local credit card

[thrillbill]

The local bank I deal with won't grant credit cards to their customers until they have worked in the country for 2 years. I find this requirement ridiculous since I am legally working in Thailand- 1.5 yr.; a farang's salary is quite substantial compared to the average working "Thai"; and I only wanted credit up to $3000. I would feel more comfortable using my local credit card at hotels and for flights in Thailand than the ones I have from the States.

So, you helpful readers, is there a bank that issues a credit card right away if you open an account with them? (The bank I am with, Bank of Asia, is clueless). [/list]

I strongly reccomend that if you find a local bank or organisation ready to issue you with a credit card, you check the fine print carefully to ensure that you are not liable for credit card fraud or the unauthorised use of that card number.

Try not to be so blinkered, dear boy. People going to the US on work visas are also refused credit cards by US banks as a standard operating procedure

[thrillbill]

Hom, I realize banks have varous requirements in different countries; however, I have worked in 3 other countries and they issued credit cards to their customers (upon request).
Thanks

So Thailand doesn't. Get over it. Or was we locals say "Amazing Thailand"

DELETED

[thrillbill]

Yes, Bank of Asia was bought out by a Singapore bank, I believe. I realize that restrictions vary from country to country; and from bank to bank... I was wondering if any of the readers knew of a bank in Thailand that issues credit cards when you open an account with them.

[Smiles]

Perhaps I'm clueless as well.
Why not use any old card you already possess? They are essentially universal & border-less anyway, so why care that it is granted by a Thailand bank?
Educate me please.

Cheers ...

Why not use any old card you already possess? They are essentially universal & border-less anyway, so why care that it is granted by a Thailand bank? Educate me please. Cheers ...
Pretty well all credit card now charge a 3% fee for transactions that occur when you are not in your home country. Thai mercants also often ask for a 3% fee when processing a credit card on top of the cash price, and the credit card 3% is on top of the Thai merchant 3% so in fact it's slightly more

Then you have to settle your credit card account somehow. Since the poor guy is probably having to watch every baht, you're now asking him to incur even more bank fees in order to send money from Thailand to his home country (where they will also take a cut of the money coming in), and then he has to transfer the money from his bank account (account-keeping fees) to his credit card

And then of course (assuming he's some poor damn Yankee, just for illustrative purposes) there's the THB/USD exchange rate on the day the transaction was processed on his credit card vs. the THB/USD exchange rate on the day the money gets sent from Thailand to his home bank. They will never be the same. Maybe he'll profit, maybe he won't

Enough education? It is even worse than you thought

[ikarus]

Try Citibank Thailand. I have not tried it myself but they recently had a very active campaign in Thailand promoting their credit cards. When I was in Tokyo and opened an account with Citibank Japan, they offered me credit card on the spot.

[Gaypattayan]

The new Vice President in charge of the Bangkok Bank Ltd. office on Second Road between Central Road and North Road has been a speaker at both local expat clubs several times, and is very "expat friendly" and reaching out to expats more than any local banker I have ever heard of. I would suggest you check with him about the credit card.

Personally, my bank (NOT Bangkok Bank) told me I could get a credit card but would have to maintain a balance equal to or greater than the amount of credit authorized by the card. I doubt that Bangkok Bank has that requirement, but I could be wrong. They look for the farang to have solid assets in Thailand. I personally was impressed with the new VP there, who has even opened up a new desk for Pattaya Expats (with a sign on it, I am told). They mostly want deposits, but he has indicated an open mind on making all bank services available to expats. He speaks English very well, and is emphasizing English for his staff as well. If you get the run around from staff, ask to see the VP personally. No promises, but worth checking out, I would think.

G.P.

[Patanawet]

I always thought that for Thai credit card, Thai and farang, had to have a 'permanent' minimum deposit (30k or more).
And it's not strictly a 'CREDIT' card and has to be cleared monthly.
NOW, all this might be in my imagination or faded memory.
At the time I was considering one, I saw no difference to an instantly available Thai bank debit card.

[maump]

Pretty well all credit card now charge a 3% fee for transactions that occur when you are not in your home country. Thai mercants also often ask for a 3% fee when processing a credit card on top of the cash price, and the credit card 3% is on top of the Thai merchant 3% so in fact it's slightly more

And then of course (assuming he's some poor damn Yankee, just for illustrative purposes) there's the THB/USD exchange rate on the day the transaction was processed on his credit card vs. the THB/USD exchange rate on the day the money gets sent from Thailand to his home bank. They will never be the same. Maybe he'll profit, maybe he won't


Things may have changed in a a year since I was in UAE, and 5years since Thailand. but several us banks specialize in travel related cards that charge no fee for conversion.

Chase Marriot, Chase IHG, and I think United; AE Delta too

Always have the shop/store charge in Baht, the conversion is the going international rate of the day of charge.



and my schwab debit card (brokerage linked account) is great and even reimburses local bank ATM fees.

[goji]

MOST UK credit cards charge a 3% fee on Forex.

However, since not all do, anyone planning on traveling a lot and using a credit card ought to get one of the few with a 0% fee. Unless they like being screwed over by the banks.

Start with the Halifax Clarity card.

Santander also have one, but they are less professional in some key areas.

[Ruthrieston]

More than ten years having an account with ttB (previously TMB Bank) and whenever I try to ask for a credit card I get "farang cannot". So rude!

[Nirish guy]

Santander also have one, but they are less professional in some key areas.

And there's an understatement of the year - they are a fucking nightmare to bank with I find. Their actual systems work well enough for accessing money etc, but their back end admin is terrible. They've tortured me over the last year or two or absolutely fuck all - ' we need to see new ID, we need to see company accounts, we need to see VAT certificates, we need to see bills to prove you work from the address you're telling us" etc . I have multiple accounts with them they've gone through that same routine on at least four occasions now on each account and that each time usually while I've been away on holiday somewhere and so unable to quickly or easily respond, then give you five days to reply "or else" and then they start locking ALL of your accounts and denying you access to your own money !

Eventually after I return and get it all sorted out, usually after multiple phone calls, usually with stafff who are working remotely from their homes and tend to lie through their teeth to me I eventually fix it all, then lodge a complaint with their so called customer services who then compensate me for the inconvenience. I'm currently up around £1000 in compensation from them so that speaks volumes in itself !

In their defence I believe one of their local managers here was involved in in branch fraud or something, but even so it's HOW they address that and their unrelenting "you MUST do X,Y.Z NOW ! or ELSE attitude that really is too much. And before anyone asks why i still bank with them as I said I've a few different accounts for different businesses / personal reasons and its (nearly) more hassle to change than it is to continue as it would mean contacting a load of suppliers / customers etc and generally b a pain in the ass.

So Standander, while their systems for accessing your cash work - they're fine, just as long as you never actually have to come in contact with them for anything more than logging cheques I find !

[billyhouston]

That may be the case with TMB but it is not universally true. It was much easier in the past, but these days Kasikorn require a one year stamp in your passport if you are to be considered for a credit card. I have one of their cards, not the highest tier, which is by invitation only, nor the 'Wisdom' card which requires between 10 and 100 million Baht with the bank. Kasikorn do load foreign cuuency transactions on the card but for that I have a Nationwide card, which does not, and which is registered both at my UK and my Thai addresses.

[goji]

Nationwide card, which does not, and which is registered both at my UK and my Thai addresses.

Which Nationwide account is that ? I'm aware of one with a £13 a month monthly fee and some travel insurance which would be utterly useless for me, due to 31 day max trip length.

Many years ago, Nationwide offered 0% Forex loading on their free current account. So having lured me in with that good deal, they then hoiked it away.

[billyhouston]

Which Nationwide account is that ?

Just the standard (free) Nationwide Flexaccount. It used to have (useless for the same reason as you) travel insurance, removed a couple of months ago. The name on the card is "Nationwide Select Credit Card" whatever that means. They removed zero % Forex on the debit card a long time ago and with the Thai banks also charging that becomes ridiculous. My Kasikorn Premier card comes with various benefits but loads forex. I believe that their 'Wisdom' card does not load forex.

[thaiophilus]

. They removed zero % Forex on the debit card a long time ago and with the Thai banks also charging that becomes ridiculous.
I had much the same experience with Santander (or Abbey National, as it was.) The "Zero" cards didn't load forex, but the Zero debit card was withdrawn when they switched to the 1-2-3 current account, and the debit card on that account charges forex twice - once for the currency conversion, and a second fee for using a foreign ATM. So if I need to use an ATM it's cheaper to get a cash advance on my credit card and pay interest by the day, than to use the debit card and pay the up-front forex charges. Of course it would be cheaper still to pay off the credit card immediately and avoid the interest altogether, but that's not always practical while travelling. Fortunately we still have Super Rich etc.

[goji]

Well, for Thai cash expenditure, I just use Transferwise to send money to my Kasikorn account and withdraw cash from that. ATM fees are free in Bangkok, or 15 Baht elsewhere in Thailand.

For credit card spend, I use a Halifax Clarity credit card, with 0% Forex. Incidentally, I once withdrew cash from that card in Singapore and managed to logon to my account and pay it off later in the day, so no interest was charged on the cash.

I have a Starling ATM card, with 0% Forex load, but due to ATM fees, it's more of a back up option when in Thailand. It is more useful in Europe.

[Armando]

You might wish to try Krungsri Bank of Ayudhya. About a decade or so ago it purchased HSBC's consumer banking division in Thailand and offered all HSBC customers the same benefits as they received from HSBC. I do not have a work permit but my credit card and limit was transferred to Krungsri and I got a safety deposit box at a fraction of the cost for a new customer.

Krungsri has been expanding into a regional bank in recent years. It might be worth trying. The credit card division is based at its branch at All Seasons Place on Witthayu. Don't go to any of the small branches.

[Keith]

I have a UK Post Office Mastercard on which I load various foreign currencies. It's a good exchange rate, and u can keep different currencies at the same time, ie, Baht, Dollars, etc. If you run out of one currency, I am in the US at present, the card uses up other currencies on the card, and converts them, in this case into dollars. I may lose out a bit in the exchange rate, but it's very convenient.

[StevieWonders]

I have a UK Post Office Mastercard on which I load various foreign currencies. It's a good exchange rate, and u can keep different currencies at the same time, ie, Baht, Dollars, etc. If you run out of one currency, I am in the US at present, the card uses up other currencies on the card, and converts them, in this case into dollars. I may lose out a bit in the exchange rate, but it's very convenient.I just use the debit Mastercard from (Transfer)Wise which gives a dynamic FX rate when used. Unfortunately Thailand is largely back in the Dark Ages when it comes to technologies like “Pay Wave”: I prefer goji’s solution of transferring money via Wise to my local (Thai) bank and using their debit card to withdraw cash