Best way to send the BF some money ?

[anonone]

I have not seen anything posted on this for awhile. What is currently the best way to send money to BF in Thailand?

I did some checking today. Western Union converts US dollar to 29.6 baht ! Crappy exchange rate as should be almost 31 baht. They also add on a $15.00 USD fee for sending $125.00. Seems crazy expensive.

Any other, better options? Is anyone using PayPal ?

What is everyone using?

[Neal]

Paypal is expensive also. My suggestion is to get a bank account where you live with an ATM card. Different bank than what you currently use. Put in only what you want him to have and give him the atm card.

[francois]

Yes, from USA, you can send money by MoneyGram. Cost is about $10 USD for up to $200 USD and better exchange rate then WU. You can go to MoneyGram web site for more info on costs. MoneyGrams locations are often in CVS Pharmacys and Supermarkets, etc. There is a Red Telephone where you make the call and give the info. You can also send money on-line and debit your bank account. Confusing at first but easy after a few trials. Their customer service reps are non-Americans so sometimes language is a little tricky but not a big problem. Pay out in Thailand is at TMB Thai Military Bank and sometimes Siam Commerical Bank. Once you have confirmation number you email or SMS to your BF.

[pong]

Mr Boss knows best-all those just for once ways cost heaps of money, both in fees and conversion. You only get real problems with that bank when the card gets lost-eventually it will-and you have to explain how etc. Also make the account such, that no red balance can be had- you put in what you want to give and final; thats it.
Also these ways have not changed that much-or even at all-since the last 5 yrs or so-so scroll down or search-it all still holds.

[anonone]

Thanks all.

I am liking the idea of an ATM card under a separate account at my bank. Easy to transfer money to it and BF can get the money when he wants instead of whenever I send it via WU. Of course, it will also make it much easier for him to ask for money...I can see that coming already :sign5:

I would have never thought of this idea, so thanks again.

[francois]

With an ATM account be sure the ATM card is Debit only. Typically a Saving Account will be debit only and cannot make purchases. Just a safe guard in case the ATM card is lost or stolen, etc.

[Dani69]

Best way is keep the тВмтВм or the $$ in your own pocket - chances are his other BF┬┤s are giving him more then you anyways.

[TravellerDave]

I only did this once - a copy of weeks before I was to arrive in Pats. I asked a friend living in Jomtien to pass the 10,000 to the boy and I refunded him by paying money into his account here in UK. Neat way to by-pass the bankers eh ?.
I had offed the boy from a gogo at the end of my previous trip and wanted to continue with him.
He told me he and his friends got money from farangs and the usual method was Western Union.

why do you bother with it all sending money to your lover ?? sit in an internet cafe and listen to some of the stories going on like i am now .. * baby i miss you so much but now i sleep on the street because i no money to pay my rent .. baby i desperate* you then get to hear one of two next comments ... * ok baby you no love me no more i go to .. now i cry ... or oh thank you baby i love you so much i go to bed now* ... then give it 2 minutes and the same person will be having the same conversation with the next name on the list ... like the other guy said ... use yor head and keep the money in your pocket .

[anonone]

I have no doubt that there are a lot of Thais running multiple falang "BFs" through the wringer for money.
I guess my vision of him patiently waiting like a monk while we are apart is dashed forever. And we are both such celibacy-minded guys.... :sign5:

I have no qualms sending some money to someone I consider very special, have known for 2 years, spend a week every 2 months with, and also happens to have a birthday coming up.

There is actually a middle ground between being love-struck dumb and emptying out a retirement account versus sending a fairly trivial amount of money to a BF when you are not able to be there for their birthday.

[Dboy]

Since you're talking US Dollar I assume you're in the states. I can offer another solution. Bangkok Bank has a branch in New York City. You can arrange with them to transfer money from them to Thailand. If you plan on transferring money on a regular basis, working with this branch might be of interest.

Dboy

[allieb]

Just ask your boyfriend. He'll know every which way how you can send money to him.

[anonone]

Since you're talking US Dollar I assume you're in the states. I can offer another solution. Bangkok Bank has a branch in New York City. You can arrange with them to transfer money from them to Thailand. If you plan on transferring money on a regular basis, working with this branch might be of interest.

Dboy

Dboy.
THanks for the info. I was not aware of a Bangkok Bank branch in the US. I don't think it would be worth setting up, since this is not a very regular thing. But good to know for the future...especially if I can figure out a way to spend more time in Thailand.

[Neal]

The only thing one has to remember to set up the bank in New Yorks's Bangkok Bank is that it must be set up in BAHT. I tried to do that and they said that if I deposited DOLLARS I would have to transfer it in dollars and then I would have to have it changed to baht which would be a process. That is how they explained it to me. I wanted my retirement check deposited to Bangkok Bank in New York and they said it had to be set up in baht or that it would have to be wired to Bangkok here and that would take 2 - 3 days and then converted. Sounded like too much trouble so I did not do it.
Of course one more way I just thought of is that visa, mastercard and amex all have GIFT CARDS. You can fill them for the amount you wish and then send them the card. Many of these also have a refill option but this will not avoid that stupid 3% foreign transaction fee. I still like the ATM card option.

If anyone wants, I will be more than happy to have a small gift deposited to the Happy Place account and give it to your boy when he comes around to pick it up. Aren't I a sweetheart??!! You can buy me a drink when you come to Pattaya :sign5:

[francois]

Of course one more way I just thought of is that visa, mastercard and amex all have GIFT CARDS. You can fill them for the amount you wish and then send them the card. Many of these also have a refill option but this will not avoid that stupid 3% foreign transaction fee. I still like the ATM card option.

I have used this option and it does work. But there are other fees associated with some of these cards in addition to the 150 Baht fee. Some have a monthly maintenance fee and a fee for recharge and the foreign transaction fee and on and on. And sending one of these cards to the BF in Thailand is iffy. Also not sure if all of the "gift" cards will work in Thailand. One popular one is GreedDot Visa card.

[psd1315]

Over the last 8 years I have sent my bf around 3 or 4 million baht for the house we are building in Issan and other extended living expenses . First year it was Western Union, but soon learned it was less expensive to do a bank wire transfer either into his dads bank accountтАЭ kasikornтАЭ bank-farmers or his bank in bkk. Have your friend give you the sign-in password and account number to monitor the transactions online. I would avoid the hassles of paypal unless you dont know the boy well.

[anonone]

Thanks for sharing the info. I think wire transfers are a bit too much for me at this point. Again, good to have the information for later use though.

I held my nose and used Western Union for this. Bad Exchange rate and high fee, but quick and easy to do.

If this becomes a more regular occurrence, I will look harder at the ATM card suggestion. It sounds like the next reasonable step. Avoids most of the fees and still easy to do.

Wire transfers might be a viable option further down the road....if I can ever figure out how to spend some extended time in Thailand. :banghead: