Travellers Cheques v Credit Card

Hi. We are travelling to Hong Kong in May and we are staying at the Langham Place. We%26#39;ve been saving hard for this trip and intend to do a fair amount of shopping when we%26#39;re there. Practicality wise, can anyone advise if the use of travellers cheques is conveniant (and easy to change) or if I should just pay for things on credit card? I%26#39;m reluctant to take our whole spends in cash only. I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ve read somewhere that credit card transactions are subject to a sur-charge?? Any advice would be appreciated.

Travellers Cheques v Credit Card

Use credit cards.......TC are a bit of a thing of the past and you are likely to pay fees just to cash them. No surcharge except the exchange rate the bank uses to charge you pounds will be not in your favour.

But the pound is so strong against HKD everything will look cheap.

Travellers Cheques v Credit Card

ATMs are everywhere so you can withdraw cash whenever you like. If you use a debit card , most banks will charge a foreign transaction fee, say 1.5%, subject to minimum charge.. If using a credit card to withdraw cash then obviously you will be charged a foreign transaction fee and cash advance. Nationwide do not charge a foreign transaction fee on debit or credit cards. Haven%26#39;t used traveller%26#39;s cheques since 1989! Also, for major purchases you have some protection when paying by credit card. There are banks everywhere at street level (hsbc). Just check out before you do anything how much it will cost to purchase your cheques and then the fee you will pay when you buy hk$ in hk unless you buy $hk traveller cheques in uk. So much to consider!

Whatver you do, your pound will go along way in hk as the exchange rate has been so good recently. Enjoy spending!

TC is not convenient. However if you plan on paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in cash, I guess it%26#39;s the cheapest and most practical option. otherwise use bank machine or credit card.

Every menthod of payment is subject to surcharge. When you exchange foreign cash, you pay a hidden fee (difference between buy and sell rates) which is usually more than credit or ATM card, unless you work for a bank and can get special exchange rates.

When you pay by credit card, you usually get charged around 1 to 2% (check with your credit card company for the actual rate) so it%26#39;s not much. Each card is different so find the cheapest one and use it. If you use ATM debit card to get cash, depending on your bank again, be sure to get a larger amount each time and not pull HK$100 in small batches since many banks charge a fixed transaction fee each time.

Thanks everyone. All the responses have been very useful. I hadn%26#39;t thought about the use of an ATM and as as my bank has free worldwide withdrawals, that would seem the most sensible thing.

Thanks again.

ATM is the way to go, many of the shops in the market and fashion areas have a cash price and a credit price so having HK dollars will give you a better deal almost always.

Where you see a different cash vs credit price is usually at specialty shops such as computer shopping centres at Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, and Mong Kok. Some audio equipment companies also have this policy as well. For general shopping or eating, some smaller shops don%26#39;t accept credit card if the amount is too small (usually less than $200). Larger chain stores or restaurants don%26#39;t have this policy. At the two local major supermarket chains, you can charge even if you are only buying HK$40 worth of stuff.

Agree that TC%26#39;s are almost obsolete for use with merchants in HK. Only really viable if you use them at FOREX or major banking centres and then, you may find you are charged a premium over cash.

ATM%26#39;s are convenient but watch for service charges.

Best option is often changing foreign currency but again, depends on amounts and factor in the cost to change back any not used.

Lastly, there may still be some credit cards which DO NOT charge a 1 or 2% exchange premium but you have to do some web research to find those. If you locate them (possibly Capital One, Mastercard, Citibank,...-- they were noted on another post in this forum in the last 18 months or so), note that you may find you get the best of both worlds; no premium for forex AND the benefit of the best exchange rates that the large institutions dealing in large currency volumes can deliver, much better than you can do on your own.

Hi - we have a bank account with Nationwide and used their Visa debit card when we were in Hong Kong a few months ago. We also used the same card to withdraw money from the ATM machines and have had no problems. Best thing of all is there is no charge for withdrawing money and there%26#39;s no commission/transaction sur-charge on using the Visa debit card either. My advice is open up an account with Nationwide - it might be a good idea to have two seperate accounts for you and you partner so if one loses the debit card then at least you have another debit card in a different account as a back up.

You will be amazed with the shops in HK - it%26#39;s one of the best places I%26#39;ve been to. Have a fantastic trip!