Nobody wants to carry a pocket full of cash while travelling — but using ATMs in Thailand comes with a sting. Almost every machine charges a 200 THB local fee, and your home bank may add its own charges on top.

You can’t avoid the Thai ATM fee, but you can avoid the extra charges your bank might add. These are the cards I’ve personally used as a UK traveller to keep fees as low as possible.

Note: The 200 THB local ATM fee applies no matter which foreign card you use. The goal here is to avoid your bank’s extra fees.

Best Ways to Avoid Foreign ATM Fees in Thailand

Nationwide FlexPlus

If you already bank with Nationwide, the FlexPlus account is a solid option. You won’t pay any additional withdrawal fees beyond the standard Thai ATM charge.

The account costs £13/month, but it includes:

• worldwide family travel insurance
• worldwide family mobile phone insurance
• fee‑free foreign cash withdrawals

If you’ll use the insurance benefits, it’s good value.

TransferWise (now Wise)

Wise offers a debit Mastercard® linked to their multi‑currency account. Thailand isn’t a supported currency, but you can still withdraw using GBP (or any other balance) at the real exchange rate.

Key points:

• Free ATM withdrawals up to £200 every 30 days
• Small conversion fee (usually 0.35%–2%)
• No monthly fee
• Accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted

It’s a great backup card — reliable, cheap, and easy to top up.

Starling Bank

My personal favourite for Thailand.

Starling is free to open, simple to use, and offers instant notifications for every transaction. It’s also one of the best cards for avoiding foreign fees.

Why I use it:

• No foreign transaction fees
• No ATM withdrawal limits (just the Thai ATM fee)
• Instant transfers to and from your main bank
• Real exchange rate with no markup
• No monthly fee
• Occasionally refunds the Thai ATM fee

I use Starling as my main travel card in Thailand and have never had issues at ATMs or in shops.

Conclusion

There are plenty of travel‑friendly cards out there — Monzo and Revolut are also popular — but the ones above are the cards I’ve personally used and trusted in Thailand.

My setup:

• Starling → main travel card
• Wise → backup card

I keep most of my money in my main UK account and transfer what I need into Starling using my banking app (with a VPN for security). That way, if anything happens to my travel card, I’ve only lost a small amount — not everything.

If you’ve found a great way to avoid foreign ATM fees in Thailand, feel free to share your tips.