What Thai bank credit card do you have?

[HampiK]

16 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

I do the same regarding the debit cards. 

 

For credit cards, some western cards have the option of being able to lock the card in the app, so offers additional protection from fraud. I would look at Thai cards to see if they have that. But I don't have any Thai credit cards. 

 

A KTC credit card has this feature to block a card temorary.. 
The fraud protection is not bad. I only had a problem 1 times till now in about more than 10 years I own Thai credit cards.

And this was handled by the bank very fast. I not even need to do something. They canceled the fraud transaction themselve, called me, to make sure this was a fraud transaction and then canceled the card and sent me a new one. Can't complain.

[G Rex]

I am retired here. I have a  Krungsri Platinum Visa card , 200 k limit. I use it for Lazada/Shopee purchases , and insurance payments mainly. I do not use it when I have to pay a surcharge. 

In Australia, I used credit cards for everything, and received good benefits, and frequent flyer points. The benefits of my Thai card is minimal.  I always pay my card off each month - so never have to pay any fees.

There is no annual fee for this card. My Australian cards - although giving me some perks, always had a not unsubstantial annual fee.  

 

[MangoKorat]

Can I just butt in here and ask a question?  I don't have any credit cards and don't really want one but on the odd occasion not having one has caused me problems in renting a car when  I travel etc.  Just about all of the major rental companies require the renter to have a credit card.  How do I go about obtaining one?

 

Is it a simple process in Thailand?  I've been with Kasikorn for around 10 years.  Surely a credit check is required?  How do they credit check a foreigner?

[chickenslegs]

5 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Can I just butt in here and ask a question?  I don't have any credit cards and don't really want one but on the odd occasion not having one has caused me problems in renting a car when  I travel etc.  Just about all of the major rental companies require the renter to have a credit card.  How do I go about obtaining one?

 

Is it a simple process in Thailand?  I've been with Kasikorn for around 10 years.  Surely a credit check is required?  How do they credit check a foreigner?

I do not have a credit card. I visit the UK about once a year and always rent a car. All the rental companies accept a debit card, but it must have your name on it (i.e.- not just an ATM card). I think most Thai banks can issue a named debit card - Bangkok Bank certainly do.

[aublumberg]

On 5/7/2025 at 2:33 PM, MadAtMatrix said:

I applied for Thai Amex without a WP and on LTR visa. They used my Amex history from my home country and asked me for a year of income statements. Gave me unsecured Amex that earns Thai airways points with a 300,000 baht limit. Accepted at about 60% of the places my KBank visa is accepted. 

Interesting. Did you just apply online or went through a special contact / channel? Thanks.

[Sierra Tango]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

 

I do the same regarding the debit cards. 

 

For credit cards, some western cards have the option of being able to lock the card in the app, so offers additional protection from fraud. I would look at Thai cards to see if they have that. But I don't have any Thai credit cards. 

 

Yes, definitly have the lock option in the apps or through the banks website.

[oldcpu]

53 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I do not have a credit card. I visit the UK about once a year and always rent a car. All the rental companies accept a debit card, but it must have your name on it (i.e.- not just an ATM card). I think most Thai banks can issue a named debit card - Bangkok Bank certainly do.

 In Derry in Northern Ireland, they refused to accept a visa debit card with my name on it. 

 

I ended up using a Bangkok Bank platinium credit card instead to book the car. 

 

It may depend on the car rental company re: debit card acceptance.

[rickudon]

I just use my UK credit card, no fees (including taking cash), excellent exchange rate (as good as Wise), pay it off online. So no need to send money to a Thai bank account (just use Thai account for immigration).

[advancebooking]

10 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Can I just butt in here and ask a question?  I don't have any credit cards and don't really want one but on the odd occasion not having one has caused me problems in renting a car when  I travel etc.  Just about all of the major rental companies require the renter to have a credit card.  How do I go about obtaining one?

 

Is it a simple process in Thailand?  I've been with Kasikorn for around 10 years.  Surely a credit check is required?  How do they credit check a foreigner?

go to a tourist destination ie pattaya. visit one of the branches. apply for a credit card on the basis of leaving a fixed deposit securing the card. I dont know how successful it would be if you dont have a work permit. If you have a WP then no problem try KTC part of Ktb

[MangoKorat]

11 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I do not have a credit card. I visit the UK about once a year and always rent a car. All the rental companies accept a debit card, but it must have your name on it (i.e.- not just an ATM card). I think most Thai banks can issue a named debit card - Bangkok Bank certainly do.

Quite a few of the major rental companies in the UK won't accept a debit card and even they won't rent one of their 'premium' vehicles to you if you don't have a credit card.  Some that do in the UK such as Hertz for example - don't in Thailand.

[MadAtMatrix]

11 hours ago, aublumberg said:

Interesting. Did you just apply online or went through a special contact / channel? Thanks.

I called their office. They sent me a package by DHL to my home. I filled it out with copies of my passport, LTR visa, my tax returns to Canada for 2 years, all pension deposits into my accounts for 4 years (they only wanted 2, but had them on hand from my mortgage finance). They looked them over and then did a zoom call with me for about five minutes where they wanted to see my passport and me on video for AML. Ten days later card in hand. 

[treetops]

19 hours ago, oldcpu said:

It claims to offer competitive Exchange Rates: Exchange currencies at rates comparable to leading money changers

 

I couldn't find anything published regarding how they calculated the exchange used which made me very suspicious.  Do you have any real world examples of just how much they load it?

[mogandave]

On 5/6/2025 at 8:11 PM, advancebooking said:

May I ask about the american express card. I see they have a branch in Bkk. Is this only useful for travelling the states? and I suppose many european countries might accept it. But in Thailand I think its useless? Is this correct?

Some small stores did not take it, but most everyone else in Thailand did. It was a Thai Airways AMEX and the benefits were pretty good. 

 

When I travel in the US, I use US cards. 

[oldcpu]

While I have a Krungsri Exclusive card, I was curious if I could also obtain a Krungsri Visa Infinite card, if, and only if, I could get the bank manager to waive the 3,500 THB annual fee for the Krungsri Visa Infinite card.  The 'argument' I tried was that in addition to having the amount in Krungsri to qualify for the Krungsri Exclusive card (via cash deposit and Krungsri operated mutual funds), I also had pension income (albeit foreign) ~$60k US equivalent/year, and it will exceed ~$80k US starting next year.    So I asked given that, would they waive the 3,500 THB/year if I applied for the Krungsri Visa Infinite Card (this card comes with an extra airport lounge access, and possibly (I need to confirm) rental car insurance coverage).

 

The bank manager was happy for me to apply for the card, BUT advised no waiving of the 3,500 THB annual fee.  If my income had been income from Thailand, the bank manager may have waived the annual fee, but not with my income being foreign income.

 

Oh well - it was worth a shot.

 

I used my SCB planet card for the first time, albeit it took me 3x before I succeeded with a foreign payment (not in Thai baht).

 

The first time the SCB planet card transaction was blocked because by default it is set to block all foreign transactions.  So I changed that.  The second time the SCB planet card  transaction failed, as I had not pre-deposited enough funds in the Planet card account to pay for the transaction (I had MORE than enough in my SCB savings account).  So I transferred funds from the SCB savings, to the SCB planet card account, and tried again a 3rd time to do a foreign transaction, and this time I succeeded.

[Yellowtail]

10 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

While I have a Krungsri Exclusive card, I was curious if I could also obtain a Krungsri Visa Infinite card, if, and only if, I could get the bank manager to waive the 3,500 THB annual fee for the Krungsri Visa Infinite card.  The 'argument' I tried was that in addition to having the amount in Krungsri to qualify for the Krungsri Exclusive card (via cash deposit and Krungsri operated mutual funds), I also had pension income (albeit foreign) ~$60k US equivalent/year, and it will exceed ~$80k US starting next year.    So I asked given that, would they waive the 3,500 THB/year if I applied for the Krungsri Visa Infinite Card (this card comes with an extra airport lounge access, and possibly (I need to confirm) rental car insurance coverage).

 

The bank manager was happy for me to apply for the card, BUT advised no waiving of the 3,500 THB annual fee.  If my income had been income from Thailand, the bank manager may have waived the annual fee, but not with my income being foreign income.

 

Oh well - it was worth a shot.

 

I used my SCB planet card for the first time, albeit it took me 3x before I succeeded with a foreign payment (not in Thai baht).

 

The first time the SCB planet card transaction was blocked because by default it is set to block all foreign transactions.  So I changed that.  The second time the SCB planet card  transaction failed, as I had not pre-deposited enough funds in the Planet card account to pay for the transaction (I had MORE than enough in my SCB savings account).  So I transferred funds from the SCB savings, to the SCB planet card account, and tried again a 3rd time to do a foreign transaction, and this time I succeeded.

It has been my experience with the several Thai cards I've had, that that they will waive the fee on renewal, assuming you spend a bit on it and keep up with it. 

 

You watch the bill, and just call them when you see the charge, and they will reverse it. 

[oldcpu]

On 5/9/2025 at 4:05 PM, treetops said:

 

I couldn't find anything published regarding how they calculated the exchange used which made me very suspicious.  Do you have any real world examples of just how much they load it?

 

I think (speculation) they may add about 0.5% to the exchange rate? (instead of the more typical ~2% by some non travel credit cards?)

 

I base this on the purchase of about $5,000 Aus$ with the Planet Card, ... where I went back today, and checked the spot price (High / Low) on that day where as it happened there was almost no movement vs the Thai baht, ...  and I then checked how much I paid in both Aus$ and in Thai baht.

 

A back of the envelope calculation suggested 0.5% 'hidden' fee.  But I am new to the Planet Card so I do not know if that is typical, or if other factors are involved - and I could have made a mistake in my calculations.