UKC

Hi all

I'm planning a trip to Thailand, and am trying to be a grown up on this one.  Rather than having pockets stuffed with cash, can anyone recommend a good card for me to use instead?  Debit card or pre-paid are fine (not credit card), and preferably with minimal exchange fees.  It'll mainly be used for cash machines, and the occasional larger cost item e.g. accommodation.

Thanks all

The pre-paid cards sound like a good idea although i haven't used them. If you decide on a debit card only use cash machines at banks. Cash machines on the street (i.e stand alone ones not at banks) can have scammers fitted, my card details were scammed this way once. 

I took a Monzo and Revolut Card with me to Laos last year.  You can withdraw up to £200 a month free with each.

I've also used travelex pre paid cards happily as well.

I spend a lot of time traveling out of the UK with the British forces and have been using a TransferWise account to swap money from the UK to my USA account. I have recently signed upto there debit borderless debit card, it allows you to swap money between countries at the current mid market rate and allows you to use it in loads of countries. I have had a quick look on there website and they seem t offer a Thai currency.

Could be worth a look as it will be useful in many over countries you might decide to visit.

Thanks for the suggestions.  It's a very confusing world, this pre-paid card thing.  The final stopper is that Thai banks charge a large amount (on top of any bank charges) for ATM use anyway, so I think it's back to using my Visa debit card for big stuff, and a pocketful of cash for everything else.  It was worth a try! 

I spent 2 months in Thailand tail end of last year and felt much more comfortable using my Revolt card with minimal value on it.  Easy to top up using your phone - Thai simcards are incredibly cheap for a lot of data as well - AIS being the company of choice.