ToYoungToRetire

18 hours ago, jimn said:

If I was you I would stay home in the good old USA mate. You are not only To Young To Retire but Too Young To Travel Alone. Best wait until you can get someone trustworthy to come with you and hold your hand and look after your money and debit/credit cards.

Very helpful ????

10 hours ago, kekalot said:

isn't there some of the banks that you can withdraw money at the ATM without the card?

I saw my friend do that all the time, I think she has SCB.. just goes on the app and puts her pin, maybe scans a QR code (never really pay attention) but never seen a debit card in her hand (or wallet)

 

might be worth looking into

My Friend mentioned that, I still havent figured out how to do that. 

On a side note my phone was working great the night I lost my card. Woke to a dead battery, left it on the charger for two hours and still 0% battery, the screen would come on and say I had 0% so it was still working but not charging. I had to buy a new phone in Thailand that turned out not to work my American Cell provider so I got tho buy another phone when I get home. Hows that for a spell of bad luck ????.. Lucky for me I brought my travel laptop with me and was able to use Skype on that to call my bank to cancel the card. 

10 hours ago, YT3k72Em said:

1. Open a Thai bank account

2. Use mobile banking "cardless withdrawal" or use bankbook to withdraw money.

So to be clear I'm back in the USA, I looking to have a fool proof solution for my next trip. 

I called Bangkok bank and they wont open an account for me unless I have a Thai work permit. 

6 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Read the fine print. Not Valid Outside the USA

Gotcha

2 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Most of which are unusable overseas.

From Experience and why?

1 minute ago, BigStar said:

USA has quite a few pre-paid debit card options. Hit any Walmart, Target, or CVS pharmacy and take your pick.

That solves one of my issues. I would also like to send money to Thailand. I gave my friend $1000 USA before I left just incase I had any issues. But with a 14 hour time difference he's not only hard to get ahold of, he also has a wife and a life. I want an option where I can reach my USA bank account or at least transfer funds to somewhere I can get Baht with my passport alone. A lot to ask I guess. 

7 minutes ago, RAZZELL said:

Tip: don't take your bank cards out with you when you go on the beer!

I learned that lesson the first time I lost BOTH of my cards, but that day I had no baht left and needed a ATM, so I brought it (debt card) with me. 

3 minutes ago, RAZZELL said:

Tip: don't take your bank cards out with you when you go on the beer!

 

Another tip: I changed my banking address to my parents house in the UK...when I lost a bank card a replacement was sent to them and they then posted it to me first class recorded.

 

New card arrived about 8-9 days after a called for a replacement.

 

RAZZ

I was only there a few days this trip. My bank was going to send me a new debt card and a PIN for my CC but only to my home address registered with the bank in the USA. I would have been home two weeks before I got either. My Buddy is my backup plan and he has the money to not mind, but I hate to ask for favors when I could take care of it myself. Thats what I'm looking for. 

I would have used my CC but I never had before. So if there was a PIN to get cash I didnt know it. and cash withdrawals on a CC have a stupid high interest rate. I want a easier more reliable option, my first trip to Thailand lost I both my ATM card and my CC, I had to have my friend Western Union me money. I'd like to avoid that. 

That also does not solve my problem of sending money without putting the CEO of Western Union's child through college with just my single fee alone. 

From the USA if that matters, I had the money in my USA bank account but no way to get to it. 

So after a lot of beers I lost my damn debt card again this trip leaving me in a bad situation unable to get (thai) cash. Or so I thought Until I paid Western Union's outrageous fees for a cash withdrawal on my credit card (all I had left). 

I'd like a less expensive easier option to withdraw money like a pre paid debt card and also a way to send money to my needy Thai GF. Yes I know what I'm doing sending a Thai woman money 555. Stupid but not born yesterday and I know what I'm getting into. 

How can I send money? How can I set it up to walk into a bank in Thailand and get money if I lose my debt card?

I know there are easy options like expensive Western Union with their horrible fees and exchange rate. I'm looking for the best least expensive option. 

I have a friend like this. Always spending more than he has, always purchasing items he doesnt need but wants leaving him barely able to pay bills. 

I helped him out a few times, with his promise he would pay me back as quickly as possible. He just kept over spending and never had the money to pay me back. 

After learning the hard way when he needed money I offered to buy something of his. Something with at least the value of the loan with the offer he could buy it back at anytime within 6 months. After that the item was mine... He doesnt ask to borrow money anymore. 

Complainers dont care where they are or what they are doing. They will find something to complain about where ever they go. Sure every place has its problems, dwelling on it makes it your personal problem.

Miserable people will be miserable where ever they go, I look for the good.

I'm not a complainer. If I step in dog shit once I blame the dog owner for not picking it up. If I step in the same dog shit twice I blame myself.

If you dont like thailand leave and find somewhere you do like. I happen to love thailand and all its faults. If it was perfect and completely wonderful I wouldnt want to visit.

My next trip I plan on sending money to myself via western union. If you wait for the right time and amount is small enough you can do it for free. It also doesnt matter if you lose your bank card.

And further lower Thailand's economy? Could have an interesting effect on Tourist Destination Hotel/Travel costs...

http://theantimedia.org/3-trillion-gone-as-chinas-stock-market-plummets/

Forget Greece. No, really. As you might have heard by now, China’s stock market is hemorrhaging without a sufficient tourniquet to stem the massive loss—now $3.25 trillion and counting. To bring it into perspective, that figure is more than double the annual GDP of Canada—and there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop it.

Does thailand have an Embassy in his country? You can apply for a Visa at the Embassy and save the expense of flying there only to be turned away.

http://www.buylifestraw.com/en/

Battery life depends more on battery usage than battery age.

You cant fix starvation. Its a dream that will never come true. The people who are starving are generally uneducated and poor. If you feed them and their kids they're just going to have more kids. Who will have more kids to feed....

In America we have huge families on welfare that havent worked in 4 generations. The more kids they have the more money they get. All they do is sit around doing drugs and having unprotected sex which results in more kids...

I carried around a photocopy of my US State ID, Passport and International Drivers License all on one paper. Passport always stayed in the hotel safe, didnt want to lose it.

I think you can get a 30 day Sim at the airport for around $30 unlimited data and lots of local minutes. Having data makes traveling a lot easier. It made a huge difference on my second trip, including when I was fairly drunk and lost Pulled out the phone and instantly knew how to get back to the hotel.

When you have the data you can use Skype for cheap calls back to home. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skype.raider&hl=en

Red wood costs a lot where I live.

You'd have to be an idiot to not know your home currency gets stronger the weaker the thai currency. Why all of the complaining?

The longest I've ever had to wait was America security TSA check points and a close second was returning to America Immigration. .Both were 3 times longer than I've ever waited for anything Bangkok, Phuket on the other hand I got there one night at 12am and 3 planes must have unloaded at the same time, the lines were unbearable.

The closest international airport to my home is San Francisco, if you dont know San Francisco is America's largest and most concentrated Gay population. On my first trip to thailand (phuket) I must have frustrated the Immigration officer. As I walked away from him he said in a disgusted voice "Kathoey". I had no idea what it meant at the time but I made it a point to find out. I'm guess I'm glad I didnt know what it meant at the time, I'm not Gay, I dont sound gay, I dont look gay and I dont act gay. Just because I flew out of San Francisco does not make me gay. Nor should a immigration officer feel its ok to insult Tourists for any reason. 10 minutes later I was being assaulted by the taxi mafia.. My first impression of Phukets airport was not a good one...