Atm, Credit Card Purchases - Overseas Fee

[dplast]

Thought I had this all figured out - used Citibank for ATM withdrawals -

and as long as I used a Citibank branch their was no charge but guess

that isn't the case any more. Also on my US Bank Visa card their is

an overseas charge on purchases - some where around 3% on both, ATM withdrawals and

Visa purchases.

Any thoughts on no fee ways of accessing money while out of the states.

[Kerryd]

Thought I had this all figured out - used Citibank for ATM withdrawals -

and as long as I used a Citibank branch their was no charge but guess

that isn't the case any more. Also on my US Bank Visa card their is

an overseas charge on purchases - some where around 3% on both, ATM withdrawals and

Visa purchases.

Any thoughts on no fee ways of accessing money while out of the states.

I've always been dinged with a fee when using my Citibank card in an ATM. They call it a "Cash Advance Fee".

To avoid the fee(s), I've found if I go to the exchange window of my bank (with passport) and make a cash withdrawal, no fees (on my Visa or Mastercard). That's how I got the money to pay for my moto in April (many trips, as they had a limit of 100,000 baht per card, per day).

Now what I do is take out a wad of cash using the cards, and have it deposited into my Thai account and then use that ATM card for withdrawals. Then go online to my bank and pay off the credit cards.

(I can't do wire transfers online with my bank, unless I fly all the way back to Canada and drop in to a branch office)

[grantbkk]

I have an aversion to fees and bank accordingly. I use ATM and credit cards from Siam Commercial Bank while I'm in Thailand. No fees. If I charge something here using Bank of America they add a fee for changing the currency so I don't do it. I transfer money from America to SCB which cost $35 for any amount for a wire transfer.

Edited June 27, 2008 by grantbkk

[dplast]

Good show, thanks - Doug

Thought I had this all figured out - used Citibank for ATM withdrawals -

and as long as I used a Citibank branch their was no charge but guess

that isn't the case any more. Also on my US Bank Visa card their is

an overseas charge on purchases - some where around 3% on both, ATM withdrawals and

Visa purchases.

Any thoughts on no fee ways of accessing money while out of the states.

I've always been dinged with a fee when using my Citibank card in an ATM. They call it a "Cash Advance Fee".

To avoid the fee(s), I've found if I go to the exchange window of my bank (with passport) and make a cash withdrawal, no fees (on my Visa or Mastercard). That's how I got the money to pay for my moto in April (many trips, as they had a limit of 100,000 baht per card, per day).

Now what I do is take out a wad of cash using the cards, and have it deposited into my Thai account and then use that ATM card for withdrawals. Then go online to my bank and pay off the credit cards.

(I can't do wire transfers online with my bank, unless I fly all the way back to Canada and drop in to a branch office)

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I have an aversion to fees and bank accordingly. I use ATM and credit cards from Siam Commercial Bank while I'm in Thailand. No fees. If I charge something here using Bank of America they add a fee for changing the currency so I don't do it. I transfer money from America to SCB which cost $35 for any amount for a wire transfer.

Grant

If you've not tried it, give it a shot. SCB charges just baht 203 (the 3 is a tax stamp) for deposit in baht of a U.S. $$ check on your U.S. bank. Good idea for Immigration, took as can show "income from abroad" for a retirement extension, baht 65,000 and change came to $1,875 a couple weeks ago. Only hitch is that my SCB branch holds access to the baht for 45 days. Not a real problem after the first check deposit or three. Oh, yes, that baht 203 charge is the same for any amount of $$ to baht.

Mac

[Norrad]

I had the same problem when using my SA cards in Thailand. The fees were killing me. Only way around it was to open a local account and swift a wad of cash into it before you leave the states.

[kiakaha]

Thought I had this all figured out - used Citibank for ATM withdrawals -

and as long as I used a Citibank branch their was no charge but guess

that isn't the case any more. Also on my US Bank Visa card their is

an overseas charge on purchases - some where around 3% on both, ATM withdrawals and

Visa purchases.

Any thoughts on no fee ways of accessing money while out of the states.

i have no atm cash advance fees or foreign currency conversion fees on my card anywhere in the world.

due to a combo of the card type/privileges itself + negotiating with your bank.

[thaihome]

The foreign currency fee is the result of the class action lawsuit against Citi, Visa, MasterCard, etc for hiding the fee in the exchange rate that was use. Now they are fully upfront on what fees you are paying.

For a US card, you probably cannot avoid the foreign currency fee. What you might be able to avoid is the separate fee for using foreign bank’s ATM.

TH

[Gary A]

I make a wire transfer usually twice a year from Citibank in dollars to Siam Commercial Bank. Citibank charges a flat $30 fee regardless of the amount and Siam Commercial has a fee that does not exceed 500 baht. I refuse to pay the 3 percent currency conversation fee from using the ATM card.

[teacup]

For ATM withdrawal - I alwalys use my "Fidelity VisaCheck card" - from brokerage account

- 5 free withdrawals per month, anywhere in the world (well at least in thailand it's free - so far)

[wxpwzrd]

Or get a Capital One credit card... No Visa fee (normally about 1%). No currency conversion fee from CapOne. No fee period. For me (US card holder) it is just the Visa quoted daily exchange rate which has been a pretty good rate.

[j0hnga1t]

I use a capital one credit card for purchases outside the US to avoid the visa fee.  BUT capital one card was a pain to set up.  The first few transaction were rejected and after yelling at capital one, everything is now fine.

I also bank with First Republic Bank, San Francisco, Calif.  No ATM fees if I withdraw in Thailand.  I don't get reimbursed for those pesky 20 baht fees, but my bank doesn't charge me

[vagabond48]

For ATM withdrawal - I alwalys use my "Fidelity VisaCheck card" - from brokerage account

- 5 free withdrawals per month, anywhere in the world (well at least in thailand it's free - so far)

I believe I have the same card from Fidelity but I wasn't aware that it was limited to 5 free withdrawals per month.

[luvthailand]

If you are a USA credit card or ATM holder, the following Wiki is updated regularly with the foreign exchange fees of all the major banks for their ATM and credit cards:

http:// www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

(you need to fix URL, I am not allowed to post a URL yet)

This information is often not easily available even from the institutions themselves which was a motivation for starting this Wiki, by seeing what they charged in practice. Changes are regularly updated. For instance, while I was traveling abroad last year HSBC Direct (one of the cards that I hold) increased their ATM fee from 1% to 3%.

I personally pay 0% on all my transactions in virtually every country I visit (in fact, my best card actually gives a small bonus). I carefully monitor the rates that I get from ATMs. And occasionally I will test 2 cards in the same ATM one after the other to compare exchange rates.

LuvThailand