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Best Thai Credit Card for use overseas


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Dear All,

Wondering which Thai Credit Card is the best (meaning cheapest) to use outside of Thailand.

My BKK Bank one is charging hefty 2.5% on any purchase made outside of Thailand. At the same time I hear from Credit Cards issued overseas who do not charge any fees (like Schwab). Must have a good Thai issued one as well, no?

The thing is that if I walk into all the local bank branches in my place, they usually have no clue whatsoever on these charges....

Thanks so much!

JP

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I am moving most of my funds to citibank. I have a citibank account in Australia, and use citibank ATM is Bangkok. Citibank, I believe, do not charge from their end for visa card purchases, only the vendors do.

I have been screwed head over heals by both the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, and DNB in Norway.

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I am moving most of my funds to citibank. I have a citibank account in Australia, and use citibank ATM is Bangkok. Citibank, I believe, do not charge from their end for visa card purchases, only the vendors do.

I have been screwed head over heals by both the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, and DNB in Norway.

Citibank have a Plus Visa Debit card with not fees at all and can access money in most countries.

Just signed up to use when in Thailand

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You have to distinguish between a "transaction fee" and the exchange rate used for purchases in currencies other than Baht.

None of the cards I have used in Thailand (Visa, MC, AMEX) have a "transaction fee", but they have an "adder" on the exchange rate they use in the range of 2.5 to 3.0%. On the other hand, the "basic" exchange rate they use is normally better (for you) than what you get over the counter.

The "basic" exchange rate used by the different cards might be different, but it is very difficult to check (you would have to buy several items at the same time from one vendor and use different cards and then calculate the exchange rate when you get the bills. But even this is not really accurate)

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I am moving most of my funds to citibank. I have a citibank account in Australia, and use citibank ATM is Bangkok. Citibank, I believe, do not charge from their end for visa card purchases, only the vendors do.

I have been screwed head over heals by both the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, and DNB in Norway.

Citibank have a Plus Visa Debit card with not fees at all and can access money in most countries.

Just signed up to use when in Thailand

I have US based Citibank credit cards. Never use them for cash withdrawal, but they stick me with a foreign transaction charge (2% or 2.5% I think) on any charge outside the US, even when it's actually billed in US dollars. Amazon UK will bill the credit card in US dollars and PayPal does the same , but if the original charge was outside the US I think I still get hit with the foreign transaction charge unless PayPal directly debits my bank account in the US.

It's annoying and if I used the cards more often I'd look for ones that didn't charge the extra ... but like most of their customers, I imagine, I can't be bothered.

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I've used a Visa card issued by Citibank Thailand all over the world.

No itemised extra charges, I just don't have control over what exchange rate they use.

Interestingly, there were occasions when the Baht was getting stronger during the month, and I found that the rate they charged at the end of the month was actually in my favour.

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Careful TechnikaIII... you might want to check with Citibank on their fees for using their credit card (Visa or MC). I have one through them and although it was issued in the US they do charge ATM fees. It might just be Citi US... but I would check.

Yes, thanks iamariva1957. My cards are all debit cards. I've not had a credit card for years, and don't want one.

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