Cash advance with debit card question

[djeetyet]

For the past 3 years I've been using the debit card/cash advance system at Bangkok Bank, where I have an account, to transfer money from my American banks to Thailand. My Bangkok Bank's cash advance machine is broken and there are no other branches nearby. I am not sure when it will be fixed and I would like to take advantage of the present favorable exchange rates. Has anyone used a bank where they do NOT have a bank account to receive a debit card/cash advance? Which Thai Bank? TIA

[gamb00ler]

I think it does not matter if you have an account at the bank where you choose to do a cash advance.  As long as you don't mind walking out with all the cash you received.  I would suggest being a customer is likely to make it easier for the bank to say yes.

 

In the land of the free I often got cash advances at banks where I was not a customer.

 

I can't give a positive response to your query.  I can only say that I've asked at SCB, Kasikorn and Land and House banks.  None of them were able/willing to do a cash advance.

[djeetyet]

17 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

I can't give a positive response to your query.  I can only say that I've asked at SCB, Kasikorn and Land and House banks.  None of them were able/willing to do a cash advance.

So it sounds like Bangkok Bank is pretty much the only bank that offers this service? I really like this method of transferring money to my Thai account - it's so quick and easy.

[gamb00ler]

Hopefully you are using a debit card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee.

 

Charles Schwab and CapitalOne and some credit unions offer cards with out that fee.

[djeetyet]

1 hour ago, gamb00ler said:

Charles Schwab and CapitalOne and some credit unions offer cards with out that fee.

I have a Schwab account. I haven't seen a fee when I get a cash advance, but maybe it's "baked into" the exchange rate. I just used the Schwab debit card at BKK Bank's ATM machine even though it said there was a whopping 220B fee (!) - I did it anyway just as an experiment to see how the exchange rate worked out and if the fee was waived by Schwab, or not. 

[Olmate]

58 minutes ago, djeetyet said:

I have a Schwab account. I haven't seen a fee when I get a cash advance, but maybe it's "baked into" the exchange rate. I just used the Schwab debit card at BKK Bank's ATM machine even though it said there was a whopping 220B fee (!) - I did it anyway just as an experiment to see how the exchange rate worked out and if the fee was waived by Schwab, or not. 

Today? May I ask the rate? ATM  normal fee is 220bht  for non bank ATM

[gamb00ler]

8 hours ago, Olmate said:

Today? May I ask the rate? ATM  normal fee is 220bht  for non bank ATM

Tue thru Friday at around 7AM (Thai time) Visa publishes the exchange rate that will be in effect until the new rate is published.  That rate can be found at:

https://www.visa.co.uk/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

 

MasterCard rate is also online at:

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

 

You will have to specify that you are converting from Thai ฿ to your home currency.  Since you receive Thai ฿ at the bank, you need to specify the "From" currency as ฿ and the "To" currency as that of your foreign account.  It can seem counterintuitive.

 

[djeetyet]

On 9/29/2023 at 11:03 AM, Olmate said:

Today? May I ask the rate? ATM  normal fee is 220bht  for non bank ATM

Sorry for the slow response but the transaction took a few days to clear, probably because it was on a weekend. I withdrew 10,000B on Friday morning Sept 29th around 9 a.m. from the ATM machine in front of BKK bank. It cleared 10/02/2023. Here's what showed up in my transaction history:
 
10,000B ATM Withdrawal BANGKOK BANK: -$279.93. 
SCHWAB ATM REBATE ATM SURCHARGE WAIVED: $6.03 (credit) 
So, $279.33 - $6.03 = $273.30
10,000B/273.30 = 1U$ : 36.59B

I think a decent exchange rate. So, this worked fine, but not really efficient for transferring large sums. I am still waiting for the "Cash Advance" machine to be repaired...

[gamb00ler]

5 hours ago, djeetyet said:

I withdrew 10,000B on Friday morning Sept 29th around 9 a.m. from the ATM machine in front of BKK bank. It cleared 10/02/2023. Here's what showed up in my transaction history:
 
10,000B ATM Withdrawal BANGKOK BANK: -$279.93. 
SCHWAB ATM REBATE ATM SURCHARGE WAIVED: $6.03 (credit) 
So, $279.33 - $6.03 = $273.30
10,000B/273.30 = 1U$ : 36.59B

I've only done 1 ATM withdrawal with my Schwab Visa debit card in Dec '21.  The ฿ was much higher then. 

 

I received 16K ฿ from the ATM but I think the ATM requested a withdrawal of 16,220 ฿ to include the extra fee for using foreign debit card.  $484.61 was withdrawn for the 16,220 ฿.  As in your case I was given a credit of $6.57 for the extra 220 ฿ withdrawn.

 

I would calculate my exchange rate as 16220/484.61 = 33.4702.  To check that rate I also see that 220 ฿ / 6.57 = 33.4855 which is different probably due to round off error.

[gamb00ler]

Bangkok bank seems to have stopped doing cash advances on foreign debit cards.

My last successful advance at BBL bank was in April '25 and at that time BBL had a limit of 100,000฿ for that transaction.

 

I just went last week to do another 'cash advance' at the same BBL branch for the maximum amount and it failed.  I had the teller call the bank's support line to find out the reason for the failure.  After a long time waiting she was told by the call center that BBL bank no longer allows that transaction.

 

I'm glad I went and set up a new account at Krungsri last December.  They still do cash advances for up to 150,000฿.  They charge 200฿ for advances on VISA cards but no fee on MasterCard.  I have a VISA from Schwab and a MasterCard from Capital One and both have no foreign transaction fees on their debit cards.  Capital One has a 5,000US$ limit on advances but you can request a temporary increase to 10K that will expire after 48 hours.  Their limit is moot, since Krungsri has a lower limit.

 

 

[Olmate]

12 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Bangkok bank seems to have stopped doing cash advances on foreign debit cards.

My last successful advance at BBL bank was in April '25 and at that time BBL had a limit of 100,000฿ for that transaction.

 

I just went last week to do another 'cash advance' at the same BBL branch for the maximum amount and it failed.  I had the teller call the bank's support line to find out the reason for the failure.  After a long time waiting she was told by the call center that BBL bank no longer allows that transaction.

 

I'm glad I went and set up a new account at Krungsri last December.  They still do cash advances for up to 150,000฿.  They charge 200฿ for advances on VISA cards but no fee on MasterCard.  I have a VISA from Schwab and a MasterCard from Capital One and both have no foreign transaction fees on their debit cards.  Capital One has a 5,000US$ limit on advances but you can request a temporary increase to 10K that will expire after 48 hours.  Their limit is moot, since Krungsri has a lower limit.

 

 

Why would u need to?? Unexpectedshort fall with monthly rent payment maybe! 

[gamb00ler]

21 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Why would u need to?? Unexpectedshort fall with monthly rent payment maybe! 

Have you ever built a house?  Would you not seek the most cost efficient way to move funds to where they're needed?

 

We took a pause after the house was comfortable enough to live in.  Now we are finishing up some cabinetry tasks will make our home easier to keep tidy.   I hope that's not a foreign concept to you.

 

I'm so sorry to bother you with information that others may find useful.  If I could I would keep such information from appearing on your screen.

[Olmate]

ิ

2 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Have you ever built a house?  Would you not seek the most cost efficient way to move funds to where they're needed?

 

We took a pause after the house was comfortable enough to live in.  Now we are finishing up some cabinetry tasks will make our home easier to keep tidy.   I hope that's not a foreign concept to you.

 

I'm so sorry to bother you with information that others may find useful.  If I could I would keep such information from appearing on your screen.

Cabinets really make a home, lets use our credit card?? .. "Idea dear, lets use our cash"! 😭losers build kitchen cabinets with CC... lol

[gamb00ler]

5 minutes ago, Olmate said:

ิ

Cabinets really make a home, lets use our credit card?? .. "Idea dear, lets use our cash"! 😭losers build kitchen cabinets with CC... lol

I hope you have access to a remedial reading class.  Please quote me where I suggest 'credit card'.  Maybe you're just accustomed to hanging around with losers.

 

Did the word 'debit' in the title soar over your head?

[Olmate]

18 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

I hope you have access to a remedial reading class.  Please quote me where I suggest 'credit card'.  Maybe you're just accustomed to hanging around with losers.

 

Did the word 'debit' in the title soar over your head?

U do realize credit/debit card gets the same treatment by banks xchange wise, Guess not............. .Tip... Keep some cash about the house for the small stuff, piggy bank would be ideal for you! 

[gamb00ler]

14 minutes ago, Olmate said:

U do realize credit/debit card gets the same treatment by banks xchange wise, Guess not............. .Tip... Keep some cash about the house for the small stuff, piggy bank would be ideal for you! 

and?..... do you even know where to check the VISA/MasterCard exchange rates.... I rather doubt it yet you attempt to portray yourself as knowledgeable on the topic.

 

Since you know so much when do VISA and MasterCard update their rates?  Don't lie... I know the answer.

 

Current rates:

VISA 32.42 ฿/$ no fees

MasterCard 32.26  ฿/$ no fees

WISE 32.20 (after fees) ฿/$

SCB bank TT rate 32.18 ฿/$  up to 500 ฿ in fees dependent upon amount

 

[gamb00ler]

46 minutes ago, Olmate said:

U do realize credit/debit card gets the same treatment by banks xchange wise, Guess not............. .Tip... Keep some cash about the house for the small stuff, piggy bank would be ideal for you! 

Thanks for the tip!  Speaking of tipping, you're probably one of those that save their 2฿ coins for that purpose.  At least those tips for service are worth more than the one you gave me.

[Olmate]

2 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Thanks for the tip!  Speaking of tipping, you're probably one of those that save their 2฿ coins for that purpose.  At least those tips for service are worth more than the one you gave me.

Haha, resorting to personal off topic attacks when your lame challenge re.updates to.rates dawned on you

Lol, gamble off 00!!

[gamb00ler]

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

Haha, resorting to personal off topic attacks when your lame challenge re.updates to.rates dawned on you

Lol, gamble off 00!!

You offered your tip and I commented on its value.

 

So, you're not feeling up to the challenge to your knowledge of card processing?  When are the two major card processors updating their exchange rates?

 

For bonus points, tell us how the much the Thai banks are compensated when they do a cash advance for 10K ฿ on a foreign VISA debit card.  Here's a tip... look up VISA Interchange Reimbursement.