Fee Free Debit cards for ATM

[JimmyJ]

Betterment ($510/day every day) for the Checking account (and their Cash Reserve account pays 1.10%);

Charles Schwab ($1k/day);

Fidelity Investments.

 

No service fees, no minimums (at least for the 1st 2 mentioned).

 

They get charged the 220THB Thai ATM fee, and refund it.

 

setbkk - "Charles Schwab and First Republic Bank. Probably many othrrs."

 

First Republic ATM Rebate Checking - 

1) Only available in limited areas;

2) Requires $3500 minimum balance (although paying a whopping one thousandth of 1% interest) to avoid paying $35/month service fee.

 

"Probably many othrrs."

Negatory.

 

Skatewash mentioned about 7 years ago opening a Schwab account using a "virtual mailbox".

 

7 years ago was about the end of any financial institution accepting those as a primary Residence.

A definite no go today.

 

 

_NOTE - I am not intentionally using Bold - this website is forcing it).

 

 

[pomchop]

8 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Betterment ($510/day every day) for the Checking account (and their Cash Reserve account pays 1.10%);

Charles Schwab ($1k/day);

Fidelity Investments.

 

No service fees, no minimums (at least for the 1st 2 mentioned).

 

They get charged the 220THB Thai ATM fee, and refund it.

 

setbkk - "Charles Schwab and First Republic Bank. Probably many othrrs."

 

First Republic ATM Rebate Checking - 

1) Only available in limited areas;

2) Requires $3500 minimum balance (although paying a whopping one thousandth of 1% interest) to avoid paying $35/month service fee.

 

"Probably many othrrs."

Negatory.

 

Skatewash mentioned about 7 years ago opening a Schwab account using a "virtual mailbox".

 

7 years ago was about the end of any financial institution accepting those as a primary Residence.

A definite no go today.

 

 

NOTE - I am not intentionally using Bold - this website is forcing it.

 

 

thank you...i opened charles swab which seems best deal as no min balance , easy to transfer funds into it etc etc....i do have a kasikorn account but haven't been there in 2.5 years and think account is dead and atm card expired and not sure if they will open another one for me...last one was done in chiang rai years ago and seems every time i wanted to do anything serious in bkk they told me i had to do it from CR .........anyway...thanks for all the good tips from many on this thread...

[JimmyJ]

11 minutes ago, pomchop said:

thank you...i opened charles swab which seems best deal as no min balance , easy to transfer funds into it etc etc....i do have a kasikorn account but haven't been there in 2.5 years and think account is dead and atm card expired and not sure if they will open another one for me...last one was done in chiang rai years ago and seems every time i wanted to do anything serious in bkk they told me i had to do it from CR .........anyway...thanks for all the good tips from many on this thread...

Schwab for years has had a $100 bonus for opening both  a Checking Account and a Brokerage account for newbies.

 

I realize you already opened an account - 

Excellent cs there - research it, then call them during regular US biz hours and ask for it - shouldn't be difficult.

 

 

 

[JimmyJ]

Definitely possible to withdraw over 500 USD in 1 transaction from Schwab via Thai ATM without account being locked.

 

 

[rwill]

13 hours ago, skatewash said:

In my experience I am able to take up to $1,000 equivalent out of Krungsri Bank ATM (maximum of 30,000 baht) in a single withdrawal, so in my case that is my single withdrawal and daily withdrawal maximum with Schwab ATM Debit card.  This is the "High-yield" checking account.

Yes.  I am on Schwab One International account.  I don't maintain an address in the US.

[KhunLA]

9 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Definitely possible to withdraw over 500 USD in 1 transaction from Schwab via Thai ATM without account being locked.

 

 

Yes, most, if not all TH ATMs will disperse 20k baht, or more.  BBL will do 25k, I think, as will for 'their' ATM card.

[rickudon]

Someone asked about UK/EU cards, and i think no bank refunds the Thai ATM fee. Their are some cards which are fee free (for charges applied by the issuing bank) for certain card types, including ATM withdrawals (i use UK Halifax Clarity credit card).

I never use ATMs in Thailand, if possible, due to the Thai fee. I do a counter withdrawal with my credit card once a month, get a great rate on the card (usually better than Wise), just have to pay off quickly to avoid interest on the card. You may have to search around for a bank branch that will do free Counter withdrawals, in my experience branches in Malls often do not.

[gk10012001]

My Etrade reimburses ATM fees in the USA but they stopped reimbursing fees from overseas ATMs many years ago.  I am about to open a CS account as my portfolios have grown and a better company that at least addresses international issues is on my list.  I wonder how CS is at handling monthly retirement deposits to Thailand?  Etrade does NOT have any sort of automatic transfer and I hate the idea of having to wrestle with their form all the time.  I would love to set up a regular monthly transfer to Thailand for my OA retirement extension monthly income method.  Set it up for the middle of each month so there is plenty of time for me to check that the transfer worked properly, was properly foreign transaction coded etc

[KhunLA]

5 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

My Etrade reimburses ATM fees in the USA but they stopped reimbursing fees from overseas ATMs many years ago.  I am about to open a CS account as my portfolios have grown and a better company that at least addresses international issues is on my list.  I wonder how CS is at handling monthly retirement deposits to Thailand?  Etrade does NOT have any sort of automatic transfer and I hate the idea of having to wrestle with their form all the time.  I would love to set up a regular monthly transfer to Thailand for my OA retirement extension monthly income method.  Set it up for the middle of each month so there is plenty of time for me to check that the transfer worked properly, was properly foreign transaction coded etc

Take a peek at Fidelity Investments, as you can set up monthly transfer, no fee.  Receiving bank may have a fee though.  Also their 'Cash Management' account ATM card reimburses foreign ATM fees, and is also no fee from FID.

[gk10012001]

4 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Take a peek at Fidelity Investments, as you can set up monthly transfer, no fee.  Receiving bank may have a fee though.  Also their 'Cash Management' account ATM card reimburses foreign ATM fees, and is also no fee from FID.

I thought Fidelity had issues with people calling or updating things while overseas?  Maybe it was just they would not let one open a new account(s) while overseas

[KhunLA]

2 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

I thought Fidelity had issues with people calling or updating things while overseas?  Maybe it was just they would not let one open a new account(s) while overseas

Are you keeping a USA 'home' address ?

[gk10012001]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

Are you keeping a USA 'home' address ?

yes always.  I would not be giving up my USA presence.  Own and rent and will be returning home 2 or 3 times a year.  Just will be getting O multiple entry for convenience.  And wondering about dealing with fidelity while overseas.  Calling with my phone if I have to get a Thai Sim card, if my email shows me logging in from overseas, or if the Fidelity website pukes at seeing a foreign IP address, etc.  But I like the idea of monthly auto

[gk10012001]

Just now, gk10012001 said:

yes always.  I would not be giving up my USA presence.  Own and rent and will be returning home 2 or 3 times a year.  Just will be getting O multiple entry for convenience.  And wondering about dealing with fidelity while overseas.  Calling with my phone if I have to get a Thai Sim card, if my email shows me logging in from overseas, or if the Fidelity website pukes at seeing a foreign IP address, etc.  But I like the idea of monthly auto

and still working a few more months.  Thought I was punching out two years ago, but covid made world and USA travel a pain so I kept doshing up.  that;s ok.  My SSA benefits have gone up over 2k a year each year I postponed.  Medicare is more pricey than I would like, so I have to watch my investments income, IRA withdrawals, dividends, etc and tax wise and Medicare wise premium things to find the sweet spots

[KhunLA]

5 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

yes always.  I would not be giving up my USA presence.  Own and rent and will be returning home 2 or 3 times a year.  Just will be getting O multiple entry for convenience.  And wondering about dealing with fidelity while overseas.  Calling with my phone if I have to get a Thai Sim card, if my email shows me logging in from overseas, or if the Fidelity website pukes at seeing a foreign IP address, etc.  But I like the idea of monthly auto

Fid doesn't care, as I've been here 22 yrs, keep an USA address, and now use my ATM about once every 2 or 3 month.  Down from at least 2 or 3 times a month.  Now have SS DD, which alone is enough for retirement visa.  I use the ATM to bring my pittance of a pension over as can only be DD in USA financial institution.  I could wire it over, but I think BBL charges 200-500 baht for incoming.

 

Also use the Fid ATM/VISA for online purchases if COD not available, though that is getting rare anymore.  Don't have a Thai bank ATM, as I won't pay fees to access my own money.

[gk10012001]

59 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Fid doesn't care, as I've been here 22 yrs, keep an USA address, and now use my ATM about once every 2 or 3 month.  Down from at least 2 or 3 times a month.  Now have SS DD, which alone is enough for retirement visa.  I use the ATM to bring my pittance of a pension over as can only be DD in USA financial institution.  I could wire it over, but I think BBL charges 200-500 baht for incoming.

 

Also use the Fid ATM/VISA for online purchases if COD not available, though that is getting rare anymore.  Don't have a Thai bank ATM, as I won't pay fees to access my own money.

yeah, I just passed 65 and my social security is actually going to be over 3K usd a month if I start it in january.  Plenty for a modest living, and yes, I understand the SS direct deposit into USA bank accounts only.  Luckily I doshed up quite a bit and have twice my SS coming in right now as dividends and interest in my IRAs I accumulated over the years.  Now time to trade off money for number of years left to live.  A few more months should wrap things up now that Thailand is or may be getting back to normal a little bit

[KhunLA]

19 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

yeah, I just passed 65 and my social security is actually going to be over 3K usd a month if I start it in january.  Plenty for a modest living, and yes, I understand the SS direct deposit into USA bank accounts only.  Luckily I doshed up quite a bit and have twice my SS coming in right now as dividends and interest in my IRAs I accumulated over the years.  Now time to trade off money for number of years left to live.  A few more months should wrap things up now that Thailand is or may be getting back to normal a little bit

Watch your timing for 'full' benefit:  "If you were born between 1957 your full retirement age is 66 and 6 months If you start receiving benefits at age 66 and 6 months you get 100 percent of your monthly benefit."

 https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/1957-delay.html#:~:text=If you were born between,percent of your monthly benefit.

 

[gk10012001]

On 7/21/2022 at 8:14 PM, KhunLA said:

Watch your timing for 'full' benefit:  "If you were born between 1957 your full retirement age is 66 and 6 months If you start receiving benefits at age 66 and 6 months you get 100 percent of your monthly benefit."

 https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/1957-delay.html#:~:text=If you were born between,percent of your monthly benefit.

 

The Full retirement age is really a meaningless number.  the bottom line is, every year you wait after first eligible at 62, your benefit increases by about 7 %.  Any other names are meaningless.  the one thing that starting after full retirement age does mean, is if you start working while collecting benefits, they no longer reduce your benefit while working.  Other than that, call any year whatever you want.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/6/2022 at 4:01 AM, pomchop said:

Are there any non Thai USA type banks that allow u to take $$ from Thai ATMS with little or no fees?

"...that allow u to take $$ from Thai ATMS".

I don't know what a "Thai USA type bank" [sic] is but no ATMs in Thailand dispense USD.

[TheLaughingMan]

Anyone know of banks in Canada that have good debit cards that refund fees?