Credit card fees

[CallumWK]

I'm currently applying for a credit card with Kasikorn

Going through the terms and conditions, I stumbled on the below remark, which I find very strange, as I would think Visa and MasterCard are able to convert any major currency directly to Thai baht.

I called Kasikorn call center, and they didn't have a suiting answer. I look on the UOB website, and they have an identical remark for their credit cards.

Since an overseas payment carries a 2.5% bank fee on top of the exchange rate, does this mean that there are 2 exchanges if your transaction is for example in Euro, and as such also 2 x 2.5% fee?

Even if not twice a fee, exchanging from Euro to USD, and then from USD to THB, for sure will result in an unfavorable exchange rate.

 

 

 

 

And can anyone explain what these fees are?

 

[scubascuba3]

2.5% is too high anyway, my UK card is 0%, but they won't charge you twice, otherwise no one would use the card for foreign transactions

[CallumWK]

We are not in the UK, and all banks in Thailand charge the same fee of 2.5%

While there may be no fees for certain credit cards in the UK, I see that the average charges even higher fees

 

I see HSBC charges 2.99% and Santander the same, while Santander charges 2.95%

 

[JackGats]

Yes but in this case on top of the fee you stand to lose some money on the exchange rate. In this case there are two exchange rates, not just one.

 

I understand this is what happens if your money is in Euros and you bank in South America. The Euros get exchanged to USD, then to Pesos or whatever. It's one of the things that make living in South America less attractive if you hail from Europe as opposed to the US. I'm sure technically nothing prevents the banks to go from Euros straight into Pesos, it's just that the banks and the US SWIFT mafia want to maximise their cut.

 

It gets even worse if both these exchange rates are not the "good" Visa or Master interbank rates but some less good rates invented by the bank.

 

Long live crypto!

[SAFETY FIRST]

I have kasikorn credit cards for nearly 20 years now. Never been charged fees. 

 

I was told no fees as long as I make a few transactions each month. 

 

I have 3 cards 

Never paid interest, always pay by due date. 

 

[CallumWK]

2 minutes ago, JackGats said:

It gets even worse if both these exchange rates are not the "good" Visa or Master interbank rates but some less good rates applied by the bank.

 

Credit card exchanges are never applied by the bank, and always by the credit card company, at the mid rate.

The question though is, why 2 exchanges, while Visa and MasterCard are capable to exchange directly from any major currency to Thai baht, and you even can look up that conversion rate on the Visa or Mastercard website

[scubascuba3]

58 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

We are not in the UK, and all banks in Thailand charge the same fee of 2.5%

While there may be no fees for certain credit cards in the UK, I see that the average charges even higher fees

 

I see HSBC charges 2.99% and Santander the same, while Santander charges 2.95%

 

People who know only get a UK card with 0% charges, and they get one before they move here, so quoting high charging UK cards is pointless

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I have kasikorn credit cards for nearly 20 years now. Never been charged fees. 

 

I was told no fees as long as I make a few transact each month. 

 

I 

 

Maybe try to comprehend the OP before you comment. This is not about the annual fee, which get waved if you make 12 transactions per year.

[KhunLA]

Wife's CC (ttb or BBL (?) has no fees, yearly, monthly or interest, if paid during grace period.   Only uses at vendors that off 3% rebate, or rare occasion when COD isn't available.

 

My USA plastic I use for ATM has no fees, and reimburses the silly Thai bank ATM fee.

 

No reason to have fees on your plastic, just chose financial institution a bit more wisely.

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

Maybe try to comprehend the OP before you comment. This is not about the annual fee, which get waved if you make 12 transactions per year.

Maybe Mind Your Own F business. 

 

It's a forum, the discussion is about kasikorn credit cards. 

 

At times I only make one or two transactions per month. 

[CallumWK]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

People who know only get a UK card with 0% charges, and they get one before they move here, so quoting high charging UK cards is pointless

 

As far as I can find from the info on the internet, fee free cards are prepaid cards, which have limits.

For example car rental companies, for which I would use my card when traveling, do not accept prepaid credit cards.

 

Pointless also to bring UK cards in this topic, since it is about Thai credit cards

[CallumWK]

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Wife's CC has no fees, yearly, monthly or interest, if paid during grace period.   Only uses at vendors the rebate 3%, or rare occasion when COD isn't available.

 

Try to read the OP.

Does your wife travel abroad, use her card there, and get no fees charged?

[scubascuba3]

Just now, CallumWK said:

 

As far as I can find from the info on the internet, fee free cards are prepaid cards, which have limits.

For example car rental companies, for which I would use my card when traveling, do not accept prepaid credit cards.

 

Pointless also to bring UK cards in this topic, since it is about Thai credit cards

You need to learn how to search, Halifax Clarity card is what many people use. You must be desperate if happy paying 2.5%+ on a lame credit card

[CallumWK]

3 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Maybe Mind Your Own F business. 

 

It's a forum, the discussion is about kasikorn credit cards 

 

Nope, the topic is about using your credit card abroad

[SAFETY FIRST]

4 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

Try to read the OP.

Does your wife travel abroad, use her card there, and get no fees charged?

Yes, as above, you need to learn how to search and not to be hostile on forums 

[KhunLA]

6 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

Try to read the OP.

Does your wife travel abroad, use her card there, and get no fees charged?

I did an edit, while you were typing, and my USA card have no fees, and reimburses and silly Thai banks ATM fee.

 

... "My USA plastic I use for ATM has no fees, and reimburses the silly Thai bank ATM fee.

 

No reason to have fees on your plastic, just chose financial institution a bit more wisely." ...

 

Didn't read OP, since on my 'list'.  Only read your follow up, since it did follow mine.

 

I should have wrote my usual, when not reading the OP ...

... "to the title" ...

 

Oh well, carry on 

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 minute ago, CallumWK said:

 

Nope, the topic is about using your credit card abroad

The topic is CREDIT CARD FEES 

[CallumWK]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You need to learn how to search, Halifax Clarity card is what many people use. You must be desperate if happy paying 2.5%+ on a lame credit card

 

You must be desperate continuing talking about UK credit cards, since this is about Thai credit cards used abroad, and there is no other choice as to pay the 2.5% fee, happy or not happy

[bamnutsak]

If you plan to travel outside of Thailand and assuming you have a KBank account, maybe consider getting companion (to the Visa credit card) KBank Journey card?

 

 https://www.kasikornbank.com/th/personal/debit-card/pages/journey.aspx

 

Other banks here have similar travel cards, I use the SCB Planet card.

 

I'd also look at Thai reviews of the specific credit card you are considering. 

[CallumWK]

4 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

If you plan to travel outside of Thailand and assuming you have a KBank account, maybe consider getting companion (to the Visa credit card) KBank Journey card?

 

 https://www.kasikornbank.com/th/personal/debit-card/pages/journey.aspx

 

Other banks here have similar travel cards, I use the SCB Planet card.

 

I'd also look at Thai reviews of the specific credit card you are considering. 

 

The journey card is a debit card, while SCB planet is a prepaid card. Car rental companies, for which I will need a CC card when traveling abroad, do not accept debit cards or prepaid credit cards.

[CallumWK]

21 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I did an edit, while you were typing, and my USA card have no fees, and reimburses and silly Thai banks ATM fee.

 

... "My USA plastic I use for ATM has no fees, and reimburses the silly Thai bank ATM fee.

 

No reason to have fees on your plastic, just chose financial institution a bit more wisely." ...

 

Didn't read OP, since on my 'list'.  Only read your follow up, since it did follow mine.

 

I should have wrote my usual, when not reading the OP ...

... "to the title" ...

 

Oh well, carry on 

 

So I have the option to choose a card from a US financial institution, while I'm not a US citizen? Or you can tell me about a Thai bank that doesn't charge the 2.5% fee on top of the conversion rate, when using the Credit card abroad?

[blackcab]

1.2 A collection expense fee is a monthly amount/fee charged when your account is overdue/past payment/you haven't paid the minimum amount. You won't ever see this if your account is in good standing.

 

1.3 This is a percentage amount added if you use your card to pay for Thai government fees such as Land and Building Tax at your District Office.

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, blackcab said:

1.2 A collection expense fee is a monthly amount/fee charged when your account is overdue/past payment/you haven't paid the minimum amount. You won't ever see this if your account is in good standing.

 

1.3 This is a percentage amount added if you use your card to pay for Thai government fees such as Land and Building Tax at your District Office.

 

Thanks for the explanation, so that clearly are fees that can be avoided.

[bamnutsak]

15 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

The journey card is a debit card, while SCB planet is a prepaid card. Car rental companies, for which I will need a CC card when traveling abroad, do not accept debit cards or prepaid credit cards.

 

 

I assumed that you would also be getting a standard credit card from KBank. Hence the use of the word "Companion".

 

 

I don't think there are (m)any local Thai credit cards with zero foreign transaction fee. This topic has come up quite a few times here and a search/review didn't yield any options.

 

 

I don't think you can get a card issued in the U.S., where we do have quite a few options - I have three cards, all with zero foreign transaction fees, and two of which have no annual fees.

 

 

[SMIAI]

🙂 Don't concern yourself with being doubly charged.

 

Refer to 

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

&

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

 

for reference, by putting 2.5% in the relevant box and the currencies involved.

[CallumWK]

1 minute ago, SMIAI said:

🙂 Don't concern yourself with being doubly charged.

 

Refer to 

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

&

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

 

for reference, by putting 2.5% in the relevant box and the currencies involved.

 

I know I can look up direct conversion rates from Euro to THB of Visa and Mastercard websites, but why all banks have this remark in their terms and conditions? If it was only for certain currencies, I'm sure it would be mentioned, but this clearly states any currency not being USD.

So maybe there will not be a double charge but if there is an exchange EURO > USD > THB, the end result will obviously be less favorable than EURO > THB.

 

[SMIAI]

You aren't paying attention. What they state is absolutely normal and the rate that you will get is the one indicated via the converter supplied. Don't continue to make more of it.

[blackcab]

Regarding conversation of foreign currency to USD and then to home currency (THB), this is how the majority of cards work, and not just in Thailand.

 

Card companies do this to manage risk and standardise procedures. They don't want to have to directly convert two obscure currencies because their wouldn't be much of a market for it and the rates would be horrific.

 

If you hired a car in Kazakhstan, they might struggle to exchange Tenge directly to Baht.

 

Does this rule benefit them with major currencies such as Euro, Pound, Yen, etc? Of course, they wouldn't have it any other way. 

[CallumWK]

4 minutes ago, blackcab said:

Regarding conversation of foreign currency to USD and then to home currency (THB), this is how the majority of cards work, and not just in Thailand.

 

Card companies do this to manage risk and standardise procedures. They don't want to have to directly convert two obscure currencies because their wouldn't be much of a market for it and the rates would be horrific.

 

If you hired a car in Kazakhstan, they might struggle to exchange Tenge directly to Baht.

 

Does this rule benefit them with major currencies such as Euro, Pound, Yen, etc? Of course, they wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

I understand your logic in case of Kazakhstan, but we are talking about Euro, which is a major currency.

But why the option to look up the conversion rate on their website, if they not gonna use it?

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, CallumWK said:

 

You must be desperate continuing talking about UK credit cards, since this is about Thai credit cards used abroad, and there is no other choice as to pay the 2.5% fee, happy or not happy

I'm interested how you continue to be obnoxious in every thread you are in