Down under or Thai? Aussie mum trades Oz for Land of Smiles

[DUS]

Hi,

 

I still have a Halifax Clarity CC. and have a couple of questions re cash withdrawals. HALIFAX say when using the card abroad there are neither foreign currency transaction nor cash fees. So ...

 

a/ Cash withdrawal from Thai ATM

If I withdraw 20 or 30k Baht from a local Thai ATM and then transfer the equivalent amount of GBP from my Halifax current to my CC account the same day, would I only pay the 200-300 Baht charge that the Thai banks charge for cash withdrawals using a foreign card?

 

b/ Cash withdrawals from Bank counter

Would it be possible to go into my KrungThai (or any other bank for that matter) and get cash on my CC? I’m asking because the ATM usually has limits of 20-30k per transaction. So, if I wanted to withdraw 100k or more over the counter would that be possible and, again, what would the fees be for it (if any)?

 

So far, I’ve been using Transferwise for all my UK to TH transfers but wonder if using the Clarity Card might be a decent or even better alternative. 

 

Thank you!

DUS

[petermik]

The Halifax Clarity card is a DEBIT card...not CREDIT.

[dayo202]

21 minutes ago, petermik said:

The Halifax Clarity card is a DEBIT card...not CREDIT.

Nope 100% credit card...

Edited October 31, 2018 by dayo202
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[dayo202]

DUS,

• Going into the bank and do a chip and pin cash withdrawal, zero fees.

[DUS]

5 hours ago, dayo202 said:

DUS,

• Going into the bank and do a chip and pin cash withdrawal, zero fees.

 Thank you, dayo202.

 

Will try in due course since this would then be the cheapest way of getting money from my UK account to Thailand. Do you happen to know if all/the majority of banks are doing this free of charge or does it have to be the branch where I have my account? 

[DUS]

A follow-up question to those who´ve withdrawn cash over the counter before: 

I read that the daily limit using an ATM is GBP 500 (with a maximum of 50% of your avail credit limit). Mind you, I couldn´t find the info if the OTC limit is also 500 Pounds. Is it or could I withdraw up to 50% of my avail credit limit?

[Pib]

You will need to check with your card-issuing bank regarding the daily transaction/per transaction at an ATM and over the counter.   Although an over the counter withdrawal (a.k.a., cash advance) is processed as a purchase transaction it's highly probable the cash advance limit is completely different from your limit for regular purchases such as products, services.

 

Just for example and I know you are talking a UK card, below is a redacted response from one of my U.S. credit card companies when I asked about cash advance limits....on this particular credit card I have a $10K line of credit.  As you will see a $10K line of credit does not mean you can withdraw $10K in cash.   

 

Quote

Cash Advances from a XXXXX VISA are limited to $1,000 per day at an ATM and

$2,000 per day performed at an outside institution. Cash Advances through XXXXX Online to a XXXX deposit account has an internal limit of $5,000 per day.

 

And a credit card could also have a sub-limit of cash advances on your total credit line.  Like say you have a $10K line of credit, you may only be able to use say use $3K of that for cash advances.

 

Many times these fine details are not included in their Terms of Agreement, on their website, etc., and you need to ask the card company.

 

I use to use a US credit card for counter advances which had no foreign transaction fees and no cash advance fee....and I either prepaid the planned cash advance or paid the same day the advance hit my credit card account to avoid any interest charge.  I used the credit card only because it allowed me to withdraw more at once that with my debit card that was limited to $1K at an ATM or counter.  But now I use a US debit card that allows up to $5K at the counter or $1K at an ATM.

 

And whatever Thai bank you use may only allow X-amount even if your credit or debit card cash advance limit is higher.  Like the Krungsri branch I use only allows up to Bt150K per counter withdrawal using my foreign card although my card allows up to $5K which is approx Bt165K.   Found that out on my first counter withdrawal using the card....went in....asked for Bt160K....bank teller said sorry, their limit is Bt150K...I said OK....a few minutes later I have the money.   

 

Also, some banks/branches are now beginning to charge for counter withdrawals using foreign cards....usually Bt200. Like Krungsri stated in Oct 17 charging Bt200 for a counter withdrawal using a Visa card but it still free with a Mastercard.   Up to about two years ago I use to use a Bangkok Bank branch and they didn't charge any fee at that time....don't know about now....and this particular branch would only do a counter withdrawal for a credit card....sorry charlie for a debit card.  It can vary from branch and branch as to how receptive they are for counter withdrawals.  I'm do my withdrawals in Bangkok.