Thai Hotels Step Up Discounts And Promotion Packages

[raro]

Coincidentally I was shopping for a hotel room in Bangkok today. My downtown crash-out was the Premier Inn (1,100 including WiFi and 2 fried eggs for breakfast). I stopped staying there as last time I took shower with a cockroach floating in the water and also discivered that the lightbulb over the bathtub was open to spalshing water and I am not much into elctrocution...

My field research yielded:

Jim's Lodge Soi Ruam Rudee. The standard room is crap, the superior is ok, but costs 1600++ and WiFi was also extra. Forgot how much.

Soi 19, the hotel above La Gritta. 2,500 Baht. after showing no interest the price came down to 1600 within about 2 minutes. AHA,I thought, they got it. What about WiFi? 475 Baht extra !!! Walked out.

Soi 22, the place next to Larry's Dive. 2,000 and WiFi 350. Breakfast is another 200 extra. After showing no interest the orice came dow to 1,700 but still no brekkie and Wifi 350. Had a look at the rooms, similar rooms you get at the Nasa hotel @ 1,000 including WiFi.

So I walked over to the Bourbon Street. THe new rooms are ok, costs 1,500 including WiFi and breakfast.

[khundon]

May as well allow the Banks to throw EXTRA SERVICE CHARGES on Foreign Cash Withdrawals..

Never do I cease to be surprised by the behavior here .

AMAZING THAILAND

Yet another stealth tax imposed on us...150 baht to make an ATM withdrawal from my UK account + what the bank in the UK will charge. I guess someone has to bail out the Thai economy. Why pick on me?

You have to be kidding me. If you are worried about a 150 baht bank charge that allows you to withdraw money from your home country while on vacation you shouldn't be on vacation. I am sure you spend hundreds of baht if not thousands on drinks each and every day and yet you complain about a 150 baht charge. I would have to say the bank in your home country are bigger thieves than the Thai banks here. I know for certain that my bank back in Canada charges me more on just about every single bank ATM transaction than is typically charged here. I can withdraw money from almost any bank's ATM (not my bank's ATM) without a fee unless I am outside of Bangkok. Try that in your home country. I can take out up to 20,000 baht from my home country account and only pay 150 baht. Seems like a deal to me. You obviously just like to complain. Next time you order a drink at the expensive hotel make sure and complain to them how awful they are in making a profit. Remember you can get it from 7-11 for less than 40 baht rather than the 300 or more you are paying them. Who are the real crooks?

Seriously the Thai Bank ATM fees are exceptionally cheap.

ATM withdrawals in the UK are FREE if you withdraw from an ATM linked to your bank. That applies to anywhere in the country, not just London.

If you are dumb enough to pay your bank to get your own money out, then more fool you.

Ps UK and foreign banks are REAL banks and staff know what they are doing, unlike staff in Thai banks.

Edited April 28, 2009 by khundon

[thaibeachlovers]

Does anyone know what the goal of TAT at this point in time? Are they looking to preserve tourism numbers or looking to grow tourist numbers? Are they looking to gather return visitors or are they looking to target a new market? Are TAT looking to protect or "streamline"the industry to become more competitive on the international stage against its neighbors in the Phillipines, Malaysia and China?

These questions (and others too) would determine which would be a 'best course of action' for the Thai Tourism industry. Different types of visitors would respond to different offers (e.g. tour groups would not respond so much to the idea of cheaper accommodation, but would respond to a better exchange rate, whereas a mid range traveller may respond better to cheaper accommodation).

As far as I can see, the TAT exists in some parallel universe where all farangs are filthy rich, and just want to stay in 5* hotels, have spas and eat in very expensive restaurants. So all they have to do is put out press releases boasting of how wonderful all the posh places are ( never mind that the infrastructure is falling apart ), and soon the planes will be full of rich tourists just aching to spend massive amounts of cash in a less than 30 day visit.

When was the last time anyone saw a TAT press release giving details of how Thailand is going to make it easier for low end tourists?

Sitting on a Thai plane, reading Sawasdee, I sometimes wonder just what country they are writing about, as it sure ain't the Thailand I know!

Seems like everything they do is to stop farangs benefitting from cheap places and services. Even in the airport, you now can't go down to the foodcourt on the travellator, but have to spend ages waiting to use the lift. Absolute rubbish. Sometimes Thai officialdom is so stupid that I wish they would go down the tubes.

[SoiGirlHunter]

I notice the crowds on Soi Walking really dropping off, talking to the Thai's there they are getting a bit worried..

[bob6023]

Whats with this surcharge at the bank. When I draw my money from ATM I see Thailand is now charging me 150bht plus what my bank in the states charges. What the F---.

Vietnam looking better all the time.

[invex]

And this:

2 weeks ago I was in BKK and saw a car I was interested in. I went to Kasikorn Bank to take 100.000 Baht for a deposit and Kasikorn charged me almost 500 Baht!!! Staff told me it would be the same charge at an ATM.

Finaly, I did not bought the car and the very same day they charged me almost 500 Baht again to bring my money back in to the bank.................... 1.000 Baht to hold my money in my hands for a few hours and bring it back.......

What's next??????????????????

[HardenedSoul]

. . . they are injecting a little more money into the Thai economy - do we get a "thank you"? - NO! - just a 150 baht charge - scandalous!

Are you outta your frikkin' MIND ??

What do you expect. A little Thai person in a TAT uniform outside every ATM wai-ing you for bringing a few bucks/quid or whatever into the country ?? Perhaps a complementary shoe-shine ?

For Chrissakes, just withdraw larger amounts so you don't have to go the the machine so often. It's THB150, not the 1,500 you'd spend on a few bevies and a meal in BKK.

[Theyreallrubbish]

Lots of farang thinking like the Thais here when it comes to taking money from farang. Basically the classic Thai rationalisations for overcharging or cheating foreigners: You've got loads so why worry about the Thai banks taking some of it. You spend it on booze and girls so why can't the Thais help themselves to a small amount like that. If you can afford to come to Thailand you can afford to let the Thais help themselves to some of your money. Thailand is so wonderful you're lucky to be here so why not let the Thais take some of your money. Thais are poor and farang are rich so farang shouldn't object if some of their money is taken.

This bank charge is a blatant grab at foreign money. What should happen is that our foreign banks state that they will impose the same charges on customers of the Thai banks using the foreign banks ATMs anywhere outside Thailand. Does that sound fair?

When someone spends "thousands on booze" its a choice they make as to what to do with their own earned money. A cartel of banks imposing a "tax" on being a foreigner is in no way comparable.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

Personally i think its an annoying but very bearable charge. One poster put it well when he said (summing up in my own words here ) people don't mind spending thousands of baht a night on overpriced drinks but begrudge paying ANYTHING on an ATM charge . If the charge were 50 baht you would all still be whingeing. Its the fact that you don't want to pay anything at all thats the issue , not the 150 baht.

However a possible solution to minimise this is if you stop taking trivial amounts out and take one whacking lump out , then surely the 150 baht becomes trivial?

Part of the problem , and it applies here in the UK especially i've noticed, is that people walk around with almost nothing on them in cash. For Christs sake why?

In the UK, I always have a couple of hundred pounds in my wallet and feel naked if that drops to below 50. In Thailand i usually think between 10-20, 000 baht is about right , never letting it drop below this .So when i take money from a ATM its usually about 100,000 worth so a 150 baht charge , whilst annoying in principle , is nothing at all. But if you are amounst those who go to the ATM 25 times a week and take out 200 baht (just like the thousands who queue in the UK at ATM's for 10 minutes to withdraw a tenner and then do the same thing the next day) then i think you are overcomplicating your lives and costing yourselves unneccessarily.

Part of the problems in this modern day life is that people have been brought up to rely on credit / debit cards and lazily don't carry cash. I am the opposite , i carry cash , buy almost everything in cash , and whilst i have loads of credit cards i rarely use them even for big bills. I am driven to distraction queueing in a shop behind someone who buys £3 of goods and whips out the credit card . No wonder people have so many money problems.

To summarise ... my solution to getting round this 150 baht insignificant charge is ... carry loads of cash , withdraw rarely and in big amounts .

Problem solved ... No??

TROLL

Have you actually been to Thailand? I think if you had you would know that you cannot withdraw 100,000 baht from an ATM in one go.

Best to crawl back from whence you came eh?

I'm sure that you realise that most people's argument arises from the fact that the charges went from zero to 150 baht.

Why would this be? Why not, at best, charge the same as someone who held a local bank account? It's simple. People wish to avoid the charge because they know it's a simple money grab. Mugging without the violence.

Your rant about carry loads of cash whilst others don't, just weakens your argument further.

[TopDogger]

And this:

2 weeks ago I was in BKK and saw a car I was interested in. I went to Kasikorn Bank to take 100.000 Baht for a deposit and Kasikorn charged me almost 500 Baht!!! Staff told me it would be the same charge at an ATM.

Finaly, I did not bought the car and the very same day they charged me almost 500 Baht again to bring my money back in to the bank.................... 1.000 Baht to hold my money in my hands for a few hours and bring it back.......

What's next??????????????????

Seems a little strange, your account is with Kasikorn?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I've said it on the forum before devalue the Baht by 25/30%.This will bring tourists back quickly forgetting the problems here.It will make imports more expensive but the average thai will not be affected as they do not buy imported goods.yes fuel will cost more but hey its the cheapest its been for a long while..They will be able to sell their goods/products abroad again and so will have a viable economy..BUT WHO WILL COME HERE IF THEY FIND OUT IF THEY GET THE SWINE FLU HERE THEY COULD DIE AS THEY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH STOCK PIES OF THE ANTI VIRRAL DRUGS WHICH ARE PROVEN TO WORK!.Yes the States are ok, they don't care as they have not closed their borders with Mexico.Why because they do not want their trade affected...Why do I say there is not enough Anti virrals because I live in Chiang rai and have been to the hospital here this morning( Scribrin) asked if they have Tamiflu and they said no! I asaked if they could source it as I would like to keep some at home( family in mind) no cannot source it...So what will you do I asked? Well we have been told to refer patients to The thai 30 baht hospital but he also said he knew they had only very very limited supplies not enough for a pandemic!!!

So I would suspect that when Mr. Toxin said Bird Flu would not be a problem here as we have things under control then that did not include having tamiflu and relenza...So go check with your local hospital and ask if they have stocks? If they have'nt may be best to stay in bangkok, Pattaya or phuket where supplies can be quickly shipped in....

If anyone knows that I'am wrong please tell me..

best of luck to everyone.............

It might be that the original infection came from an American pig farm in Mexico. They were complaints from a locally owned pig farm about pollution from the aforementioned farm.

So it may be premature to blame the Mexicans.(not that you necessarily did so).

[LawnGnome]

I've said it on the forum before devalue the Baht by 25/30%.This will bring tourists back quickly forgetting the problems here.It will make imports more expensive but the average thai will not be affected as they do not buy imported goods.yes fuel will cost more but hey its the cheapest its been for a long while..They will be able to sell their goods/products abroad again and so will have a viable economy..BUT WHO WILL COME HERE IF THEY FIND OUT IF THEY GET THE SWINE FLU HERE THEY COULD DIE AS THEY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH STOCK PIES OF THE ANTI VIRRAL DRUGS WHICH ARE PROVEN TO WORK!.Yes the States are ok, they don't care as they have not closed their borders with Mexico.Why because they do not want their trade affected...Why do I say there is not enough Anti virrals because I live in Chiang rai and have been to the hospital here this morning( Scribrin) asked if they have Tamiflu and they said no! I asaked if they could source it as I would like to keep some at home( family in mind) no cannot source it...So what will you do I asked? Well we have been told to refer patients to The thai 30 baht hospital but he also said he knew they had only very very limited supplies not enough for a pandemic!!!

So I would suspect that when Mr. Toxin said Bird Flu would not be a problem here as we have things under control then that did not include having tamiflu and relenza...So go check with your local hospital and ask if they have stocks? If they have'nt may be best to stay in bangkok, Pattaya or phuket where supplies can be quickly shipped in....

If anyone knows that I'am wrong please tell me..

best of luck to everyone.............

It might be that the original infection came from an American pig farm in Mexico. They were complaints from a locally owned pig farm about pollution from the aforementioned farm.

So it may be premature to blame the Mexicans.(not that you necessarily did so).

Every country in the world has those manure lakes from pig farms, US included. If it hadn't had been Mexico, it would have been somewhere else. At least it wasn't Thailand, for once.

[poldebol]

Just let the market do the job, the big hotels are underpaying their staff for a very long time, so it is much better for the government to help these poor people instead of the fat cat Indian and Chinese who own most properties anyhow.

Underpaying? Have you run a hotel or business in Thailand? Do you know why the staff ratio in Thailand is 1:4 or 5 compared to western businesses? Before you come with statements like this, look into hard facts of average attendance, loyalty and punctuality of Thai workers. There is a very good reason why salaries are what they are in Thailand..................

The reason why salaries are low in Thailand is that a few people can amass large fortunes.

Example: I ran a small company in Europe for about 30 years. If I had paid the staff Thai salaries, I would have 300 million THB in my pocket now, but my staff would not have had paid holliday, social protection, insurance, retirement money, legal assistance etc. etc.

[LawnGnome]

The reason why salaries are low in Thailand is that a few people can amass large fortunes.

Example: I ran a small company in Europe for about 30 years. If I had paid the staff Thai salaries, I would have 300 million THB in my pocket now, but my staff would not have had paid holliday, social protection, insurance, retirement money, legal assistance etc. etc.

Yes, that's the only reason....

[Capealava]

May as well allow the Banks to throw EXTRA SERVICE CHARGES on Foreign Cash Withdrawals..

Never do I cease to be surprised by the behavior here .

AMAZING THAILAND

Yet another stealth tax imposed on us...150 baht to make an ATM withdrawal from my UK account + what the bank in the UK will charge. I guess someone has to bail out the Thai economy. Why pick on me?

You have to be kidding me. If you are worried about a 150 baht bank charge that allows you to withdraw money from your home country while on vacation you shouldn't be on vacation. I am sure you spend hundreds of baht if not thousands on drinks each and every day and yet you complain about a 150 baht charge. I would have to say the bank in your home country are bigger thieves than the Thai banks here. I know for certain that my bank back in Canada charges me more on just about every single bank ATM transaction than is typically charged here. I can withdraw money from almost any bank's ATM (not my bank's ATM) without a fee unless I am outside of Bangkok. Try that in your home country. I can take out up to 20,000 baht from my home country account and only pay 150 baht. Seems like a deal to me. You obviously just like to complain. Next time you order a drink at the expensive hotel make sure and complain to them how awful they are in making a profit. Remember you can get it from 7-11 for less than 40 baht rather than the 300 or more you are paying them. Who are the real crooks?

Seriously the Thai Bank ATM fees are exceptionally cheap.

You must be KIDDING ME !!!!!!!!! I stay in Thailand 4 -5 months a year. I use the ATM constantly--it used to be free. In the USA I am not charged by ATM on my system and maybe up to $1.50 for other ATMS. You better change your bank in Canada. My bank only charges a 1% international transaction fee. The reason I come here and stay here is because it it --was- reasonably priced. This 150 baht or $4.50 US for every ATM transaction is Usury. Obviously you must be new here. You like carrying around 20,000 baht. There are expats living here that use the ATMy daily/ Sure use it less take out more --get a Thai bank account--but why---Thailand wants people to come here and spend money--to charge then $4.50 US to use a ATM is crazy. If you check out the Bkk post Forum you can see there are a lot of farangs not happy about this. So go ahead my friend pay $ 4.50 every time you use a ATM. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder.

[perax]

This post seems a bit of a ranting troll competition...

yes, bank transfers cost money, they don't let yo use SWIFT for free... 300-500 THB are typical charges for local banks (SCB-300 THB, Kasikorn, 500, has been like that for ages)... plus what your bank in the US or Europe charges you...

ATM charges.. yes, uncommon, but last time I was in Europe I remember a charge on a withdrawal with my Thai ATM... if you're so concerned and come here often, open a local bank account in Pattaya and get a local ATM card. Or bring cash. Or T/C. or go to happy Vietnam and tell me how much they charge you there for each ATM withdrawal. Think it's free? Been to Saigon often?

Hotels... as a Thai resident, these offers are somewhat elusive indeed... seems they always try to ask for full price. The wife (Thai) gets the same treatment, though. And there are a lot of middle-class This taht use these 4-5stars hotels (have you ever bothered to notice the offers, written in Thai, on Thai newspapers, bank mailings, etc?)

On all these posts about Thai people being unskilled, incompetent, stupid, untrained, underpaid, not able to locate their own arse with a map, etc. etc. , I can just say that maybe it's high time you fsck off somewhere else. How can you live in a country you despise so much? Just fuc_k off to some other place and stop complaining about Thailand. I hear that Rhyad has some lovely Am ab Nuat, maybe you can find better chickens there.

Dhu.

Edited April 28, 2009 by perax

[yaketyak]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

Personally i think its an annoying but very bearable charge. One poster put it well when he said (summing up in my own words here ) people don't mind spending thousands of baht a night on overpriced drinks but begrudge paying ANYTHING on an ATM charge . If the charge were 50 baht you would all still be whingeing. Its the fact that you don't want to pay anything at all thats the issue , not the 150 baht.

However a possible solution to minimise this is if you stop taking trivial amounts out and take one whacking lump out , then surely the 150 baht becomes trivial?

Part of the problem , and it applies here in the UK especially i've noticed, is that people walk around with almost nothing on them in cash. For Christs sake why?

In the UK, I always have a couple of hundred pounds in my wallet and feel naked if that drops to below 50. In Thailand i usually think between 10-20, 000 baht is about right , never letting it drop below this .So when i take money from a ATM its usually about 100,000 worth so a 150 baht charge , whilst annoying in principle , is nothing at all. But if you are amounst those who go to the ATM 25 times a week and take out 200 baht (just like the thousands who queue in the UK at ATM's for 10 minutes to withdraw a tenner and then do the same thing the next day) then i think you are overcomplicating your lives and costing yourselves unneccessarily.

Part of the problems in this modern day life is that people have been brought up to rely on credit / debit cards and lazily don't carry cash. I am the opposite , i carry cash , buy almost everything in cash , and whilst i have loads of credit cards i rarely use them even for big bills. I am driven to distraction queueing in a shop behind someone who buys £3 of goods and whips out the credit card . No wonder people have so many money problems.

To summarise ... my solution to getting round this 150 baht insignificant charge is ... carry loads of cash , withdraw rarely and in big amounts .

Problem solved ... No??

TROLL

Have you actually been to Thailand? I think if you had you would know that you cannot withdraw 100,000 baht from an ATM in one go.

Best to crawl back from whence you came eh?

I'm sure that you realise that most people's argument arises from the fact that the charges went from zero to 150 baht.

Why would this be? Why not, at best, charge the same as someone who held a local bank account? It's simple. People wish to avoid the charge because they know it's a simple money grab. Mugging without the violence.

Your rant about carry loads of cash whilst others don't, just weakens your argument further.

To Jiu-Jitsu...A completely ignorant post probably from one of the carry-no-money-on-me -go-to-the-ATM-everyday brigade. There are many here who know i am no troll (first time i've ever been called that.. many things but never Troll!!) and yes i have been to LOS about 20 odd times ... quite enough to make my observations i think.

And yes you can withdraw that amount from my account but then i have a special account so maybe thats not the norm for everyone. Nothing to stop people going into the branch and taking the money out is there? Except the ones too lazy to do so.

And no i don't accept people's anger is because the charge has gone from zero (which lets face it is too cheap) to 150 baht .. a truly insignificant figure anyway. I think its because there is a charge at all...people just don't want to pay at all and would whinge whatever the amount.

But the crucial bit of my post is that if people stopped withdrawing stupidly small amounts and took out a couple of weeks or a months money in one go then they would pay just one charge. But because most people seem allergic to carrying more than 50 baht on them at any one time they incur charges they don't have to. Its a very simple concept . My "rant" as you call it about people carrying proper cash does not weaken the arguement (God knows how you work that out .. clearly not strong on economics.. ) it strenthens it .

So Jiu-Jitsu , if you are capable of constructing a well reasoned arguement why not reply this time without the insults saying why i am wrong. Unless of course your day is spent queueing at the ATM !!

[Capealava]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

Personally i think its an annoying but very bearable charge. One poster put it well when he said (summing up in my own words here ) people don't mind spending thousands of baht a night on overpriced drinks but begrudge paying ANYTHING on an ATM charge . If the charge were 50 baht you would all still be whingeing. Its the fact that you don't want to pay anything at all thats the issue , not the 150 baht.

However a possible solution to minimise this is if you stop taking trivial amounts out and take one whacking lump out , then surely the 150 baht becomes trivial?

Part of the problem , and it applies here in the UK especially i've noticed, is that people walk around with almost nothing on them in cash. For Christs sake why?

In the UK, I always have a couple of hundred pounds in my wallet and feel naked if that drops to below 50. In Thailand i usually think between 10-20, 000 baht is about right , never letting it drop below this .So when i take money from a ATM its usually about 100,000 worth so a 150 baht charge , whilst annoying in principle , is nothing at all. But if you are amounst those who go to the ATM 25 times a week and take out 200 baht (just like the thousands who queue in the UK at ATM's for 10 minutes to withdraw a tenner and then do the same thing the next day) then i think you are overcomplicating your lives and costing yourselves unneccessarily.

Part of the problems in this modern day life is that people have been brought up to rely on credit / debit cards and lazily don't carry cash. I am the opposite , i carry cash , buy almost everything in cash , and whilst i have loads of credit cards i rarely use them even for big bills. I am driven to distraction queueing in a shop behind someone who buys £3 of goods and whips out the credit card . No wonder people have so many money problems.

To summarise ... my solution to getting round this 150 baht insignificant charge is ... carry loads of cash , withdraw rarely and in big amounts .

Problem solved ... No??

TROLL

Have you actually been to Thailand? I think if you had you would know that you cannot withdraw 100,000 baht from an ATM in one go.

Best to crawl back from whence you came eh?

I'm sure that you realise that most people's argument arises from the fact that the charges went from zero to 150 baht.

Why would this be? Why not, at best, charge the same as someone who held a local bank account? It's simple. People wish to avoid the charge because they know it's a simple money grab. Mugging without the violence.

Your rant about carry loads of cash whilst others don't, just weakens your argument further.

To Jiu-Jitsu...A completely ignorant post probably from one of the carry-no-money-on-me -go-to-the-ATM-everyday brigade. There are many here who know i am no troll (first time i've ever been called that.. many things but never Troll!!) and yes i have been to LOS about 20 odd times ... quite enough to make my observations i think.

And yes you can withdraw that amount from my account but then i have a special account so maybe thats not the norm for everyone. Nothing to stop people going into the branch and taking the money out is there? Except the ones too lazy to do so.

And no i don't accept people's anger is because the charge has gone from zero (which lets face it is too cheap) to 150 baht .. a truly insignificant figure anyway. I think its because there is a charge at all...people just don't want to pay at all and would whinge whatever the amount.

But the crucial bit of my post is that if people stopped withdrawing stupidly small amounts and took out a couple of weeks or a months money in one go then they would pay just one charge. But because most people seem allergic to carrying more than 50 baht on them at any one time they incur charges they don't have to. Its a very simple concept . My "rant" as you call it about people carrying proper cash does not weaken the arguement (God knows how you work that out .. clearly not strong on economics.. ) it strenthens it .

So Jiu-Jitsu , if you are capable of constructing a well reasoned arguement why not reply this time without the insults saying why i am wrong. Unless of course your day is spent queueing at the ATM !!

maybe you get mugged for that 100,000 baht by a ladyboy HAHAH--or maybe your house keeper or a bargirl --you got a fat wallet my friend

[Chaimai]

And this:

2 weeks ago I was in BKK and saw a car I was interested in. I went to Kasikorn Bank to take 100.000 Baht for a deposit and Kasikorn charged me almost 500 Baht!!! Staff told me it would be the same charge at an ATM.

Finaly, I did not bought the car and the very same day they charged me almost 500 Baht again to bring my money back in to the bank.................... 1.000 Baht to hold my money in my hands for a few hours and bring it back.......

What's next??????????????????

What's next ??? Ever thought of PLANNING for such a transaction or do you want to operate 'Thai style'. Only an invertebrate would try and withdraw GBP 2.000 without some fore-thought

[Chaimai]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

OK....... Ever thought of posting in the correct topic

[yaketyak]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

OK....... Ever thought of posting in the correct topic

OK Chaimai ..its off topic i agree. But others before me started commenting on this within the overall topic and i chose to pick this bit to reply . You could have taken just another few seconds to give us your thoughts on this rather than just confine your reply to sarcasm.

Right ... if i can master starting a new topic here (never done this before so it may not work) i will start a thread specifically re this 150 baht charge.

I'll give it a go now .. may or may not work.

[Vindie]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

OK....... Ever thought of posting in the correct topic

Admin : Please change the topic to something more appropriate like :

Farang Really Hate ATM Fees in Thailand

or

Why Thais Shouldn't Work in Hotels and Foreigners Should Avoid ATMs

I don't see anything terribly related to promotions or discounts in LOS... though I was hoping to find -something-.

[yaketyak]

OK just tried and a message says i don't have permission to start a topic on this forum ... any ideas why this is so anyone?

[ovenman]

OK just tried and a message says i don't have permission to start a topic on this forum ... any ideas why this is so anyone?

Only moderators and admin can start topics in the News forum. Try starting a topic in General. Better yet, the 150 baht ATM fee has been discussed to death in the Jobs, Economy, Banking... Forrum. You might want to join in there.

[jackcorbett]

I would like to comment on this 150 baht ATM charge.

Personally i think its an annoying but very bearable charge. One poster put it well when he said (summing up in my own words here ) people don't mind spending thousands of baht a night on overpriced drinks but begrudge paying ANYTHING on an ATM charge . If the charge were 50 baht you would all still be whingeing. Its the fact that you don't want to pay anything at all thats the issue , not the 150 baht.

However a possible solution to minimise this is if you stop taking trivial amounts out and take one whacking lump out , then surely the 150 baht becomes trivial?

Part of the problem , and it applies here in the UK especially i've noticed, is that people walk around with almost nothing on them in cash. For Christs sake why?

In the UK, I always have a couple of hundred pounds in my wallet and feel naked if that drops to below 50. In Thailand i usually think between 10-20, 000 baht is about right , never letting it drop below this .So when i take money from a ATM its usually about 100,000 worth so a 150 baht charge , whilst annoying in principle , is nothing at all. But if you are amounst those who go to the ATM 25 times a week and take out 200 baht (just like the thousands who queue in the UK at ATM's for 10 minutes to withdraw a tenner and then do the same thing the next day) then i think you are overcomplicating your lives and costing yourselves unneccessarily.

Part of the problems in this modern day life is that people have been brought up to rely on credit / debit cards and lazily don't carry cash. I am the opposite , i carry cash , buy almost everything in cash , and whilst i have loads of credit cards i rarely use them even for big bills. I am driven to distraction queueing in a shop behind someone who buys £3 of goods and whips out the credit card . No wonder people have so many money problems.

To summarise ... my solution to getting round this 150 baht insignificant charge is ... carry loads of cash , withdraw rarely and in big amounts .

Problem solved ... No??

Problem not solved. After never being pick pocketed in four years here I have now been pick pocketed twice in a three week period of time. The last time what happened is I was carrying my wallet in my front pocket, not my back pocket. I had gotten on a baht taxi and a woman sat next to me on my left. I spread my legs a bit and the Thai woman sitting across from me started to mouth off at me for spreading my legs. While she was distracting me the woman sitting on my immediate left pulled my wallet out of my pocket. Five minutes later she got up and went over and sat with the other woman. The two women soon got off the taxi together. Five minutes later I got off the taxi and as soon as my feet hit the pavement I knew my wallet was gone as the front of my shorts felt much lighter.

In this same period of time, my neighbor Gus, had his motorbike stolen close to the condo where we both live, in a good area of town, Wongamat Beach. And then just last week while riding his new motorbike Gus had a gold chain snatched off his wrist by two guys speeding by him. Want more? A few months ago a Norwegian pal of mine told me how he had just been pick pocketed on a baht taxi. Same thing happened to him as it did to me except the immediate culprit was a ladyboy who came over to sit close to him while two other women sitting across from him distracted him by conversation. All three got off the baht taxi together. So I had been warned. I just thought I'd be safe by putting my wallet in my front pocket instead of my rear pocket. Since then I've had zippers sewed onto all my front pockets of those shorts that don't already have one already. As for ATM cards, I try to be more disciplined now about putting them in a safe a.s.a.p. after making an ATM transaction.

I do agree that it is best to make large ATM withdrawals. But the crime here is out of sight and it's going to get a lot worse. So my advice is to take most of the cash from an ATM withdrawal and put it in a safe. Then carry just enough to get yourself through the night. If you barfine a girl, pay the barfine but pay her what you owe her from the safe.

Edited April 28, 2009 by jackcorbett

[yaketyak]

OK just tried and a message says i don't have permission to start a topic on this forum ... any ideas why this is so anyone?

Only moderators and admin can start topics in the News forum. Try starting a topic in General. Better yet, the 150 baht ATM fee has been discussed to death in the Jobs, Economy, Banking... Forrum. You might want to join in there.

Thanks Ovenman ... yours is what i call a good post ... constructive , informative and without sarcasm. Well done. I'm off to the right forum.

[BlueSmurf]

I notice the crowds on Soi Walking really dropping off, talking to the Thai's there they are getting a bit worried..

its the end as we know it! really spoke to a friend in walking street and no girls went out the bar last night! thats not the problem the problem is there are not enough anti virral drugs i.e. tamiflu here so don't come!!!!!

[Tricksy]

London Bangkok London GBP 144 plus taxes!! Great time to come but it won't happen, this is the tip of the iceberg

That's a great price, please point me to where I can get it.

Cheers

Tricksy

[timi2546]

..... 150baht per ATM transaction?

noticed this same today at carrefour, TMB-atm by my

own TMB-visacard took 150 baht.

thucking surprised, not going to use

atm's much more in the future, will get

straight to the bank, wait there for your turn , smile

there, be kind ,polite, shiny and happy,

like we everyone farangs should do.

not because the amount, just the thought sบ๔ks.

[wotaplonker]

A much weaker Baht would bring tourists back in their droves and all the houses and condominiums that are being built and remain unsold would sell!! Obvious really.

[/quote]

never a truer word spoken and people like me who are coming over for only 3 weeks would have been coming for a month.