Money saving expert advice on spending abroad for Brits

Also good advice here for everyone

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bi ... 85,#abroad (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1106765397,71685,#abroad)

The difference in card charges can be nearly UK┬г90 on UK┬г1000. WOW!

I took TCheques which were bought from Lloyds Bank, where as an account holder they are free from the normal up to 2% charge, which is great, and you can collect them from a local branch which means there are no post charges. There are a lot of TCheques available that are commission free but you have to pay about 5 pound for them to be posted to you, that defeats the objective.

Anyway, the point I'm making is I ran out of TC's and had to withdraw money from my bank account - for instance, I withdrew 7000 bht, not only was there a charge on the UK side of 2.25%, but also a similar charge of around 2.5% (I reckon) from the Thai side. For instance,

Bht 7000 - exchange rate of 67.57 to the pound
UK Pound 2.75 ETRF (Thai charge)
UK Pound 2.39 UK charge

67.57 was the correct rate at the time - there was no rip off there, it was what was advertised at around that time, and certainly from the UK side, with my bank, there was a maximum they would charge of 4 pound - but the total charge is around 4.75% for drawing 7000 bht - A RIP OFF.

In the "link" you mentioned above, time and time again Nationwide comes out on top - I forgot to take my Nationwide card with me on this occasion, I won't forget again though.

On a separate note, add up all the tips one give when they are in Thailand (another thread which I started), and whilst I am not penny pinching, all adds up to a pretty penny.

[ikarus]

Wowpow,
I do not understand why the survey does not mention bankone credit cards. This is, of course,
American bank but it issues credit cards in UK also (pound denominated, of course).
This is the only card I am aware of which does not charge any foreign transactions fees and gives excellent exchange rates. This rates explicitely given in the statement. It is important though to pay off all charges, since interest payments are typically high and I am afraid for cash advances they will most probably start charging interest without any grace period.

add up all the tips one give when they are in Thailand (another thread which I started), and whilst I am not penny pinching, all adds up to a pretty penny.

Then why are you bothering to count them?

If you begrudge tipping or cannot afford to tip then don't do it.

[bao-bao]

add up all the tips one give when they are in Thailand (another thread which I started), and whilst I am not penny pinching, all adds up to a pretty penny.

Then why are you bothering to count them?

If you begrudge tipping or cannot afford to tip then don't do it.

Keeping track of expenses on a trip gives you reference points for return visits, or travel in general. Of course, if money's no object, that's fine... but I don't think that's the case for most of us on the board.

If you begrudge tipping or cannot afford to tip then don't do it.

Naughty but nice - that's rich coming from you. You're a picture you are nbt, and predictable!!!

If you begrudge tipping or cannot afford to tip then don't do it.

LMTU - that's rich coming from you. You're a picture you are LMTU, and predictable!!!

I have a feeling that LMTU will not be happy with you attributing a quote I made to him :bounce:

[Dick]

Many people in the UK have already switched to Smile ~ the current account from the Co-Operative Bank. As well as paying three point something interest tax paid on your daily balance (that's up to 30 times more than some banks), their transfer fees to a Thai Bank are one of the best I've found at just ┬г13 tops. Great for transferring cash to your Thai bank account you presumably opened on a previous trip? Then just use you Thai cash card to draw your cash. Plus you can transfer the money when your crystal ball thinks the exchange rate is best.
Smile's rate compares very favourably to for example HSBC's ┬г22 fee and most 'big' banks charge at similar levels up to ┬г25. You pay a similar high fee with for example Halifax, only they take a good week to effect the transfer and usually cock it up to boot (like transferring your Sterling to Baht in the UK at a poor rate contrary to instructions!)

[bing]

So far on this thread, it seems the UK has spoken. Well, an aside from the USA might suggest the fact that Traveler Checks seem to get a bit more on the transfer rate. I like to travel with a supply of $100.00 bills. My suggestion, at least when on vacation is to have a lot of bills and treat them like monopoly money. I can save and put away when at home, I am in Thailand for only a few weeks, so for that time, having a good supply of monopoly money makes it fun. However with the exchange rate hovering near 32 bhat even my monopoly idea can have a reality check... he he

[IEB2004-old]

I have been using my Nationwide Debit card to withdraw cash in many places throughout the world, and reaping the benefits of interbank exchange rates with no fees except in some cases in the USA. It was from people posting on this board that I learned of the advantages of using Nationwide abroad and have since spread the message to my family and friends. So, thanks for some great advice.

I thought, however, from what I read in other posts that at the moment you get the best bang for your buck, pound, euro, etc., by taking travellers cheques to Thailand and changing them in for example Bangkok Bank where you get a higher rate of exchange than if you were to withdraw money from your Nationwide Debit card. Is that true, at least at the moment?

[Michael]

Taking advice from members of this forum, I signed up for a Nationwide card. Sadly, a couple of days before my departure for Thailand my card split half way down the middle. Although it still worked in cash machines in the UK, I didn't want to take the chance, so bought traveler's cheques.
The American Express traveler's cheques were a pain, proving to be really difficult to to change at banks at anywhere but tourist areas (I avoid tourist areas).
Fortunately my split cash card worked fine in Thai cash points and I was pleasantly surprised by both the lack of exchange fees and exchange rates used.

Ive noticed that in Thailand, not just AX TCs but depends on what bank you go to as to what they accept.

... what the poor people are doing. Now I know

... what the poor people are doing. Now I know

...and here I was thinking they were living in 10,000/mo flophouses around Silom and trolling gay.com for young assholes to lick.

[wowpow]

Wowpow,
I do not understand why the survey does not mention bankone credit cards. This is, of course,
American bank but it issues credit cards in UK also (pound denominated, of course).
This is the only card I am aware of which does not charge any foreign transactions fees and gives excellent exchange rates. This rates explicitely given in the statement. It is important though to pay off all charges, since interest payments are typically high and I am afraid for cash advances they will most probably start charging interest without any grace period.

I thought I would look them up as I like a spare card. Do they still exist? I found

"Halifax purchases Bank One's UK credit card business
22/6/2000

Halifax Group plc has purchased the UK retail credit card business of Bank One, the two companies announced today.

James Corcoran, currently President of Bank One's UK credit card operation, joins the Halifax Executive as Managing Director of Halifax Card Services with responsibilities for the acquired business and Halifax's existing card operations. James has twenty years' experience of financial services world-wide, including Citigroup and American Express. He will be joined by other key personnel from Bank One.

Bank One's strong management team and expertise in marketing, risk and the rapidly growing UK affinity card segment, will boost Halifax's capability in the credit card sector. This provides an excellent opportunity for the Halifax Group to grow one of its major target areas.

Halifax currently has over 1.2 million credit cards in issue, and will integrate Bank One's credit card business with its existing cardholder base, including a smooth transition for existing Bank One card holders and employees. Following the acquisition, given existing plans for growth, Halifax aims to double its credit card base by 2004 and be among the leading providers of credit cards in the UK.

Bank One launched its UK credit card business in December 1998 and has established a growing UK retail and affinity card customer base with over 200,000 new cards." Welsh News 2002

Their very low customer base would be why they were not in the survey. I am interested in any other card as good as Nationwide.

[ikarus]

I need to apologize. I meant capital one credit card. You may use www.capitalone.com (http://www.capitalone.com) to
access US website. There is a link (near the bottom of the page) to UK and Canada websites.
I do not believe that any other credit card offers such a deal :no foreign transaction fees. It seems they even wave one percent charge imposed by Visa or Mastercard.
By the way, Wowpow -Tee Pee: are you still enjoying banking with CITIBANK UK after they imposed 10 pounds per month fees on their current account?

How come the English are so "penny pinching", is this a national past time or do they not realise that rationing is long over? I wonder how the Thais see this deeply embedded lack of enthusiasm to part with a penny?

I saw and heard a typical yob belching away at a taxi driver over a few baht, and I thought to myself how is it possible that the English are unable to ever put themselves even vaguely into the socio political and economic context of the countries they are visiting? Are they just straight mean or thick, or is there more to it? Even my relatives who are extremely well of, are always looking for a bargain or a "saving" and will go out of their way to avoid tipping for example, even for excellent service? They make up all sorts of strange and whacky excuses, like "no change" and "I only brought my credit card" and open handed ,"next time" and the best one of all pretending they are in a huge hurry, leaping into their Range Rover to make a getaway like they have somehow even managed to convince themselves that they are indeed in a mad rush. It leaves me astounded and rather amused to say the least.
My Scottish relative on the other hand is not like that at all.

I thought it was just anecdotal evidence in my case but no, its everyone, its all the English! You might as well give all "greasy spoons" in London a Michelin star, because they are packed with well to do dinners sipping on chipped crockery making believe they are having breakfast at Tiffany's.

[ikarus]

How come the English are so "penny pinching", is this a national past time or do they not realise that rationing is long over? I wonder how the Thais see this deeply embedded lack of enthusiasm to part with a penny?

I saw and heard a typical yob belching away at a taxi driver over a few baht, and I thought to myself how is it possible that the English are unable to ever put themselves even vaguely into the socio political and economic context of the countries they are visiting? Are they just straight mean or thick, or is there more to it? Even my relatives who are extremely well of, are always looking for a bargain or a "saving" and will go out of their way to avoid tipping for example, even for excellent service? They make up all sorts of strange and whacky excuses, like "no change" and "I only brought my credit card" and open handed ,"next time" and the best one of all pretending they are in a huge hurry, leaping into their Range Rover to make a getaway like they have somehow even managed to convince themselves that they are indeed in a mad rush. It leaves me astounded and rather amused to say the least.
My Scottish relative on the other hand is not like that at all.

I thought it was just anecdotal evidence in my case but no, its everyone, its all the English! You might as well give all "greasy spoons" in London a Michelin star, because they are packed with well to do dinners sipping on chipped crockery making believe they are having breakfast at Tiffany's.
I am not sure that in case of credit cards it is "money pinching". In case of US credit cards vast majority of them will charge 3 percent surcharge on any foreign transaction. Say, if I buy a plane ticket in Tokyo (I practically do not use credit cards in Thailand) for 2000 ticket I need to pay 60 dollars surcharge. This is money for me.

I thought it was just anecdotal evidence in my case but no, its everyone, its all the English! You might as well give all "greasy spoons" in London a Michelin star, because they are packed with well to do dinners sipping on chipped crockery making believe they are having breakfast at Tiffany's.

Come and have cream tea with me at the Ritz young man!