Withdrawing funds over the counter on a credit card at Bangkok Bank

[BillStrangeOgre]

Hi, i have heard it's possible to go into Bangkok Bank with your passport and withdraw funds on your credit card over the counter and avoid the 220thb ATM fee. Has anyone done this, have any info?

 

Thanks in advance

[beachproperty]

Yes, It's possible. I've done it many times. But be prepared you may have to pay a "cash withdrawal" fee to the credit card bank

[BillStrangeOgre]

...i should have mentioned that my card is issued by a major UK bank and is MasterCard

Also, my bank makes no charges for using the card overseas

Thanks 

[Mattd]

15 minutes ago, BillStrangeOgre said:

...i should have mentioned that my card is issued by a major UK bank and is MasterCard

Also, my bank makes no charges for using the card overseas

Thanks 

Is it a credit or debit card?

 

If it is a credit card, then you will almost certainly incur FX fees and immediate interest accruing on cash withdrawals, it is possibly one of the worst ways to obtain cash.

[BillStrangeOgre]

...depends on which credit card you use, not all are the same. Mine makes no charges for overseas use-ATM withdrawals and payments on the card (supermarket restaurants etc)

Also, it gives me an excellent exchange rate and if i go online and pay the credit card same day, no fees there either.

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by BillStrangeOgre

[beachproperty]

I doubt there are  NO fees. Credit cards generally charge a "cash advance" fee. But maybe you have one of the only ???????

[treetops]

8 minutes ago, beachproperty said:

I doubt there are  NO fees. Credit cards generally charge a "cash advance" fee. But maybe you have one of the only ???????

There are definitely a few UK issued cards as described with no foreign spending or cash advance fees, and at least one that I know of that has no immediate interest accruing on cash withdrawals.  Several that do have immediate interest that you just pay online the day you make the transaction to minimise/eliminate the interest.

[steven100]

You will incur a cash advance fee when getting cash on your card from BBL. 

[Pib]

Yes, you can do a cash advance/counter withdrawal with a debit or credit card.  I've done both with my US debit and credit cards.  My debit or credit cards used for counter withdrawal do not charge a foreign transaction fee.  However, 1 to 3% is common for many cards  Nor does my credit cards charge a cash advance fee; however, a 3% cash advance fee is common with many credit cards. 

 

To the best of my knowledge all credit cards start charging interest from day one for a cash advance. So to prevent any interest accruing I use to prepare the amount I was going to withdraw or I paid it same day.  I used the credit card because it allowed a $2,000 cash advance per day whereas the debit cards I had at the time only allowed a max of $1,000 per day.   But later I got a debit card that allow $5,000 counter withdrawal per day so that's all I use now to get money.

 

Whether using a debit or credit card a person needs to know what fee their card-issuing bank charges....such as foreign transaction fee....such as cash advance fee on a credit card....interest charge.  And know what your daily/per transaction limit is as it varies from bank to bank and varies as whether you are doing a purchase or a cash withdrawal.   Lots of people get rejects because they don't know their limits and end up exceeding them---and then want to blame the Thai bank for the rejection when it's the person's home country card-issuing bank disapproving the transaction.

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Pib

[BillStrangeOgre]

6 hours ago, beachproperty said:

I doubt there are  NO fees. Credit cards generally charge a "cash advance" fee. But maybe you have one of the only ???????

I didn't really post to discuss my credit card but if you look up Halifax Clarity card you can see terms and conditions ????

[timendres]

7 hours ago, Mattd said:

If it is a credit card, then you will almost certainly incur FX fees and immediate interest accruing on cash withdrawals, it is possibly one of the worst ways to obtain cash.

Worse than that, many credit cards charge a much higher interest rate on cash advances (29% versus 14% for one of my cards), and will apply all payments to purchases before applying them to cash advances, ensuring they take the maximum pounds of flesh from your hide.

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, BillStrangeOgre said:

I didn't really post to discuss my credit card but if you look up Halifax Clarity card you can see terms and conditions ????

I also use my Halifax Clarity card and as you say, no charges, FX fees, withdrawal fees, you just need to make a cash transfer the same day to avoid interest. You can use Bangkok Bank or other banks, it's trial and error to find a friendly bank that allows it. Kasikorn had a 20,000 limit, another bank 100,000

[gargamon]

I do this at BB all the time, generally 15k or 20k, sometimes as much as 150k(my atm card is limited to 5k dollars a day)

 

Be aware that not all BB brances do this, and some require  an embossed card, at least a few years ago.

 

I have both mastercard and visa no foreign transaction fee cards. I did a 10k withdrawal simultaneously with each. The MC gave slightly better than the rate shown at the time on xe.com. The visa withdrawal cost 1% more from my bank account. The bank wasn't cha5ging it, i just assume that visa gives a worse conversion rate.

 

Good luck.

[scubascuba3]

26 minutes ago, gargamon said:

I do this at BB all the time, generally 15k or 20k, sometimes as much as 150k(my atm card is limited to 5k dollars a day)

 

Be aware that not all BB brances do this, and some require  an embossed card, at least a few years ago.

 

I have both mastercard and visa no foreign transaction fee cards. I did a 10k withdrawal simultaneously with each. The MC gave slightly better than the rate shown at the time on xe.com. The visa withdrawal cost 1% more from my bank account. The bank wasn't cha5ging it, i just assume that visa gives a worse conversion rate.

 

Good luck.

Mastercard and visa give very similar rates, when i checked maybe 0.25% either way, often less. So the 1% sounds like a card added fee

[Phil McCaverty]

12 hours ago, Mattd said:

Is it a credit or debit card?

 

If it is a credit card, then you will almost certainly incur FX fees and immediate interest accruing on cash withdrawals, it is possibly one of the worst ways to obtain cash.

OP has a Halifax Clarity card. No fees for foreign withdrawals. it also gives you the Mastercard exchange rate which is usually better than the bank's rate. The bank uses a card reader the same as a shop and the Halifax sees it as a purchase rather than a cash withdrawal so no immediate interest charges. Before the withdrawal of embassy letters, it was the only way that I ever transferred money from the UK to Thailand. Now I have to transfer at least 65k baht every month by international bank transfer which,  over a year, costs me not an inconsiderable amount of money.

[Phil McCaverty]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

I also use my Halifax Clarity card and as you say, no charges, FX fees, withdrawal fees, you just need to make a cash transfer the same day to avoid interest. You can use Bangkok Bank or other banks, it's trial and error to find a friendly bank that allows it. Kasikorn had a 20,000 limit, another bank 100,000

See my post above re interest. Also, I regularly withdrew 70k+ at a time from my local branch of Bangkok Bank.

[Peterw42]

There is no such thing as a free exchange/withdrawal.

Its a credit card purchase or cash advance, credit card exchange rate, credit card fees, credit card interest.

 

Even a debit card, is a credit card, its just that your bank pays it off from your savings after each purchase/cash advance.

 

A check of bank, or even worse, credit card statement will show a crappy exchange rate, fees levied by the credit card company or home bank.

 

The fees can also be hidden in what it costs to run your home account, some banks may offer no foreign/transaction fees etc, but the account has a ridiculous yearly fee, requires a minimum balance, minimum monthly deposits etc.

 

[gargamon]

48 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

A check of bank, or even worse, credit card statement will show a crappy exchange rate, fees levied by the credit card company or home bank.

 

The fees can also be hidden in what it costs to run your home account, some banks may offer no foreign/transaction fees etc, but the account has a ridiculous yearly fee, requires a minimum balance, minimum monthly deposits etc.

My mastercard ATM from capital one has no foreign transaction fee, no yearly fee, no minimum monthly deposit required, and the minimum balance, if there is one, is insignificant like maybe $500. The exchange rates I get are better than the rates published on xe.com. They make money by attracting customers that are tired of paying the 3% foreign transaction fees others charge. These customers move a substantial part of their banking to capital one, including their credit cards (which also have no foreign transaction fees), which is how they make their money. I moved all my US banking to capital one from citi.

[Pib]

Keep in mind that Halifix Clarity credit card begins charging interest on day one for a cash advance....no grace period like with a purchase.

 

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

Quote

Interest charges apply to cash you take out, from the day the cash is withdrawn.

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, gargamon said:

I do this at BB all the time, generally 15k or 20k, sometimes as much as 150k(my atm card is limited to 5k dollars a day)

 

Be aware that not all BB brances do this, and some require  an embossed card, at least a few years ago.

 

I have both mastercard and visa no foreign transaction fee cards. I did a 10k withdrawal simultaneously with each. The MC gave slightly better than the rate shown at the time on xe.com. The visa withdrawal cost 1% more from my bank account. The bank wasn't cha5ging it, i just assume that visa gives a worse conversion rate.

 

Good luck.

Visa and Mastercard exchange rates are plus or minus each other just a hair.   And "do not" use a FX exchange rate site like xe.com to determine Visa/Mastercard card exchange rate; you must use the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate page. 

 

Also sounds like your card-issuing bank for your Visa card charges a 1% foreign transaction fee.

 

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

[Phil McCaverty]

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

There is no such thing as a free exchange/withdrawal.

Its a credit card purchase or cash advance, credit card exchange rate, credit card fees, credit card interest.

 

Even a debit card, is a credit card, its just that your bank pays it off from your savings after each purchase/cash advance.

 

A check of bank, or even worse, credit card statement will show a crappy exchange rate, fees levied by the credit card company or home bank.

 

The fees can also be hidden in what it costs to run your home account, some banks may offer no foreign/transaction fees etc, but the account has a ridiculous yearly fee, requires a minimum balance, minimum monthly deposits etc.

 

None of the above for my Halifax Clarity CC.

[Pib]

55 minutes ago, gargamon said:

My mastercard ATM from capital one has no foreign transaction fee, no yearly fee, no minimum monthly deposit required, and the minimum balance, if there is one, is insignificant like maybe $500. The exchange rates I get are better than the rates published on xe.com. They make money by attracting customers that are tired of paying the 3% foreign transaction fees others charge. These customers move a substantial part of their banking to capital one, including their credit cards (which also have no foreign transaction fees), which is how they make their money. I moved all my US banking to capital one from citi.

No, the exchange rates you get with your Mastercard are "not" better than the exchange rate like shown at a FX website like xe.com.   Your Cap1 one debit or credit cards use the Mastercard/Visa exchange rates--match the Mastercard/Visa exchange rates exactly.   And I personally know because I use Cap1 debit and credit cards.

[Phil McCaverty]

Just now, Pib said:

No, the exchange rates you get with your Mastercard are "not" better than the exchange rate like shown at a FX website like xe.com.   Your Cap1 one debit or credit cards use the Mastercard/Visa exchange rates--match the Mastercard/Visa exchange rates exactly.   And I personally know because I use Cap1 debit and credit cards.

Its usually better than the exchange rate offered inside Bangkok Bank.

[Pib]

1 minute ago, Phil McCaverty said:

Its usually better than the exchange rate offered inside Bangkok Bank.

The Visa/Mastercard exchange rates are very close to the Thai bank "TT Buying Rates" used for incoming transfers.  Now exchange rates for cash/notes is significantly lower.  

[Phil McCaverty]

11 minutes ago, Pib said:

Keep in mind that Halifix Clarity credit card begins charging interest on day one for a cash advance....no grace period like with a purchase.

 

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

 

If you make the transaction inside Bangkok bank via a card reader, the Halifax doesn't recognize it as a cash advance. For the purposes of interest calculation, its treated as a purchase.

[Pib]

Just now, Phil McCaverty said:

If you make the transaction inside Bangkok bank via a card reader, the Halifax doesn't recognize it as a cash advance. For the purposes of interest calculation, its treated as a purchase.

When I use to use my US credit cards for cash advance at the Thai bank, yes, it's processed like a purchase but additional underlying transaction coding identifies it as a cash advance.  This underlying coding tells your card issuing bank it was a cash advance and it's treated as such.

[Phil McCaverty]

3 minutes ago, Pib said:

When I use to use my US credit cards for cash advance at the Thai bank, yes, it's processed like a purchase but additional underlying transaction coding identifies it as a cash advance.  This underlying coding tells your card issuing bank it was a cash advance and it's treated as such.

Not with Halifax Clarity via Bangkok bank.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Phil McCaverty

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, Phil McCaverty said:

Not with Halifax Clarity.

I bet they do...but you think they don't.  Banks know when the transaction is a cash advance or purchase thru underlying transaction coding the customer does not see.  

 

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

[Phil McCaverty]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

I bet they do...but you think they don't.  Banks know when the transaction is a cash advance or purchase thru underlying transaction coding the customer does not see.  

 

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

I have always used this method to transfer funds from the UK, even when I came here as a tourist. When I relocated here and used the same method to transfer my monthly funds, I kept a very close eye on my CC account and kept all receipts from Bangkok Bank, carefully calculating exchange rates received, interest charged and any hidden fees.

 

For the period of my observations (several months) I consistently got an exchange rate equal or better than what Bangkok Bank was offering, paid zero interest and zero bank charges.

 

I'll take that bet.

[Dart12]

Good educational material on this subject...including ATMS, Bank withdraw, Wire Transfers, and more options:

Best recommended method is a wire transfer if you have any sort of Thai bank account you could send to.

https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-currency-exchange/