TallGuyJohninBKK

Pib, AFAIK, the normal checking account that people get is what Schwab calls their High Yield Investor Checking account. I've never seen anything regarding any per transaction or per month limits on their ATM fee rebate with that checking account.

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/checking_account

And they specifically say on the website:

Unlimited fee rebates from any ATM worldwide

http://www.schwabcdn.com/public/file/P-6425867/HYIC_features_and_fees_public_SLS77378_FINAL.pdf

Right now, when I look at the Schwab USA website under their banking section, they appear to show only one checking account currently being offered, and that's the High Yield Investor Checking account I mentioned above. I don't see any other checking account there at present.

BTW, Schwab makes it very easy to move funds into and out of one's brokerage and checking accounts via free ACH transfers to any accounts you decide to link. There is the requirement to submit a paper form to link accounts to the Schwab checking account, but linking external accounts to the Schwab brokerage account can be done entirely online.

I quite liked ABC Extra Stout when I was in PP.... But never seen it here in Thailand.

All of the above sounds like a pretty good plan, and will give you plenty of time to set things up with Schwab. You can do it online, and it's not complicated. Plus to open their high yield checking account that includes the fee reimbursing VISA debit card, you have to open a brokerage account with them (actually they just do it automatically), but you don't have to use or fund the brokerage account. It's entirely up to you.

Re the traveler's cheques, try to make sure they're using VISA checks as opposed to AMEX ones, which some places here aren't especially willing to cash.

As for the Capital One VISA credit card, make sure to do an online travel notification with Cap One before you depart, because they can be real sticklers when they see sudden and unexpected foreign charges on your U.S. account. And it's a pain having to call them to unlock your card after you've suddenly found your purchases denied and don't know why....

Re BofA, I had exactly the same experience years ago as a tourist with my BofA account then. Took my card abroad, never thinking or knowing about the fees, and then was shocked to find three charges for everything single thing I did -- the charge itself, then BofA's flat fee, then their percentage fee. I too quickly learned. NEVER AGAIN!

I have no idea what this OP article is talking about.

There already is a Domino's franchisee in Thailand, and they already have a bunch of locations scattered around Bangkok. And according to the Domino's Thailand website, it is the FICO Food outfit mentioned in the OP. But it's hardly any kind of new thing as the news report would suggest.

I believe Domino's just recently celebrated their one-year anniversary for operating in Thailand.

http://www.dominospizza.co.th/

Their website currently lists some 10 different already operating shop locations, nine around BKK and one in Pattaya.

In Dec 2012

Domino's Pizza will open and first store at One Fenix Square, Sukhumvit 22, Bangkok

Fico Food with extensive experience in the hotel and retail business is the exclusive franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in Thailand.

http://www.dominospizza.co.th/history

I don't believe the OP indicated in his post above just exactly when or how soon he was planning on leaving for travel.

But in any event, whether for this upcoming trip or all the future trips ahead, the same good advice applies.

I thought the topic was what to do on a vacation in Thailand? I just closed my BofA account because -- after being free for years -- they stared charging $14 per month unless you meet minimum balance/deposit requirements. And just about no national bank has branches in Vermont.

But maybe you're one of those guys who will use up $3 worth of gas/petrol driving around to save a $2 ATM fee.

Your post and comments above are nonsensical. You earlier had complained about why go thru the "fuss" for just a brief vacation abroad.

And as I pointed out, the whole point of having a no fee/fee reimbursing ATM card is you can use ANY ATM machine you want anywhere in the U.S. and NOT have to worry about fees or driving around to find the closest bank location associated with that particular card.

And ditto that when you're abroad: you don't really have to worry whether a foreign ATM charges a fee or doesn't, or whether it's a 180 or 150 baht fee, because your U.S. bank is going to reimburse you for the ATM charge anyway.

That's the whole point of having a fee-reimbursing card, which I am now repeating for about the third time. Is it beginning to sink in yet???

Because they work equally well back in the U.S., when you have a BofA card but want to use a Wells Fargo or Chase or Citi ATM because those happen to be close by (or any similar situation)... but don't want to get hit for $2 or $3 every time you use an ATM other than those belonging to your card-issuing bank.

Plus, with those kinds of cards, you don't have the security/safety issues involved in carrying cash abroad. U.S. VISA cards generally carry zero liability fraud protection even when used abroad. And with U.S. credit card purchases, you have the ability to dispute charges if necessary for things like defective products or canceled reservations. Whereas with cash, if there's some problem, you're on your own.

That's why having no foreign currency fee, ATM fee reimbursing cards like Schwab, Fidelity, State Farm Bank etc. are the wise way to go for Americans traveling abroad.

Once you have them, you don't really have to worry about anything. Withdraw funds from any ATM in the U.S. and any ATM fee is reimbursed. Withdraw funds abroad, and there's no foreign currency fee, and any ATM fees are reimbursed.

A person holding those kinds of cards can get on with their vacation / life, and not have to worry about fees and finances, or carrying your passport around to different Thai bank branches, etc etc.

You get the money you withdraw, and you pay for your purchases at the purchase price, and nothing extra beyond that.

The other option I guess we should have mentioned is trying to do a so-called counter withdrawal with the tellers inside a Thai bank.

Counter withdrawal means, taking your passport and U.S. bank debit card up to the window and asking to withdraw an amount of funds against that card.

Some Thai banks will do that, especially for larger amounts, and counter withdrawals don't incur the 150-180 baht ATM withdrawal fee. But other banks will tell you they won't do a counter withdrawal with your debit card and direct you to their ATMs instead. It's really a hit and miss proposition of whether a counter withdrawal can be accomplished at any particular Thai bank branch.

Of course, just like an ATM withdrawal, counter withdrawals would incur a foreign currency fee if your U.S. card has one, the same as an ATM withdrawal. And, you also have to be careful that any card you're using for a counter withdrawal doesn't also have a cash advance or counter withdrawal fee, something that some U.S. banks have been adding of late. Because just like the Thai banks, they don't want to get shorted out of you paying their foreign ATM use charges.

Bottom Line: for any American who travels abroad regularly, it absolutely makes sense to seek out and obtain a no foreign currency fee debit card for use abroad, as well as a credit card with no foreign currency fee for purchases. Doing so is going to save you a lot of money.

I can't speak for True Move H...

But just recently, using the DTAC website and my DTAC online account, I used one of my U.S. credit cards to top up a DTAC prepaid SIM. It went thru the Verified by Visa process and the purchase went thru fine. No complications or hassles. I can't remember for certain, but I believe the purchasing portal went thru either BKK Bank or Kasikorn Bank...

For a vacationer to Thailand from the U.S., you have two different kinds of bank card fees to be concerned about:

1. the foreign currency fees charged by whatever U.S. bank card you might use. Some are as much as $5 plus 3% of any foreign ATM withdrawal. That's where BofA is now, and I believe Chase is similar. Similar fees also apply when you use the cards for POS purchases.

2. the separate fee that all Thai banks now charge whenever you use a foreign VISA or MC -- now 180 baht for MC logo cards, and 150 to 180 baht for VISA logo cards, depending on which Thai bank ATM you're using.

Regarding No. 1, ideally, any U.S. bank card you'd want to use in Thailand would charge little or no foreign currency fee or sometimes called ISA (International Service Assessment) fee. Debit cards from Schwab, Fidelity, State Farm Bank and some others have 0 FCF. Some credit cards from Capital One also have no FCF for purchases, but you wouldn't want to use a credit card to withdraw cash.

Regarding No. 2, there no longer are any Thai bank ATMs that don't charge the 150-180 baht fee against U.S. bank cards. So the best you can do in that regard is to also have a U.S. bank card that, in addition to not charging their own foreign fees, also reimburse the fees charged by other banks, such as the Thai ones. Schwab, Fidelity, State Farm and some others provide such reimbursements.

Also, a lot of Thai bank ATMs these days will only dispense 20,000 baht per withdrawal. But some, including Ayudhya, TMB and CIMB, will dispense up to 30,000 baht per withdraw. So, if you're going to pay a fee and or have it reimbursed per withdrawal, at least try to get as much money as you can for the transaction. That means using a debit card that, preferably, has a $1000 per day withdrawal limit -- not the usual $300 to $500 per day limits.

American Express cards typically charge a 2.7% foreign currency fee, which makes them pretty uneconomical.

Likewise, now most Thai banks are charging 153 baht service fee PER traveler's cheque cashed, which makes going that route pretty uneconomical, especially with smaller denominations. But if you had $500 denomination traveler's cheques, that would work out to a 1% fee on the Thai end ($5 fee per $500 cheque), assuming you didn't pay a fee on the U.S. end.

Carrying large amounts of cash has its own risks. For me personally, I'd be willing to carry some, but I wouldn't risk trying to fund my entire trip that way, unless it was for a short visit.

Basically, most of the major U.S. mega banks are very bad when it comes to foreign use fees. Apart from the examples of national-level no-fee cards I mentioned above, there are a lot of smaller local banks and credit unions that also have no fee cards -- but you have to do the research and check online to find those available in the area where you live.

Usually, the presence or absence of foreign use fees is not something that most banks advertise or promote on their websites, and instead, that kind of detail is usually relegated to the "terms and conditions" disclosure documents. The Schwab and Fidelity cards require opening brokerage accounts, which makes them a bit more complicated.

But State Farm Bank, for example, is just a straight bank and allows online account opening, which ought to make setting up a new account with them relatively easy.

Dunno if they're related or not...

But people with that same last name have been a Thai Cabinet member, an executive at the Bank of Thailand, and in the past, an executive at the failed and notorious Bangkok Bank of Commerce.

Does anyone here know who's behind Holiday Villages (Thailand) Co, Ltd, AKA Club Med Phuket.

I'm presuming it's substantial or majority Thai ownership, and that it's like a franchise operator under the Club Med name.... not owned by Club Med per se.

Although, this chart from a 2013 Club Med corporate document makes it look like the company is in fact the owner of the Phuket resort, as opposed to just managing or leasing.

Page 51

http://www.clubmed-corporate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Club-Med_Presentation-resultats-annuels_V-IMPRESSION-ENG-16h.pdf

Disgusting behavior.

But I'm surprised about this "A mother taking her 11 year old daughter for a walk on Walking street at 4.30am"

Yes, that part seemed strange. "A mother taking her 11 year old daughter for a walk on Walking street at 4.30am"

Perhaps walking home after finishing work... whatever that work in the Walking Street vicinity might be...

Citi Bank will allow you to take 1500 US out of the atm every day with out a fee, no mater where you pull the money from.

Just to be clear, you're talking about the daily withdrawal limit on using your Thai Citibank account card for Thai baht withdrawals here in Thailand...

Not on using your U.S. issued Citibank card for ATM withdrawals here in Thailand.

Citibank U.S. already nicks you for $30 U.S. for doing the international funds transfer to Citibank Thailand, and Citi Thailand probably also charges an additional handling fee on their end.

I don't know what the OP is going on about. All throughout April, Hubby and I have been merrily using our US-credit union issued VISA card throughout Chiang Mai, as usual, charging groceries at Tops and Rim Ping supermarkets, paying our monthly bill at Truevisions, buying clothes at Central, getting toys at IT City, etc. About 20 purchases, total value about $1000. It's just an ordinary month for us and nobody has said anything was amiss.

Same here... Use our U.S. debit and credit cards all the time, rarely have any problem of declined charges.

About the only time that ever happens is when one of the credit card issuers gets uppity because you haven't filed a "travel abroad" notice.

But that only happens sometimes with credit cards. I've never had that happen to me with a U.S. debit card purchase.

However, I did talk with one particular U.S. credit union recently that told me if I was going to use their debit card abroad, I'd need to file a travel notice with them every time, otherwise my account would be locked. Needless to say, I didn't pursue opening that account. And that was the first time I've ever had any U.S. debit card issuer tell me that kind of answer/policy.

BTW, the issues mentioned above of FATCA and FBAR have absolutely nothing to do with using U.S. bank cards for purchases abroad. They do have to do with Americans having to report their non-U.S. financial interests back to the authorities in the U.S.

What the heck is the actual difference supposed to be between 100% Grades 1, 2 and 3??

And no, I'm not looking for any snarky, weevil responses...

In terms of flour tortillas, I believe Danitas and El Charro are the two primary local brands. I had been using Danitas for a long time for lack of another choice, but really wasn't happy with their ingredient list showing palm oil, which isn't very good from a health standpoint. And I don't care for the taste or texture of the El Charro brand at all.

So lately at my local Foodland store, I found in the freezer section (unlike Danitas that are always in the deli/refrig section) a brand called Alfredo Neo Wrap bread, which is pretty much a comparable tortilla in terms of taste and texture, but appears to not be using palm oil. Both brands run about 85-88 baht for a package of 10.

(I didn't have a photo of the regular flour Danitas, so I'm using their whole wheat variety instead just for illustration purposes.)

For corn tortilla chips, there are lots of different choices, at different prices, and for different purposes.

For flavored chips (Nacho, Guacamole, Red Hot, etc.) for eating solo, my favorite is an imported brand, Garden of Eatin' from the U.S. that's often sold at Central Food Halls and some Tops markets, though they're pricey at regular prices of 129b per 200g bag, though they're often on sale for 99b.

There are several versions of Doritos as well, including ones from the U.S. and imported versions made in Taiwan.

But for just plain unflavored tortilla chips, such as the base for making homemade nachos, I'd buy a bag of Danitas plain tortilla chips for about 69 baht for a 200g bag. El Charro also has several versions of its plain tortilla chips, which are pretty similar.

In Thai thinking, he only killed a street vendor and injured a garbage collector. No big deal for a mall manager with a famous family name driving a Mercedes.

Wanna bet, he never actually serves any time in jail as a result of any court sentencing, if even the case ever makes it to any court, which it probably won't.

I'd be very surprised if the guy ever has any need to leave the country. After all, it wasn't like he killed a policeman or anyone like that!

There are plenty of legal precedents for vehicular homicide in Thailand that indicate if the defendant shows remorse and makes a substantial attempt to rectify the wrong he has done through voluntary compensation for the victims' families then the punishment may be reduced to just the fine (up to 20,000 baht) or if jail time is prescribed, that it is suspended.

That is common law, it is not a special law available only to wealthy people - it's available to anyone who has enough basic decency to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Wonder if you or I would get the same treatment if we were the driver in the same circumstances. I'm thinking likely not.

From MBK's 2012 annual report:

http://mbk.listedcompany.com/misc/ar/20130321-MBK-AR2012-EN.pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,615,828

Also, from the MBK website:

http://mbk-center.co.th/jp/about/officers_marketing.php

In Thai thinking, he only killed a street vendor and injured a garbage collector. No big deal for a mall manager with a famous family name driving a Mercedes.

Wanna bet, he never actually serves any time in jail as a result of any court sentencing, if even the case ever makes it to any court, which it probably won't.

I'd be very surprised if the guy ever has any need to leave the country. After all, it wasn't like he killed a policeman or anyone like that!

Now children, today's lesson is:

Do as we say, not as we do.

PS - I see this is sourced to ThaiVisa news, as opposed to The Nation or MCOT or similar.

I certainly hope this isn't someone's belated April Fool's Day post.

Yes, that's why we tried the place.... and.... came away pleased. Two different people, two different hair styles. Both satisfied customers.

The wife and I stopped by Bei Otto on Sukhumvit Soi 20 the other day to try their breakfast, which opens at 8 am daily, and includes several choices in the vicinity of 300 baht net including entree, coffee or tea and fruit juice.

I had their American breakfast for 305 baht, which includes several pork sausage links, several strips of really excellent somewhat crispy bacon, a pair of fried eggs cooked as you prefer, fried potato slices, some rolls, tea or coffee and orange juice. I wasn't excited by the sausages, but the bacon was some of the best I've ever had in Bangkok, so their breakfast wins points for that, if nothing else.

Also, while there, we tried for the first time something they call their pretzel roll, which I believe is pretzel-type dough baked into a round kind of cupcake shape, and likewise was really soft, light and delicious. The staff, nicely, were willing to substitute a couple of the plain rolls that came with our breakfast for the somewhat more expensive pretzel rolls, and just added on the extra price.

Bei Otto's regular restaurant and pub isn't open in the early morning hours, so their breakfasts are served in the adjoining little cafe and food shop there. All in all, a decent place for a decent morning breakfast, with special kudos to both their bacon and bakery.

The wife and I stopped by the Easy Cut shop in the Metro Mall underground at the MRT Sukhumvit Station yesterday for the first time. We each had our hair cut, 100 baht a piece, and they did a quite decent job on my shorter hair and my wife's thicker, long hair.

On a weeknight at the dinner hour, they had 5 staff working out of six available work stations, and we were 6 or 7 down in the queue when we arrived. We had to wait about 10 minutes, and then each of our haircuts took less than 10 minutes. The staff there seem quite efficient, but they don't seem like they're rushing, and you don't feel you're being rushed.

Basically, you insert a 100 baht note into their ticketing machine, and it spits out a paper ticket with a number on it at the bottom, in our case, 3000 something. The hair cutters then call out the next number up (the last two digits like 27 and 28) in Thai whenever once of them has an opening. The wife and I both agreed we'd be willing to go back there again.