Rounded MC2 Student Mastercard in SE Asia

hartem

Hi,
I'm travelling to SE Asia shortly (mostly Thailand) and have one of those round-cornered MC2 Student Mastercards. I'm worried about it being accepted by ATMs over there due to its unusual shape.

Has anyone used this card successfully in that part of the world?

Also, I'm concerned about my AIB ATM Card. It has "Plus" and "Link" support, both of which, I hear, are predominantly European systems, and not that well supported in SE Asia.

Any advice or shared experiences would be much appreciated.

Martin.

The Failed God

I know its not the same area but I had problems with this card at atms in greece. I found it worked in only about 1 in 4. My atm(laser) card worked in all however. It is not so much of a problem as long as you stay ontop of your money, as in any bank will give you cash with if you go to the teller(bank clerk),but i found all this out the hard way and was pretty much broke from a friday afternoon untill a sunday. I would imagine techonology is most parts of SE Asia with exception to the big city, would be at best on par with greece. Hope it helps

breadmonkey

My Plus card worked in Thailand and Vietnam.

hartem

Thanks for the info so far.. I'd prefer to use the credit card if possible as I've heard it isn't as expensive as using a banklink card. Is this correct?

Worst case scenario, I'm thinking I can visit a bank during working hours to stock up on cash when I need it.

breadmonkey

You get destroyed using ATM cards. I think it was something like E3.50 per transaction in Thailand and over E5 in Vietnam. If you are going to be on a fairly strict budget, it would be worth your while doing some proper investigation into the cheapest way to get your money while you're over there because these expenses can be a bit of a hit.

BuffyBot

Also, I'm concerned about my AIB ATM Card. It has "Plus" and "Link" support, both of which, I hear, are predominantly European systems, and not that well supported in SE Asia.

Link = UK system
Plus = worldwide system

Linoge

I cant say about ATMs, but my piece of **** card can get stuck in CC machines at cinemas. (Oh but thats such a small price to pay for such a groovy looking card dudes. Its rounded at one of the corners! Just the cool look I was looking for. Thanks Mastercard:rolleyes: )

Lisapeep

I've just gotten back from Thailand and used my credit card in several ATMs with no problems at all!

gary the great

In thailand i was only being charged 1.27euro for every transaction. Used to take out about 100euro a time. Dunno why it was cheap for me, I was using an AIB banklink card, maybe its cos i have a studnet account with them?

breadmonkey

Hmmm, maybe Thailand one was wrong then.

hartem

Great replies. That's one less thing to worry about. Thanks all