receiving a replacement debit card overseas

[BananaBandit]

I assume it's possible to get a replacement debit card (replacement for an expired one) sent directly to SEA from the USA. 

 

Can you have the replacement card mailed directly to a local SEA post office or courier company store (DHL, Fed Ex, etc.)?  

 

Or (for those of us who often inhabit budget residences) must you take your chances having the replacement card sent to the communal bin at a lo-so apartment/guesthouse and just hope that nobody misplaces/misappropriates it?

[CorpusChristie]

All banks have different procedures and rules , you should contact your bank directly and ask them 

[noise]

Corpus Christie is correct.  And be aware that airmail comes in passenger flights so no airmail from the U.S. right now.  You have two options.  One is getting the bank to send it by courier (FedEx et al) or, if they won't do that or won't send it out of country even at your expense, have it sent to a U.S. address and ask them to forward it one by courier.

[Jack Hna]

I had one mailed standard mail from UK inside a book. Arrived a week later.

 

Not direct from bank and I had it mailed to a Thai addressee

[Benmart]

On 8/22/2020 at 9:49 PM, CorpusChristie said:

All banks have different procedures and rules , you should contact your bank directly and ask them 

Mine came FedEx from the USA at my request and at no extra charge  Each financial institution may be different as to what and how they will do it. Call or chat with them on-line.

[mtls2005]

The provider should have already sent a new card, ~ 4 - 6 weeks before expiration, to your address of record.

 

Some providers will utilize express services like FedEx, free or for a subsidized cost. BofA charged $15 for FedEx and 4 day delivery which I found reasonable. I told them I was stranded.

 

Get a Thai Post PO box, 500 baht per year. I get replacement cards re-mailed from family there. Handy to have.

 

AFAIK, first class airmail, $1.20 from the U.S. to Thailand is working now. Received such a letter ( a new credit card) last week, took ~ 13 days.

 

Standard airmail from Thailand to the U.S. (37 THB) remains unavailble, must use EMS World/CourierPost/ePak. EMS World (880 thb) and CourierPost (990 thb) both work well.

[tf6122]

21 hours ago, noise said:

Corpus Christie is correct.  And be aware that airmail comes in passenger flights so no airmail from the U.S. right now.  You have two options.  One is getting the bank to send it by courier (FedEx et al) or, if they won't do that or won't send it out of country even at your expense, have it sent to a U.S. address and ask them to forward it one by courier.

Last week I had 2 small package items  sent to me in Bangkok from friends in the US. Both were sent from Las Vegas, one via US Postal Service International Express and arrived in 8 days. The other via DHL and arrived in 7 days. DHL was significantly cheaper. 

[wjhall]

Most UK banks will not send cards to Thailand. You have to get them sent to a friend or relative in UK who can then forward to you. It's a pain in the <deleted> but it works OK

[Pilotman]

OP, use a service provider such as UPS or DHL, absolutely do not send them by normal or special delivery post, you may well not get them. 

[noise]

Great news about mail from the U.S.  I had not heard.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, Jack Hna said:

I had one mailed standard mail from UK inside a book. Arrived a week later.

 

Not direct from bank and I had it mailed to a Thai addressee

Similar scenario, my UK bank has Thailand on a mailing blacklist, I had to arrange to have the new card sent to my local branch, then via letter sent by me asking permission for my brother to pick-it-up. He then sent it to me via normal Royal mail.

[theoldgit]

21 minutes ago, wjhall said:

Most UK banks will not send cards to Thailand. You have to get them sent to a friend or relative in UK who can then forward to you. It's a pain in the <deleted> but it works OK

 

Most, but not all, my wife and I received new debit cards from Santander a couple of weeks ago, they were sent automatically to replace the ones that expire next week.

They were sent via DHL with the final delivery via Thai post.

It's maybe worth noting that the OP is asking about cards from the US, not the UK.

[rucker4012]

Every financial house has their own rules. I believe airmail to/from USA exists. Positive actions in last two weeks. Second problem of activating card without a USA phone number to verify. Again all financial house have different protocols.

[Andycoops]

49 minutes ago, wjhall said:

Most UK banks will not send cards to Thailand. You have to get them sent to a friend or relative in UK who can then forward to you. It's a pain in the <deleted> but it works OK

Nationwide does.

[Tony125]

7 minutes ago, rucker4012 said:

Every financial house has their own rules. I believe airmail to/from USA exists. Positive actions in last two weeks. Second problem of activating card without a USA phone number to verify. Again all financial house have different protocols.

If you order a MagicJack online the cost is like $35--$39 for a year of unlimmited free calls to/from the US. You are given a US number (can be your old number in US if you own it) and my US bank has that as my registered number. Friends/family can call you for free in Thailand using that number. Plugs into USB port of PC or router. New ATM card also can be activated by simply using in an ATM here and entering password.

[Max69xl]

23 hours ago, noise said:

Corpus Christie is correct.  And be aware that airmail comes in passenger flights so no airmail from the U.S. right now.  You have two options.  One is getting the bank to send it by courier (FedEx et al) or, if they won't do that or won't send it out of country even at your expense, have it sent to a U.S. address and ask them to forward it one by courier.

Many banks never uses couriers because the new card/replacement card must be activated before being used the first time. It's just a piece of useless plastic when not activated. It's not even considered a valuable. My last one was sent via the local postal service from Europe delivered to my condominium office by Thailand Post. 

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, rucker4012 said:

Second problem of activating card without a USA phone number to verify.

 

All of my most recent cards (credit and atm: ~ 5-ish/U.S.-based), did not require the old style activation. Peel off says to start using it. And you can use both the old card and the new one simultaneously, until the old one expires. That said, easy enough to call if necessary. International Long Distance works from Thailand.  Two minute call, 2.5 THB/min on any mobile LC code. You do not have to call from your number of record. 5 baht, done.

[yardrunner]

1 hour ago, wjhall said:

Most UK banks will not send cards to Thailand. You have to get them sent to a friend or relative in UK who can then forward to you. It's a pain in the <deleted> but it works OK

I had that problem with Santander UK a letter of complaint to the CEO and a mention of Financial Services Ombudsman and i received a letter back to say that i could receive a bank card and one was sent out and have continued to receive cards without a problem

[khunjeff]

22 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

That said, easy enough to call if necessary. International Long Distance works from Thailand.  Two minute call, 2.5 THB/min on any mobile LC code. You do not have to call from your number of record. 5 baht, done.

Or free when dialing a US toll free number using Skype.

[mtls2005]

26 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

Or free when dialing a US toll free number using Skype.

 

Of course, or Google Voice, or Talkatone or any free VoIP service, which are free to ANY number, not just toll-free.

 

But heck, easy to dial from a mobile, 5 baht, done.

 

Again, most cards do not require this ancient method of activation.

[gmmarvin]

I had a credit card mailed to me from Seattle to Chiang Mai recently.  DHL charged $52.00 and took a week.

[flinc2020]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:17 AM, wjhall said:

Most UK banks will not send cards to Thailand. You have to get them sent to a friend or relative in UK who can then forward to you. It's a pain in the <deleted> but it works OK

I had this issue with a UK bank last year. They claimed that Thailand was an unsafe" location to send DEBIT cards, although they'd happily send CREDIT cards. However, once I pointed out to them that in the 7 previous years they had sent 11 debit cards to me in China (considered a safe destination) of which only 2 ever reached me because they were sent by the banks Complaints Dept. by Fedex lo and behold I got my debit card sent to my address in Thailand by standard First Class mail (took about 10 days to arrive). They said, initially I should have it sent to an address in the UK of someone I trust but THAT INDIVIDUAL SHOULD NOT FORWARD IT TO ME, I SHOULD GO TO THE ADDRESS IN PERSON TO COLLECT IT!!! Yeah, flying from Thailand to the UK, even before Covid was just like a Sunday afternoon drive into the countryside to visit grandma. Just bully them and they'll send it.

[BananaBandit]

On 8/23/2020 at 8:22 PM, mtls2005 said:

Get a Thai Post PO box, 500 baht per year. I get replacement cards re-mailed from family there. Handy to have.

That's an interesting idea.  Do you need a longterm visa to get a Thai PO box?  What if you're on a 6-month ED visa?

[BananaBandit]

On 8/24/2020 at 12:05 AM, mtls2005 said:

That said, easy enough to call if necessary. International Long Distance works from Thailand.  Two minute call, 2.5 THB/min on any mobile LC code. You do not have to call from your number of record. 5 baht, done.

Sounds good to me. 

 

But how do I activate and use international long distance if my phone plan is Thai-only service?

[mtls2005]

39 minutes ago, BananaBandit said:

That's an interesting idea.  Do you need a longterm visa to get a Thai PO box?  What if you're on a 6-month ED visa?

 

Dunno, did it ~ 18 years ago, they do require a passport (copy OK) at annual renewal. USed to be more like ~ 150 baht per year way back when.

 

30 minutes ago, BananaBandit said:

But how do I activate and use international long distance if my phone plan is Thai-only service?

Your mobile phone provider is???? press 001 (NNN) NNN-NNNN, then press the little phone-looking thingy, for standard rate.

 

Add value to cover the costs of the call.

 

or

 

004 DTAC

005 AIS

006 Truemove H

 

007 TOT

008 TOT

009 CAT

 

Yes, there are many other options.

 

 

But I don't think this should be your primary concern? Get the card first. Most U.S. cards do not require telephone activation now.

[audaciousnomad]

On 8/22/2020 at 9:33 PM, BananaBandit said:

Or (for those of us who often inhabit budget residences) must you take your chances having the replacement card sent to the communal bin at a lo-so apartment/guesthouse and just hope that nobody misplaces/misappropriates it?

I know this post is a year old, but I just successfully did this(and I do inhabit a budget residence) so I want to answer the original poster's question and for the benefit of others who are in the same situation, I will explain what I did that made it a seamless process.

First, I will say that the debit card took 23 days exactly from the time the USPS picked it up in Los Angeles(28-Jul) to the envelope being in my hands today(13-Aug).  This was for a single envelope sent USPS International Priority.

 

I will say the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to put your phone number down as part of the address. This is what guaranteed I received the envelope, as the Thailand Post was able to call me and confirm I would be here before they sent the motorbike courier out. And then he called me one more time when he was waiting out front of the gate to my place so I could come down and get it.

I made sure that the TO address includes:
1. Name of residence (example: The Bangkok Apartments Asoke)
2. Building Number and ROOM Number
3. Street Name

4. Soi Name

5. Sub-soi if you're on one of those. (Some sois have multiple 'lanes' or in Thai....yaek)
6. District (Ladprao, Huai Kwang, Asoke, etc.)
7. City and Zip Code
8. MOST IMPORTANT: YOUR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER

I was able to track it end-to-end on USPS website, which was very useful. It even tells when your item clears customs and is making its way to the local delivery center for your area.

All in all, a satisfactory and pain-free process. And I got the debit card just in time before the current one expires.

Hope this helps!

[BananaBandit]

1 hour ago, audaciousnomad said:

I know this post is a year old, but I just successfully did this(and I do inhabit a budget residence) so I want to answer the original poster's question and for the benefit of others who are in the same situation, I will explain what I did that made it a seamless process.

First, I will say that the debit card took 23 days exactly from the time the USPS picked it up in Los Angeles(28-Jul) to the envelope being in my hands today(13-Aug).  This was for a single envelope sent USPS International Priority.

 

I will say the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to put your phone number down as part of the address. This is what guaranteed I received the envelope, as the Thailand Post was able to call me and confirm I would be here before they sent the motorbike courier out. And then he called me one more time when he was waiting out front of the gate to my place so I could come down and get it.

I made sure that the TO address includes:
1. Name of residence (example: The Bangkok Apartments Asoke)
2. Building Number and ROOM Number
3. Street Name

4. Soi Name

5. Sub-soi if you're on one of those. (Some sois have multiple 'lanes' or in Thai....yaek)
6. District (Ladprao, Huai Kwang, Asoke, etc.)
7. City and Zip Code
8. MOST IMPORTANT: YOUR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER

I was able to track it end-to-end on USPS website, which was very useful. It even tells when your item clears customs and is making its way to the local delivery center for your area.

All in all, a satisfactory and pain-free process. And I got the debit card just in time before the current one expires.

Hope this helps!

 

This is very valuable (and well-stated) information. 

 

And, yes, good to stress the importance of the phone number.

[lopburi3]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:19 AM, Pilotman said:

OP, use a service provider such as UPS or DHL, absolutely do not send them by normal or special delivery post, you may well not get them. 

The only time I have not received was when USA Mail sent to Trinidad rather than Thailand - and did get a few month late.  All other times Chase and re-mailed cards have arrived with no issue in normal mail.  This has been my experience for 30 years now.

[treetops]

4 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

First, I will say that the debit card took 23 days exactly from the time the USPS picked it up in Los Angeles(28-Jul) to the envelope being in my hands today(13-Aug).

 

2 hours ago, BananaBandit said:

This is very valuable (and well-stated) information. 

 

And, yes, good to stress the importance of the phone number.

Agreed, but the calculation of # off days leaves a bit to be desired. ????

 

[audaciousnomad]

19 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Agreed, but the calculation of # off days leaves a bit to be desired. ????

 

Considering the pandemic situation, I was not surprised by it. There was also a delay in the parcel departing the USA.  It left Los Angeles on the 28-Jul, but it was sent first to San Francisco and from there it finally departed the USA on 6-Aug!?! (So it stayed within USA for 9 days!!!).  If I count from 6-Aug, it should be only 7 days...arrived here on 13-Aug.

I think the problem is that airmail often travels on commercial passenger flights, and since there are a lot less of those right now (obviously due to pandemic), then they might have to do consolidation and also wait the for soonest available passenger flight to load the mail onto. Otherwise I suppose it would have left directly from Los Angeles over to Asia.

FEDEX/DHL would be quicker, possibly 7-10 days (as they have their own dedicated cargo aircraft)....but double the price or more compared to regular U.S. Postal Service.

Edited August 13, 2021 by audaciousnomad