Am I screwed?! left it late for travel card in S.E Asia, please help

ferf1223

Metrobank is great and no there are no disadvantages...well, other than if someone were to say use it to pay for a hotel, that might put a hold against funds on the card for damage/additional charges, etc (no idea if they do this sort of thing in that part of the world)...in that case it may be better to use a credit card where it's not actually your holiday spending money tied up until the hold falls off, but credit you wouldn't use anyway and won't miss.

Our Metrobank account is used just for holidays...as was our Nationwide account before they upped their fees. Agree that having a back-up is always, always a good idea...we normally have 2 debit cards (Metro and AbbeyZero) a CC good for overseas spending (PO). I don't see why you couldn't use both if you needed both.

It doesn't get made a bigger deal of as when people DO make a big deal out of it someone inevitably shoots it down as it's for 'London only'.

And their coin counter is great...100% for you to pay into your account - no counting and bagging coins...no daily coin limit (that I'm aware of).

Bob_the_Saver

I originally opened my Metro Bank account on the way to Heathrow, most people (OK not everyone) do go to London sometimes.

Doshwaster

benjus wrote: »

Most ATMs (except Aeon) in Thailand impose their own charge for withdrawals on foreign cards (or maybe any card from a different bank - not sure). This applies to all cards - prepaid and debit. However, with a debit card you should be able to avoid this by withdrawing the cash over the counter, which you cannot do (or it does not make sense to do) with prepaid cards.

The 150 BHT fee in Thailand has never really bothered me. At least there are ATMs everywhere so it's never hard to find some cash. If you take out 10,000 BHT at a time then it's only a 1.5% fee.

danstar10

What is the definition of 'cash over the counter'? Do you mean like cashback in a store in Thailand?

As for hotels putting a hold on funds, could someone please explain this to me? Does it mean if I get a hotel for say £30 a night, they may put a hold on £100 incase I trash the room rockstar style? If so, how long would this money be on hold for, and what amounts are likely to be put on hold from anyone's experience? I didn't know hotels could do that.
Does paying with a credit card somehow avoid this? Or is it just that there is a nice credit limit on credit cards as a buffer for this? In that case I may be better paying with my Nationwide credit card for hotels and in store purchases, and just using the Metrobank card for ATM withdrawls.

Is it just Thailand that the ATMs impose fees on, or is it common in south east Asia? And is it made clear when you use an ATM that this is the case?

Apologies for the many questions!

Cheers

NiftyDigits

danstar10 wrote: »

What is the definition of 'cash over the counter'? Do you mean like cashback in a store in Thailand?

As for hotels putting a hold on funds, could someone please explain this to me? Does it mean if I get a hotel for say £30 a night, they may put a hold on £100 incase I trash the room rockstar style? If so, how long would this money be on hold for, and what amounts are likely to be put on hold from anyone's experience? I didn't know hotels could do that.
Does paying with a credit card somehow avoid this? Or is it just that there is a nice credit limit on credit cards as a buffer for this? In that case I may be better paying with my Nationwide credit card for hotels and in store purchases, and just using the Metrobank card for ATM withdrawls.

Is it just Thailand that the ATMs impose fees on, or is it common in south east Asia? And is it made clear when you use an ATM that this is the case?

Apologies for the many questions!

Cheers

benjus answered for me. 'Over the counter' means popping into the bank, handing your card and passport over and telling them how much cash you want. Avoids the 150 baht charge.
Fees in Vietnam too, unless you use TeleBank ATMs.
Credit card for purchases, debit card for cash.

ferf1223

danstar10 wrote: »

Or is it just that there is a nice credit limit on credit cards as a buffer for this?

this - if you have a credit card with a limit you'll never need, no worries about using the CC against your hotel room as you'll never miss access to that credit. If you use debit card those funds will be blocked - you won't be able to access them - until the hold drops off...I think it can vary but have read before it can be 7-10 days after you leave...the funds never come out of your account, but they are blocked - set aside - in case the hotel calls upon them. We mostly travel to the US and in Vegas in particular the hold can be $100/night or thereabouts. On our CC we wouldn't care - would never miss it as we would never spend anywhere near our limit...on a debit card we use for holiday money only we might.

Again, I have no idea if hotels in that part of the world do this...but it is one of the only reasons I can think using a CC would possibly be a better option everything else being equal.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Just make sure they opened the correct account for you at Metro bank. The have 2 types of current account there and one of them you cannot use abroad.

Wings_of_Ambition

I booked a very last minute holiday to Thailand last year. Was too late to get any of the travel cards so I ended up taking Sterling Travellers cheques, as several travel guides had recommended. Worked a treat - didn't cost much to cash and convert them to baht, and I felt a lot safer than carrying hundreds of pounds worth of local currency.

I think it was HSBC that allowed me to get them commission-free (a lot of places will charge for sterling travellers cheques).

Have a great trip!

Dragonista

Bring sterling and buy money once you get here (I live in SE Asia). The UK rates are worse than abysmal. Also, they don't use USD everywhere, pretty much everywhere I've been doesn't.

Not everywhere charges an atm withdrawal fee, no. But I don't know country to country.

NiftyDigits

Wings_of_Ambition wrote: »

I booked a very last minute holiday to Thailand last year. Was too late to get any of the travel cards so I ended up taking Sterling Travellers cheques, as several travel guides had recommended. Worked a treat - didn't cost much to cash and convert them to baht, and I felt a lot safer than carrying hundreds of pounds worth of local currency.

I think it was HSBC that allowed me to get them commission-free (a lot of places will charge for sterling travellers cheques).

Have a great trip!

That is ok for Thailand.