Do all Thai ATMs charge 200 Baht fees except Aeon ATMs?

[gastos]

Hi there, 

If all banks charge 200 Bahts of ATM fees no matter which color banks you use and the exchange rate are all determined by MasterCard or Visa, wouldn't it not make any differences no matter what bank you use? Which means we can just take our Schwab DC and just walk into any bank's ATMs and withdraw 10k Baht when we need cash?

 

Also are Aeon ATMs always superior because they charge less fees and yield the same exchange rate Dollar to Baht?

 

Also how much Baht can we withdraw at most at one bank's or Aeon's ATM? 10000? 15000? 20000?

 

Also are there no-fee Thai atms out there as of April 2022?

 

Also are the exchange rates of each ATMs really identical as determined by Visa or MasterCard?

[scubascuba3]

the visa or MasterCard rate depends on your own card, does Schwab add commission or you get exactly the rate?

 

Banks vary on how much you can withdraw, i think Krungsri maybe higher.

 

All ATMs charge a fee usually 200-220 baht

Edited April 17, 2022 by scubascuba3

[Stocky]

13 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

i think Krungsri maybe higher

Yes, Krungsri are 30K.

 

But since Wise, if I need money from overseas in a hurry, I just Wise to my local bank. Saves being screwed both ends with ATM charges and once again with the exchange rate. However I understand this isn't an option if you don't have a local bank account. 

 

 

[Bruno123]

46 minutes ago, gastos said:

Hi there, 

If all banks charge 200 Bahts of ATM fees no matter which color banks you use and the exchange rate are all determined by MasterCard or Visa, wouldn't it not make any differences no matter what bank you use? Which means we can just take our Schwab DC and just walk into any bank's ATMs and withdraw 10k Baht when we need cash?

 

Also are Aeon ATMs always superior because they charge less fees and yield the same exchange rate Dollar to Baht?

 

Also how much Baht can we withdraw at most at one bank's or Aeon's ATM? 10000? 15000? 20000?

 

Also are there no-fee Thai atms out there as of April 2022?

 

Also are the exchange rates of each ATMs really identical as determined by Visa or MasterCard?

Depends on where you live. Last time I checked Bank of China were the only ones not charging. Don't know about now.

[mtls2005]

AEON remains 150 THB.

 

41 minutes ago, gastos said:

wouldn't it not make any differences no matter what bank you use?

Same-same as long as you decline DCC.

 

42 minutes ago, gastos said:

Which means we can just take our Schwab DC and just walk into any bank's ATMs and withdraw 10k Baht when we need cash?

Yes.

 

Your card has a limit, both per transaction and total daily. It might be $15,000 total daily  with Schwab but review the terms and conditions.

 

You can do a counter/teller cash withdrawal, again up to $15,000 with Schwab.

 

ATMs have physical limits, size of dispensing slot. These range up to 30,000 THB, broadly speaking. There are newer machines, like those at SCB, which use the trough method, so they may be able to dispense more.

 

 

46 minutes ago, gastos said:

Also are Aeon ATMs always superior because they charge less fees and yield the same exchange rate Dollar to Baht?

Doesn't matter with Schwab as the ATM fee is reimbursed.

 

46 minutes ago, gastos said:

Aeon's ATM?

Not sure. Thinking 20,000 maybe. Try more report back.

 

47 minutes ago, gastos said:

Also are there no-fee Thai atms out there as of April 2022?

Maybe BoC? Otherwise, no.

 

47 minutes ago, gastos said:

Also are the exchange rates of each ATMs really identical as determined by Visa or MasterCard?

Yes, assuming you have a Visa or MC ATM debit card.

 

There may slight intra-day changes.  

 

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

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

 

 

Your questions have been posed many, many, many, many times here so a search might yield additional valuable detail for you.

 

 

 

[skatewash]

Yes, you will get the daily country exchange rate for the network for which your ATM/Debit card is branded (Visa or Mastercard).  This will be the same at any ATM as long as you don't ask for Dynamic Currency Conversion (where you see the withdrawal amont in your home currency and is NEVER a good idea).

The standard fee is 220 baht per ATM withdrawal on a foreign ATM/Debit card, but AEON is only 150 baht.  The maximum withdrawal amount varies by bank with most being 20,000 baht, but Krugsri (yellow) Bank being 30,000 and Bangkok (dark blue) Bank being 25,000.

The information in this article is mostly good although they misstate the maximum withdrawal amount from Bangkok Bank which is 25,000 baht not 20,000:

https://findyouthere.com/using-atms-in-thailand-rates-limits-and-more/

Edited April 17, 2022 by skatewash

[Gottfrid]

Seems to me that the fees are far too much for you. They might be free at home. ???? 

[KhunBENQ]

46 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

AEON remains 150 THB.

And limits to 20000 per transaction independent from the card limit.

150/20000=0.75%

Compared to an ATM that gives 30k:

220/30000=0.73%

 

AEON is out since they introduced the fee plus limitation.

In the good old times I withdrew a maximum of 98000 Baht with no fee.

 

For Transferwise from EUR I pay about 0.62% and a rate that is the currency market rate which can't be beaten at the time of transaction.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by KhunBENQ

[Mickeem]

59 minutes ago, Bruno123 said:

Depends on where you live. Last time I checked Bank of China were the only ones not charging. Don't know about now.

Correct .. I used the BOC Chiang Mai branch ATM a couple of months back .. no charge for overseas Mastercard they don't accept Visa cards

 

 

 

 

[gastos]

Man these up-to-date information is extremely important and helpful!

 

Schwab uses a visa debit card and has a 1000 USD a day limit. 

 

So I guess the winner here is Krung Sri, aka the Yellow Bank, and the lowest fee option is to simply withdraw 30000 THB at a time. 

 

Also how do I make sure that the ATM machine has enough cash? I have encountered in Turkey multiple times that the ATM does NOT have enough cash and therefore wasting time and money travelling to that ATM. Most large bank ATMs especially the in-branch ATMs do have enough cash but not the Post Office ATMs, which frequently run out of cash in Antalya Turkey. 

 

So best option is do 30000 at Krung Sri, then 20000 at Aeon, then 20000 at other banks.

 

Couldn't do Schwab at Bank of China ATM since they don't accept Visa Debit Cards right? 

[blackcab]

28 minutes ago, gastos said:

Also how do I make sure that the ATM machine has enough cash?

 

There is no way for a user to determine this. From experience, however, it is very infrequent that an ATM does not have 30k in it. If this is the case your transaction will be declined anyway, or you would be asked if you are happy to accept 500 baht notes.

[skatewash]

6 minutes ago, gastos said:

Man these up-to-date information is extremely important and helpful!

 

Schwab uses a visa debit card and has a 1000 USD a day limit. 

 

So I guess the winner here is Krung Sri, aka the Yellow Bank, and the lowest fee option is to simply withdraw 30000 THB at a time. 

 

Also how do I make sure that the ATM machine has enough cash? I have encountered in Turkey multiple times that the ATM does NOT have enough cash and therefore wasting time and money travelling to that ATM. Most large bank ATMs especially the in-branch ATMs do have enough cash but not the Post Office ATMs, which frequently run out of cash in Antalya Turkey. 

 

So best option is do 30000 at Krung Sri, then 20000 at Aeon, then 20000 at other banks.

 

Couldn't do Schwab at Bank of China ATM since they don't accept Visa Debit Cards right? 

You can get 25,000 baht from a Bangkok Bank per withdrawal. 

The best ATMs to use I think are the ones outside branches of the same bank as the ATM.  Two reasons why.  If used during the business hours the branch is open you can notify the bank easily if it doesn't return your card or short-changes you on the withdrawal.  Sometimes they will even open up the machine and resolve your problem while you wait.  Second, they tend to not run out of money as soon as some other ATM locations. 

Read the screen, sometimes it will tell you pretty early in the process (as soon as you indicate you are wanting to do a withdrawal) what denominations are currently available.  So for example, if the 1,000s are gone and only 500s are available you are only going to get a maximum of 6,000 baht from a Krungsri Bank ATM in that circumstance.  The machine will only dispense 30 bills at a time.

[skatewash]

A few years ago, I tried to use my Charles Schwab ATM card to withdraw 30,000 baht from a Krungsri Bank ATM.  It was declined.  Tried again.  Declined again.  Assumed the ATM must be out of money, so used the Bangkok Bank ATM right next to it.  It worked, dispensed the most it could, 25,000 baht.

Was looking at the exchange rate later that day and realized what the problem really was.  The exchange rate that day was less than 30 baht per USD, so when I tried to withdraw 30,000 baht I was, in fact, attempting to exceed the $1,000 USD maximum withdrawal limit imposed by Schwab. ????

Hasn't been a problem since then, as the USD/THB exchange rate has remained more favorable.

[gastos]

18 minutes ago, skatewash said:

A few years ago, I tried to use my Charles Schwab ATM card to withdraw 30,000 baht from a Krungsri Bank ATM.  It was declined.  Tried again.  Declined again.  Assumed the ATM must be out of money, so used the Bangkok Bank ATM right next to it.  It worked, dispensed the most it could, 25,000 baht.

Was looking at the exchange rate later that day and realized what the problem really was.  The exchange rate that day was less than 30 baht per USD, so when I tried to withdraw 30,000 baht I was, in fact, attempting to exceed the $1,000 USD maximum withdrawal limit imposed by Schwab. ????

Hasn't been a problem since then, as the USD/THB exchange rate has remained more favorable.

Fantastic Information dear sir! 

 

Also great to know that when the 1000 THB bills run out Krung Sri can only spit out 30x500 THB which is 15000 THB worth of withdrawal is that what you mean?

 

Also do Thai banks have these fancy in-branch ATMs such as the ones Chase have in their branches? 

 

But yes the ones attached right on the outside of the bank's branches seems to be a lot more reliable especially if we only do the withdrawals during business hours. 

 

Do Thai banks have lunch breaks? Turkish banks all have lunch breaks which they would close the door and refuse entry from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm and reopen til 5 pm. 

 

Yes according to the current exchange rate as of April 17 2022 to withdraw 30k THB it should be around 895 USD so Sch's 1000 a day limit shouldn't be bothered

[skatewash]

12 minutes ago, gastos said:

Fantastic Information dear sir! 

 

Also great to know that when the 1000 THB bills run out Krung Sri can only spit out 30x500 THB which is 15000 THB worth of withdrawal is that what you mean?

 

Also do Thai banks have these fancy in-branch ATMs such as the ones Chase have in their branches? 

 

But yes the ones attached right on the outside of the bank's branches seems to be a lot more reliable especially if we only do the withdrawals during business hours. 

 

Do Thai banks have lunch breaks? Turkish banks all have lunch breaks which they would close the door and refuse entry from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm and reopen til 5 pm. 

 

Yes according to the current exchange rate as of April 17 2022 to withdraw 30k THB it should be around 895 USD so Sch's 1000 a day limit shouldn't be bothered

Well, yes,if I hadn't made a math error that's what I would have meant, 15,000. ???? 

Thai banks don't close for lunch.  We don't have siesta although it's certainly hot enough here to justify it.

Another reason to prefer ATMs outside of banks is that they are less likely to have skimmer devices that people sometimes put on the ATMs to record data from your ATM card.  An ATM in front of a bank is slightly less vulnerable to being messed with than an ATM in some dark, out of the way place.  Not a huge problem, but something to be aware of that does happen from time to time.

[mtls2005]

12 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

And limits to 20000 per transaction independent from the card limit.

150/20000=0.75%

Compared to an ATM that gives 30k:

220/30000=0.73%

Interesting but immaterial as the OP gets any fees reimbursed.

 

And for me, Fidelity has a $500 per transaction limit, so always less than 20,000; fee also rebated.

 

TBH, I have BBL and SCB account so rarely use my Fidelity ATM Debit card here in thailand.

 

I just realized that the OP has already posted a similar thread running.

 

Given that their ATM debit card reimburses fees and the exchange rate is determined by Visa the OP is overthinking this issue.

 

 

[gastos]

8 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Interesting but immaterial as the OP gets any fees reimbursed.

 

And for me, Fidelity has a $500 per transaction limit, so always less than 20,000; fee also rebated.

 

TBH, I have BBL and SCB account so rarely use my Fidelity ATM Debit card here in thailand.

 

I just realized that the OP has already posted a similar thread running.

 

Given that their ATM debit card reimburses fees and the exchange rate is determined by Visa the OP is overthinking this issue.

 

 

Yes Fido has a 500 a day limit, that's why the majority of my for-withdrawal cash are stored in the Schwab checking acct.

 

I called Fido last year to attempt to raise my daily withdrawal limit but they could not and advised me the only way around is to open another Fido account. Which there's no point to it unless one refuses to open accounts with Schwab. 

[chricha]

My experience with ATMs is that all charge 220 Baht except Citibank in Bangkok - for Citibank customers only I guess.

I withdrew 50,000 Baht in one fee free transaction on 6th April and the rate was a competitive 24.52 to $AUD.

But was advised that Citibank will be gone from 1st July!

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/14/citi-to-sell-consumer-banking-operations-to-uob-in-malaysia-indonesia.html

Guess that means I'll have to pay everywhere!

 

Not all ATMS can dispense more than 20,000 but the newer ones in Lotus and Macro can give 25,000 and I have seen 30,000 on some.

The daily limit is based on the card and for mine the upper limit is $3000 or about B75,000.

Never use the local bank conversion as you'll drop another 3% - for the last question about conversion always slect the last answer.

But have noticed my preferred Bangkok bank ATMs don't ask this any more. After agreeing to 220 baht it just dispenses the money!

 

 

[JimGant]

On 4/17/2022 at 11:50 PM, gastos said:

But yes the ones attached right on the outside of the bank's branches seems to be a lot more reliable especially if we only do the withdrawals during business hours. 

Yeah, but if your're going to your bank to do an ATM withdrawal, why not go inside with your passbook and withdrawal slip? We need about 100k in baht per month, so the wife goes to our bank at the first of the month and goes to the counter to get this amount. I guess she could stand outside the bank, at the ATM machine, and do 4 withdrawals -- suffering sore fingers and nasty stares from the line behind her. But why? I guess if the dollar had appreciated since our last WISE transfer, then, yeah the Visa rate would give a better FX rate. But this seesaws over time, so a better FX rate over time is irrelevant.

 

But, if traveling, this ATM discussion is relevant. Otherwise -- unless you don't have a local bank account but only your foreign ATM/debit card -- ATM withdrawals are inefficient.