Immigration lump sum and secured VISA card question

[Furryman]

I bank in Thailand with Bangkok Bank, and when I was in there recently I asked them about the possibility of getting a VISA credit card, since the BKB ATM cards aren't in the VISA network.

 

The ladies conferred, and the answer they came up with was that if I had an account with money sitting in it, they could issue a VISA card with a limit up to what I kept in that deposit account. Sounds the same as what would be called a secured credit card back in the USA.

 

At the time I figured it wasn't worth the hassle, but with the changes coming regarding income verification for US and UK expats (so far, fingers crossed for the rest of you folks) it got me thinking, and I have a question for those with more experience in this area.

 

Could the account holding the lump sum for immigration also be used as the security for a VISA card? Or will the account securing the VISA card get flagged as ineligible for the immigration paperwork somehow?

 

As I understand it, the money would just sit there, no transfers in or out. The monthly VISA bill would be paid through my other accounts.

 

Currently, I have one account that my retirement gets transferred into from the USA. All that account does is act as a landing place for my monthly income. No ATM card.

 

Once a month I transfer what I need for day to day into a second account with an ATM. I'd be paying bills from that second account.

 

The lump sum/security deposit would sit in a new 3rd account I will probably be creating anyway for immigration paperwork.

 

It seems like it would be a way to make some use of the money just sitting there doing essentially nothing.

 

Anyone done this or have any info regarding this idea?

[NCC1701A]

33 minutes ago, Furryman said:

Could the account holding the lump sum for immigration also be used as the security for a VISA card?

I have never used my secured credit card accounts at immigration but...

     

I have both a Bangkok Bank Visa and Master Card credit card and a standard savings account.

 

They withdrew the money from savings to secure each card and created two new accounts. So now I have a savings, Visa and MC account. The balance of those CC accounts is the "secured money" minus your unpaid credit card balance. Every month they automatically withdraw from my savings account money to pay my credit cards off in full. So lets say you have 200,000 baht credit limit for each card (X2) and 300,000 in your savings. Your ONLINE statement shows a total of 700,000 less unpaid CC.  

 

I have two fixed savings accounts that I use for immigration. They don't generate statements each month. I need a letter from the bank simply stating that the money was there on a certain dates. Maybe they can do the same for CC accounts. Where it might be tricky is getting immigration to do the math and see clearly the money was there with the CC balance going up and down. 

 

I hope this helps with your question a little.  

Edited October 26, 2018 by NCC1701A

[Furryman]

3 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

I have never used my secured credit card accounts at immigration but...

     

I have both a Bangkok Bank Visa and Master Card credit card and a standard savings account.

 

They withdrew the money from savings to secure each card and created two new accounts. So now I have a savings, Visa and MC account. The balance of those CC accounts is the "secured money" minus your unpaid credit card balance. Every month they automatically withdraw from my savings account money to pay my credit cards off in full. So lets say you have 200,000 baht credit limit for each card (X2) and 300,000 in your savings. Your ONLINE statement shows a total of 700,000 less unpaid CC.  

 

I have two fixed savings accounts that I use for immigration. They don't generate statements each month. I need a letter from the bank simply stating that the money was there on a certain dates. Maybe they can do the same for CC accounts. Where it might be tricky is getting immigration to do the math and see clearly the money was there with the CC balance going up and down. 

 

I hope this helps with your question a little.  

Yeah, it does. That's not exactly how they explained the accounts would work, but TiT. It doesn't even seem to really even be a 'credit' card, just an over complicated debit card.

[NCC1701A]

3 minutes ago, Furryman said:

That's not exactly how they explained the accounts would work,

I did not even ask for the Master Card, they just gave it to me. I was like what is this? OK whatever.

[topt]

1 hour ago, Furryman said:

Or will the account securing the VISA card get flagged as ineligible for the immigration paperwork somehow?

There were some reports on here last year or so that where people had been doing this the banks would only qualify the amount excluding what "secured" the credit card - so no. Not an option anymore. (If it ever was)

Edited October 26, 2018 by topt

[Furryman]

5 minutes ago, topt said:

There were some reports on here last year or so that where people had been doing this the banks would only qualify the amount excluding what "secured" the credit card - so no. Not an option anymore. (If it ever was)

Thanks for the info!

 

[AtoZ]

7 hours ago, Furryman said:

Yeah, it does. That's not exactly how they explained the accounts would work, but TiT. It doesn't even seem to really even be a 'credit' card, just an over complicated debit card.

It is worst than that, since you can't touch the money 'securing' the "credit" card

[Thailand J]

This was what happened:

Bangkok Bank took 900,000B from my savings account and opened a new fixed account with that money.

They gave me a Visa and a Mastercard secured credit cards with 100,000B combined spending limit.

When I sign in online I see my fixed account : ledger balance 900,000B, available balance 800,000B.

For immigration, they gave me a letter stating I had 800,000B available fund, the other 100,000B is only available one month after, if I decided to cancel my credit cards.

 

 

 

[KittenKong]

14 hours ago, Furryman said:

It doesn't even seem to really even be a 'credit' card, just an over complicated debit card.

Indeed. I completely fail to see the point of Thai "credit" cards.

[Thailand J]

Search the forums and you will see many don't need/want a Thai secured credit card.

" Ridiculous".

" Stupid".

 

At the same time there are those who find them useful.