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Carrying cash over (best way)?


hggcraig

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Always used traveller cheques in the past due to the extra security. I'm an anxious person but gonna bring over cash this time.

 

What's the best way to bring cash over on the plane?

Do you lot just stash the lot in the hotel safe? Is this advisable?

 

Cheers

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Peníze se vás kombinace kreditní karty a hotovost.Traveling with money on your neck in a small pouch or holster under your t-shirt. Outsidefrom hotel  in Pattaya small money under shirt and other money in bank, or safe box with two keys.

THAJEC Thajský muž TRIP 37 - 30.November 2018 - 28.1.2019

 

 

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The safe works for me. Hide some in your suitcase if you are worried about being cleaned out. On the plane I split it between my wallet, my backpack and my suitcase. Just in case I lose one or the other. So far so good.

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I carry the cash on the trip over in a travel wallet that hangs on my neck, keep my passport and tickets etc in it, and when not needing anything out of it, it is under my shirt...  I would never put cash in any of the bags I use, especially any checked ones but not even in one that goes in the overhead...  I like having the money on my person at all times...  

 

I have so far just put the stash in my room safe, but this trip I am not bringing cash, have gotten an account with schwab that refunds all the ATM fees, and have put most of my travel funds in there.

 

have two cards so will keep one in suitcase and one in safe I guess...

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Cash, and 2 different credit cards.

and i have my bank make deposits to the credit cards, a certain amount every two days.

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If you're from the UK then the best thing you can do before the trip is apply for a Halifax credit card. It gives the interbank rate (withdrew 25k the other day @ 54.5 BHAT <> GBP). No charges other than the 150-180 BHAT ATM fee from Thailand. I've used this card in nearly every country in SE Asia without issue (other than the usual false positive fraud block). Telephone support is excellent - they always answer within a few rings.

 

My security approach is to withdraw 25k as needed. I specifically go out just to do that and nothing else. The card and money then gets locked in the safe less my spending money for the night. Never had an issue with that over the past 13 months. If you make a faster payment to the card from internet banking then you have that balance available the next working day.

 

Halifax combined with First Direct is the perfect combination for the traveller!

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Thanks for all the replies.

 

Think I might try one of them travel wallets. Either over head or around waist.

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Thanks for all the replies.

 

Think I might try one of them travel wallets. Either over head or around waist.

over the head is best for long trips, you won't even notice it, and you can carry your ticket, passport etc...  around your waist and it is not gonna stay on or be as easy to access...  

 

just my opinion.

 

have a great trip!

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If you're from the UK then the best thing you can do before the trip is apply for a Halifax credit card. It gives the interbank rate (withdrew 25k the other day @ 54.5 BHAT <> GBP). No charges other than the 150-180 BHAT ATM fee from Thailand. I've used this card in nearly every country in SE Asia without issue (other than the usual false positive fraud block). Telephone support is excellent - they always answer within a few rings.

 

My security approach is to withdraw 25k as needed. I specifically go out just to do that and nothing else. The card and money then gets locked in the safe less my spending money for the night. Never had an issue with that over the past 13 months. If you make a faster payment to the card from internet banking then you have that balance available the next working day.

 

Halifax combined with First Direct is the perfect combination for the traveller!

According to their site , there are charges for cash advances

 

 

http://www.halifax.co.uk/travel/help-guidance/using-debit-credit-cards-abroad/

If it floats, flies or fucks It's probably cheaper to rent ...

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If you're from the UK then the best thing you can do before the trip is apply for a Halifax credit card. It gives the interbank rate (withdrew 25k the other day @ 54.5 BHAT <> GBP). No charges other than the 150-180 BHAT ATM fee from Thailand. I've used this card in nearly every country in SE Asia without issue (other than the usual false positive fraud block). Telephone support is excellent - they always answer within a few rings.

 

My security approach is to withdraw 25k as needed. I specifically go out just to do that and nothing else. The card and money then gets locked in the safe less my spending money for the night. Never had an issue with that over the past 13 months. If you make a faster payment to the card from internet banking then you have that balance available the next working day.

 

Halifax combined with First Direct is the perfect combination for the traveller!

 

 

If you're from the USA, check out the Charles Schwab investor checking account -- no foreign transaction fees, no ATM fees AND they refund all ATM fees charged by the other bank (so you get the 150-180 baht put back into your account at the end of the month).  Based upon the reviews I have read, they seem to have a good exchange rate.

 

I used to take about 2/3 in cash and 1/3 in traveler's checks.  Now that I know the Schwab ATM card works well in Pattaya, I take about 1/3 to 1/4 of my money in cash and use the ATM card throughout my trip.  I also have about a "3 day supply" of baht leftover from my last trip that will be my initial "stake".

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If you're from the USA, check out the Charles Schwab investor checking account -- no foreign transaction fees, no ATM fees AND they refund all ATM fees charged by the other bank (so you get the 150-180 baht put back into your account at the end of the month).  Based upon the reviews I have read, they seem to have a good exchange rate.

 

I used to take about 2/3 in cash and 1/3 in traveler's checks.  Now that I know the Schwab ATM card works well in Pattaya, I take about 1/3 to 1/4 of my money in cash and use the ATM card throughout my trip.  I also have about a "3 day supply" of baht leftover from my last trip that will be my initial "stake".

I got this setup since my last trip, and have put my traveling money into the account already...

 

very cool setup for anyone that can use schwab!

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If you're from the UK then the best thing you can do before the trip is apply for a Halifax credit card. It gives the interbank rate (withdrew 25k the other day @ 54.5 BHAT <> GBP). No charges other than the 150-180 BHAT ATM fee from Thailand. I've used this card in nearly every country in SE Asia without issue (other than the usual false positive fraud block). Telephone support is excellent - they always answer within a few rings.

 

My security approach is to withdraw 25k as needed. I specifically go out just to do that and nothing else. The card and money then gets locked in the safe less my spending money for the night. Never had an issue with that over the past 13 months. If you make a faster payment to the card from internet banking then you have that balance available the next working day.

 

Halifax combined with First Direct is the perfect combination for the traveller!

 

 

Definitely not the best combination

 

You have Norwich & Peterborough - no commission charges - but attracts the 150-180 ATM charge

 

Nationwide Flex Plus - costs £10 a month but loads of benefits and earns 3% interest on £2500 so essentially ends up costing £6 a month - and includes Travel Insurance, Breakdown and Mobile phone cover for everyone in the household - also attracts 150-180 ATM charge

 

UK Charles Schwab Account - fiddly to get - but no charges for ATM withdrawals or commission charges

 

The best option is Halifax Current Account - online transfers £9.50 to Kasikorn £9.50 intermediary charge and 500 baht receiving charge - plus you can choose the time you send it over to get the best rate

 

One thing to bear in mind of you are carrying cash - the Thailand flights from Heathrow are getting special attention from UKBA - they have several officers in the departure lounge

 

You need to be able to satisfy them where this money has come from above £1000 - and they are persistent in their questioning - and it can be confiscated until your return

 

I use a combination of these methods with the cards being there mainly as a back up feature

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Definitely not the best combination

 

You have Norwich & Peterborough - no commission charges - but attracts the 150-180 ATM charge

 

Nationwide Flex Plus - costs £10 a month but loads of benefits and earns 3% interest on £2500 so essentially ends up costing £6 a month - and includes Travel Insurance, Breakdown and Mobile phone cover for everyone in the household - also attracts 150-180 ATM charge

 

UK Charles Schwab Account - fiddly to get - but no charges for ATM withdrawals or commission charges

 

The best option is Halifax Current Account - online transfers £9.50 to Kasikorn £9.50 intermediary charge and 500 baht receiving charge - plus you can choose the time you send it over to get the best rate

 

One thing to bear in mind of you are carrying cash - the Thailand flights from Heathrow are getting special attention from UKBA - they have several officers in the departure lounge

 

You need to be able to satisfy them where this money has come from above £1000 - and they are persistent in their questioning - and it can be confiscated until your return

 

I use a combination of these methods with the cards being there mainly as a back up feature

 

Hiya buddy,

 

Never thought of that. Doing my maths and spending £3,000 a month here it just about breaks even for me (slightly in favour of the Credit card) however it would save me about £120-£240 if I sent over 6-12 months worth of cash to Kasikorn in one day! Maybe its a smidgen cheaper for me on a monthly basis as I think Kasikorn charge a small amount to withdraw. Either way looks like a good option for those resident in Thailand. One I'll probably try in the future. Have to say I'm addicted to First Direct as my main account for their excellent telephone support but never use it to withdraw cash.

 

Picked the Halifax card for me as I've been to abut 9 different countries for the past 12 months so having a bank account in each one wasn't really feasible! I think it's a good choice for a 2-3 week trip, but agree yours is probably better for an ex-pat.

 

Choices, choices :). If you're sending over a smaller amount of cash get a quote from Post Office International. They charge no commission but I have a sneaky suspicion that's subsumed into the exchange rate. Might be worth a quick look to see if it saves you anything on smaller amounts.

 

Joe.

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so there is a schwab deal for the UK to eh Socrates?

 

in the US, did the application online, took me ten minutes and it was live...

 

took a week or so to get the atm card...

 

no fees, and they refund any ATM fees I am charged anywhere in the world...

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so there is a schwab deal for the UK to eh Socrates?

 

in the US, did the application online, took me ten minutes and it was live...

 

took a week or so to get the atm card...

 

no fees, and they refund any ATM fees I am charged anywhere in the world...

 

 

Yes there is a UK one - to open it you have to deposit $10,000 into a trading account - unlike US where it is $1,000 - however once opened you can reduce back to $1,000

 

I opened it with the future in mind ....

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Hiya buddy,

 

Never thought of that. Doing my maths and spending £3,000 a month here it just about breaks even for me (slightly in favour of the Credit card) however it would save me about £120-£240 if I sent over 6-12 months worth of cash to Kasikorn in one day! Maybe its a smidgen cheaper for me on a monthly basis as I think Kasikorn charge a small amount to withdraw. Either way looks like a good option for those resident in Thailand. One I'll probably try in the future. Have to say I'm addicted to First Direct as my main account for their excellent telephone support but never use it to withdraw cash.

 

Picked the Halifax card for me as I've been to abut 9 different countries for the past 12 months so having a bank account in each one wasn't really feasible! I think it's a good choice for a 2-3 week trip, but agree yours is probably better for an ex-pat.

 

Choices, choices :). If you're sending over a smaller amount of cash get a quote from Post Office International. They charge no commission but I have a sneaky suspicion that's subsumed into the exchange rate. Might be worth a quick look to see if it saves you anything on smaller amounts.

 

Joe.

 

 

I still use FD as my main account I have been with them for nearly 20 years - but they are not relevant to my Thai Money requirements

 

I do take advantage of their Regular Saver which is currently 6% for up to £300 a month

 

Kasikorn cost nothing to withdraw unless it is another region from the one you opened the account in

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Yes there is a UK one - to open it you have to deposit $10,000 into a trading account - unlike US where it is $1,000 - however once opened you can reduce back to $1,000

 

I opened it with the future in mind ....

no minimum deposit here, I opened mine with 100 bucks...

 

:)

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Thats because they felt sorry for you!

smart ass!  5555!

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Briefcase handcuffed to the wrist works for me

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Set up a kbank and use a thai transfer service from your home . country. No fees<br /><br />Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

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Set up a kbank and use a thai transfer service from your home . country. No fees<br /><br />Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

Pretty sure they've stopped tourists opening accounts

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