Credit Card Charges

[JimmyTheMook]

Would a US based Credit Card use the offshore xchange rate for any charges made inside Thailand?

[asiaexpat]

Would a US based Credit Card use the offshore xchange rate for any charges made inside Thailand?

All of my US and Korean credit cards charge off shore rates plus premium. Some US cards add 3% to all overseas purchases.

[Carmine6]

Would a US based Credit Card use the offshore xchange rate for any charges made inside Thailand?

In June I used my Amex business card to make a 5,035 baht transaction in Thailand. It was charged through as $149.19, or 33.75 baht per dollar.

Per Bangkok Bank's website, their rate for the days around the transaction was 34.17 to 34.23 for exchanging $100 bills and 34.44 to 34.50 for wire transfers. My ATM withdrawals around that time were 34.40 and 34.51.

The offshore rate at that time was about 32.78 to 32.81.

For some reason Amex charged the onshore rate plus their 2%. If it had gone at 32.78 it would have been $153.60 and $156.67 with 2%. That was the only credit card transaction that I had so I'm not sure if Visa and Mastercard would have been similar.

[Maestro]

Generally, credit cards, ie cards that invoice you monthly, use the offshore rate.

Debit cards and ATM cards, ie cards that debit each transactions immediately to your account, generally use the onshore rate, but there may be exceptions, particularly by banks who realise that they can make extra money by using the offshore rate and decide to take advantage of this.

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Maestro

[JimGant]

Generally, credit cards, ie cards that invoice you monthly, use the offshore rate.

Usually, no. Here is the rate Visa offers its member banks: Visa Baht Rates

It's definitely the "onshore" rate, approximating the Interbank Exchange Rate, which, at 10-20 satang above the Telex rate, is the best rate you're going to find. Unfortunately, Visa's (and Mastercard's) 1% Foreign Transaction Fee (they now call it the "International Service Assessment"), plus the 2-3% extra being tacked on by most of the big banks, makes wiring money -- and using in-country plastic -- a viable alternative. Nevertheless, some financial operations (notably, Nationwide and Capital One) don't pass on the 1% Foreign Transaction Fee. And some smaller banks/credit unions don't add anything to the 1% Foreign Transaction Fee -- and some offer a 1% cash reward on purchases, which then brings you back to the Interbank Exchange Rate. Obviously, shopping around can pay off -- and the small guys would seem to get the nod.

If you click on the "questions" link found in the Visa Baht Rates link, above, you'll find a lot of good info. One quote should get your attention:

Visa makes this rate available to issuing banks, which may adjust the rate in billing cardholders.

So, if your issuing bank wants to ignore Visa (and Mastercard) rates -- and gouge you with the offshore rate (or some rate in between) -- they can certainly do it. (And a few months back, Mastercard/Cirrus appeared to be using the offshore rates. But it was never certain whether it was some member banks -- or the Cirrus network -- that was at fault.)

Because of a recent court case, US financial institutions are supposed to divulge foreign transaction charges. So, on most monthly statements, you'll see and extra line with foreign charges, indicating the fee(s) charged. But, you won't find anything about the exchange rate used -- this you'll have to root out yourself with a calculator and known rates. And good luck trying to get a straight answer if you ask them how they figure their exchange rates. Most don't know what you're talking about -- or are fantastic tap dancers.

Debit cards and ATM cards, ie cards that debit each transactions immediately to your account, generally use the onshore rate, but there may be exceptions, particularly by banks who realise that they can make extra money by using the offshore rate and decide to take advantage of this.

Yes. And so too with credit cards.

[Lancelot]

Would a US based Credit Card use the offshore xchange rate for any charges made inside Thailand?

All of my US and Korean credit cards charge off shore rates plus premium. Some US cards add 3% to all overseas purchases.

Yes, my experience as well. (with my US credit card)