Travellers Cheques - what to do with them?

br1anst0rm

A search of the forum brings up an old (2012) thread which has been closed.  So I have to post this up as a new advice-request.

Over the past 40 years I have travelled extensively world-wide for work as well as pleasure.  Since before the invention of credit cards, digital money and cash machines I have had a stock of Thomas Cook travellers' cheques in £sterling and US$ as a contingency precaution.  They have no expiry date.  I recall that they were convenient and easy to use in the USA (where shops and hotels used to accept them like cash) and also in various countries in Asia (like Thailand) and in Africa.

Doing a recent clear-out I unearthed them. As I'm now retired and less likely to travel to remote and distant places, I wonder what to do with them.  Are US$ TCs still widely acceptable in the US?  Can I cash the sterling ones in at face value in UK and if so where would be best - a bank, post office or currency-exchange?

Westin

The GBP£ ones you should just be able to pay in to your UK bank account.

bagand96

It seems Thomas Cook FX ended up part of Travelex who have the following information:

https://www.travelex.co.uk/services/travellers-cheques

NoodleDoodleMan

This issue came up hereabouts not that long ago.

As I understood the advice given - the issuing bank will honour their travellers cheques.

In the case of Thomas Cook - Travelex is where to go I believe. There is likely a small commission fee.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-to-do-with-thomas-cook-travellers-cheques-nw7jwv2r3

As Westin says - Sterling cheques can go directly into a UK bank account .

Good luck.

br1anst0rm

Thanks to those who responded (though the linked Times article is behind a paywall).  I'll talk to my bank about the £sterling TCs, and go looking for a Travelex branch for the US$ ones.  If there is a commission fee involved, so be it....

Neil49

br1anst0rm said:

Thanks to those who responded (though the linked Times article is behind a paywall).  I'll talk to my bank about the £sterling TCs, and go looking for a Travelex branch for the US$ ones.  If there is a commission fee involved, so be it....

On a positive note the GBP to USD exchange rate has moved massively in your favour in the last year. 

TimSynths

br1anst0rm said:

Thanks to those who responded (though the linked Times article is behind a paywall).  I'll talk to my bank about the £sterling TCs, and go looking for a Travelex branch for the US$ ones.  If there is a commission fee involved, so be it....

What to do with Thomas Cook traveller’s cheques

Ben Clatworthy

Saturday October 05 2019, 12.01am, The Times

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I have had some Thomas Cook traveller’s cheques in sterling for many years that I kept for emergency use abroad. Are they of any value?

I also have some other American Express traveller’s cheques. Is there any advantage in keeping them or should I cash them in?
Martin Bellman, London

Cash in any unused traveller’s cheques

GETTY IMAGES

Martin is not the only person who has contacted The Times since the collapse of Thomas Cook to ask if their traveller’s cheques are still worth the paper they are printed on. It seems that the demise of the world’s oldest tour operator jogged quite a few readers’ minds that stuffed in the back of the sock drawer they still have a clutch of these old travel essentials.

I must admit I was slightly surprised by this, naively believing that traveller’s cheques would have been consigned to history. Thomas Cook, a cabinet maker and former Baptist preacher, was a pioneer of the traveller cheque. His story begins in July 1841 when he chartered a train to take Temperance supporters 12 miles from Leicester to a meeting in Loughborough.

In 1855 Cook went international, organising trips to Europe and then North America, and in 1874 launched the “circular note”, the precursor of traveller’s cheques, which could be cashed overseas for local currency. In 1994 Thomas Cook acquired Interpayment Services Limited, a subsidiary of Barclays bank, to become the largest supplier of traveller’s cheques outside the US.ADVERTISEMENT

The demise of Thomas Cook travel agency on the high street and in the skies has not killed traveller’s cheques. Travelex, which bought Thomas Cook’s travel money business in 2000, will still accept the cheques, albeit for a 5 per cent fee. I would recommend cashing them in, along with any others you might have knocking about, and treat yourself to a night out.

The hundreds of thousands of customers with advance Thomas Cook bookings that were automatically cancelled on September 23, when the company went into liquidation, and that are Atol protected can begin claiming for full refunds from Monday.

The Civil Aviation Authority has an online form that will go live when the claims process begins. Follow instructions at thomascook.caa.co.uk, under the section headed Customers yet to travel out of the UK.

Beware scammers who are trying to defraud Thomas Cook customers. Go direct to the CAA website and do not engage with third parties that claim they will help with a refund. If you have trouble, call the CAA on 0300 303 2800.

br1anst0rm

Westin said:

The GBP£ ones you should just be able to pay in to your UK bank account.

For various reasons it's taken me a while to follow up on the advice given in this thread.  One difficulty is that there is no Travelex branch within easy reach.  

So I thought - at least I should pay the Thomas Cook £sterling TCs into my bank account.  Ah, it turned out to be not that simple.  The local branch of Bank of Scotland, where I have my account, was baffled.  None of the staff had ever seen a travellers' cheque (which was a worrying reminder of how old I am... or how young they are!).

They promised to seek guidance and get back to me.  They did.  And the answer was no:  they would not accept the Thomas Cook sterling TCs or credit the money to my account. They did say that  they would accept and process their own TCs (but as far as I know Bank of Scotland never issued their own branded TCs) and they would encash or credit American Express TCs - which is of no help to me....

I don't know whether to be surprised or disappointed.  Is this a matter where the banks have discretion?  Bank of Scotland is part of HBOS.  Might a different bank (I also have accounts with TSB and First Direct) be willing to accept the TCs as valid?  I find it interesting that the TCs themselves state that they are "valid indefinitely".

The other interesting aspect is that the Thomas Cook TCs have the MasterCard logo and branding prominently displayed on them.  What exactly does that mean?  Does MasterCard have any collateral or related responsibility for honouring the TCs?  If not, what's the point of having their logo on the cheques?

NBLondon

br1anst0rm said:

The local branch of Bank of Scotland, where I have my account, was baffled.  None of the staff had ever seen a travellers' cheque (which was a worrying reminder of how old I am... or how young they are!).

I hit that about 5 years ago, when I found a few in a drawer and took them to TSB.  The staff member was probably younger than the cheque... however, after consulting the supervisor they paid them in quite happily.  So maybe try another bank when you can get there.

bagand96

br1anst0rm said:

I don't know whether to be surprised or disappointed.  Is this a matter where the banks have discretion?  Bank of Scotland is part of HBOS.  Might a different bank (I also have accounts with TSB and First Direct) be willing to accept the TCs as valid?  I find it interesting that the TCs themselves state that they are "valid indefinitely".

Only TSB/HSBC can give you an answer on whether they'll take them.  I think the chances are very small given the amount of time that has passed since Traveller's Cheques were common.  The TC's are still valid, the issuer (Travelex) will still encash them.

br1anst0rm said:

The other interesting aspect is that the Thomas Cook TCs have the MasterCard logo and branding prominently displayed on them.  What exactly does that mean?  Does MasterCard have any collateral or related responsibility for honouring the TCs?  If not, what's the point of having their logo on the cheques?

MasterCard are a payment network.  It's no different to the fact your credit card has a MasterCard logo, but you can't go direct to MasterCard for any issues, you go to the issuing bank.

Unless your other banks will agree to cash them, you're going to have to do it with Travelex accepting their 7% fee for doing so. They'll take both the GBP and USD ones. The page linked above in this thread is still valid.  They have a form to cash them by post or you can try and wait until such a time you're near a place that has a branch (if making a special trip maybe phone them first to confirm they'll do it!)