Credit Cards - Here Or There.

[DowntownAl]

Did your credit card company balk at the change of address from Canada/US/Britain etc. to Thailand. Did they freak out at the change from employed (in whatever manner) to retired expat in Thailand? Info would be appreciated. I really don’t want to use a mail forwarder for the next 10 years or lie to credit card company.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Absolutely NO problem with either my VISA or my MasterCards, both from the U.S. and from different banks, ZERO, zip, nada.

Just remember to phone them before you depart the U.S. to let them know that there may be charges coming from Thailand, otherwise they may block the card seeing "abnormal" charge locations. And if you happen to travel back to your home country, phone them again about the temp change in location.

FYI, using a foreign based CC in Thailand will probably result in additional charges for you, one being the 1%-3% "Foreign Exchange" fee, and another may be the Thai merchant adding on 3% to cover his cost of your transaction. I do carry a card with me but very rarely use it here because of these charges, but do have it handy for emergencies, such as medical.

Mac, long time retired here

[noise]

My bank required a formal "home of record" in the U.S. but willingly and happily use my Thailand mailing address for all correspondence. I did not realize that until one day (years after moving here) I was really digging into my account info and found the old address was still there. I questioned it and they said it was required or I had to close the account.

So, for the bank, no mail forwarding service was required. I just needed a willing friend or relative that let me use their address.

Credit cards do not seem to have that need (my on line records do not indicate they have kept any state side address), but I have not asked the specific question. I just use my local mailing address as my billing address.

[theoldgit]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

[lovelaos]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

+1

[transam]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

+1

+2,

Use a UK home address, relative or friend.

[Heng]

You might want to consider banking in Hong Kong and/or Singapore. The banks (and you can pick from a handful of European banks if you don't want to go with a local bank) are much more easy going about where you live, where to send replacement atm cards, etc. Just my experience, but HSBC, Hang Seng, Standard Chartered, DBS, etc. etc. have never asked me to 'just come into a branch' if you're having any kind of issue. Just about everything I've ever needed to do can be done through their various online banking services. Some of my US banks however all seem to want to see me or at least have me call in from time to time (and that's even maintaining a real permanent address and 'live' cell phone number on roaming stateside just to deal with bank stuff). Maybe a good thing if I'm ever held for ransom, but otherwise inconvenient.

[happyrobert]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

+1

Yep, there are exceptions. My credit union Fed-Ex's my card when the old one expires, no problem. They even foot the bill. Go see the manager before you fly out and introduce yourself.

I have my statements sent to a family member, who shreds them. I do all transactions online.

[bonobo]

I have had no problem with my US banks sending statements or replacement cards to my Thai address.

I use my cards mostly to pay bills and to order from online stores such as Amazon. For Thailand, I use my Siam Commercial Bank debit card so I don't incur those foreign transaction fees. I was going to get a Thai Citibank credit card so I could get some of those two-for one discounts at various restaurants, but after going downtown with my 100,000 baht in hand to open an account, I was told i need to have 200,000 to get a card as I am a foreigner.

[ballbreaker]

Never a problem with replacement cards for Visa or MasterCard being sent to Thailand from US. American Express on the other hand will not send replacement card but will arrange for one to be ready for pickup at AmEx in Bangkok when I need replacement.

[WebBangkok]

Well I am with St George in Australia.

When I first did my address change over the phone, they said they will send cards, but no statement as they dont send overseas. But after the address change, they sent them to me anyway.

Although I had a hiccup in regards getting my new pin number activated here, their customer service is useless. But other then that its all good.

[jfchandler]

I think a lot depends on what country the OP is from and what credit card companies any particular person is dealing with...

I also think while Mac's advice above may reflect his experience, it's not reflective of the entire landscape...

Indeed, there have been numerous reports here on TV over the years of members having their credit cards non renewed, typically when the existing ones expired...because they were then showing/using a foreign (Thailand) address on their account.

Changing to a foreign address also may impact one's ability to open new accounts with a home country card issuer.

I'm not saying every credit card company does that... But no one likewise should be saying that people don't face that risk in using a foreign address on a home country credit card.

I prefer not to take that risk and just keep things simple with a home country address of record...

But if I was considering starting to use a Thailand address on a formerly home country credit card, I'd certainly do some online checking to see what others' experience has been with that particular card company.

Edited August 5, 2011 by jfchandler

[CaptHaddock]

You might want to consider banking in Hong Kong and/or Singapore. The banks (and you can pick from a handful of European banks if you don't want to go with a local bank) are much more easy going about where you live, where to send replacement atm cards, etc. Just my experience, but HSBC, Hang Seng, Standard Chartered, DBS, etc. etc. have never asked me to 'just come into a branch' if you're having any kind of issue. Just about everything I've ever needed to do can be done through their various online banking services. Some of my US banks however all seem to want to see me or at least have me call in from time to time (and that's even maintaining a real permanent address and 'live' cell phone number on roaming stateside just to deal with bank stuff). Maybe a good thing if I'm ever held for ransom, but otherwise inconvenient.

But the US credit cards are better to have since they provide standard and effective fraud protection. It's also necessary to find a US card that does not charge a foreign exchange transaction fee.

[Eff1n2ret]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

+1

Yep, there are exceptions. My credit union Fed-Ex's my card when the old one expires, no problem. They even foot the bill. Go see the manager before you fly out and introduce yourself.

I have my statements sent to a family member, who shreds them. I do all transactions online.

Before I left UK I notified my bank and 2 Visa card companies (HSBC and Barclaycard) of my move. Only the latter was a bit sniffy and said they could only do it for 3 months, but the card is still current and they now have no other address for me. I used it a couple of months ago. I use the HSBC Visa account periodically, everything is done online and they sent me a new card a few months ago. My bank debit card was renewed direct to my Thai address as well.

[jfchandler]

But the US credit cards are better to have since they provide standard and effective fraud protection. It's also necessary to find a US card that does not charge a foreign exchange transaction fee.

Capital One, for U.S. folks, is one of the best in terms of having no foreign currency fee credit cards across their entire spectrum of credit cards...

Unfortunately, in terms of this discussion, they're also one of the most picky in terms of only wanting accounts for customers with U.S. addresses.

[Heng]

You might want to consider banking in Hong Kong and/or Singapore. The banks (and you can pick from a handful of European banks if you don't want to go with a local bank) are much more easy going about where you live, where to send replacement atm cards, etc. Just my experience, but HSBC, Hang Seng, Standard Chartered, DBS, etc. etc. have never asked me to 'just come into a branch' if you're having any kind of issue. Just about everything I've ever needed to do can be done through their various online banking services. Some of my US banks however all seem to want to see me or at least have me call in from time to time (and that's even maintaining a real permanent address and 'live' cell phone number on roaming stateside just to deal with bank stuff). Maybe a good thing if I'm ever held for ransom, but otherwise inconvenient.

But the US credit cards are better to have since they provide standard and effective fraud protection. It's also necessary to find a US card that does not charge a foreign exchange transaction fee.

Agree, the one card I even use is US Amex card for Agoda (online) and to present for 'authorization only' at hotels. Otherwise my few other cards are always in the safe, and the rest are debit cards. My only periodic but sometimes troublesome hurdles are replacement atm/debit cards from my various banks. Yeah I know, only once every 2-3 years and I'll probably only have to do it no more than 20-30 more times before I die, but I try to keep my life as hassle free as possible.

[PattayaParent]

Pretty sure most UK banks will not send cards, credit or debit, to Thailand, mine certainly didn't, of course there will be exceptions to the rule.

+1

Yep, there are exceptions. My credit union Fed-Ex's my card when the old one expires, no problem. They even foot the bill. Go see the manager before you fly out and introduce yourself.

I have my statements sent to a family member, who shreds them. I do all transactions online.

Before I left UK I notified my bank and 2 Visa card companies (HSBC and Barclaycard) of my move. Only the latter was a bit sniffy and said they could only do it for 3 months, but the card is still current and they now have no other address for me. I used it a couple of months ago. I use the HSBC Visa account periodically, everything is done online and they sent me a new card a few months ago. My bank debit card was renewed direct to my Thai address as well.

When I had a bank account with HSBC there was no problem receiving my debit cards from the banking division anywhere in the world (by DHL, free of charge) but the credit card division would only send to a UK address so I had them send the CCs to my HSBC bank and they would send them on to me (by DHL, free of charge).

When I closed my HSBC bank account the credit card division have sent new CCs direct to Thailand with no problem, by DHL free of charge.

[Gary A]

I use Citibank in the US. Even though I keep a substantial amount of money in there and have direct deposits there from my pensions, they cancelled my credit card telling me that I need a US address.

Chase also cancelled my card. Only Bank of America has no problem with my Thai address.

Yes, I could use a family US address but it irritated me to have to use a bogus address.

[jfchandler]

I use Citibank in the US. Even though I keep a substantial amount of money in there and have direct deposits there from my pensions, they cancelled my credit card telling me that I need a US address.

Chase also cancelled my card. Only Bank of America has no problem with my Thai address.

Yes, I could use a family US address but it irritated me to have to use a bogus address.

Thanks for that firsthand report, Gary, and it's a telling one... considering that Citibank and Chase (along with BofA/FIA) are among the U.S.'s largest credit card issuers.....

BTW, in my experience, the regular banking operations operate pretty much separately from their credit card operations..

So I'm not especially surprised that Citibank credit card folks didn't cut you any slack based on your deposits on the banking side. One might expect it to be otherwise... But unfortunately, apparently not.