Charles Schwab Debit Card/Checking/Brokerage Acct

[jfchandler]

Within one week of Cap One mailing the new card, or within one week of the person receiving it, assuming they're getting their mail in the U.S. without any forwarding delay?... Before, Cap One was saying one week after they mailed the new card.

4)

Old ATM card is dead after one week of receiving new card

Good Luck All!

capone.pdf

[snarky66]

JFC is dead right on BAC. $5 per ATM draw plus any fees from said ATM. BAC blows.

[jgm005]

The insert with the ATM said "will no longer work after one week of receiving your new card".

Within one week of Cap One mailing the new card, or within one week of the person receiving it, assuming they're getting their mail in the U.S. without any forwarding delay?... Before, Cap One was saying one week after they mailed the new card.

4)

Old ATM card is dead after one week of receiving new card

Good Luck All!

capone.pdf

[Firefan]

How did you manage to get the usd 25 wire fee waived?

On a separate note; according to http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange it is only the BANK account Schwab ATM cards that do not have 1% atm fee and 1% point of sales fee. The SchwabONE broker account ATM cards DO have that it says....

We non-US people can only open a broker account as far as I know.

Cheers!

I thought Schwab didn't do foreign wire transfers. That is what the literature I have says.

I do a wire transfer from my CS account to my Bangkok Bank once a year. So they do them.

All I do is fax a filled out form, then call them or they call me and all is fine.

A few years back they charged me $25 for the wire but I've got that waved now.

I do have there Dcard but I use my Bangkok card instead.

CS is one fine company to work with.

[ThaiBob]

Thought I would share my most recent experience. I recently opened a new Bangkok Bank account and added this external account to my Schwab brokerage account. On Friday U.S. EST, I transferred $9000.00 to Bangkok bank and I just checked my BB acount using their website. 270,000 THB posted to my account on Sunday (9:00 p.m. U.S. EST). I was really impressed with the ease of this transaction.

[Pib]

That's good...basically a one business day transfer considering the US and Thailand dates/times associated with the transfer, especially if you just did a normal/no cost MoneyLink/ACH transfer versus a pricey SWIFT transfer.

[ThaiBob]

Yes, ACH transfer. Very pleased; this was over a weekend too. BB charged some fees but the details haven't posted to my account yet.

[jfchandler]

The BKK Bank fees for that transaction involving their New York branch come in two parts:

--The New York branch usually charges a small handling fee, though as I recall their service is free for very small amount (under $50, and then a sliding scale $3, $5, $10 or $20, based on their fees chart...

--and then, the BKK Bank branch receiving the funds in Thailand charges a small commission of 0.25%, with min and max amounts of 200 and 500 baht.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Transfering%20Funds/Receiving%20Funds/Pages/Receiving%20Funds%20form%20USA%20Fee.aspx

That route is almost always going to be more cost effective than a wire transfer from the U.S. to Thailand, unless the sender gets no fee wire transfers from their U.S. bank.

[Firefan]

As mentioned - for non US clients of Schwab it will be the brokerage account (Schwab-global) debit card one can get. I just emailed them to check for card fees and they replied:

"The fee is 1 percent of the transaction for each foreign transaction which will be included in the amount charged to the account. This Visa charge applies whether or not there is a currency conversion."

Then they do surely not absorb the 1% fee from visa either or what? Or is that the above?

Cheers!

[Pib]

Thank goodness the Schwab Visa debit card for a US client/resident is truly no fee, to include no foreign transaction fee. Since recently opening my Schwab brokerage/savings/checking accounts and using their Visa debit card about three times a month (used it today also) to withdraw money from an ATM (an AEON ATM to avoid the 150 baht Thai bank fee & having Schwab reimburse me) there are zero fees/no foreign transaction fee applied to my Schwab accounts and I basically get a exchange rate within a few hundredths of point of the TT Buying rate (sometimes I get a little more than the TT rate; sometimes a little less). So far, my Schwab accounts have been working out well, although setup of funds transfer links between Schwab and my other banks for the Schwab checking and savings accounts still relies on paper forms to "initially" set the links up; after that you can do phone and/or online transfers....but that is all water-under-the-bridge to me now. Setting up funds transfer links for their brokerage account can all be done online with trial deposits, and transfers done online

And since I got my Capital One Cash Rewards Mastercard credit card which charges no fees, to include no foreign transaction fee, provides a transaction rate real close to the TT Buying rate, and provides a 2% or 1% cash back on purchases (2% for groceries/gas like buys at Lotus, Big C, Carrefour, fuel stations....1% for everything else...no other BS fine print), I almost fee like I'm purchasing items like I use to in the States. Heck, I've already got a $25 cash back credit to my account and well on the way to get another $25 credit/cash back...2%/1% cash back rewards can add up quick when using the card for most buys like groceries, gas, hardware store items, medical/dental, etc. I estimate I'm using the credit card for about 80% of my purchases nowdays...it would be higher (over 90%) except Makro only accepts cash or their own credit card. It sure has cut down on the amount of cash I withdraw from ATMs and the amount I need to periodically transfer from the States to recharge my Bangkok Bank accounts.

Yeap, almost like still being in the States for credit/debit/ATM card usage...and I'm getting US Consumer Law protection in use of the cards. I'm still thinking about opening a Capital One Bank checking/savings account in order to get their no fee/no foreign transaction fee debit card plus a very good checking/savings accounts interest rate....but I want the Cap One debit card partly as a backup to my Schwab debit card, because you never know when one of your other banks may change their policy/start charging a fee on credit/debit/ATM card usage.

[jfchandler]

Good summary, Pib... Another satisfied ThaiVisa banking customer...

Re your comments, even though the Cap One straight ATM (nonVISA/MC) is no longer useable in AEON ATMs, I've still managed to arrange two other cards comparable to Schwab as backups... just in case things ever change... Always pays to have a backup and be prepared. And these days, when I need to use the Cap One ATM for cash withdrawal, I'm using it thru the CitiBank Asoke branch, which doesn't charge the 150 baht ATM fee.

And re the hassle of Schwab and their paper-based process for linking external bank accounts to their checking account, I do send in the paper forms whenever I want to add or change a linked account. But in a pinch, or if I need to move something beforehand, there's always the alternative of doing the link to the external account with your Schwab brokerage account, which is done entirely online, and then simply doing in internal Schwab checking to brokerage or brokerage to checking once the funds come in/out.

[SurfRider]

.

In the "epic" thread on the Thai Bankers Assn. imposing 150 Baht ATM fees on Farangs-- that ran on ThaiVisa for many months, there was occasionally some uncertainty between the value of bringing funds from the USA into Thailand via a VISA Debit Card as opposed to doing an ACH transfer via the Bangkok Bank branch in New York.

I ran the numbers on the recently reported US$9000 transferred from the USA via Bangkok Bank. It looks like the exchange rate on the transaction was 30 Baht per US dollar -- ATM rates recently have been fluctuating between 30.25 and 30.30 ( today around 30.28 )

If my calculations are correct, the transfer via BB cost around 2250 to 2500 Baht ( or roughly US$75 ) more, over doing the same via an AEON ATM. ( plus the BB Bank processing fees on the U.S. and Thai ends )

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

Edited March 22, 2011 by SurfRider

[ThaiBob]

.

......

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

Good points. I am not in Thailand at the moment so I used BB (ACH) versus a typical international wire transfer. BB as noted is cheaper. If I was in Thailand I probably would have used my Schwab ATM card. In your analysis I could have reduced the number of trips in half since I have two Schwab brokerage/checking/ATM cards (one I use as a backup). Also, consider we would be at the mercy of the currency exchange rates over a 9 day period (assuming a $1000/day limit).

[ianguygil]

.

In the "epic" thread on the Thai Bankers Assn. imposing 150 Baht ATM fees on Farangs-- that ran on ThaiVisa for many months, there was occasionally some uncertainty between the value of bringing funds from the USA into Thailand via a VISA Debit Card as opposed to doing an ACH transfer via the Bangkok Bank branch in New York.

I ran the numbers on the recently reported US$9000 transferred from the USA via Bangkok Bank. It looks like the exchange rate on the transaction was 30 Baht per US dollar -- ATM rates recently have been fluctuating between 30.25 and 30.30 ( today around 30.28 )

If my calculations are correct, the transfer via BB cost around 2250 to 2500 Baht ( or roughly US$75 ) more, over doing the same via an AEON ATM. ( plus the BB Bank processing fees on the U.S. and Thai ends )

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

If you want to get a detailed breakdown of the charges on this transaction, including the actual rate applied, please just PM me and I can get somebody to get back to you. Then you can choose to publish what you want. We can also provide the comparable conversion rate on the ATM for that day. Thank you.

[SurfRider]

"If you want to get a detailed breakdown of the charges on this transaction, including the actual rate applied, please just PM me and I can get somebody to get back to you"

Thanks for the offer, but it's not really necessary -- I just wanted to get a generalized idea of the cost of using the two methods of bringing funds from the USA into Thailand.

In my original calcs, I did not consider the fees added by Bangkok Bank on both ends of the transaction. After adding those costs into the mix, it looks like each 30,000 Baht withdrawal at an AEON ATM would have saved around US$12, or a total of a little over US$100 for the entire $9000 - that's just over 1% overall savings.

If the withdrawals were done at a non-AEON ATM and/or with a Debit Card that did not reimburse fees, the cost per transaction would increase considerably, since the 150 Baht Thai fee would be added and the maximum amount of the withdrawal would need to be reduced to 20,000 or 25,000, depending on which bank's ATM you used.

No doubt about the added value of using a Schwab Debit Card and an AEON ATM.

.

[Firefan]

Thaibob; careful; your Schwab brokerage card DO charge 1% according to my precious post above. The Checking/bank cards do not. Cheers!

.

......

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

Good points. I am not in Thailand at the moment so I used BB (ACH) versus a typical international wire transfer. BB as noted is cheaper. If I was in Thailand I probably would have used my Schwab ATM card. In your analysis I could have reduced the number of trips in half since I have two Schwab brokerage/checking/ATM cards (one I use as a backup). Also, consider we would be at the mercy of the currency exchange rates over a 9 day period (assuming a $1000/day limit).

[Pib]

.

In the "epic" thread on the Thai Bankers Assn. imposing 150 Baht ATM fees on Farangs-- that ran on ThaiVisa for many months, there was occasionally some uncertainty between the value of bringing funds from the USA into Thailand via a VISA Debit Card as opposed to doing an ACH transfer via the Bangkok Bank branch in New York.

I ran the numbers on the recently reported US$9000 transferred from the USA via Bangkok Bank. It looks like the exchange rate on the transaction was 30 Baht per US dollar -- ATM rates recently have been fluctuating between 30.25 and 30.30 ( today around 30.28 )

If my calculations are correct, the transfer via BB cost around 2250 to 2500 Baht ( or roughly US$75 ) more, over doing the same via an AEON ATM. ( plus the BB Bank processing fees on the U.S. and Thai ends )

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

From my own experience in using a "true no fee" Visa debit card where a person basically gets the TT Buying exchange rate he saves money compared to going the transfer of funds to a Thai bank since most Thai bank also provide the TT Buying but charge approx a 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max) receiving fee plus possibly another fee if going through Bangkok Bank New York Branch. Now this also assumes there were no Sending bank fees like a SWIFT or ACH fee. So far, that has been my experience in using a no-fee Visa card (such as the Schwab debit card) and using an ATM which does not charge the 150 baht foreign card fee. It sure has greatly reduced my need to transfer money to Thailand since I can immediately pull it directly from my home country bank at no charge and get an exchange rate which is basically equal to the Thai bank TT Buying rate. Plus I have better protection and flexibility with my funds by keeping them in a US bank. At this point in time, using a no-fee debit/ATM card to get funds for day-to-day living expenses versus transferring funds to Thailand is a no brainer from a savings/cost standpoint. But with than being said, I still keep X-amount of funds in my Thai bank accounts for some big buys or emergency situations.

And instead of transferring funds like in the past, I just may start pulling the funds via use of my no-fee Visa debit card from an AEON machine and then walk about 20 steps in the Lotus mall to the Bankgok Bank branch and deposit the funds. Yea, it takes a few minutes but I've got the minutes to spare, the lines are always short at this branch, and I really like "all" of my money staying in "my" pocket versus some of money going into the bank's pocket due to transfer fees.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Pib

[SurfRider]

.

"Thaibob; careful; your Schwab brokerage card DO charge 1% ... The Checking/bank cards do not"

That's a good point worth noting. I suspect that it's just a matter of time before some bean-counter at Schwab wakes up and realizes that the recent wave of new Schwab checking accounts and fee-free ATM cards coming from Thailand looks suspicious-- and they start adding the 1% processing fee and also possibly no longer continue reimbursing the Thai Bankers Assn. 150 Baht ATM usury fee.

Schwab is primarily a brokerage firm-- in business to facilitate people who invest in the various equity markets, etc. They offer checking accounts and ATM Debit Cards as an inducement to attract more funds to their brokerage business.

Since we live in a country with some of the highest ATM fees in the world, I would encourage any Expats who invest in the markets to put some funds with Schwab brokerage - If we don't, we may find the fee-free debit card gravy-train grinding to a screeching halt at some point in the future.

.

[Langsuan Man]

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"Thaibob; careful; your Schwab brokerage card DO charge 1% ... The Checking/bank cards do not"

That's a good point worth noting. I suspect that it's just a matter of time before some bean-counter at Schwab wakes up and realizes that the recent wave of new Schwab checking accounts and fee-free ATM cards coming from Thailand looks suspicious-- and they start adding the 1% processing fee and also possibly no longer continue reimbursing the Thai Bankers Assn. 150 Baht ATM usury fee.

Schwab is primarily a brokerage firm-- in business to facilitate people who invest in the various equity markets, etc. They offer checking accounts and ATM Debit Cards as an inducement to attract more funds to their brokerage business.

Since we live in a country with some of the highest ATM fees in the world, I would encourage any Expats who invest in the markets to put some funds with Schwab brokerage - If we don't, we may find the fee-free debit card gravy-train grinding to a screeching halt at some point in the future.

.

I am sure that is exactly what happened with the gravy train that WAS Capital One Debit Card

[Pib]

That's a good point worth noting. I suspect that it's just a matter of time before some bean-counter at Schwab wakes up and realizes that the recent wave of new Schwab checking accounts and fee-free ATM cards coming from Thailand looks suspicious-- and they start adding the 1% processing fee and also possibly no longer continue reimbursing the Thai Bankers Assn. 150 Baht ATM usury fee.

I kinda doubt it as Thailand is just one of many, many countries that Schwab customers live or visit. I guesstimate less than a thousand expats (proabably significantly less) living in Thailand have a Schwab account/debit card...this ain't a whole lot considering that Schwab probably has millions of customers with many living overseas. And even if there are more than a thousand expats living in Thailand using Schwab debit cards, that's still small potatoes considering all the countries in the world where several million expats live and a good percentage of these folks probably have Schwab accounts/cards.

But with financial companies/banks turning into fee hungry animals, any new or higher fee wouldn't surprise me...even from the mind of a Schwab bean-counter...and that's when I starting looking for another bank that's fee friendly. And yeap, I do have a little bit of Schwab brokerage activity occurring....and as mentioned I use AEON no fee ATMs whenever possible (currently, all the time for funds withdrawal from my Schwab accounts). Hopefully other expats in Thailand do the same "whenever" an AEON ATM is easily available...and I know they are not easily available in many/most parts of Thailand....but are usually available in high population cities/areas. Cheers.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Pib

[jfchandler]

Or in another approach, SR, follow the approach Pib and I and others do which is to use AEON ATMs as a general rule. Thus rarely have a 150 baht Thai ATM fee ever charged to the Schwab account, so no $5 ATM fee reimbursement is occurring. But it's nice to know it's there, in case you ever or rarely need it

Last night, I walked an extra 500 meters or so from a BTS station, where there were a variety of regular Thai bank ATMs, to get to a nearby AEON ATM... I had the time, and didn't mind at all. I look at it as occasional good exercise, and figure it feels good to save $5 each time, whether it's out of my pocket or Schwab's.

Since we live in a country with some of the highest ATM fees in the world, I would encourage any Expats who invest in the markets to put some funds with Schwab brokerage - If we don't, we may find the fee-free debit card gravy-train grinding to a screeching halt at some point in the future.

Edited March 23, 2011 by jfchandler

[Pib]

It's approx 9:30pm.

Just checked the Bangkok Bank webpage for their TT Buying Rate: it's 30.14 Baht/USD

http://www.bangkokba...s/FX_Rates.aspx

Checking the Visa Exchange rate for a zero fee card: their rate is: 30.18 Baht/USD

http://usa.visa.com/...ex_rates_us.jsp

OK, higher exchange rate provided by the Visa debit/ATM card (remember, I'm talking a 0% fee card like the Schwab card or similar bank cards) plus no Receiving bank fee(s) which effectively lowers the effective exchange rate by several tenths of a percent. And if the Sending bank adds on fees, then it lowers the effective exchange rate even more.

Considering the other benefits offered by a no-fee credit/debit/ATM card and if you have easy access to a no-fee ATM, this adds up to a no brainer method to me at least in providing day-to-day Thailand living expenses.

[powderpuff]

How did you manage to get the usd 25 wire fee waived?

On a separate note; according to http://flyerguide.co...oreign_Exchange it is only the BANK account Schwab ATM cards that do not have 1% atm fee and 1% point of sales fee. The SchwabONE broker account ATM cards DO have that it says....

We non-US people can only open a broker account as far as I know.

I have a Schwab One Brokerage account, VISA debit card. I see the 150 baht ATN fee on my statement but Schwab reimburses me. And yes I can do wire transfer. I think it's free. Would have to check.

[jfchandler]

Pib, that's correct.

In my experience also, for true no-fee cards like Schwab and a few others, the exchange rate usually is a few points better...sometimes up to .10th of a baht, than the Thai bank buying TT rates.

And of course, there's usually a range for those from Thai bank to bank, some higher and some lower on any given day. So the spread with the standard rate you'll get with the Schwab card may be a bit larger or smaller depending on which individual Thai bank you do the buying TT comparison with.

As we've discussed elsewhere, I think earlier in this same thread, VISA logo cards generally seem to have a bit of a rate advantage compared to their MC brethren when its comes to foreign transactions. And of course, the Schwab ATM card happens to be a VISA logo debit.

BTW, whenever I look at a web site that lists the daily rates for all the commercial Thai banks gathered together in one chart for a particular day, BKK Bank rarely seems to be at the top of the rates/value list for U.S. $ compared with the others. More often, more or less in the middle of the pack.

Just checked the Bangkok Bank webpage for their TT Buying Rate: it's 30.14 Baht/USD

http://www.bangkokba...s/FX_Rates.aspx

Checking the Visa Exchange rate for a zero fee card: their rate is: 30.18 Baht/USD

http://usa.visa.com/...ex_rates_us.jsp

Edited March 23, 2011 by jfchandler

[SurfRider]

.

"I guesstimate less than a thousand expats (probably significantly less) living in Thailand have a Schwab account/debit card"

Pib, it would be nice to know that your assumptions are correct, but I don't know of any evidence that would support them. True, Schwab has 8 million clients worldwide, but nevertheless, red flags waving from Thailand do not create a comforting thought.

"follow the approach Pib and I and others do which is to use AEON ATMs as a general rule"

No doubt about that advice and that's the policy I try to follow also, but keep in mind that you live in the BIG city and the remainder of Thailand has a dearth of AEON ATMs --

For example - only four in Pattaya, a city of over 100,000 people-- and the only one in Central Pattaya has displayed "out of service" on its screen five out of the last 8 times I trekked there from some considerable distance away. I know of several other Expats who don't even bother seeking out AEON anymore to use their Schwab cards because of the inconvenience.

The two busiest AEON ATMs in Pattaya are in north Pattaya and consistently have lines 10 and 20 deep of Thais pulling cash from benefactors overseas accounts. Expats aren't the only ones cashing in on AEONs largess.

.

[ThaiBob]

Thaibob; careful; your Schwab brokerage card DO charge 1% according to my precious post above. The Checking/bank cards do not. Cheers!

.

......

Since the ATM route would have required 9 visits at 30,000 Baht per transaction from an AEON ATM ( to save a couple of thousand Baht or $75 ), I guess it all comes down to a matter of the priorities of the individual doing the transfer . . .

.

Good points. I am not in Thailand at the moment so I used BB (ACH) versus a typical international wire transfer. BB as noted is cheaper. If I was in Thailand I probably would have used my Schwab ATM card. In your analysis I could have reduced the number of trips in half since I have two Schwab brokerage/checking/ATM cards (one I use as a backup). Also, consider we would be at the mercy of the currency exchange rates over a 9 day period (assuming a $1000/day limit).

Thanks for the advice. Just to clarify. The Schwab ATM card/debt(s) are linked to my 2 checking accounts. One of the ATM cards in new and I will use as a backup.

[jfchandler]

Hey SR, that's a funny one, and I hadn't even thought about that before...

Not only farang get hit by the Thai banks 150 baht ATM fee, but also Thai ladies of easy virtue who happen to be using the foreign account ATM cards that their benefactors have given them... Hehehehehehe....

Here in BKK, I too sometimes run into long lines, not of farang, but of Thais at one particular AEON ATM is a busy mall location. But in that case, they're all lining up to PAY their AEON credit card bills.... at 20% interest APR...

Maybe we can get some of the ladies you're talking about to whisper in the ear of some politicians during pillow talk late at night.... "Hey Honey, how about dumping the 150 baht ATM fee??? It'll feel REAL GOOD for you..."

The two busiest AEON ATMs in Pattaya are in north Pattaya and consistently have lines 10 and 20 deep of Thais pulling cash from benefactors overseas accounts. Expats aren't the only ones cashing in on AEONs largess.

Edited March 24, 2011 by jfchandler

[Langsuan Man]

Sorry you lecherous old men but most benefactors will give his Terak a Thai Bank ATM card and then online transfer money to her ATM card from his main Thai account

[jfchandler]

In the Pattaya context, I think SR was talking about benefactors who primarily still reside overseas.... not in Thailand... So I wouldn't doubt that they might be handing out US/UK etc bank cards to their loved ones... But...I'll defer to others' expertise on said subject...

Sorry you lecherous old men but most benefactors will give his Terak a Thai Bank ATM card and then online transfer money to her ATM card from his main Thai account

[Pib]

BTW, whenever I look at a web site that lists the daily rates for all the commercial Thai banks gathered together in one chart for a particular day, BKK Bank rarely seems to be at the top of the rates/value list for U.S. $ compared with the others. More often, more or less in the middle of the pack.

That's been my experience also with BKK Bank, in that their TT exchange rate seems to fall in the middle of the pack of Thai banks. For example, I just went to webpage http://bankexchanger...et/default.aspx to check this morning's TT rates of Thai banks. BKK Bank is in the middle of the pack on attached chart at 30.11/USD compared to a range upper end of 30.13 and a lower end of 30.06. When checking the Visa exchange web site at http://usa.visa.com/...ex_rates_us.jsp they show a 30.18 exchange rate. Once again, the Visa exchange rate for a no fee/zero fee card being higher than Thai bank TT Buying Rate.