Cheap cash!

[thecolonel]

[quote post="13662228" timestamp="1545211977" name="KneeDeep" userid="266453"

 Withdraw 40k over the counter in one go, with no fee and deposit it in your Thai account.

 


Please clarify thanks

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[KneeDeep]

11 hours ago, thecolonel said:

[quote post="13662228" timestamp="1545211977" name="KneeDeep" userid="266453"

 Withdraw 40k over the counter in one go, with no fee and deposit it in your Thai account.

 


Please clarify thanks

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Many banks allow you to take cash advances over the counter with a credit card, but not a debit card. The Halifax Clarity is a credit card and perfect for the endeavour. 

So you may be able to withdraw 40k, cash limit permitting.

 

[thecolonel]

 
Many banks allow you to take cash advances over the counter with a credit card, but not a debit card. The Halifax Clarity is a credit card and perfect for the endeavour. 
So you may be able to withdraw 40k, cash limit permitting.
 

I'll give it a go tomorrow KneeDeep and report back

Clarity card daily limit is 500 squid so 20600 but if no fee I'm happy as Larry as the ATM only gives me 20000 but 220 baht fee. Even if a lesser fee I'm still quids in. Just have to go in banking hours, no biggie

As re 40k which cards allow you to take almost a grand(£) out in day?

Thanks

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[KneeDeep]

1 hour ago, thecolonel said:

I'll give it a go tomorrow KneeDeep and report back

Clarity card daily limit is 500 squid so 20600 but if no fee I'm happy as Larry as the ATM only gives me 20000 but 220 baht fee. Even if a lesser fee I'm still quids in. Just have to go in banking hours, no biggie

As re 40k which cards allow you to take almost a grand(£) out in day?

Thanks

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Allegedly, the Clarity limit isn't applied to over the counter cash advances. So try for the higher amount first.

Avoid the purple bank, as they might try to levy a 180 admin fee....and of course avoid any attempts at DCC.

Once you have found a branch that will do it without hassle, you'll be 'quids in'.

 

 

[rickudon]

On 12/19/2018 at 1:35 AM, Benroon said:

1) What U.K. bank is giving you interest on a current account ? Even a savings acct you would be getting what 0.5% ? Let’s move on

2) Is it really worth asking for advice over a 300 baht ATM card fee ? A whole 7 quid for the convenience of not being gouged every time you use an ATM ? Moving on

3) Azimo offer the best rates I’ve seen for sometime - for a 99p fee

 

 

 

Answer - lots.

Current account rates.

TSB - 5%

Tesco - 3%

Lloyds - 1,5%

Nationwide 1% or more for first year only.

There are others.

 

There are limits on how much you get interest on, but by using several banks you can get interest on 10,000 GBP or more.

Savings accounts - one year monthly savers offer between 2% and 5%. ISAs and some savings accounts up to 1,2%. So many ways to get better rates. Use internet banking to shift money round, mostly works automatically for me. So have about 10,000 to 20,000 GBP in accounts at any one time which can be emptied immediately if needed. With most at better rates than Thailand.

Longer term invested in trust funds but cannot cash in quickly.

[roger buttmore]

I retired to Pattaya from the UK 7 years ago and for the first few years I used to withdraw money directly from my UK bank account using my UK bank debit card at Thai ATMs, drawing out the maximum allowable per withdrawal in order to keep the ATM fees at a minimum. Not only was this method a very cost in-effective way of getting hold of my money from the UK, but I used to shudder every time I made a withdrawal at the ATM in case the process failed, or worse still, the ATM swallowed my card for some reason meaning I'd need a replacement from the UK.

 

Then, I began using Transferwise as a means of transferring money directly from my UK bank account to my Bangkok Bank account, which was much better. The ATM withdrawals were then made using my Bangkok Bank account ATM card, so never worried if the machine swallowed the card as it was a 5 minute walk to my local branch to obtain another. The problem with this was when Natwest Bank (my UK bank) introduced increased security checks for international transfers which required a 6-digit code to be sent to my Thai telephone, sadly not via SMS, the only option was audio and I needed absolute quiet, a pencil and paper, and full concentration so as not to miss this one-time code. If I missed it or got it wrong the transfer failed and my account was locked. 

 

Then, a year or so ago, I opened up a Transferwise borderless account and I'm now living the dream. The international payment side is handled solely by Transferwise. For security, when logging on to their website, the 6-digit security code is sent via SMS. Easy peasy. Payments from Natwest to my borderless are not international as the borderless account is within the UK, now zero security checks from Natwest after setting up the online payment process.

 

These things always depend on personal circumstances, home locations, expat, holidaymaker etc., but for me the Transferwise setup works really well. I love it.

 

 

Edited December 25, 2018 by roger buttmore
burped

[mogandave]

I maintain funds in Thai banks and pay what I can with credit cards, but realistically, using your foreign ATM even with fees is not that bad as long as you draw the max out.

250/20,000 ~ 1.25%
250/30,000 ~ 0.83%

[thecolonel]

Belated update on 1st attempt at cash advance on a Credit card (aka Operation Avoid ATM220baht fee!)

Sorry, not done this before so please bear with me but I'm writing this in detail for others who, like me, need to learn about banking in Thailand.

-Went to my bank, Bangkok Bank in Hua Hin main branch on Petkasem Rd(but i suppose I could have gone to others, didn't have to be mine)
-Explained what I wanted and asked for the full amount of 40,000 b (as suggested by KneeDeep) he understood.
-I queried his bank charges? he never stipulated any
-I stressed no DCC(Dynamic Currency Conversion - the crappy conversion rate into your own currency as per ATM) and he explained that in his bank it just appears as 40,000 THB on the slip.
-so he then said "I don't know what your UK bank will charge you, maybe 2+%?"
-At that point I recalled the Halifax Clarity card stipulates it has no foreign transaction fees so I went ahead
-he copied my passport for ID(reassuring!)
-he popped my card into a normal card transaction machine, I punched in my code, he took 40,000 bt off it and then he handed over the cash!
-as regards what Halifax deduct from my card, Im hoping they just use the normal mastercard rate(ie as if I'd used the ATM) which in my experience is normally very reasonable compared to the inter bank rate(that day was 41.28)
Update-Looks like the deduction from my account was £971.00 giving a rate of 41.19(it was initially going to be £967.37 giving a rate of 41.35 baht but somewhere along the line it got adjusted. Still a pretty good rate, less than a quarter of 1% off of the inter Bank rate, may have even been the 'full' rate at the time of transaction.

Incidentally I also asked K bank(opposite) how much fees and they said 200 baht, but wasn't convinced by the lady I spoke to.

Now then, this post all started re getting at ones UK money in Thai as cheaply as possible. And I was exploring cheapest cost of transferring GBP into my Thai acc, to then access it without the Thai atm fee of 220b. But with this credit card model then, as good as Transferwise may well be, personally I dont think I'd bother transferring UK£ to THAI to then suck it out of a local atm acc, not unless I bought a property etc. But everyone has different needs. And not everyone has a Credit Card with no foreign transaction fees!

Wish id known this 5 years ago, I reckon I've spent well over 15,000 baht in Thai atm fees alone!

I've now done this a second time and again 'same deal'... no bank fee.... so very happy!

Thanks to all, especially KneeDeep, for the tips!


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