Which bank credit cards recommended?

[Calvin1976]

Now had K Bank, Bangkok Bank and UOB Bank debit cards.

Plan to get a credit card for hotel deposit or cash back/reward points.

Any good recommendation?

Thank you.

[Liverpool Lou]

Whichever bank will issue one to you would be a good choice.   Alternatively, you could just compare their respective benefits by reading the banks' websites.

[PJ71]

There will be little difference ( if any ) regardless of what bank.

[OneMoreFarang]

I use a K-Bank VISA card for many years and I have good experience with them. It works and if I call them they pick up the phone and have answers.

 

Maybe two years ago I applied for a Citibank card. I got the card and I can use it without problems. But I think their service is horrible. I tried to call them a couple of times for various reason. It always took forever (think 20min) before I got anybody on the line at all. And it also happened that I waited maybe for 20 minutes and then the computer told me everybody is busy and I should try again later. It's bad when a company puts lots of effort into recruiting new members but when people signed up then there is no service anymore.

[mlkik]

I have a Bangkok Bank account and it was a Visa card. When it reached expiry date the new card was no longer Visa and is now Union pay.

Now it is a problem using it on line and even for a hotel deposit as many places will not accept it.

[userabcd]

29 minutes ago, mlkik said:

I have a Bangkok Bank account and it was a Visa card. When it reached expiry date the new card was no longer Visa and is now Union pay.

Now it is a problem using it on line and even for a hotel deposit as many places will not accept it.

That is a debit card, the op is about credit cards.

 

If you want to use online debit card BB issue mastercard or join another bank for a visa debit card.

[JimmyJ]

Are there credit cards in SEA that offer cashback/reward points?

 

If so, can someone please name the specific ones they are aware of.

[blackcab]

It depends what you want out of the card. If you want airmiles then SCB My Travel is good assuming you will spend enough to waive the annual membership fee 

[Henryford]

Be lucky if you get offered one. Krungsri wouldn't give me one even if i locked up an amount equal to my credit limit.

[Calvin1976]

Monthly salaries on K Bank and had some saving in UOB Bank, seems higher chance to get from them.

Now all my online payment done by BKK Bank debit card which just transferred enough fund while making payment.

Debit card normally cannot give extra benefits except not allow to over spent. ????

[cnx101]

1 hour ago, mlkik said:

I have a Bangkok Bank account and it was a Visa card. When it reached expiry date the new card was no longer Visa and is now Union pay.

Now it is a problem using it on line and even for a hotel deposit as many places will not accept it.

Same problem as me except they gave me mastercard all its good for is drawing from the ATM been in the bank four times last Friday the last time, absolutely useless customer service, now not interested use Visa card from the UK works great for everything also Vietnam Visa card is fine.

[Aussieroaming]

I've got a K bank Wisdom Credit Card

[chilly07]

2 hours ago, mlkik said:

I have a Bangkok Bank account and it was a Visa card. When it reached expiry date the new card was no longer Visa and is now Union pay.

Now it is a problem using it on line and even for a hotel deposit as many places will not accept it.

You could have insisted on a MasterCard. Union pay is not much use and could become unusable if sanctions are applied to CCP.

[tomazbodner]

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I use a K-Bank VISA card for many years and I have good experience with them. It works and if I call them they pick up the phone and have answers.

 

Maybe two years ago I applied for a Citibank card. I got the card and I can use it without problems. But I think their service is horrible. I tried to call them a couple of times for various reason. It always took forever (think 20min) before I got anybody on the line at all. And it also happened that I waited maybe for 20 minutes and then the computer told me everybody is busy and I should try again later. It's bad when a company puts lots of effort into recruiting new members but when people signed up then there is no service anymore.

Never had issue with Citi when calling them. Calls always answered within 20 seconds. But maybe because it's platinum card dedicated line...

[OneMoreFarang]

28 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Never had issue with Citi when calling them. Calls always answered within 20 seconds. But maybe because it's platinum card dedicated line...

Lucky you!

I have the Premier card (no idea how far up the ladder that one is) with a dedicated 24-hour premier service line. When I call that number the computer asks a couple of questions and then it seems they put my call in the queue of the normal support line. 20 minutes and counting... 

With any service of K-Bank I guess mostly I talk to a person within a minute. Much better.

[tomazbodner]

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Lucky you!

I have the Premier card (no idea how far up the ladder that one is) with a dedicated 24-hour premier service line. When I call that number the computer asks a couple of questions and then it seems they put my call in the queue of the normal support line. 20 minutes and counting... 

With any service of K-Bank I guess mostly I talk to a person within a minute. Much better.

Citi retail banking in Thailand and some other countries was sold to UOB, so soon you would be getting UOB card and their support center number. Hopefully that'll give you a better service.

[Regyai]

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I use a K-Bank VISA card for many years and I have good experience with them. It works and if I call them they pick up the phone and have answers.

 

Maybe two years ago I applied for a Citibank card. I got the card and I can use it without problems. But I think their service is horrible. I tried to call them a couple of times for various reason. It always took forever (think 20min) before I got anybody on the line at all. And it also happened that I waited maybe for 20 minutes and then the computer told me everybody is busy and I should try again later. It's bad when a company puts lots of effort into recruiting new members but when people signed up then there is no service anymore.

As the world get progressively infested with this 'go <deleted> yourself' approach to CS I've taken to 'sampling' the call centre services BEFORE sign-up/purchase

[smccolley]

5 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Are there credit cards in SEA that offer cashback/reward points?

 

If so, can someone please name the specific ones they are aware of.

I have had a Citibank credit card with a high limit. I use it for a lot of normal charges to get points,  I recently bought a new computer for 125k and they immediately sent me an sms asking if I wanted to use points to reduce the cost. After going to the website and agreeing, they used my points to take care of 17k. 

I hear Citibank is being taken over by UOB, but I would assume UOB will have similar experience.

[new2here]

5 hours ago, blackcab said:

It depends what you want out of the card. If you want airmiles then SCB My Travel is good assuming you will spend enough to waive the annual membership fee 

I agree! IMHO, the range of card offerings here in TH is quite small.. and as such you really need to decide what “perks” do you want out of a card.  You also have to be mindful about the minimum qualifications and any annual fees that the card may carry. 

 

All of the majors offer some kind of entry-level card that usually has minimum perks, may have a small annual fee (that commonly can be waived if your annual charge volume exceeds some threshold) Also entry level cards usually have the lowest minimum salary mandate (50k is common but can be lower or waived in some circumstances)

 

All of the banks have a few mid and upper their cards too.  Naturally the income and other approval qualifications will be higher as will the annual fee (and any spend mandates for fee waiver). I, myself, haven’t found that the upper tier cards issued here offer perks which are substantially better than i can find from a US bank.. 

 

IMHO, the cards all fall into one of a few categories: travel (ie linked to an airline or airline group where spend earns points or miles) shopping (tied into a store or mall retailer and your spend equals points for rebates) healthcare (tied to a hospital chain) or retailer-specific (like car company, fuel company etc)

 

For me, despite having elite-level banking with 2 banks, I carry only entry level cards as I only use them for the dining discounts and none of the travel, shopping or retailer-specific cards appeal to me or match my own spend patterns. 

 

One thing that I’ve been able to do- and i’m not sure if it’s a bank policy or privilege, is i’ve been able to “change” cards so long as they were comparable  … I had to formally “apply” again, but that was only me signing a new paper app but didn’t have to bring in new documents…

 

Once approved, the bank closed the card I didn’t use and transferred any balance to the new card that I wanted. 

[JAS21]

It’s quite easy to get a CiTi Credit Card. I’m retired, no work permit. Didn’t have to lock any money away but they gave me a 160,000 limit. I do pay the full amount off every month though. 

[smccolley]

23 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

It’s quite easy to get a CiTi Credit Card. I’m retired, no work permit. Didn’t have to lock any money away but they gave me a 160,000 limit. I do pay the full amount off every month though. 

Be aware that Citibank is selling their operations now to UOB bank, so things might change, but Citi is definitely my preferred card. I noticed this month the due date has changed from the 3rd or 4th to the 29th, so maybe the sale of assets has gone thru

[timendres]

15 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I use a K-Bank VISA card for many years and I have good experience with them. It works and if I call them they pick up the phone and have answers.

In my experience, K-Bank has provided the best customer service of any bank I have dealt with in TH.

[Tropposurfer]

15 hours ago, Regyai said:

As the world get progressively infested with this 'go <deleted> yourself' approach to CS I've taken to 'sampling' the call centre services BEFORE sign-up/purchase

love the 'go f yourself' line .. very true hahaha ???????? We is all pawns, just sheep n lemmings to those with power

[JackGats]

21 hours ago, mlkik said:

I have a Bangkok Bank account and it was a Visa card. When it reached expiry date the new card was no longer Visa and is now Union pay.

Now it is a problem using it on line and even for a hotel deposit as many places will not accept it.

My first Bangkok Bank card in 2018 was a Union Pay debit card. In 2021 I lost it (left it in the ATM after withdrawing money) and they gave me a debit card with Master logo as a replacement.

 

Acceptance may have to do with the fact that it's a debit card and not a credit card. As regards hotel deposits upon check-in, I much prefer to leave cash than have sums pre-authorized on my card. If you mean pre-authorisation by Agoda or Booking that's another matter.