Traveller's Cheques & ATM's ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Traveller's Cheques & ATM's

Replies: 8 - Last Post: 20-Apr-2007 00:52 Last Post By: dtm71

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Posted
19-Apr-2007 16:31
by: garyandkat

Posts: 111
Registered: 14/10/03

Traveller's Cheques & ATM's

Hi,

This has probably been asked before and may sound like a stupid question but if anyone has an answer, that would be great. Been to Thailand a few times in the past and always taken $US travellers cheques. Being an aussie, is there any reason why I shouldn't take $A travellers cheques instead.

Also, I've never used an atm there before in Thailand as they weren't very commonly used last time I went. Do they just work the same way as at home? Do I need to get any special privileges from my bank? On somewhere like Koh Samui, would you only find them in the main areas like Chaweng? We are going to Koh Tao too and I imagine that they don't have ATM's, would I need to withdraw cash say from Koh Samui before hand?

Any help appreciated...

Posted
19-Apr-2007 17:01
by: Ped_Yai

Posts: 197
Registered: 14/09/01

1

They work just like the ATMs back home and unless you have a strange bank, you don't need any special permission, although your bank might charge you a bit extra. NONE of the Thai ATMs charge you an additional premium, that I know of, and I've used about five different banks. The ATMs are all over the place, but I would guess that in Samui you would have to go to a populated area, or maybe a gas station. I can't remember if the 7-Elevens have them or not. Some have a 10K baht per day limit but others allow 20K baht.

Posted
19-Apr-2007 17:02
by: losing_touch

Posts: 7,833
Registered: 13/01/05

2

I don't see the advantage of taking US$ TC's, but I don't really know. I am from the US, so they are all I have any experience with. I generally take TC's as a back up. So, for 3 months in Thailand, I will take $500 - $1000 in TC's. I have had to use them before when my ATM card went AWOL.

They say you get the best exchange rate from using an ATM, but there was a recent post (OP was from Europe I think) where he was getting a pretty bad exchange rate using his ATM. It seems that Thailand is experiencing some kind of mismatch between internal and external exchange rates. I am interested to know if anyone else has experienced problems with this.

Now, the part I do know about is that there are ATM's all over Thailand. Koh Samui has many many many machines. You will not have to look very far to find them. They are also on Koh Tao. There aren't as many, but there are plenty available. You may wish to check with your bank about fees that they can charge for foreign exchange withdrawals. Some banks here have a foreign currency conversion fee (usually a percentage). My bank does not have this. Then, your bank may charge you to use a network outside of their own. You are probably already familiar with the latter of the two.

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Posted
19-Apr-2007 17:04
by: garyandkat

Posts: 111
Registered: 14/10/03

3

Thanks, that information is a great help.

Posted
19-Apr-2007 17:22
by: dominic77

Posts: 4,669
Registered: 11/09/06

4

Agree with losing touch, take some TC's as back-up to tide you over should your card be lost or stolen. It is always a good idea to have several payment options and not to totally rely on your ATM card.

That said, I have never had to use them! ATMs really are everywhere in Thailand.

Another small point is to make sure you inform your bank of your travel plans, to eliminate the small chance that they will block the card because of the unfamiliar transactions going through.

NW Thailand Motorcycle Trips, June 2008 and January 2009

Posted
19-Apr-2007 18:08
by: honkytonky

Posts: 156
Registered: 28/12/06

5

the thing about TC's is that when you have them in Thailand, you always know you've got the next best thing to cash itself, only, unlike cash, if you lose it, you'll 99 times out of a hundred get the money back.

any bank in the Kingdom accepts them.

ATM cards can go missing or just fuck up, and the charges can be exhorbitant (though sometimes, yes, they do offer the best conversion rates of all). With TC's you always know what you've got - the amount it says on the check, converted to the THB rate on that day, which is always higher than cash, less the 33 baht tax.

because I have a cash based business and don't use ATM's even at home, because I don't need them, personally I don't see why I should go to the trouble of getting an ATM card for the specific purpose of using it while I'm overseas. I'm thinking of opening a UK account with the only UK bank that doesn't charge fees, dropping 500 quid into it and maybe using THAT as a backup if the tried and tested method I'm been using for years suddenly somehow, for the first time, doesn't work.

Posted
19-Apr-2007 19:18
by: GrantK

Posts: 67
Registered: 02/01/01

6

just make sure you tell your aussie bank that you will be using your card in Thailand before you go. If you don't they may freeze your card on you after the first time you use it over there & it's a hassel to contact them to get them to remove the 'freeze'

Posted
19-Apr-2007 19:58
by: ozziemum

Posts: 4
Registered: 08/04/07

7

I'm heading over at the beginnning of May and am going to use mainly a Cash Passport which is easier to use than TC's (apparently). You recieve 2 cards in case of problems with one, they are PIN protected, insured like TC's and can be used in all VISA ATM's. I have checked their accessability and they seem common in Bankok and areas north but not so common in areas like Koh Samui. You don't need to carry your ID with you because you are accessing an ATM either. And nobody can access your bank details or personal details.

Sounds good to me - does anybody have other information about these cards?

Life is not measured by the breaths that we take - but by the moments that take our breath away............

Posted
20-Apr-2007 00:52
by: dtm71

Posts: 12
Registered: 02/04/07

8

I have a visa card with a savings acoount linked to it, which in Australia you can choose at atm saving or credit. Which is not always the case in Thailand, you can only access the visa part of your card. National Australia Bank issued me with a seporate savings debit card. They also turned of my internet banking, i can view account details but no transactions and do all my banking over the phone as it is safer.

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