Best method to send debit card from US to Thailand

[seajae]

make sure if through the mail it is not in a bank branded envelope as it will go missing, I had 2 taken by the postal staff before getting the next one sent in a plain packaging with a piece of cardboard on either side of the card so they couldnt feel it, even the manager at the local post office admitted the staff will take them if they know its a card, express registered post is the way I get them now.

 

[RayOday]

I have replaced 2 lost Charles Schwab debit cards. Both were sent via FedEx and were delivered in 2 days. No charge from Schwab. Excellent node tracking and timely proactive emails at each touch point.

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

To be safer don't activate the card until after it arrives. 

Meh.

 

Not really an issue as cards are now activated upon first usage, and older, unexpired cards and newer cards can be used simultaneously/interchangeably. And the OP's trusted friend probably didn't activate the card before mailing?

 

 

I think the OP could have opened a Cap1/360 Checking account and gotten the ATM Debit card, with a thai address. And they may have sent the card via FedEx for free. Many others here have reported getting Cap1 cards with a thai address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrJ2U]

13 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

US Postal Service has Priority Mail International large envelopes up to 4lbs for $41.70.  That seems to be the recommended choice.

Good choice.

 

My banks usually ship any cards free of charge.

 

I understand you have other stuff to ship also.

Good friend.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

To be safer don't activate the card until after it arrives. 

I have numerous U.S. debit cards, all of which I've sent from the U.S. to here over the years.

 

I don't think any bank has EVER sent me a pre-activated debit card. They're always un-activated when sent, because if activated and the stolen in transit, debit cards can be used in swipe and sign mode to buy things without requiring any PIN or password.

 

And usually, to activate a new debit card, you need to have/use the new debit card number as part of the activation process.... which you wouldn't normally have access to sitting here in Thailand waiting for your envelope to arrive.

 

USPS First Class international mail is cheap to send a low-weight documents envelope, but there's  little to no tracking once the item leaves the U.S.

 

USPS Priority International is more expensive, very reliable and usually faster than regular first class international. And AFAIK, its tracking capability extends to Thailand.

 

But the price might be not that different from a regular FedEx or DHL economy international envelope, depending on who's doing the pricing for those services.

 

In all of the above cases, I think you'd just list the Customs info for the envelope as "documents" with little value, and they should arrive here without any grief.

Edited March 31, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[digger70]

I had no problems with my bank in Aus  they send the Debit cards in the Normal Mail service .

With the C19  the last few years the mail has been couple weeks Slower than normal.

 

[Gottfrid]

3 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

At first I thought that a Birthday card envelope would be good but after more thought I agree with @Gottfrid that it would attract more attention.

 

Thanks to @BananaBandit for suggesting including my phone # on outside of envelope.

 

Thanks to @asiacurious for going to the trouble of finding the pricing details.

 

I think I'll pay the DHL premium for the extra security.

Good Choice! They usually also know how to get to the right places. Something that the post people have problems with very often. Good Luck!

[PumpkinEater]

I ordered a new Chase card eight weeks ago.

As they would not sent overseas with expedited service, they sent it regular mail.

I am still waiting! ????

[portlandtree]

Forget it if you live her or stay long term everyone is refusing foreign cards many airlines, shopping venues such as shopee ad Lazard’s, lots of stores, but booking hotels some still work. I have a us bank rewards card visa it’s as good as junk now. Ha capital one my son runs a business online selling LED lites he was making good money upwards of $10,000 usd per month just on rewards  that’s over $120,000 per year on top of what his sells were now for 3-4 years until the bank kicked him off saying they weren’t money off of him but losing money almost 1/4-1/2 million on paying him rewards lol lol lol Was great while the going was good lol lol banks lol

[chilly07]

15 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

DHL is the only trusted choice in my world.

Not mine! Will levy all sorts of additional charges and rip your letter open. Post Office is my recommendation. Couriers will always let you down.

[Dart12]

5 hours ago, BananaBandit said:

I'm not sure I fully grasp the nature of your problem. 

 

But I suspect you might resolve it by requesting any sender to write your Thai phone number on the package.

Citibank agents, and US Bank agents say they can deliver overseas.  However, the cards never arrive.  Save one time.  Citi has even Fed Exed them.  

I suspect the girls don't know how to input Thai addresses in allotted blocks in their computer system.  

they do not ask me for any phone number if I remember right.

 

[asiacurious]

6 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Sure! Best Idea ever to write Happy Birthday on the outside. That makes nobody think it might be money in it. All will stay away from opening it. I guess you have been very lucky.

6 hours ago, Doctor Tom said:

and see it disappear.  A very bad idea

Everyone knows sending cash in a birthday card through the mail is a really dumb thing to do.  Almost nobody does it, except perhaps a grandparent sending a few dollars to a grandchild years ago.

 

I've had credit cards sent to me this way twice.  Maybe I've been lucky.  But I'll keep doing it that way until I'm not.  YMMV!

[Crazy Noobie]

6 hours ago, rwill said:

I bought some candy canes on amazon to send here for my wife.  She was jonesing for some non-peppermint ones.  They sent it with UPS.  When it arrived in Thailand I recieved an email from someone in UPS that demanded I mail them my passport and pay additional fees to get the candy canes.  I told them I would never mail them my passport and that any import fees had been paid in advance. (ADD:  They also told me they could not return them either.)  Never did get the candy canes.  Fortunately amazon did refund my money after I sent them all the emails between me and UPS.  I also contacted UPS main office in the US and they said they would investigate but never heard anything back from them either.

 

I had ordered some other candy canes at the same time.  They were mailed through the post office.  They showed up with no problem.

I had the same issue when I had a package sent to me through UPS. So I stopped using them and only use FedEx or DHL. and now have no issues at all.

[Gottfrid]

50 minutes ago, asiacurious said:

Everyone knows sending cash in a birthday card through the mail is a really dumb thing to do.  Almost nobody does it, except perhaps a grandparent sending a few dollars to a grandchild years ago.

 

I've had credit cards sent to me this way twice.  Maybe I've been lucky.  But I'll keep doing it that way until I'm not.  YMMV!

Good For You! Good Luck! You do know it a dumb thing to fall for things that sounds too good to be true too, right? According to you, have people stopped with that too? ????????????

[Gottfrid]

3 hours ago, chilly07 said:

Not mine! Will levy all sorts of additional charges and rip your letter open. Post Office is my recommendation. Couriers will always let you down.

Lucky it wasn´t your world I was talking about then. ????

Edited March 31, 2022 by Gottfrid

[wwest5829]

I just received my new Visa Card here in Chiang Mai from the issuer. They have both my US address (I use my Son’s address) and my Thai address. They have no issue with my residing in Thailand. They sent the new card via UPS and I had called the UPS Office here to tell them I would pick up the card when it arrived. A previously sent card was returned saying they could not deliver …

Edited March 31, 2022 by wwest5829
Misspelling and clarifying sentence

[wwest5829]

19 hours ago, truthman said:

My mother tried to use the registered mail service with a brokerage debit card. They told her at the post office the service didn't exist and she ended up sending it regular mail. The first card was evidenlty stolen by the clerk who thought it was a gift card but the replacement arrived all right as did a couple of other debit cards I had sent in the mail. When my bank sent my debit card they used DHL. I don't believe you can track USPS registered mail as you can EMS in Thailand. It will only tell you if it's arrived or not.

I have tracked mail both ways but always by Registered Mail.

[placnx]

First I tried "international mail" (USPS) for $3.75. It took 25 days instead of the supposed 7-10 days. In the interim I got another card and sent it by International Express Priority Mail which cost $71 and arrived in around 5 days. The tracking service worked with email updates including distribution in Thailand. If I had not been in such a hurry I would have done International Priority Mail which supposedly takes 6-10 days.  It seems to be a lot cheaper than UPS, Fedex, DHL.

Edited March 31, 2022 by placnx

[ClaySmc]

3 hours ago, Dart12 said:

I suspect the girls don't know how to input Thai addresses in allotted blocks in their computer system.  

For my FedEx delivery, the service rep said she didn't have the 5 lines I needed, so I told her to use: Line 1. My Name, 2. Condo name, 3. Street No. and Street name, 4, District, City, Zip, Thailand (TH).

 

Ordinarily, I would have the sub-district and district on a separate line, and then Bangkok, zip and Thailand on the last line, which did not work for them.

 

Getting rid of the sub-district, and adding the district to the city line, presented no problem. They had set it expedited service and for the processing and delivery it took a week.

[ClaySmc]

5 hours ago, portlandtree said:

everyone is refusing foreign cards

I recently found that happening a lot. I can't pay AIS through their app anymore, as it wants to be able to send a code, which my USA cards don't do. Seems they want local credit cards now.

[Onerak]

Just curious. What's the advantage of a 360 CapitalOne card? I have one. 

[Dart12]

14 minutes ago, ClaySmc said:

I recently found that happening a lot. I can't pay AIS through their app anymore, as it wants to be able to send a code, which my USA cards don't do. Seems they want local credit cards now.

If you need a local (real, not voip) number to get codes...use Numberbarn.com. It's less than $2.50 a month to hold a number. 

 

I got sick of all my cards refusing my voip telephone number AND all the merchants wanting to send codes to complete purchase. 

[gamb00ler]

59 minutes ago, Onerak said:

Just curious. What's the advantage of a 360 CapitalOne card? I have one. 

If you have a CapitalOne debit card, it should use the MasterCard exchange rates for foreign purchases, cash advances and ATM withdrawals.  There should also be no foreign transaction fee.  That combination of good rate and zero fees gives the most ฿ per $ for cash withdrawals at the counter in Bangkok bank (or any other Thai bank that charges no fee for that service).  You get the same exchange rate at the ATM but are hit with the 220 ฿ fee charged for foreign debit cards.

Edited March 31, 2022 by gamb00ler

[Onerak]

1 hour ago, gamb00ler said:

If you have a CapitalOne debit card, it should use the MasterCard exchange rates for foreign purchases, cash advances and ATM withdrawals.  There should also be no foreign transaction fee.  That combination of good rate and zero fees gives the most ฿ per $ for cash withdrawals at the counter in Bangkok bank (or any other Thai bank that charges no fee for that service).  You get the same exchange rate at the ATM but are hit with the 220 ฿ fee charged for foreign debit cards.

Thanks. I have CapitalOne credit cards with zero foreign exchange fees for foreign transaction. Never use debit card to withdraw money from Thailand ATM. If I withdraw cash using CapitalOne debit card, there is no ATM fees and the rate is better than Wise? I did not know that. Will try to test it out one day when I am in Thailand. 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Onerak

[gamb00ler]

11 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

If you have a CapitalOne debit card, it should use the MasterCard exchange rates for foreign purchases, cash advances and ATM withdrawals.  There should also be no foreign transaction fee.  That combination of good rate and zero fees gives the most ฿ per $ for cash withdrawals at the counter in Bangkok bank (or any other Thai bank that charges no fee for that service).  You get the same exchange rate at the ATM but are hit with the 220 ฿ fee charged for foreign debit cards.

 

10 hours ago, Onerak said:

Thanks. I have CapitalOne credit cards with zero foreign exchange fees for foreign transaction. Never use debit card to withdraw money from Thailand ATM. If I withdraw cash using CapitalOne debit card, there is no ATM fees and the rate is better than Wise? I did not know that. Will try to test it out one day when I am in Thailand. 

You missed the last sentence of my post.  There ARE fees when using your CapitalOne card at ATMs in Thailand.

[asiacurious]

15 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

That combination of good rate and zero fees gives the most ฿ per $ for cash withdrawals at the counter in Bangkok bank (or any other Thai bank that charges no fee for that service).  You get the same exchange rate at the ATM but are hit with the 220 ฿ fee charged for foreign debit cards.

I've only ever used an overseas ATM card at ATMs in Thailand.  How does doing cash withdrawals at a bank counter work?  Do I walk in, give them my foreign ATM card, enter my PIN, and they give me the cash, but no fee?

 

No fee is would be nice!

 

 

 

[fondue zoo]

Say they open the package and record the name, card number, expiry date and cvc number on the back.

When the card is set to Active would it still be a security risk?

I've got two cards I want sent and have been looking at options.

Edited April 1, 2022 by fondue zoo

[puck2]

On 3/30/2022 at 9:27 PM, Gottfrid said:

DHL is the only trusted choice in my world.

For me the problem seems not to be DHL or another service, but the BKK-Airtport service. One time I received my card after 2 1/² weeks. 3x it took 6 weeks, only after reclaming. I learnt by tracking where the letter had "rested".

[Gottfrid]

1 minute ago, puck2 said:

For me the problem seems not to be DHL or another service, but the BKK-Airtport service. One time I received my card after 2 1/² weeks. 3x it took 6 weeks, only after reclaming. I learnt by tracking where the letter had "rested".

Yes, can happen. Sometimes it get stuck in customs or just take very long time to be processed.

[Longwood50]

I sent an interntional drivers license using DHL.  It was $75

 

I have sent and received mail using Thai Post and the USPS to Thailand.  Takes 3 to 4 weeks. 

You might consider having your friend send you a book.  Peel the end paper on the front or rear of the book insert the card between the end paper and the book cover and then glue back into place.  It would conceal the fact it is a debit card.