Do your maths before buying cheques. For current interbank rate see http://www.oanda.com/.
  • pin
    pin Posts: 4,265 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Remember in Thailand there is a 50 baht fee per TC you cash in.
    "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" - Mahatma Gandhi
  • edwardandtubs
    edwardandtubs Posts: 37 Forumite
    pin wrote:
    Remember in Thailand there is a 50 baht fee per TC you cash in.

    Grumbler, Pin.

    If I take a £50 Sterling Travellers cheque with me (for example) and cash it and get 72.78261 Bahts to the £1 (according to oanda.com) and pay the 50 baht charge which is about 68p, isnt this better than withdrawing £50 and getting charged 2.75% (£1.38) and 1.5% (min £1.50) in total £3.88?

    I'm confused...
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
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    edwardandtubs wrote:
    If I take a £50 Sterling Travellers cheque with me (for example) and cash it and get 72.78261 Bahts to the £1 (according to oanda.com) and pay the 50 baht charge which is about 68p, isnt this better than withdrawing £50 and getting charged 2.75% (£1.38) and 1.5% (min £1.50) in total £3.88?...
    1. I've never used travel cheques. I could be wrong, but I always was under impression that you never get interbank rate when selling them - the same as with currency exchange. The only advantage is extra protection.
    2. Yes, with £1.50 fixed charge it is not a good idea to withdraw such small amonts as £50. If, for example. you withdraw £250 it will be just extra 0.6%, as compared to 3% for £50.
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    50 baht? It was 33 baht the last time I looked.

    The rate you will receive in Thailand; http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank/Personal+Banking/Foreign+Exchange/FX+Rates/default.htm
    I can't remember if it is the 'sight bill' or 'TT' rate that applies to TCs, but it's at least 72.15 baht.

    Compare that was the mid market rate of 72.44 baht on https://www.xe.com yesterday.

    You will note that the figures are quite close to each other.

    Also, you will note that the rate you get for TCs in higher than you get for cash, effectively covering the extra cost of obtaining the TCs, other than the 33 baht(less than 50 pence) extra charge.

    TCs are CLEARLY better value.

    Grumbler, your example is wrong. The £1.50 is not a fixed charge, it's a minimum charge(according to the link that you have posted).
    So the extra charge for withdrawing £250 would be £3.75. That's 1.5%, not 0.6%.
    Then of course, there is the stealthy 2.75% Forex commission of £6.875.
    That's a total of £10.62!!

    TC cost? Up to a possible 1.5% from AmEx or your bank. So that's £3.75 for your £250 example. The difference in the exchange rate you receive is as little as 0.4%. So, that is £1. Plus the cost of cashing three cheques, 2 x £100 plus 1 x £50. 50 pence each, that's another £1.50. Total of £6.25.
    Of course the cost is less if your bank charges less for Sterling TCs.

    The cost differential is even larger when you require smaller amounts of cash. ie less than £100. The TC cost is yet lower (as there are less per cheque charges), whilst the debit card cost is higher because the £1.50 minimum charge per withdrawal.
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