This will be my first time travelling and im going to south east asia! Will be there for around 6 months before moving on to oz!

Can anyone give any tips on how they managed there money while travelling? I dont really want to make a credit card, would a debit card be enough???

Yes, a debit card is enough, plus also gives you a much better overview of your expenses.

I would recommend a backup though, travelers cheques are oldfashioned but seem more and more attractive lately.

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Diving Phuket and Similans

Will probably keep my Santander Debit Card then unless anyone knows a card that has very cheap cash withdrawals?

Last time I checked, the Nationwide FlexAccount had the lowest fees for withdrawing cash abroad. The card they supply used to be completely free to withdrawn foreign cash (ah, those were the days) but they've introduced a fee in the last couple of years.

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Owner, travelforum.org
My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

What about a Caxton Card? You top it up online as you go along, no withdrawal fees and no commision either. Its a Visa card too so is accepted almost everywhere :)

Hope this helps and happy travels :)

That sounds too good to be true, it must cost something.

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Diving Phuket and Similans

I have a credit card that has 0% commission for using abroad - I guess they make their money by hoping people will spend wildly on their hols and then have to pay back the balance in their own time. Not sure how the Caxton card works, never heard of it - perhaps they offer slightly inferior exchange rates and they make their cash that way.

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Owner, travelforum.org
My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

The exchange rate is fixed at 2.75% below the interbank rate for the day.

After you use an ATM in Thailand (or anywhere I suppose) pull up your bank website in a couple hours. Check how much was actually withdrawn from your account in your currency and then compute what the conversion rate is for the amount of baht you got. Compare the exchange rate from your statement amount to what the bank was offering for that same time and date.

Some fees you pay may not show up as fees on statements. You just get a lower exchange rate.

When you use the ATM jot down the exchange rate showing in the bank window. When you check your statement later see what exchange rate you actually got using the ATM.

There you go, thanks.

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Diving Phuket and Similans