What are ATM fees
 

What are the ATM fees generally? We'll be travelling to Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore next month. PNCBank.com will return any ATM fees paid worldwide if you deposit $2500 (you can then close the account after the trip). Is it worth the bother?

Fees are normally charged for drawing cash from cards (1-2%) but then often an extra charge will be added on because it is a foreign currency (a ripoff high additional fee).

As cards often charge the same fee whether you withdraw a small sum or upto a day's limit, it is best to make as few transactions as possible.

Take the $2500 with you in a money belt and use that.

Only your bank can tell you what your ATM fees will be. Consider both the fees per withdrawal (that's probably what that bank will refund) and any currency exchange fees. Ask carefully about both. There are banks/credit unions that charge no fees.

PS, I just posted on my experience with a new bank account for foreign exchange and ATM fees.

It depends on your bank. My American bank charges $5.00 per transaction overaseas. I don't use my American issued ATM card overseas. I take cash, traveler's checks(they get a higher exchange rate than cash) and my Bangkok Bank ATM/Debit card. So, I exchange money into Baht and then deposit the money into my Thai account and use my Thai ATM/debit card.For those of you who vacation regulalry in Thailand, you should really consider opening an account there. It makes life a lot easier and it's nice...upon arrival in Thailand...not to have to worry about money since there's money sitting in the Thai account. Also,if the conversion to Baht was done when the dollar was high then if it falls one is not affected if the money was exchanged at the high rate and is sitting in the bank. Happy Travels!

On Nov 20, 2006, I withdrew 10,000BHT from an ATM and was charged $273.85 plus a $5 fee and 1% ($2.74). I used my Bank of America debit card at the bank on Ploenchit Road near Chit Lom Station. I think it is a TMB Bank. Jerry

The banks in Thailand don't charge any fees for ATM withdrawals. All the fees will be charged by your US bank.

Travelers Checks get the SAME exchange rate as cash, if you change $100 bills, and since cash doesn't attract a commission, you are better off with cash in large bills.

I absolutely did not get the same exchange rate when I converted cash to Baht. I converted money...some traveler's checks and some cash at the same bank...my branch of Bangkok bank...and on the same day. The person working at the conversion desk even mentioned to me that traveler's checks would get a higher rate. Happy Travels!

It is also our experience that traveler's checks get a higher rate than cash for exchange in Thailand. We have used both cash and tc's in both US dollars and Japanese yen,,.same deal with both currencies. We wre also never charged a fee for exchanging tc's or cash.

The exchanges I checked in November listed a very slightly higher rate for TC than for US$100 bills, but also listed a commission for travelers checks which rendered the effective rate the same as for US$100 bills. I took some US $100 bills (as usual) and exchanged some of those as well as using an ATM card, and I got a better rate with an ATM card (no fee, no curency exchange fees).