Secured Credit Card at Bangkok Bank -- can people share their experiences?

[thailandsgreat]

I have had Bangkok Bank accounts for long time and recently got a card connected to one of them. I believe the bank told me it was an international Mastercard debit card.

 

Today I was going to try the card out and ask in Big C, Pattaya glang where I could find ATM:s for deposit. The other banks' staff told me that the Bangkok Bank office had closed and there wasn't even an ATM left in Big C, Pattaya glang! Kasikorn seems to be the top dogs there now. I have an account there too buy I usually deal with Bangkok bank.

[jacko45k]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:03 PM, Jingthing said:

 

I forget to ask whether you are required to pay the full balance each month

I believe you do, although it can be nearly 2 months later sometimes.

[jacko45k]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:03 PM, Jingthing said:

Which begs the question -- why would anyone open with more than 50K?

I wanted the CC to be able to cover my airfare purchases on-line, one time it was 2 round trip Biz Class to UK so more  than 50k somewhat!

[freeworld]

14 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I believe you do, although it can be nearly 2 months later sometimes.

It works like a real credit card.

 

At the end of each month a statement arrives with the min payment due. This way there is a balance each month and quite high interest is charged if one does not pay off the full debt.

[jacko45k]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:03 PM, Jingthing said:

As I have the BB app on my phone I assume adding to balances and paying monthly bills will be a breeze.

 

For anyone using this kind of BB card, do I have the details correct? What has been your experience? Anything else to add?

Yes it all works quite well, although of course not a true CC as you have to secure it.  The monthly bill is auto direct debit for my case.. paid off in full for current monthly statement. I even used it at Starbucks Bangkok recently as they did not take cash. 

I think the CC costs me 200/year now, but I believe I got some initial years free of charge. My remaining one is M/C, but originally I got 2. A Visa one as well, both tied to same FD account and limited use. 

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, freeworld said:

It works like a real credit card. At the end of the month a statement arrives with the min payment due.

 

On the outstanding balance of the interest is charged and added and so it goes until the whole debt is paid off.

In my case I pay off the whole bill, maybe I asked for that or it was the requirement a long time ago when I got the  cards. Never been keen on the CC interest rates which  can be rather high.

[jacko45k]

53 minutes ago, thailandsgreat said:

there wasn't even an ATM left in Big C,

Big-CX there is one ATM on the ground floor toilet corridor, but it was not working today and the 2 weekends prior the slot was not accepting cards! The branch got closed probably over a year ago.. there is one on Klang if you head towards Foodland.

[JAS21]

I had a secured CC (100k) with  Bangkok Bank for many years … but it was a real pain if I needed to query something.

 

Two plus years ago now I got an unsecured CC with Citi … 160,000Baht …I just have to pay it off every month. It’s automatically taken from my Bangkok Bank account. They are so easy to talk to and so helpful. They have allowed me a couple of times to temp up the limit. After I’d completed the purchase I just payed it off … got me a load of points though.
 

I’m retired, no work permit and 77 years old……But seems things are tightening up. I’ve had an account with CIMB for many years …wanted to open another higher interest account … no can do!

[thailandsgreat]

9 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Big-CX there is one ATM on the ground floor toilet corridor, but it was not working today and the 2 weekends prior the slot was not accepting cards! The branch got closed probably over a year ago.. there is one on Klang if you head towards Foodland.

Thanks, I just stumbled onto it. I can find the ATMs and office towards Foodland on the map. On Google maps they also have a deposit machine. Do you know how find which ATMs have deposit cash machine?

[jacko45k]

8 minutes ago, thailandsgreat said:

Do you know how find which ATMs have deposit cash machine?

I never use deposit machines but there definitely is one in Central Festival, Big C South, Second Rd, soi 6, branch near Numchai etc etc Not sure if phone app can point them out but Google Maps can find the ATMs.

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

I wanted the CC to be able to cover my airfare purchases on-line, one time it was 2 round trip Biz Class to UK so more  than 50k somewhat!

Yes of course but you can add to your limit as needed without having to tie up a bigger balance permanently.

If a person was spending big very often on it then that would be different.

But an occasional top up as needed seems much better to me.

[thailandsgreat]

47 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I never use deposit machines but there definitely is one in Central Festival, Big C South, Second Rd, soi 6, branch near Numchai etc etc Not sure if phone app can point them out but Google Maps can find the ATMs.

Deposit and passbook update worked fine at the office you described. Very close to BigC on glang so that will be fine.

Definitely a quicker way to update passbook for me than going to my branch outside Pattaya center. Just insert the passbook opened at current page and that’s it. You don't have to enter account number for deposit. All is in the card 

I just sometimes withdraw the maximum amount from home country to cut fees. Now I can easily deposit what I don't use.

The only fee I now get will be if I use ATM outside Pattaya area, I guess.

 

[jacko45k]

35 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes of course but you can add to your limit as needed without having to tie up a bigger balance permanently.

If a person was spending big very often on it then that would be different.

But an occasional top up as needed seems much better to me.

That option wasn't clear to me at the time I took on the cards,  it predated the phone app. Also the free credit of that amount looked attractive. At that time I was buying 2 Biz Class UK tickets a year. 

[JimmerJJ]

Just some FYI since there's a dearth of official information from Bangkok Bank about secured credit cards.  The Rep showed me the attached document to generally explain the process.  I took a photo (sorry about the flash) of what she asked me to review.  Spent a half hour signing stuff mostly in Thai, sometimes 4 signatures on one page. 🙄 They seem to want a Thai ID too like a DL because when I first tried at another branch my passport wasn't good enough and they asked me for a Thai Drivers License which I didn't have so they rejected me. So I went to a Thai Driving School and got one plus International permit.