jfchandler

Still no fees from BKK Bank or Kasikorn as of Monday afternoon.

Did back to back ATM withdrawals at BKK Bank and Kasikorn Bank ATMs in BKK this afternoon, about 3 pm. No fee from either, and identical exchange rate on my withdrawals using a U.S.-based bank debit/check card with the MasterCard logo (Cirrus). Exchange rate for both was 35.06, or $85.56 each for 3,000 baht.

The BKK Bank receipt has no text info on it relating to any fee, same as always in the past. I haven't used Kasikorn regularly before, so I don't know their history. But the Kasikorn receipt I got today has a line right under the withdrawal amount that says "Fee Amount", but the amount listed was "0".

What else would "certain short Thai delicacies" be, James???

You mean Thai women???

Although it's not exactly "lower" Sukhumvit, gave a try last night to the Fumi (by Sumo) restaurant on the 5th floor food court area of the Emporium Shopping Center, located right at the Phrom Phong BTS station. They also appear to have a Fumi outlet on the ground floor of Siam Paragon.

Had a perfectly fine meal at a reasonable price, although I didn't see any prior review of this place on Thai Visa and not much on them on the Internet. They have a very broad menu covering everything from sushi and sashimi to cooked dishes. But I was more surprised by some of the bargains I found there.

Try a good bowl of gyu don (wafer thin sliced marinated beef over rice) with a small salad and cup of miso soup for 150 baht, a meal-sized bowl of vegetable curry over steamed rice (with good chunks of "real" vegetables including eggplant) for 90 baht, and a meal-sized plate of zaru soba (cold buckwheat) noodles with dipping sauce for 65 baht.

Add to that, much to my surprise, glasses of decent-strength iced green tea priced at 20 baht, with the tea poured out of a well-iced pitcher and refilled constantly throughout our dinner, even more that we could have asked. It's not gourmet, but it seems similar to Fuji and there are some definite bargains to be had on the menu.

The manager gave me a card indicating "Fumi by Sumo" is part of something called Fine Food Holding Co. located on Suk Soi 16. And they seem, according to the card, to also be the operators of Xie-Xie Chinese restaurant, Cocco Pazzo Italian Restaurant, Plai-Ngam Thai Restaurant, and Tip-Top Oriental Dining and Grill.

Thanks Langsuan Man... I do appreciate hearing/knowing your experience with ETrade... As I said, I'm thinking to go ahead and give them a try for their checking...

But I also believe in having multiple options available, since things are always changing. So I've already signed up for a Schwab account (reimburses foreign fees) and another regular bank one with free/reimbursed ATM use worldwide...

Between the three of them, I should be covered!

I did give that some considerable thought, LH.... Since I saw big tubs of raw meat and seafood sitting around (albeit on ice) in hot weather...

That said, I also see Thai folks packing these places. And I gotta assume, they're not all waking up sick with food poisoning the next day...

So my general rule is, if it's busy with Thais and there's a lot of turnover, it's probably a pretty safe bet.... No guarantees, though...

I agree with the sentiments above.... That said... the Verasu shop on Wireless Road near the U.S. embassy has a broad selection of higher end, brand name rice cookers.

I'd say what's on offer is not really an "arranged relationship"...

It's more like the offer of an arranged introduction...

Don't see any harm in that.... If you like the lady, fine... If you don't like the lady, take a pass...

Maybe ask your friend to arrange for you and the other lady to exchange photos first...

Thithi... don't knock it... until you've tried it!!!

I had a bank in Florida, Virtual Bank (a part of Lydian Private Bank), that suddenly stopped letting me connect from Thailand. When I "Skyped" them to find out why I could not connect they advised me that if I provided them with my IP address they would let me access my account from Thailand

I had the same thing happen this year with my Rhapsody MP3 music downloads account. It had always worked fine here, and then suddenly stopped working. I could order music online, but the downloads always stalled. After a lot of troubleshooting, the Rhapsody people finally said their system was blocking downloads to non-U.S. IP addresses...

Why do I mention this in a banking thread? The answer is, I solved the Rhapsody problem by later signing up for a $6 a month service like Go Trusted, which gives you a private VPN tunnel Internet connection with a U.S. IP address whenever you need it... I've never had Langsuan Man's problem with online bank access here... But if I did, an approach like Go Trusted certainly would resolve it.

Also, I know from personal experience, the bank accounts I mentioned earlier in this thread - like SalemFiveDirect and Charter Bank - work fine here in Thailand for online banking. Likewise with Schwab, based on the glowing reviews Schwab has gotten from quite a few TV members here. And ETrade online banking works fine here as well...

Langsuan Man... I appreciate your posts here... Don't get me wrong about ETrade... I AM an ETrade customer via their Complete Savings account, which has no minimum balance requirement, but also unfortunately doesn't come with any ATM card for access. I like ETrade generally speaking, particularly because they have fairly fast ACH funds transfers.

It's just not entirely clear to me how they are handling their international ATM transactions. I see what they say in their policies... that they do charge a 1% fee for all foreign transactions. And their policy seems to say nothing about reimbursing foreign ATM fees.

But then you seem to be saying that they are NOT charging you any 1% fee, giving you very good exchange rates and that they are now reimbursing you for Thailand's new 150 baht ATM fee scheme.

If in fact, they're operating contrary to their stated policy and doing what you say, I'd certainly consider plunking down $5K with them and opening a new checking account with them to use their ATM card here and gain those benefits...

Any other ETrade customers out there who can chime in one way or the other on using their ETrade ATM cards here in LOS???

Re Etrade and their ATM fee refunds (whether they are domestic or foreign)... I should have added... they have some not insignificant account requirements in order to avoid their own $15 monthly charge for their Max Rate Checking account... though they appear to refund the ATM fees on the account whether or not you meet the requirements below.

* $5,000 average monthly balance in the account required to avoid a fee (their own $15 a month fee). See other ways to avoid this fee below.

* Set up and maintain a direct deposit of $200 or more per month (A combination of direct deposits totaling $200 does not satisfy this requirement)

* Maintain a combined balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities, E*TRADE Bank, and employee stock plan accounts (including vested in-the-money options, stock option plan shares, ESPP shares, and released restricted stock) accounts

* Execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter in a linked E*TRADE Securities account

ETrade also explains further how they handle the refund transactions:

Two transactions will appear on your statement. There will be a transaction for the total withdrawal (ATM fee plus withdrawal amount) and a second transaction for the refund of the ATM fee. Note that the online transaction history and the new available balance may not appear updated until the following morning.

Re ETrade, I'm pretty familiar with them and use them, but don't have/use their ATM card...

It's interesting to note... they do offer unlimited ATM refunds, but say it is "nationwide." Their policy also says they will charge 1% for foreign currency transactions on their cards... but whether they do in practice???

Here is their policy on ATM refunds....

We will not charge you a fee for withdrawing funds from any ATM nationwide, but the owner/operator of the ATM may. E*TRADE Bank will refund the amount of that owner/operator's fee for all Max-Rate Checking account customers; or for customers with an average monthly balance of $5,000 or more in either their E*TRADE® Money Market Account or Independent Checking Account or for customers who maintain a combined balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities, E*TRADE Bank, and employee stock plan accounts (including vested in-the-money options, stock option plan shares, ESPP shares, and released restricted stock); or who execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter in their E*TRADE Securities account. E*TRADE Checking Account ATM withdrawals are not eligible for ATM fee refunds. In the event E*TRADE Bank in its sole discretion determines that there has been either fraudulent or excessive use of the feature on a given account, E*TRADE Bank reserves the right to remove this feature and not refund the ATM fees. E*TRADE Bank does impose a charge equal to 1% of the transaction amount (including credits and reversals) for non-U.S. currency transactions. For additional information and important details about how the ATM fee refund will be applied, please visit www.etrade.com/atmrefundpolicy.

And specifically, regarding ETrade's Max-Rate checking, which is a pretty easy way to get their ATM card, though the account pays virtually no interest....

With Max-Rate Checking, E*TRADE Bank will not charge you a fee for withdrawing funds from any institution's ATM nationwide but the owner/operator of the ATM may. These fees will automatically be credited to your account. E*TRADE Bank does impose a charge equal to 1% of the transaction amount (including credits and reversals) for non-U.S. currency transactions. In the event E*TRADE Bank in its sole discretion determines that there has been either fraudulent or excessive use of the feature on a given account, E*TRADE Bank reserves the right to remove this feature and not refund the ATM fees. For additional information and important details about how the ATM fee refund will be applied, please visit www.etrade.com/atmrefundpolicy.

James, thanks for the recommendation... I was able to find the coordinates you gave on both Google Maps and Google Earth, so now I know the exact street location...

But what I don't know is this... (a bit off topic here)... When you know where someplace is (as you did with that restaurant), what do you do to be able to come up with the precise lat and long. coordinates for it such as those that you provided?

I guess that would be pretty helpful, since Thai street number addresses are pretty useless....

Thanks!

The moo kata I go to quite often with the Thai G/F and friends is on the main Ratchada road. It's on the right/east side if you're heading out of town and is located just after (again, heading out of town) the 2nd Huay Kwang MRT exit. It's quite easy to spot at it has large love hearts suspended above the outside eating area.

Catman, thanks much for the recommendation. Will give it a try soon. Does that place have a name??? Sounds like it's an easy walk from the Huay Kwang MRT station.... Re the love hearts sign, you sure you're not confusing it with a soapy???

From memory it's 109Bt if you just have the meat dishes or 199Bt if you have the meat + seafood dishes. We always have both. They have all the usual offerings in raw meats (including ready prepared kebab skewers) and crab, clams, and mussels, along with the prawns and squid in the seafood section. Something they have here which I haven't seen at any other moo kata's is sushi. Made on the spot by the chef. This is a big selling point for us.

By comparison, the On Nut place appears to have only one 109 baht price, for meat and basic seafood (fish, squid, shrimp and maybe some others). However, the On Nut place certainly didn't have fresh made (or any) sushi, nor did I see any crabs or mussels, the latter which I love dearly. So for all those extras, 199 baht seems like a good deal if you're in the mood for seafood. Likewise, I saw no prepared skewers at the On Nut place.

They also have a range of fruit, Thai sweets, and ice cream for dessert.

The On Nut place appeared to have ice cream on their menu, but as an extra, not included in the basic buffet, as best as I could see.

PS - I believe I've been told by Thai friends that there are a bunch of moo kata places along Petchburi Road in the general stretch between say Nana and Ekamai.... Anyone gone grazing there???

Thanks for the web site reference, Mali. I will note, though, in looking at it in detail, that a lot of the Thai bank rates listed there as the latest for today are in fact rates that the web site says those Thai banks last updated one or two days ago (16th or 17th)... So you have to be careful in looking at what to make, of what you see.

It did seem, however, from looking at those comparisons, that both for notes and TT transactions, SCB seems to be showing lower exchange rates than their competitors. (And that's apart from the issue of SCB lately adding in their own 20 baht ATM fee (prior to the new 150 baht fee), which further lessens their de facto exchange rate.

Separately, Jim, thanks for the words of encouragement, and bringing back my own words to remind/haunt me...

As I mentioned above, I did the BKKB ATM transaction this morning about 7 am... I took out 6,000 baht using a MC check/debit card (Cirrus Network). And the amount debited from my U.S. checking account was $171.12. That equates to a de facto exchange rate of 35.06 baht as I mentioned earlier.

BKK Bank at present is not charging an ATM fee. My U.S. bank for that card is not charging me any ATM use fees. So the only other factor involved should be MasterCard taking a 1% cut, meaning my 35.06 ATM rate today ought to be about 99% of the actual exchange rate.

That all makes sense to me, except I'm wondering how Langsuan Man got a 35.3 rate from Kasikorn.... Maybe he'll tell us what kind of card he used... There are straight bank ATM cards that aren't VISA or MasterCard logo'd... I have a couple like that that are PLUS and/or STAR network ATM only cards... Would those type NOT be taking their 1% cut...unlike VISA and MC???

Don't see much written here on TV about moo kata (or some write "krata") places around BKK. They're kind of the Thai version of the all-you-can-eat BBQ at your table places, usually pretty cheap, food quality somewhat variable, I gather. So I decided to stick my toe in the proberbial hot water pot the other day, with pretty good results.

We went to a place just a block further outbound on Sukhumvit Road from the Tesco-Lotus store at On Nut (on the same side of the street) that is called, as best as I can gather as a non-Thai reader, "36 Kata Tong". It is a large, outdoor covered place that sits right next to the similar looking Rock Garden Thai seafood restaurant there.

I believe they're open from mid afternoon until midnight or so, and have some large screen TVs as well as a so-so live Thai music band with singing to entertain you. But the real attraction is their 109 baht all-you-can eat buffet, which we washed down with a large pitcher of cold Leo beer priced at 119 baht, and Pepsi bottles priced at 25 baht.

The buffet included an enormous selection of raw/marinated meats and fish/seafoods that you can cook at your table on one of those two-layer skillets, a top section for frying meats and such, and then a surrounding pan filled with boiling water for cooking veggies and seafoods. You could (and we did) stuff yourself silly just on those things alone.

But the buffet here also included a very large selection of other already cooked or ready to eat offerings: fried chicken, grilled shrimps, a bunch of other breaded and fried things, curries, steamed and fried rice, kanom jin noodles, all the various acompanying sauces, a whole selection of salads, and even a table of traditional Thai sweets and deserts (no ice cream or cakes, though).

Loads of Thai families with kids there...loading up.... as well as a fair number of Thai female/farang male couples (ourselves included) noshing down. It's a quick and easy walk from both Tesco and the On Nut BTS station, making this restaurant a convenient destination (albeit outdoors and thus lacking in air con).

Not only did everything taste pretty good, and we didn't find or notice any untoward things in our food, but we felt just fine that night and the next day as well... meaning we acquired no food-borne illness on that visit... which was reassuring.

So that's one Moo Krata place to go around BKK? Where else do you like/recommend???

GMAC, I guess you're just too bored to have read a couple of posts above today where I said I HAD made an ATM withdrawal from a BKK Bank ATM this morning (Sat.) and didn't get charged any fee, even though the bank's web site said the fee was to take effect Friday (the 17th). I wouldn't bet on that lasting much longer, though...

Hope you're not getting too bored reading this thread...

I guess some Thai think farangs are idiots

I guess some Thais would be correct... some farang ARE idiots.... like the guy who apparently still wants to marry the girl after her family "lost" his 100K "refundable" sin sod...

Sure they "lost" the 100k baht...

25K was lost on a new family motor scooter, another 25K on lottery tickets, and another 25K on Leo Beer (or the local beverage of choice). What happened to the remaining 25K depends on how many adult-age males are in the immediate family...

I always thought the individual Thai banks that have ATMs set their own exchange rates for foreign currency transactions, but don't know that for certain.

Maybe we should ask Languan Man, what kind of card/US network he was using to make that withdrawal at Kasikorn...

I know when I passed an SCB exchange booth yesterday, their rate for U.S. dollars was about 35.10. So I wasn't surprised when I got 35.06 first thing Sat morning from a BKK Bank ATM using a U.S. MasterCard-based bank check/debit card operating on the Cirrus network.

Jim, is USAA Bank the one where you basically have to be military or ex-military to be a member. I went to their web site and found the following criteria..

* Active-duty officers and enlisted personnel.

* Children whose eligible parents have or had a USAA auto or property insurance product.1

* National Guard and Selected Reserve officers and enlisted personnel.

* Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS).

* Former military personnel:

o Retired officers and enlisted personnel.

o Former officers and enlisted personnel who separated from the military on or after January 1, 1996.

Also... PS.... my 35.06 baht rate ATM withdrawal from a BKK Bank ATM in BKK was made about 7 am this morning (Saturday). I too was interested to see the claim made above that Kasikorn was paying a 35.27 rate supposedly also on Saturday... I may give K a try later today, since I ought to withdraw some more funds before the fee policy starts kicking in...

Thanks to JimGant for re-posting that very good link on bank credit card and ATM rates for foreign travelers. It's a good one to bookmark and save, although, not all the info in there is accurate and that list certainly doesn't include all the good deals that are out there.

Regarding my earlier post, a few things got cut out because I had workmen in the house... So...to add and amend...

The First Arkansas Bank and Trust rewards checking account pays 4.4% interest on balances up to $50,000, provided you meet the account requirements.

Here's the link for Charter Bank's Turbo Checking account. Turbo Checking Account.

Here's also the link for SalemFiveDirect Bank's E-One Checking account.

A very good resource for U.S.-based so-called Rewards checking accounts, which often do reimburse ATM fees either nationwide or internationally, is at this site. The guy who runs it is great, and his broader Bank Deals blog is an invaluable financial resource.

If they all implement the fee, then I will switch to using a U.S.-based card/bank that reimburses ATM fees worldwide (not just those imposed in the U.S.). That's a pretty easy thing to find these days... already have it lined up. It's my money, and I intend to keep as much of it as possible, and not throw it away on rip-off bank fees.

You have mentioned this options several times in this thread. I am U.S. based, so would you mind sharing what card/bank will reimburse ATM fees worldwide?

There are a number of options for this, some of which have been mentioned in other banking threads on Thai Visa... I tend to like checking or savings accounts that pay high interest (4-5% in today's environment), and these days, those "rewards" accounts typically come with the requirement of making 10 or more debit card point of sale purchases per month of any amounts, which is pretty easy to do (when you consider grocery shopping/Tesco, etc.)

One easy and pretty attractive such account is offered by First Arkansas Bank and Trust. Reimburses ATM fees worldwide and pays 4.4% interest on balances up to (and no accounts fees or minimums) if you make 10 debit card point of sale purchases per month. See here.

Another bank that's pretty good is Charter Bank in New Mexico and their Turbo Checking Account. They've been paying 5% interest on checking up to $25,000 balances, but now that will fall to 4% this month. They have a 13 debit transactions per month requirement to obtain that interest rate and they reimburse ATM fees "nationwide" according to their policy. But in practice, they've been reimbursing the 1% VISA fees automatically for transactions here. So I'd guess they'd likely do the same if they encounter the 150 baht fee.

Others that have been mentioned on TV before are bank accounts being offered by Charles Schwab Bank.

Although Schwab is a brokerage, they also have an FDIC insured bank that offers both regular savings and checking accounts. Check out their Schwab High Yield Investors Checking or their High Yield Investor Savings Account. You don't have to use a brokerage account to open bank accounts with them. And despite the fancy sounding names, you don't have to have any large balances in the account or make debit card purchases to get your ATM fees worldwide reimbursed. But, their interest rate is paltry... Take your choice....

Another account I like is from SalemFive Bank in New England. It's called their E-One Checking account. No fees, no minimum balance, free online bill pay, good customer service, and they reimburse any other bank's ATM fees up to $15 per month. I know from experience, they do it automatically if the fee shows up as a separate charge to your account. But they'll even do it if the fee isn't handled separately, provided you mail them the ATM receipt or something similar as documentation. (How the 150 baht fees are going to get handled in the banking systems, we just don't know yet).

I think in general, most of the large U.S. banks not only won't reimburse others ATM fees, but they want to charge you their own ATM fees if you use machines outside their own network (whether domestic or international). So it tends to be the smaller banks or credit unions or even brokerage linked banks that offer ATM fees reimbursements as a perk to attract business. You've got to search for them, and go out on the Internet to banking related sites, including some that specialize in foreign travelers.

Keep in mind, many of these smaller banks have done just fine thru the recession, because they weren't out speculating on CDOs and derivatives, while giants like Citi, Washington Mutual and others were.

Longball, I think your comments above are a bit narrow-minded...

I live here full-time also, and I have and use Thai bank accounts and their ATM cards. And I don't mind paying a reasonable bank fee, such as the 10 baht surcharge that I sometimes get for online bill payments here. It's a convenience and a reasonable amount, so I don't kick or fuss about that.

But I earn my money in the U.S., so it gets deposited into bank accounts there, not here. Thus, for me and many others I suspect, withdrawing those funds here using a U.S. ATM card is a much easier (at least until now cheaper) way to access those funds as opposed to doing repeated wire transfers and such. And making frequent, smaller ATM withdrawals is a good way of self-budgeting....but not at a ridiculous 150 baht ($4.25) fee per withdrawal.

You seem to suggest only tourists and short-timers will be affected by the change, so, no big deal. Well, that's certainly not the case. I work hard for my money, so I don't like to waste it. When I was a tourist visiting here years ago, I stopped using BofA's ATM cards here because BofA began charging a $5 fee per foreign transaction plus a percentage cut. I switched my business to other U.S. banks that don't try to rip me off like that. And I never looked back.

Likewise, as for the new 150 baht fee, it will be interesting to see if any of the Thai banks break ranks and DO NOT implement the new fee. If any do they, they will get my business and accounts.

If they all implement the fee, then I will switch to using a U.S.-based card/bank that reimburses ATM fees worldwide (not just those imposed in the U.S.). That's a pretty easy thing to find these days... already have it lined up. It's my money, and I intend to keep as much of it as possible, and not throw it away on rip-off bank fees.