It is better to take cash and cards to Thailand. We recommend taking cash and at least 2 travel cards to Thailand. Take cash for the smaller items and take a debit travel card or prepaid travel card loaded with Thai baht. This way you are spending your own money, locked in a good exchange rate. We advise taking a credit card as a ‘just in case’ card.
The best travel money cards for Thailand are the Wise Multi Currency card, which offers the best exchange rate for Thai baht, a Westpac Worldwide Wallet or Up Bank debit card for ATM withdrawals and the BankWest Platinum Breeze or ING One Low Rate cards for credit purchases.
You can only use Singapore dollars in Singapore, you can not use Australian dollars or US dollars. The currency used in Singapore is the Singapore dollar. There are 4 commonly used bank notes with different colours, they are $2, $5, $10, $50, $500 and $1,000. There are 5 coins, they are 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c and $1.
As a general rule, working out how much money to take to Singapore depends on where you go and your type of travel. If you travel on a budget to Singapore it can cost from $70 a day. If you travel in the middle range throughout Singapore it can cost from $150 per day. Finally if you travel with luxury throughout Singapore it can cost anywhere from $300 per day.
You can place money on your travel money card online and paying by direct debit from your bank account will cost you the least. Log in to your bank account, transfer your funds into the travel money card and the money should be there within 24 hours.
The best prepaid cards for Singapore are Wise, HSBC and Citibank which offer the most competitive cards in the market. Other older style prepaid cards like Australia Post, Cash Passport, Travel Money Oz and Travelex have lots of charges like load, unload, inactivity, ATM withdrawals and initial card fees.