Cheapest Atm To Withdraw Baht From Us Account

[Grawburg]

I have occasionally needed to use my US ATM to withdraw money (baht, obviously). The 3 times I have had to do it I always get the B150 fee, plus the international fee, and then varying degrees of good to crappy exchange rates.

Does anyone know if there is a particular bank or even a speciifc machine that gives the best rate....even better - any way to avoid the B150 fee? I'm not likely to try an ATM on Patpong or Khao San or Nana because I'm too suspicious of skimmers....but I'll take what advise I can get.

[PoorSucker]

Aeon ATM

Aeon location

Edited August 10, 2011 by PoorSucker

[Nisa]

Aeon ATM

Aeon location

for clarification ...

AEON doesn't charge the 150 baht fee.

[Pib]

Use of an AEON ATM is pretty much your only choice in Thailand to avoid the 150 baht foreign card withdrawal fee.

But regardless the ATM used in Thailand, whether it's an AEON or any Thai bank ATM, you will still be charged whatever foreign transaction fee(a) your home country bank may charge...and of course this foreign transaction fee effectively lowers your exchange rate.

Also, if the ATM offers a DDC (Direct Currency Conversion) option, DON"T take that option as it will give you a 2-4% lower exchange rate while you still get hit with the other fees.

Edited August 10, 2011 by Pib

[jfchandler]

To further answer the OP's question, the various commercial banks in Thailand all have their own ATMs and all charge the 150 baht fee (AEON is not a Thai bank, thus that's why they don't charge the 150 baht fee).

But the Thai bank ATMs also all use the same two sources for calculating exchange rates, the VISA and MasterCard networks. So, if you were to use the same U.S. bank card to make withdrawals from different Thai banks at exactly the same time, you've get the same local exchange rate from each of them... VISA network cards a bit higher/better, and MC network cards a bit lower/lesser.

Unlike the ATMS, though, if you go into a Thai bank branch to exchange money or go to one of their exchange counters, then they each will use their own slightly different local exchange rates. But the rates used for foreign ATM cards when pulling money from Thai bank ATMs are the card network rates, not the local bank rates (unless you happen to get one that offers, and you optionally choose to select, so-called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), which translates as a crappy local rate).

And, as Pib mentioned above, you also need to watch out for the various foreign currency fees that may be charged by your U.S. bank or CU... Most of the majors charge 3% or more... But there are various banks and CU's that charge NO foreign currency fee or reimburse any foreign currency fees each month up to some monthly limit. For anyone planning to spend any significant amount of time abroad or in Thailand, you'd definitely want to use one of those kinds of cards for your foreign travel expenditures.

There is, BTW, another no-fee ATM option available besides AEON, but it is a single location just in Bangkok, and that is the Citibank headquarters at the Asoke/Sukhumvit intersection. Their ATMs there do not charge the 150 baht fee nor do they charge any Citibank fee when other U.S. bank cards are used there.

Edited August 10, 2011 by jfchandler

[tw25rw]

I used my UK Citibank card in a Citibank ATM and wasn't charged the fee. Can't vouch for other cards though.

[thrilled]

I have A schwab account.The fees are taken out,schwab reimburses me.

[jfchandler]

I used my UK Citibank card in a Citibank ATM and wasn't charged the fee. Can't vouch for other cards though.

There's a strange aspect to this for U.S. folks, at least as I recollect my prior inquiries on the subject....

For U.S. folks, the Citibank ATMs at Asoke and Sukhumvit don't charge any extra fee when you use a normal VISA or MC logo ATM card from the U.S. -- apart from any fee one's own card-issuing bank might have.

However, if someone has a Citibank account from the U.S., I believe (this is my recollection) that they WILL charge a foreign currency fee to most of their own card holders were they to use the Citi BKK ATMs... unless they have one of Citi's higher-level Gold type accounts.

Welcome to the wonderful world of international banking...

[cougar52]

To further answer the OP's question, the various commercial banks in Thailand all have their own ATMs and all charge the 150 baht fee (AEON is not a Thai bank, thus that's why they don't charge the 150 baht fee).

But the Thai bank ATMs also all use the same two sources for calculating exchange rates, the VISA and MasterCard networks. So, if you were to use the same U.S. bank card to make withdrawals from different Thai banks at exactly the same time, you've get the same local exchange rate from each of them... VISA network cards a bit higher/better, and MC network cards a bit lower/lesser.

Unlike the ATMS, though, if you go into a Thai bank branch to exchange money or go to one of their exchange counters, then they each will use their own slightly different local exchange rates. But the rates used for foreign ATM cards when pulling money from Thai bank ATMs are the card network rates, not the local bank rates (unless you happen to get one that offers, and you optionally choose to select, so-called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), which translates as a crappy local rate).

And, as Pib mentioned above, you also need to watch out for the various foreign currency fees that may be charged by your U.S. bank or CU... Most of the majors charge 3% or more... But there are various banks and CU's that charge NO foreign currency fee or reimburse any foreign currency fees each month up to some monthly limit. For anyone planning to spend any significant amount of time abroad or in Thailand, you'd definitely want to use one of those kinds of cards for your foreign travel expenditures.

There is, BTW, another no-fee ATM option available besides AEON, but it is a single location just in Bangkok, and that is the Citibank headquarters at the Asoke/Sukhumvit intersection. Their ATMs there do not charge the 150 baht fee nor do they charge any Citibank fee when other U.S. bank cards are used there.

See this chart http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx. When you use this chart choose the TT rate.

[eyeplay]

you can avoid the 150 baht fee by using any bank exchange booth with your passport and usa debit card

u just tell them to swipe your debit card like a cash advance

they will only do 20k baht per transaction

[TongueThaied]

I have A schwab account.The fees are taken out,schwab reimburses me.

That's right. Open a Charles Schwab account in the US, and ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world will cost you nothing. Schwab seems to be one of the few large companies left where greed has not completely outstripped customer service and reason.

[jfchandler]

See this chart http://bankexchanger...t/default.aspx. When you use this chart choose the TT rate.

The link above you posted is broken...

But if it were to show the banks' buying TT rates, that's what they pay at the exchange counters and such... It's not the rate Thai bank ATMs charge for foreign card ATM withdrawals.

[jfchandler]

you can avoid the 150 baht fee by using any bank exchange booth with your passport and usa debit card

u just tell them to swipe your debit card like a cash advance

they will only do 20k baht per transaction

Yep, that's commonly called a "counter withdrawal." And the Thai banks have not been charging the 150 baht ATM fee on those...

The problem is, as has been reported here by various TV members, in some cases when they've tried to do those at their local bank branch, the bank staff have refused and told them to use the bank's ATMs instead... I'm not saying that happens all the time...just that it's been a sometimes problem reported by members here.

The other downside to counter withdrawals is the risk, however minimal, of carrying around one's passport and the potential for losing it... Again, normally a small risk.... but a hassle should that befall someone.

Also, the practical limit on a counter withdrawal may not come from the Thai bank, but from the daily limit on a person's ATM card by their home country bank, which in the U.S. often is set by default at $500 in each 24 hour period.

Likewise, in past discussions here about counter withdrawals, the limits that people reported hearing from Thai bank staff on what they could do did vary quite a bit bank to bank.

[Lifer]

you can avoid the 150 baht fee by using any bank exchange booth with your passport and usa debit card

u just tell them to swipe your debit card like a cash advance

they will only do 20k baht per transaction

Yep, that's commonly called a "counter withdrawal." And the Thai banks have not been charging the 150 baht ATM fee on those...

The problem is, as has been reported here by various TV members, in some cases when they've tried to do those at their local bank branch, the bank staff have refused and told them to use the bank's ATMs instead... I'm not saying that happens all the time...just that it's been a sometimes problem reported by members here.

The other downside to counter withdrawals is the risk, however minimal, of carrying around one's passport and the potential for losing it... Again, normally a small risk.... but a hassle should that befall someone.

Also, the practical limit on a counter withdrawal may not come from the Thai bank, but from the daily limit on a person's ATM card by their home country bank, which in the U.S. often is set by default at $500 in each 24 hour period.

Likewise, in past discussions here about counter withdrawals, the limits that people reported hearing from Thai bank staff on what they could do did vary quite a bit bank to bank.

I have a US credit union account. I can go into SCB and transfer up to $3000 from CU into my account with no fee other than the 1% my CU charges when an ATM or debit card is used. The $3000 limit is set by my CU and not the banks here. It took me a long time before I tried it, but now do it regularly.

[jfchandler]

I have a US credit union account. I can go into SCB and transfer up to $3000 from CU into my account with no fee other than the 1% my CU charges when an ATM or debit card is used. The $3000 limit is set by my CU and not the banks here. It took me a long time before I tried it, but now do it regularly.

You might want to pay close attention to the exchange rate you're getting on those SCB transactions....

In the past posts on counter withdrawals here regarding SCB, it was reported that they, unlike most of the other Thai banks, were using a so-called DCC rate (Dynamic Currency Conversion) on their counter withdrawals -- which is a fancy name for a special, bad exchange rate that's below both buying TT and the card networks ATM rates...

One place, among many, where you can find the daily exchange rates that approximate the card networks ATM exchange rates for Thai baht is at X-Rates.com. That's general guide to the kind of rates a no-fee ATM withdrawal should provide.

Needless to say, you also could avoid your home CU's 1% foreign currency fee by using one of several other banks or credit unions that charge no foreign currency fee... Charles Schwab, State Farm Bank, Capital One and others among them. Schwab and State Farm also reimburse Thai bank ATM fees if they are charged to your account.

As for your home CU, they're taking about 1000 baht (roughly $30) out of your 100,000 baht ($3000) withdrawal. Hmmmm......

BTW, one of the reasons people here speculated on why SCB seemed to have a much higher bank limit on the amounts of their counter withdrawals is that they were more than happy to dole out whatever funds the farang before them wanted at a DCC rate much lower (and better for the bank) than they'd get via ATM or elsewhere. A nice tidy profit for them.

[dddave]

Last month, when the US$/Baht rate was a touch above 30, I withdrew B10,000 from the Citibank ATM (Asok) using a Bank of America debit card. $329.00 was deducted from my BofA account. I suspect a very unfavorable exchange rate was used but I never sat down and did the math.

[jfchandler]

Dave, in the example you gave, the problem is with BofA....not with Citibank in Thailand.

BofA is one of the worst banks for ATM use abroad, unless you're in one of a handful of countries where they have reciprocal local banking affiliations, which they don't in Thailand.

Thus anytime you use a BofA debit card to make an ATM withdrawal in Thailand, BofA is going to charge you a flat $5 per transaction fee for using a non BofA ATM abroad and then a 1% foreign currency fee as well on the ATM amount withdrawn....

For debit card point of sale purchases abroad, they charge a flat 3% fee, similar to most of the other mega U.S. banks.

From BofA's web site:

Withdrawals, deposits, transfers, payments and balance inquiries made at ATMs in foreign countries outside of the Global ATM Alliance, China Construction Bank or Banco Santander will be charged a $5.00 fee.

In addition, an international transaction fee will be charged for ATM card and debit card transactions made for foreign purchases or ATM cash withdrawals in currency other than U.S. dollars, The international transaction fee will be 1% of the U.S. dollar amount for each converted ATM cash withdrawal.

For each debit card transaction made in a foreign currency, the international transaction fee will be 3% of the U.S. dollar amount. These international transaction fees will appear as a separate item on your banking statement for each international transaction.

[dskny]

I have A schwab account.The fees are taken out,schwab reimburses me.

Yup...get a Schwab account. Reimburses every month like clockwork..

[Gonsalviz]

Skip all the ATM's and open a bank account in your name, set up a transfer.

[jfchandler]

Skip all the ATM's and open a bank account in your name, set up a transfer.

Actually, if someone uses a no-fee ATM card and a no-fee Thai ATM, they're getting a better exchange rate on their funds than any bank transfer, including the online BKK Bank transfers via their New York branch.

So the smartest way to handle one's money is either to use a no fee ATM like AEON or use a home country account that reimburses foreign ATM fees, like the Schwab account mentioned above. And make sure your home country bank isn't charging their own foreign currency fee.

[pmarlin]

Last month, when the US$/Baht rate was a touch above 30, I withdrew B10,000 from the Citibank ATM (Asok) using a Bank of America debit card. $329.00 was deducted from my BofA account. I suspect a very unfavorable exchange rate was used but I never sat down and did the math.

30.39 , not bad

[Pib]

Last month, when the US$/Baht rate was a touch above 30, I withdrew B10,000 from the Citibank ATM (Asok) using a Bank of America debit card. $329.00 was deducted from my BofA account. I suspect a very unfavorable exchange rate was used but I never sat down and did the math.

30.39 , not bad

That may have been the core rate, excluding the separate $5 and 1% charges/fees. Or if did included the mentioned fees, it occurred when the rate was closer to 31 than it was to 30 baht. Bank of America's other name is Fees-R-Us.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Pib

[jfchandler]

BofA's usual practice, when listing foreign ATM withdrawals in BofA online banking, has been to show three separate line item charges for each ATM withdrawal:

1. --the actual amount you withdrew.

2. --BofA's $5 fee.

3. --BofA's 1% foreign currency fee.

Of course, anyone using a BofA card to withdraw funds abroad would need to add together all three of those debits in calculating what their real net exchange rate was.

[Pib]

You know that 1% fee we always hear about Visa (and Mastercard). Well, such fee is passed along to a person's bank which issues the ATM/Debit/Credit Card and then it's up to the bank as the whether they eat that fee, pass along the fee to the card holder, and/or add-on to the fee. This is why we end up with banks charging different levels of foreign transaction fees ranging from 0% (the bank eats the fee) to sometimes approaching 5% (the bank passes along the Visa/Mastercard fee and then piles on more fees).

However, according to the Visa web site, the fee Visa passes along to a financial institution like your bank ranges from 0.15% to 1%. I expect big banks like BofA arrange a good pricing deal from Visa which is probably closer to the 0.15% than the 1%...but they still pass along the 1% fee to the card holder which means BofA pockets 0.85% on that particular fee, and then they add salt to the wound by piling on more/higher fees.

Cut and Paste From Visa Exchange Rate web site*****************************************

What is Visa's fee structure for international transactions?

Visa Inc. does not assess any fees to cardholders or merchants. Visa applies International Service Assessment (ISA) fees ranging from 0.15 to 1 percent to its financial institution partners for their use of the global payment system.

The fees are paid by financial institutions on transactions that require the use of our global infrastructure. Since Visa does not assess any fees to cardholders or merchants, we have no involvement in financial institution pricing to cardholders or merchants. If financial institutions or merchants decide to assess a foreign transaction fee to their customers, they are required to provide details to their cardholders and consumers.

End of Cut and Paste*****************************

[jfchandler]

Speaking of foreign currency fees, there's good news in the long-running litigation against the mega American banks over their past foreign currency fee practices re American credit card holders...

See the update here...

Some of us may have some money coming...one day in the future.

[Pib]

With our luck, all we'll have to do is provide the original ATM/Debit/Credit card receipts from years past....you know, those receipts with the ink which fades very fast. In will also be our luck they'll require each receipt to be notarized byt the American Embassy at $50 per document/receipt notarized. I need to do a cost analysis to see if its worth filling a claim.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Pib

[jfchandler]

Sorry Pib... you're out of luck....

The deadline for filing claims in this litigation has long passed... No chance for anyone to file any claim now...

But back when the claim period was open a couple years ago, there were several different ways people could submit... ranging from simple to complicated.

One of the methods, I believe the one I ended up using, was not to use any kind of actual receipts, but instead to recount the number of days you were traveling outside the U.S. during the period covered by the litigation, which was pretty easy to do working from passport stamps... Then, I guess, they would end up applying some kind of per diem rate to those days when they ended up calculating the actual payments, depending on the number and value of the total claims filed...

Back then, they knew the amount of the proposed settlement, but didn't know how many claims would be filed... Today was the first time I saw their web site total that number... more than 10 MILLION claims... So anyone who filed a claim is only going to end up getting a fraction of their amount... But...it's better than nothing.

[JerryAndMiel]

We have a CitiBank ATM card and a non-CitiBank ATM card (Wells Fargo), and discovered that using our non-CitiBank ATM card at the CitiBank ATMs at Asoke is a better deal. CitiBank charges a variable premium over the exchange rate, amounting to 1.8% if you use a CitiBank ATM card. However, when we used our Wells Fargo card, CitiBank gave us the exact exchange rate, and Wells Fargo will only charge us $5 for the transaction, amounting to 1%.

CitiBank sent a notice recently to say they will not charge any fees for using their ATM cards anywhere. However, that "anywhere" certainly doesn't include ATMs in foreign countries, even ATMs at "CitiBanks".

[4evermaat]

<br />See this chart <a href='http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx.' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://bankexchanger...t/default.aspx.</a> When you use this chart choose the TT rate.<br />

<br /><br />The link above you posted is broken...<br /><br />But if it were to show the banks' buying TT rates, that's what they pay at the exchange counters and such... It's not the rate Thai bank ATMs charge for foreign card ATM withdrawals.

<br /><br />Correct link is <a href='http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://bankexchanger...ytodaydata.net/</a> make sure you choose TT rates. You can also put exact $€£ amount that you want to withdraw and it will multiply it out for you.<br /><br />Too bad the first poster messed up the url. Great resource to Bookmark/spotcheck before or on mobile phone when you are near atm. Guarantees you get the best exchange rate.<br /><br />Btw, they can show both buying and selling rates. Most people will do USD/EUR/GBP to THB which will work for buying rates. For selling rates, reverse the currency blocks e.g. THB to USD. <br /><br />btw2 BofA military only charges flat 1%. wires are $12 domestic and $25 intl. , but no ACH option. retail BofA sucks with fees of any kind <br /><br />"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app. Edited January 30, 2012 by 4evermaat

[4evermaat]

Skip all the ATM's and open a bank account in your name, set up a transfer.

Actually, if someone uses a no-fee ATM card and a no-fee Thai ATM, they're getting a better exchange rate on their funds than any bank transfer, including the online BKK Bank transfers via their New York branch.

So the smartest way to handle one's money is either to use a no fee ATM like AEON or use a home country account that reimburses foreign ATM fees, like the Schwab account mentioned above. And make sure your home country bank isn't charging their own foreign currency fee.

Agreed. If you are blessed to have such a setup, then thai bank can be safe place to store funds and even earn some interest.

Aeon atm also allows up to 40,000 baht withdral per transaction.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app.