Drawing cash from ATM or take with you?

I%26#39;m advised that by drawing bahts from an ATM in BKK you%26#39;ll get a better exchange rate than you would back home - but is that really the best deal given that I%26#39;ll have to pay about a 2% charge on each transaction to my own bank for using its debit card in BKK? I%26#39;m inclined to adopt my usual practice of taking some cash with me (obviously securely) and using a credit card in BKK when it seems safe to do so.

Drawing cash from ATM or take with you?

If you use a credit card to withdraw cash, then yes the transaction fees will offset the exchange rate. Using a debit card will depend on your bank, I always use my debit card and only get charged $1.25(USD) per transaction. I try to withdraw enough to last me several days at a time so the charges are minimal.

Drawing cash from ATM or take with you?

Mtshasta,

We always take the bulk of our money as Sterling travellers cheques,they are safe,can be put straight back into your bank if you bring any home and we always manage to get them for a 1% charge.

You only have one exchange rate to worry about which is as good as you can get.At the moment Thomas cook will sell you Thai baht at about 65 to the pound and the Thai bank exchange rate which you will get everywhere even the booths on the street in Bangkok will give you about 70 less a small fee.We also take some English cash just in case.If you use a credit card you may find that the transaction is in baht but your CC company use a much worse rate and may even have a charge as well? Worth checking out before you decide.

Nationwide allow cards to be used overseas with no fees.

If you use a CC just do the usual safety of not letting it out of your sight when paying and as you say when you feel it is safe.

%26gt;%26gt; I%26#39;ll have to pay about a 2% charge on each transaction to my own bank

But your bank never tell you that if you exchange baht (cash) with them, there is a 5% charge(hidden in the exchange rate), or 5-15% from exchange desks at airports and touristy places.

Credit/debit cards tell you it%26#39;s x% and you think it%26#39;s a bad deal. Cash transactions have way higher charges but since they don%26#39;t tell you, you think it%26#39;s a good deal :)

Thanks to all for comments which confirm my suspicion that you can%26#39;t really win with banks. Think I%26#39;ll travel with banknotes and change them into bahts at the airport, which I guess you can do quite easily - but I am due to arrive on a Sunday afternoon; will that be a problem?

I certainly wouldn%26#39;t take sterling travellers cheques, just take some baht with you then use your card, it saves on hassle, expense and safety. If you take out enough baht each time, you won%26#39;t make that many withdrawals and many things such as dinners and trips can be paid for by credit card anyway.

Oh golly gosh.. it鈥檚 the blond and the bear here.... how to dodge the loss of ';spending power';... ?

Just don%26#39;t buy USD or EURO or some such silly thing... be it in cash or even more stupidly...

the thing called ';free travellers cheques'; from the post office of all places.... as a Scotchman knows only too well, no such thing as a free lunch...

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