Foreign Driver Crashes Car into Motorbike and Minivan in Patong

[CaptHaddock]

I know this topic has been done to stale, but I need to add a second US bank to do ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank. Currently, I have USAA Federal and Penfed accounts. ACH transfers at USAA work fine, but they are limited to $5000/day, which limit they refused to increase for me. Penfed, where I have had accounts for years, turns out to be a disappointment in the ACH department. They also have a $5000/day limit. This past week I did a $5000 transfer on Wed and another on Thurs. Now the account is suddenly restricted to a limit of $2500 every three days. Got no satisfaction from customer service. So, now I need another bank as the back up for ACH transfers.

Can anyone answer these questions about Schwab and Capital One checking accounts:

1. Will I be able to open a checking account online? Using my Florida mail forwarding address?

2. Are ACH transfers free?

3. What is the daily limit on ACH transfers?

4. Are there any other limits on ACH transfers?

5. Any basis to recommend one over the other?

[utalkin2me]

You will be able to get a Schwab account with that FL address. I sent my forms in via mail, I'm sure you could do that if online doesn't work.

I would go with Schwab because if you need to go to an atm and get some quick cash, they will reimburse the fees. I can't answer the ACH stuff, I use atms to get my cash, aeon if possible. But you sound like you are needed to transfer a lot at once. Schwab is the best bank account I have ever had btw. Good luck

[sscsamui]

I like schwabbank.com

[Langsuan Man]

Most banks are going to limit the daily ACH amount, if your spending requires you to have access to more that $5,000 US per day, then you should really be using SWIFT wire transfers and not ACH

[Pib]

Schwab would probably meet your external transfer needs, like from Schwab to Bangkok Bank. Here's a quote from Schwab regarding limits on external transfers from Schwab Bank.

Notes about minimum and maximum transfer amounts:

• The minimum amount for transfers to and from outside accounts using Schwab Bank EFT is $1.00. The maximum amount per transfer is $100,000.
• You can submit an unlimited number of transfers between your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account and external accounts using Schwab Bank EFT. However, the total amount of transfers in a day cannot exceed $100,000 when transferring out of your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account and $100,000 when transferring into your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account

Another good thing about signing up for a Schwab brokerage/bank account(s) is you will get their no foreign transaction fee Visa debit card which I use a lot here in Thailand. Daily withdrawal limited is $1000...and they even reimburse any ATM fees although I avoid trying to kill the golden goose by always using an AEON ATM which doesn't charge the150 baht foreign card ATM fee like Thai bank ATMs do. Between this Schwab no foreign transaction fee Visa debit card I have and another such card from another bank this has been my main method to get day-to-day living money....the $2000 limit per day between the two cards is more than enough plus it puts the money in my hand as soon as it slides out of the ATM slot (with absolutely no fees along the way...no sending bank fee...no intermediary bank fee...no receiving bank fee) versus waiting for a wire transfer and associated fees to trek and post from across the world. Even with a no fee charged by the sending bank for an ACH transfer, there is still be a small fee as it flows through the Bangkok Bank New York branch and the typical 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max) currency receipt/conversion fee charged by Thai banks. And the exchange rate provided by the Visa no foreign transaction fee cards is plus or minus a few stang (usually plus) the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks in wire transfers such as ACH. ACH/SWIFT funds transfers is definitely a good thing to have when you need really BIG money within a day or two, but for day-to-day living costs a no foreign transaction fee debit card will make getting money faster and cheaper 24/7...an ATM is always just around the corner and waiting to give you money.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Pib

[CaptHaddock]

Schwab would probably meet your external transfer needs, like from Schwab to Bangkok Bank. Here's a quote from Schwab regarding limits on external transfers from Schwab Bank.

Notes about minimum and maximum transfer amounts:

• The minimum amount for transfers to and from outside accounts using Schwab Bank EFT is $1.00. The maximum amount per transfer is $100,000.
• You can submit an unlimited number of transfers between your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account and external accounts using Schwab Bank EFT. However, the total amount of transfers in a day cannot exceed $100,000 when transferring out of your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account and $100,000 when transferring into your Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account

Another good thing about signing up for a Schwab brokerage/bank account(s) is you will get their no foreign transaction fee Visa debit card which I use a lot here in Thailand. Daily withdrawal limited is $1000...and they even reimburse any ATM fees although I avoid trying to kill the golden goose by always using an AEON ATM which doesn't charge the150 baht foreign card ATM fee like Thai bank ATMs do. Between this Schwab no foreign transaction fee Visa debit card I have and another such card from another bank this has been my main method to get day-to-day living money....the $2000 limit per day between the two cards is more than enough plus it puts the money in my hand as soon as it slides out of the ATM slot (with absolutely no fees along the way...no sending bank fee...no intermediary bank fee...no receiving bank fee) versus waiting for a wire transfer and associated fees to trek and post from across the world. Even with a no fee charged by the sending bank for an ACH transfer, there is still be a small fee as it flows through the Bangkok Bank New York branch and the typical 0.25% (200 baht min, 500 baht max) currency receipt/conversion fee charged by Thai banks. And the exchange rate provided by the Visa no foreign transaction fee cards is plus or minus a few stang (usually plus) the TT Buying Rate provided by Thai banks in wire transfers such as ACH. ACH/SWIFT funds transfers is definitely a good thing to have when you need really BIG money within a day or two, but for day-to-day living costs a no foreign transaction fee debit card will make getting money faster and cheaper 24/7...an ATM is always just around the corner and waiting to give you money.

Thanks for the info on Schwab. Am I correct in understanding that "EFT" refers to all means of funds transfer including ACH and SWIFT?

[Pib]

Yea, EFT just means electronic funds transfer....fancy acronym for wire transfer, SWIFT transfer, ACH transfer.

[CaptHaddock]

Yea, EFT just means electronic funds transfer....fancy acronym for wire transfer, SWIFT transfer, ACH transfer.

Thanks. Schwab looks like the way to go then.

[CaptHaddock]

Yea, EFT just means electronic funds transfer....fancy acronym for wire transfer, SWIFT transfer, ACH transfer.

Pib,

Did you open your Schwab Bank account while resident in Thailand or in the US? If in Thailand, did you use a mail forwarding address or an address of a friend?

[Pib]

I opened it within Thailand...a joint account with the Thai wife (who is also a U.S. citizen). I used my in-Thailand APO address as the mailing address and my sister's address in the U.S. as the physical address if I remember right. I had to mail in the application since it was a joint account; I could have done it online if a single person account. But all correspondence, to include the debit card, comes through my APO address. Now when I signed up for a bank account with USAA Bank I was able to use my APO address as the physical and mailing address...same thing when I got my CapitalOne Visa card and MasterCard (both no foreign transaction fee cards). Seems to vary from financial company to financial company on the rules they apply for your required "address" regarding the opening of the account. Based on ThaiVisa posts I've seen some folks use their Thailaind/international address as a mailing address with a relative's physical address in the U.S....I think it also depends on whether a person had an account opened before they moved to Thailand.

For those folks who know they are going to move to Thailand, highly, highly, highly recommended you get your U.S. bank accounts, credit cards, etc., opened before, repeat, before you move to Thailand and possibly don't have a full time U.S. address anymore as it can make opening the new U.S. accounts are lot easier...few questions asked....etc. Heck, I even keep my U.S. state drivers license up to date by renewing my mail...this comes in handy sometimes since some financial applications ask for your drivers license number...guess it helps to confirm who you say you are. But opening the accounts before arriving Thailand makes for fewer financial headaches and frustrations when in Thailand...like getting hit with small to big fees each time you use your U.S. credit/debit card or do a online wire transfer...and of course trying to get a "unsecured" Thai credit card is very hard to impossible to do without a work permit...but with little consumer protection I quickly lost the urge for Thai credit card especially after I got my no foreign transaction fee U.S. credit cards that come with plenty of consumer protection.

But I realize most folks don't fully realize the benefits of having accounts at banks that provides such things as free ACH transfers, no foreign transaction fee credit and debit cards, etc....I arrived Thailand thinking I had all my ducks lined up bank- and credit/debit card- wise but soon realized by row of ducks was kinda crooked at least for no foreign transaction fee debit and credit cards. But I got that resolved by opening accounts with the less evil/less fee hungry banks/card companies.

Now, at least for the time being, my financial ducks seem to be lined-up straight as a beam of light for U.S. bank accounts/credit & debit cards...and I would have to say TV member "TallGuyJohninBangkok" gave some very good guidance in the early going of my duck alignment as to which banks/companies are the less evil/less fee hungry/expat friendly...sometimes you just need someone to point you in the right direction so you can then take the required steps on the trip. Thanks John.

Sorry for the lengthy answer...hopefully some other inbound expat will read it and think harder about opening low/no fee bank accounts and getting no foreign transaction fee credit/debit cards "before" the move to Thailand....they won't go through the disappointment of learning their ducks are not lined up good enough for living in Thailand and require "fee feeding" when used....although they were lined up good enough and ate nothing while you were living in the U.S. Preaching to the choir for many I know...but others still need to join the choir (like I did along with my ducks). Cheers.

[CaptHaddock]

I opened it within Thailand...a joint account with the Thai wife (who is also a U.S. citizen).

Thanks for the detail. I myself gave a great deal of thought to lining up financial institutions before I left and thought I had it covered. But some things change and some things merely turn out to be less useful than advertised.

[55Jay]

I opened it within Thailand...a joint account with the Thai wife (who is also a U.S. citizen).

Thanks for the detail. I myself gave a great deal of thought to lining up financial institutions before I left and thought I had it covered. But some things change and some things merely turn out to be less useful than advertised.

Capt H, was it PENFED who shut you down after the two 5k transfers, or USAA?

[CaptHaddock]

I opened it within Thailand...a joint account with the Thai wife (who is also a U.S. citizen).

Thanks for the detail. I myself gave a great deal of thought to lining up financial institutions before I left and thought I had it covered. But some things change and some things merely turn out to be less useful than advertised.

Capt H, was it PENFED who shut you down after the two 5k transfers, or USAA?

Penfed, as I explained in my first post.

[Pib]

PenFed has some strange/restrictive ACH transfer rules like a max of $50 per transfer/day for the first 6 months of a new account. And then after 6 months you automatically bumped up to $5,000 per day. But I expect PenFed also has some fine print regarding a monthly ACH limit which they may not clearly point out to customers and Capt H. may have bumped up against such a limit (but I'm guessing).

[CaptHaddock]

PenFed has some strange/restrictive ACH transfer rules like a max of $50 per transfer/day for the first 6 months of a new account. And then after 6 months you automatically bumped up to $5,000 per day. But I expect PenFed also has some fine print regarding a monthly ACH limit which they may not clearly point out to customers and Capt H. may have bumped up against such a limit (but I'm guessing).

That's not what they said when I called them about it. They said it was a temporary restriction for security reasons that applied currently to all Penfed customers. That has the sound of a bald lie to me. I also sent an email to their customer service and promptly got the same hoo-haa back, as follows:

Thank you for contacting Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

The change in daily limits for ACH transfers is one that was instituted

throughout the credit union for all PenFed members.

While it is certainly our goal to limit inconvenience whenever possible,

security has always been and continues to be of paramount importance at PenFed.

The safety of your funds and the security of the financial institution are our

first priority.

We appreciate your continued patience. If you need further assistance, please do

not hesitate to contact us.

[Pib]

When I joined PenFed just to get their no foreign transaction fee credit card their initial $50 per day ACH transfer limit for the first six months turned me off so much I kept my account balance with them to the minimum....$5 or something....now their credit card just lives in my safe as a backup in case one of my other no foreign transaction fee credit cards issued from other banks change their fee policy regarding foreign transactions. But don't you feel good PenFed is protecting your money (or should I say limiting their liability).

[JimGant]

ACH transfers at USAA work fine, but they are limited to $5000/day, which limit they refused to increase for me.

Are you a full member, i.e., you're eligible for all their products, including insurance? Or just a banking member?

I'm a full member, and had no problem raising my daily ACH limit to $30,000. But, I don't know why they'd refuse the same for a banking member........

.....might be worth another phone call to USAA, and maybe asking to speak with a supervisor.

Here's an interesting quote from a Google search. Sounds like, yes, there is a $5k limit for some, but some others, like myself, had no problem raising the limit.

>>HOWEVER, ruling out usaa for their 5k limit (which is annoying) would be a

better reason. they say they will allow more upon request, but wont grant it

unless you have an average daily balance of the requested amount.<< It might

actually be a valid reason if it were, in fact, valid. I only keep a couple of

grand in my USAA account. However, I like moving my money around in large

chunks. I asked them to increase my limit. "No problem," said USAA. Now I

routinely move $20-40 thousand in and out of my account instantly with no

problems whatsoever. One has to go out of one's way to fault this bank. Maybe

your credit rating didn't warrant the increase? All I can say is that USAA is

the best all-around bank in the US.

[CaptHaddock]

ACH transfers at USAA work fine, but they are limited to $5000/day, which limit they refused to increase for me.

Are you a full member, i.e., you're eligible for all their products, including insurance? Or just a banking member?

I'm a full member, and had no problem raising my daily ACH limit to $30,000. But, I don't know why they'd refuse the same for a banking member........

.....might be worth another phone call to USAA, and maybe asking to speak with a supervisor.

Here's an interesting quote from a Google search. Sounds like, yes, there is a $5k limit for some, but some others, like myself, had no problem raising the limit.

>>HOWEVER, ruling out usaa for their 5k limit (which is annoying) would be a

better reason. they say they will allow more upon request, but wont grant it

unless you have an average daily balance of the requested amount.<< It might

actually be a valid reason if it were, in fact, valid. I only keep a couple of

grand in my USAA account. However, I like moving my money around in large

chunks. I asked them to increase my limit. "No problem," said USAA. Now I

routinely move $20-40 thousand in and out of my account instantly with no

problems whatsoever. One has to go out of one's way to fault this bank. Maybe

your credit rating didn't warrant the increase? All I can say is that USAA is

the best all-around bank in the US.

I am a banking member only at USAA and don't have the additional privileges that the military members have. I did ask for an increase in the ACH limit, both by email and by phone. No joy and they weren't very nice about it frankly. The last time I saw my credit score it was 805, so I doubt that that's the problem.

[Langsuan Man]

I don't understand why you would have a problem increasing your limit since they specifically state that you can request an increase

Why is there a $5,000 transfer limit for each account?

This limit is designed to meet most members' needs. However, it can be increased by submitting a signed request or by calling us at 1-800-531-USAA (8722). All requests are subject to approval.

I had a problem with them trying to get my ATM card limit increased for use in the US (don't use it in Thailand due to the foreign currency fee) and it did take a couple of emails to get it straightened out

[JimGant]

they say they will allow more upon request, but wont grant it

unless you have an average daily balance of the requested amount.

I wonder if this has any validity......? I do carry an average balance -- in my USAA savings account -- greater than the max I've ever sent ($20K) -- although this will change should CD rates ever get out of the doldrums.

Can't imagine why they would stick it to their banking only members -- particularly those with exceptional credit scores..... Rudeness is also out of character.

Anyone else have a take on this?

[CaptHaddock]

they say they will allow more upon request, but wont grant it

unless you have an average daily balance of the requested amount.

I wonder if this has any validity......? I do carry an average balance -- in my USAA savings account -- greater than the max I've ever sent ($20K) -- although this will change should CD rates ever get out of the doldrums.

Can't imagine why they would stick it to their banking only members -- particularly those with exceptional credit scores..... Rudeness is also out of character.

Anyone else have a take on this?

When USAA refused to increase the limit, they did mention that my daily balance was less than the limit amount I requested. However, I don't want to have to keep a high balance there just because of the infrequent occasions when I need to move a large amount to Thailand.

[JimGant]

However, I don't want to have to keep a high balance there just because of the infrequent occasions when I need to move a large amount to Thailand.

Sounds like you won't want to leave a large amount with Schwab either (unless you start going with them as your broker).

So, when it comes time to send big bucks to Thailand, whether your conduit is USAA, or Schwab, seems to be samo samo. And, I'm sure there's no "pull" limit for ACH transfers -- so moving big bucks from your IRA, whatever, to either USAA or Schwab would be the same: the big bucks get parked temporarily awaiting a SWIFT wire transfer. But, can you set up a SWIFT avenue with Schwab enrolling from Thailand? Maybe, or maybe not.....

With USAA there's a (Thai toll-free) number to call for SWIFT wires. However, dictating all the SWIFT data verbally is prone to error. So, USAA allows you to set-up a "template," to which you assign all the pertinent SWIFT data about the account in Thailand -- leaving out only the amount to be sent. You name the template -- then when you call their wire number, just give your name, the template name, and the amount to send. Thirty-five bucks, a day later, and 500 baht Thai side -- you get the money. For infrequent large amount transfers -- no big deal cost-wise.

Schwab may be just as clean. Plus, their Visa Debit/ATM card can't be beat (as Pib points out). But, the skids are already greased with USAA....

[pmarlin]

However, I don't want to have to keep a high balance there just because of the infrequent occasions when I need to move a large amount to Thailand.

Sounds like you won't want to leave a large amount with Schwab either (unless you start going with them as your broker).

So, when it comes time to send big bucks to Thailand, whether your conduit is USAA, or Schwab, seems to be samo samo. And, I'm sure there's no "pull" limit for ACH transfers -- so moving big bucks from your IRA, whatever, to either USAA or Schwab would be the same: the big bucks get parked temporarily awaiting a SWIFT wire transfer. But, can you set up a SWIFT avenue with Schwab enrolling from Thailand? Maybe, or maybe not.....

With USAA there's a (Thai toll-free) number to call for SWIFT wires. However, dictating all the SWIFT data verbally is prone to error. So, USAA allows you to set-up a "template," to which you assign all the pertinent SWIFT data about the account in Thailand -- leaving out only the amount to be sent. You name the template -- then when you call their wire number, just give your name, the template name, and the amount to send. Thirty-five bucks, a day later, and 500 baht Thai side -- you get the money. For infrequent large amount transfers -- no big deal cost-wise.

Schwab may be just as clean. Plus, their Visa Debit/ATM card can't be beat (as Pib points out). But, the skids are already greased with USAA....

BOA allows you to do it online for $45, $10 more than USAA, no phone calls and very easy. Most SWIFT transfers done same day. I keep the cost down by only making a large transfer once a month or less frequent if not needed. I'm surpised USAA doesn't allow you to do SWIFT transfers online.

[CaptHaddock]

However, I don't want to have to keep a high balance there just because of the infrequent occasions when I need to move a large amount to Thailand.

Sounds like you won't want to leave a large amount with Schwab either (unless you start going with them as your broker).

So, when it comes time to send big bucks to Thailand, whether your conduit is USAA, or Schwab, seems to be samo samo. And, I'm sure there's no "pull" limit for ACH transfers -- so moving big bucks from your IRA, whatever, to either USAA or Schwab would be the same: the big bucks get parked temporarily awaiting a SWIFT wire transfer. But, can you set up a SWIFT avenue with Schwab enrolling from Thailand? Maybe, or maybe not.....

With USAA there's a (Thai toll-free) number to call for SWIFT wires. However, dictating all the SWIFT data verbally is prone to error. So, USAA allows you to set-up a "template," to which you assign all the pertinent SWIFT data about the account in Thailand -- leaving out only the amount to be sent. You name the template -- then when you call their wire number, just give your name, the template name, and the amount to send. Thirty-five bucks, a day later, and 500 baht Thai side -- you get the money. For infrequent large amount transfers -- no big deal cost-wise.

Schwab may be just as clean. Plus, their Visa Debit/ATM card can't be beat (as Pib points out). But, the skids are already greased with USAA....

However, I don't want to have to keep a high balance there just because of the infrequent occasions when I need to move a large amount to Thailand.

Sounds like you won't want to leave a large amount with Schwab either (unless you start going with them as your broker).

So, when it comes time to send big bucks to Thailand, whether your conduit is USAA, or Schwab, seems to be samo samo. And, I'm sure there's no "pull" limit for ACH transfers -- so moving big bucks from your IRA, whatever, to either USAA or Schwab would be the same: the big bucks get parked temporarily awaiting a SWIFT wire transfer. But, can you set up a SWIFT avenue with Schwab enrolling from Thailand? Maybe, or maybe not.....

With USAA there's a (Thai toll-free) number to call for SWIFT wires. However, dictating all the SWIFT data verbally is prone to error. So, USAA allows you to set-up a "template," to which you assign all the pertinent SWIFT data about the account in Thailand -- leaving out only the amount to be sent. You name the template -- then when you call their wire number, just give your name, the template name, and the amount to send. Thirty-five bucks, a day later, and 500 baht Thai side -- you get the money. For infrequent large amount transfers -- no big deal cost-wise.

Schwab may be just as clean. Plus, their Visa Debit/ATM card can't be beat (as Pib points out). But, the skids are already greased with USAA....

I suppose I will have to consider SWIFT if I need the cash to arrive quickly. Naturally, I would rather pay nothing at all on the send side. But in a pinch it would be worth it.

Schwab doesn't have any minimum balance requirement. There no indication that they limit ACH based on daily balance, but they could pull that out of the hat at any time. The question with Schwab is whether I will be able to open it using my mail forwarding address as my legal residence or whether they will accept the legal residence as Thailand and a mailing address in FL. As far as I can tell from the responses here, that remains an open question.

[Pib]

PenFed has some strange/restrictive ACH transfer rules like a max of $50 per transfer/day for the first 6 months of a new account. And then after 6 months you automatically bumped up to $5,000 per day. But I expect PenFed also has some fine print regarding a monthly ACH limit which they may not clearly point out to customers and Capt H. may have bumped up against such a limit (but I'm guessing).

That's not what they said when I called them about it. They said it was a temporary restriction for security reasons that applied currently to all Penfed customers. That has the sound of a bald lie to me. I also sent an email to their customer service and promptly got the same hoo-haa back, as follows:

Thank you for contacting Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

The change in daily limits for ACH transfers is one that was instituted

throughout the credit union for all PenFed members.

While it is certainly our goal to limit inconvenience whenever possible,

security has always been and continues to be of paramount importance at PenFed.

The safety of your funds and the security of the financial institution are our

first priority.

We appreciate your continued patience. If you need further assistance, please do

not hesitate to contact us.

I just logged onto my PenFed account....been quite a while since I logged on....just to see what my ACH transfer limit reflected....was it the $5000 that it use to be for members after they had been member for 6 months...or the lower $2,500 like mentioned above? Sure enough it reflected a $2,500 limit. I had never done an outbound transfer; only a couple of $50 inbound transfers early on after getting my PenFed Credit card, used it for a few buys, and the wanting to pay the card bill via the PenFed web site I had to transfer a little money into my account. So it does indeed appear they lowered the max daily amount for "all" members from $5,000/day to $2,500/day and then you get surprised after doing a few transfers that they have other associated limits in the fine print (which no doubt changes occasionally). Yeap, PenFed turned me off with that initial $50 online transfer limit (even for inbound transfers) for new members....but at least I got one of their no foreign transaction fee Visa credit cards which is all I was really after.

[CaptHaddock]

PenFed has some strange/restrictive ACH transfer rules like a max of $50 per transfer/day for the first 6 months of a new account. And then after 6 months you automatically bumped up to $5,000 per day. But I expect PenFed also has some fine print regarding a monthly ACH limit which they may not clearly point out to customers and Capt H. may have bumped up against such a limit (but I'm guessing).

That's not what they said when I called them about it. They said it was a temporary restriction for security reasons that applied currently to all Penfed customers. That has the sound of a bald lie to me. I also sent an email to their customer service and promptly got the same hoo-haa back, as follows:

Thank you for contacting Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

The change in daily limits for ACH transfers is one that was instituted

throughout the credit union for all PenFed members.

While it is certainly our goal to limit inconvenience whenever possible,

security has always been and continues to be of paramount importance at PenFed.

The safety of your funds and the security of the financial institution are our

first priority.

We appreciate your continued patience. If you need further assistance, please do

not hesitate to contact us.

I just logged onto my PenFed account....been quite a while since I logged on....just to see what my ACH transfer limit reflected....was it the $5000 that it use to be for members after they had been member for 6 months...or the lower $2,500 like mentioned above? Sure enough it reflected a $2,500 limit. I had never done an outbound transfer; only a couple of $50 inbound transfers early on after getting my PenFed Credit card, used it for a few buys, and the wanting to pay the card bill via the PenFed web site I had to transfer a little money into my account. So it does indeed appear they lowered the max daily amount for "all" members from $5,000/day to $2,500/day and then you get surprised after doing a few transfers that they have other associated limits in the fine print (which no doubt changes occasionally). Yeap, PenFed turned me off with that initial $50 online transfer limit (even for inbound transfers) for new members....but at least I got one of their no foreign transaction fee Visa credit cards which is all I was really after.

Interesting. However, when I went further to initiate an actual $2500 outgoing ACH then up pops a warning that the new limit is actually $2500 every three days, not daily. At that moment I gave up on Penfed.

However, their credit cards are indeed very good. I use the Promise Visa: no foreign exchange fee, no annual fee, and no LATE fee.

[Pib]

Sounds like with PenFed every time a person clicks a button to take another step in the transfer process some more fine print appears. Just protecting our money I guess (or just making it harder to move money from the hands of PenFed). But I expect a $2,500/day transfer limit, even with the additional fine print limitation, meets the needs of the great majority of their customers, but for the minority it can be too restrictive. Oh well, at least we got their credit card.

While I don't use their no foreign transaction fee credit card anymore since the associate cash back program was only 0.25% for every type of buy the last time I looked and due to the ACH transfer issue, it's definitely nice to have a no foreign transaction fee U.S. credit card which also comes with U.S. consumer protection. I use my no foreign transaction fee CapOne MasterCard and Visa credit cards which give 1 to 2% cash back depending on what you buy...but when the dust settles I get 2% cash back on the great majority of the MasterCard buys (1% on the remaining buys) and 1.5% on all the Visa card buys.

[CaptHaddock]

While I don't use their no foreign transaction fee credit card anymore since the associate cash back program was only 0.25% for every type of buy the last time I looked and due to the ACH transfer issue, it's definitely nice to have a no foreign transaction fee U.S. credit card which also comes with U.S. consumer protection.

That, in my opinion, is the main point: real fraud protection, compared to which interest rates and rewards are unimportant. Having once had $10k worth of fraud appear overnight on an Amex card, the ability to shrug it off without a worry is invaluable.

[Pib]

While I don't use their no foreign transaction fee credit card anymore since the associate cash back program was only 0.25% for every type of buy the last time I looked and due to the ACH transfer issue, it's definitely nice to have a no foreign transaction fee U.S. credit card which also comes with U.S. consumer protection.

That, in my opinion, is the main point: real fraud protection, compared to which interest rates and rewards are unimportant. Having once had $10k worth of fraud appear overnight on an Amex card, the ability to shrug it off without a worry is invaluable.

Fraud (consumer) protection is definitely big time important. Around 10 years ago when still living in the U.S. I got a call from Bank of America asking if I had just made an overseas charge for approx. $150 on my BoA credit card I had at the time. I said no...they then went on to say they had detected an online charge initiated in Spain for approx. $150 of books and their fraud protection system had flagged it as possible fraud...contact the card owner to confirm before posting it to my account. Once I told them I had not made the charge, they cancelled the card number, shipped me a new card triple ASAP, and I expect whatever merchant sold the $150 in books didn't get paid by the credit card company.

Would such protection ever occur with a Thai credit or debit card--I seriously, seriously doubt it based on the great majority of TV posts I've seen regarding stolen Thai credit/debit cards or the numbers. But there where a few positive posts. Cheers.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Pib