Everyman

On 8/30/2023 at 6:55 PM, CartagenaWarlock said:

In the USA, they now have hundreds that don't charge foreign transaction fees. Most banks have cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees. 

Some banks (Capital One) have no cards at all that charge the foreign transaction fee. 

7 hours ago, DFPhuket said:

You need to get a US credit card with no foreign transaction fees. A large number charge a 3% fee on any foreign transaction. It sounds like yours is one of those. 

 

I use a Capital One card. They have a card with no annual fee and 1% cash back or another with a $95 annual fee with 2% cash back. There are other options at other banks. The exchange is the mid-market rate, which is a very good rate (basically what you see on any of the online currency conversion rate). Twice I've had no issues getting a charge back for a service that wasn't delivered. 

 

Using my card here whenever I can means I don't need to have as much money in Thailand and it's basically a "free" money transfer. I use it worldwide and get hundreds of dollars cash back. 

Mathematics and financial literacy vindicate credit card use. Cash is not king. Credit is king, and understanding it is a valuable financial tool. 

Who in their right mind brings cash when they travel? Use your ATM card like a normal person. This isn’t 1977.

And yes I know the ATMs charge ฿200+ per transaction. Get a card that pays you the fees back. 

25 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Snip the plastic or the twine before cooking

 

Properly "linked" sausages do seem to be a rarity.

 

 

 

I see a lot of street cooks just throw it on the grill twine and all (which then melts).

I notice a lot of sausages are bound with red plastic twine at the ends that melts when grilled. Is this some kind of special twine that is designed for this and healthy? Or is it just leaving melted plastic behind?

Some sausages appear to be bound with cotton string and that would seem to be better.  

8 hours ago, SamSpades said:

Oh! Sorry to hear that!

What was their reason / explanation ?

Did you try other branches? Its common knowledge that if one branch bounced you, trying different ones 3-5 times again and again might work.

PS: I'm from Bulgaria.

that “common knowledge” is out of date. i have tried more than 30 branches with no success 

On 7/15/2023 at 8:10 AM, Grumpy one said:

Go to the nearest Land Transport office, explain what you want.

Then stand there pulling out your hair after some dimwit who is serving you looks at you with mouth open and a glazed shocked look in their eyes.

You WANT me to work  ????

That’s better then when they turn to their colleague and say “Alai wa?” 

that makes me want to slap them into next week. so unbelievably rude.

Apple Pay works at 7-11.

I was trying to get it to work but eventually gave up. 

On 7/13/2023 at 1:11 PM, 4MyEgo said:

Off the topic, but I am thinking of getting a credit card.

 

Are there any requirements ?

 

I have a bank account with my bank and could also show them funds in my overseas account.

 

Just thinking to get one if booking plane tickets in the future as AirAsia cancelled a flight I was going to get on to connect with my other flight and they said they would put me on the next flight, I declined and they said would refund me, that was 9 months ago, suffice to say I believe if I have a credit card the bank could sort it ?

 

Also is there an annual fee ?

 

You can PM me if you like as I mentioned it is off topic.

You need a work permit to get a credit card, and they will only give you a secured card which will be just about useless compared to a debit card.

The banks must be losing incredible amounts of money from prospective customers. But as I’ve commented privately to people, they just don’t give a damn. You could show up with a dump truck full of gold looking for a place to keep it and they would laugh at you and tell you to ‘eff off. 

If I were you I would buy stock in lithium mines, because idiotic governments are mandating electric cars but there isn’t enough lithium in the entire world to make enough batteries. Consequently the price of lithium will be astronomical in 5 years.

In twenty years it will be normalized however because there will be newer battery technologies and the lunacy of electrification will be historical by then. 

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Schwab international account with do a currency exchange for a fee.

As far as Tesla; several predictions are it will increase by 1000 % over the next ten years.  It is not just a car company, but innovators in AI and clean energy, batteries, etc.  I believe it is a very good long term hold.

Yeah, well I predict it will go up 10,000%
 

There you have it, another prediction. See how it easy it is make them?

Seriously though, it would be nice to know if Thailand has any online trading platform like have existed for decades in the US. 

This stuff about “calling a broker” seems very 1970s to me. 

On 6/18/2023 at 12:03 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

Obviously, yes, it applies to all foreigners, not just "farangs", as you put it.   

There are no countries that do not require confirmed passport ID when a foreigner is opening a bank account.

That isn’t true. 

In the US, lots of forms of foreign IDs can be used to open bank accounts. A passport can be used but is not needed if other forms of ID are available.

https://promo.bankofamerica.com/international-banking/professionals/

I see on a lot of forums people saying that every branch has their own rules and you just need to keep trying. 

But if this was ever true, it isn’t anymore, and branches have standardized their procedures. 

As usual someone will say “i just opened an account and it and it was so easy” but then it turns out they are on a one year non immigrant OA and not a tourist visa or it was 6 years ago or something. 

I am busy with projects that require a workspace like a desk and a chair. 

Sometimes I travel between towns near Bangkok but I can’t spare the time to stop working while I am in transit. 

A taxi doesn’t have a table and an SUV from Bolt doesn’t either. A bus table is not optimal because of scheduling.

Are there limo services or something that have a proper desk where work can be done? 

On 11/4/2022 at 9:14 PM, jimgilly said:

I was about to complete an application for the international account and was told by one of their stateside employees the maximum amount per ATM withdrawal is only $500, with a daily limit of $1000.

 

That would mean to get out $1000 it would require 2 withdrawals per day or 440 baht in Thai bank fees.  So if I wanted to get say $10,000 out in a month that would be 4,400 baht in fees and I wonder if they would then put a limit on the amount of ATM withdrawals I could do each month. 

 

Has anyone made any large number of  ATM withdrawals in a month with the CS debit card and were there any problems doing so?  Thanks

Why don’t you just SWIFT transfer the money to a Thai account? Why mess around doing ATM withdrawal in cash? 

What is กล้วยน้ำว้า in English? A Google search in Thai was inconclusive. 

One site said “Ducasse banana” but seemed unsure of itself. I would like to know the name of this banana cultivar in English.

15 hours ago, roger101 said:

Any up to date info on this.

I am a bit late in applying for this years extension so I don't have much time to waste. I have always done it before by going into my nearest branch and ordering a years statement (200 Baht and 7 days wait.)  When I checked this time on their website it says 6 months. So it looks like I'll be standing by the door when the bank opens on Monday (just hope it's not raining).

Isn’t Monday a holiday?

Maybe you typed in your account number wrong or something 

18 hours ago, david555 said:

I just opened Kk mobile ,opened settings and scroll down and choose Facial etc. And you get the message " only for Thai.

 

So phone Kk and tell them your solution as they are wrong ???? ...

I think what will happen is that the new system won’t work unless you have a Thai national ID card, such that “farangs” won’t be able to transfer more than 50k baht at a time from their phones.

I would be happy to be wrong about that prediction but I am pessimistic. 

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's right.  You read it how you want to but, logically, though, it does not mean that BBL does not want joint accounts.

If their policy change negatively affects joint accounts, and they don’t care, then what are we to think?  

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

is money laundering a factor in these businesses that stay open but appear empty?

I used to wonder about that in regard to the tailor shops. Some shops, in Bangkok I had never seen a single person in there in 10 years. Zero customers.

Yet there they were, still open.