Originally Posted by
maskedavenger
In Thailand, in the past two years, trav. checks (USD) have given a rate equal to ATM's...without the 2-3% ATM International fee. This works out only if you have a way to get trav. checks free at your home bank. Large denominations are also the way to go (like 500 USD checks).....as there is a $1 (about 33 b -stamp and gov't fee) charge for each cashed check in Thailand.
About 4 or 5 years ago I opened up a checking account in a credit union in my city in the US. With this credit union I can use a debit card overseas and they pay the ATM fees. The debit card account has a MasterCard affiliation and so far it has been accepted in Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines and in the US of course. I don't keep a lot of money in that account - just enough to see me through one trip. I can set up a transfer from my bank through PayPal before I leave on a trip if I expect to need more money. I also have it set up so that I can make electronic transfers using the internet to add more cash from my bank to that account if needed.
When I use an ATM in Thailand I take out the maximum I can get from an ATM (usually 10,000 baht) to cut down on fees for small withdrawals.
That same credit union also sells me travelers checks free of commission. For Thailand only take the largest denominations of TC's you can get. There is a 33 baht cashing fee for each check so you don't want to waste fees on cheap $10 travelers checks. You do get a little bit more with TC's than cash in Thailand, one of the better countries to change money over. For US dollars big bills give a little more on the exchange rate too (100's and 50's.)
Okeydokey.