changing pounds to thai bhats

Geddes

Hi,
Has anyone on here ever been to thailand, me and 2 friends are going for 2 weeks in august and are all bring £100-£1500 soending money with us but we dont know what the best thing to do with our money is. Ive heard that travellers cheques are useless over there so i think the only option would be is to carry £1500 of money to thailand with me. Anyone ever done it before and know a better way. Also this will be the first time ive been abroad so sorry if i seem a bit stupid all this holiday stuff is new to me this is the first time ive been able to afford a holiday after saving up for ages.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks,
Kevin

fifeken

Traveller's cheques are fine in any major tourist area - take UK Sterling ones. Nationwide Debit Card and Abbey (Santander) Zero credit card are the cards to use but bear in mind most Thai banks are imposing a 150 baht ATM withdrawal fee. There are ATMs in the airport (assume you're flying to BKK) so no need to take any Thai money with you as buying it in the UK is probably the worst thing to do. Keep a backup card in case of any problems with NW and keep bank/building society numbers with you in case any card gets blocked.

jonathon

I allways got a better exchange rate with travelers cheques than cash in Thailand

superstar_2

Definitely bring sterling there and change them into bhats there. You'd definitely get a better rate.

Donnie

If you've no time to get any of the recommended cards, AmEx TCs in high denominations will be absolutely fine.

Forget about taking cash, you sound like you are going out there for a good time. All too easy to get drunk and lose track of your cash.

Be safe and take American Express TCs in £100 denominations.

If your bank gives you Visa TCs in £ for free, take them. But be aware that Visa TCs aren't as widely accepted by banking exchange booths.

basiaking

Don't know if I am in the right place, so apologies if not.

I recently applied for a Santander Zero credit card just to use abroad for myself as the main cardholder requesting a second card for my husband to be an additional cardholder on the same account. We only have a couple of other credit cards on which we always pay off the balance in full each month and have never had any outstanding debts on any credit cards. After applying for the Santander card, I received a card for myself but an additional card did not arrive for my husband. I rang them this morning asking if he could have an additional card on my account and was told that he cannot because he doesn't have any other accounts, eg, mortgage or savings account with the Abbey National. But neither did I before this credit card. They said that he would need to open up an account with the Abbey before they would be able to give him an additional credit card on my account. We have never had this problem with any other credit cards. Is this right?

I also noticed a clause in their terms and conditions saying that if you do not use the credit card for six months they can impose a charge of £10 for letting the account lie dormant which people should be aware of (people like me who plan only to use this card on their summer holidays once a year!). I plan to make a small transaction every 6 months just to avoid being charged the "dormant" fee.