Aeon Bank now charge 150 B ATM fee

[KBTexas]

You get the Visa/Mastercard/AmEx exchange rates minus any foreign transaction fee your card-issuing bank may apply and of course minus any local ATM fee like the Bt150/Bt180 fee Thai banks and now AEON charge.

Although the link you mention above does say just use a bank TT Buying Rate to determine their ATM rate that is a totally bogus statement and its been covered before...as mentioned the bank ATM uses the Visa/Mastercard/AmEx rate. But if people knew this a lot less people would visit the site, the site's page hit count and ad revenue would go down; however, the specific rates (i.e., TT, Notes, etc) they do post are correct...it's just that statement about just use the TT rate for the ATM rate that is bogus.

Now some bank ATMs will also offer their Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) exchange rate with no local Bt150/Bt180 fee but they will probably call it something warm & fuzzy like Home Rate, Bank Rate, etc...this rate will be around 3 to 4% lower than the higher Visa/Mastercard/AmEx rate...the local bank basically applies a hidden fee via its lower DCC exchange rate. Plus if your home country bank card charges a foreign transaction fee you'll still most likely will get hit with that fee also...not because they were involved in exchanging/converting the currency but simply because it was a foreign transaction. Not considering above factors is why you've never been able to get the exchange rate to match...you should be able to get the exchange rate to match to the second or third decimal place.

In closing, you notice on Thai bank web sites they do not publish their ATM rates...that's because they use the Visa/Mastercard/AmEx exchange rates. Well, SCB does list its DCC exchange rate for "credit" cards.

I learn something new every day. As I said, I have seen small discrepencies in the math, but always figured that it was due to a moving target. So basically, you are saying you look at the daily rate for Visa/MC and AmEx, and ALL banks are going to use this rate? That would be easier than locating a particular ATM. (I like easier!) Then you just need to be careful to dodge the ATM's that have decided to charge 180 baht due to greed and/or location!!! (I also dislike a certain banks (initials KT) that have ATM's that will not let you bypass the conversion screen, with a rate offered well below the daily rate.) All of this being said, the exchanges from AEON never added up right, and were often off by more a couple of dollars.

Thanks for the info...hopefully I have read it properly.

KB

Edited February 11, 2014 by KBTexas

[Pib]

Yeap, just use the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate webpage and be sure to take in account the date/time differential between what the page says and your particular time zone on Earth..you'll figure it out after a few cross checks. I've got a couple of no foreign transaction fee Visa debit cards I use all the time and the charge/exchange rate hitting my home country bank account matches the Visa exchange rate always to the 2nd decimal point and usually to the 3d or more decimal point. Visa logo cards usually provide just a little better exchange rate than Mastercard logo cards. I'm not sure if AmEx publishes its exchange rate anywhere. And like I mentioned if your foreign card applies a foreign transaction fee you need to take that into consideration as your bank may just mix/add that charge to your withdrawal amount versus listing it as a separate fee...oh yea, same goes for the local ATM fee as it may be mixed in with the amount you withdrew or as a separate charge....it depends on your bank how they handle foreign transaction fees/charges....hopefully they list every fee separately.

[thaigold]

This added "cost of business" is just another worldwide kiss from Wall Street. For almost 10 years I've been cashing personal checks drawn on my Hawaii bank in US dollars for Thai baht (at the exchange rate). Now ... no more. Now it's the ATM with a 150 baht charge at this end and a $5.00 US charge from my Hawaii bank. Oh, and a 2% international exchange fee.

Stay tuned ...

[khrab]

I found the same thing today and the bitch is that I went to one of their ATMs today to withdraw funds and it was broken! Today I was greeted by this grim news.

It was not broken. Just temporarily closed for a software upgrade.

[sniffdog]

It's time to go to the Citi Bank!

AEON in Mega Bangna was so useful, but now I need to take BTS to get to Asok station...ha.

Wasn't there in another thread that CitiBank now also charges the 150/180 baht?

[ebcal]

The solution is simple - it just takes a few minutes longer. Just go into the bank with your passport & foreign credit/debit card & ask for a cash advance on your credit card. The trick is that the sum being requested must be higher than the ATM's usual maximum advance (THB 20,000?).

The bank does the paperwork, gets the authorisation, copies your passport (which you also sign) and the bank give you the cash. Best thing is that there's no fees! Not a single Baht & you get personalised service as part if the deal

Are you sure getting an advance against your credit card has no hidden fees/other costs? Most cash advances against your credit card start the interest rate charge ticking from day 1, so no grace period to pay off the credit card balance. So, you are borrowing money at the CC interest rate, until you pay it back, with no grace period. And we all know interest rates on CC's are ridiculously high.

So, unless you have something different than the norm, dont think this approach is a good option for most people.

Edited February 11, 2014 by ebcal

[sniffdog]

Just put some money in a Thai bank. Easy.

What an idiot comment!

I suppose you recommend plucking it off a tree first, and then putting it into the Thai bank. Yup, that'd be easy.

Why idiotic? I just transfer it from my foreign account (1 million baht or more) and then have easy withdrawal.

[Genericnic]

It is too bad that Aeon made the change. I'm not concerned with the ATM fees since I have a Charles Schwab card that refunds any ATM fees I get charged but I still tried to not incur charges if I didn't need to. Since Aeon has started charging, I have no reason to use them over any other bank here. A bank just down the street has a 30,000 baht limit and so one transaction there will pretty much cover me for a month.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I've got a Schwab card also, but I wonder once Schwab sees how much money they may be sending on you for ATM reimbursement especially if you use the card frequently that they may find a reason to close your account...maybe gives them more incentive to see if a person is living in Thailand full time and then close the account for that reason...but they will tell you that you can instead open an International Schwab brokerage account with debt card which has high opening and balance requirements.

Pib

Schwab already knows I live in Thailand full-time and don't have a problem with it. If they decide they do, I have an address that I use in Texas as well as my current Texas driver's license for that address. For all intents and purposes, I am a Texas resident on a very long vacation/trip.

David

[sniffdog]

The solution is simple - it just takes a few minutes longer. Just go into the bank with your passport & foreign credit/debit card & ask for a cash advance on your credit card. The trick is that the sum being requested must be higher than the ATM's usual maximum advance (THB 20,000?).

The bank does the paperwork, gets the authorisation, copies your passport (which you also sign) and the bank give you the cash. Best thing is that there's no fees! Not a single Baht & you get personalised service as part if the deal

I dont think getting an advance against your credit card is the deal you make it sound like. Most cash advances against your credit card start the interest rate charge ticking from day 1, so no grace period to pay off the credit card balance. So, you are borrowing money at the CC interest rate, until you pay it back, with no grace period. And we all know interest rates on CC's are ridiculously high.

So, unless you have something different than the norm, dont think this approach is as good as it sounds.

If I use my bankcard, then I withdraw from my account. Also with debet cards this a preferred method.

[paz]

that is bad news. Now AEON can watch a significant drop in ATM usage from farang's taking money out as there is no incentive anymore

I doubt they care. They weren't making ANY money on the transaction. So there was no incentive for them before to let us take money out.

Well, they'd be making money on the conversion from foreign funds into Thai baht. They can charge any exchange rate they like.

(e.g.: Someone shows up at their ATM requesting for example THB 20,000. They now get to decide how many GBP, EUR or USD that translates to.)

No. They use the official, published MC or Visa rates. In another thread I was shown how to do the math, I did it, and it matches to the 4th decimal digit.

[Pib]

It is too bad that Aeon made the change. I'm not concerned with the ATM fees since I have a Charles Schwab card that refunds any ATM fees I get charged but I still tried to not incur charges if I didn't need to. Since Aeon has started charging, I have no reason to use them over any other bank here. A bank just down the street has a 30,000 baht limit and so one transaction there will pretty much cover me for a month.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I've got a Schwab card also, but I wonder once Schwab sees how much money they may be sending on you for ATM reimbursement especially if you use the card frequently that they may find a reason to close your account...maybe gives them more incentive to see if a person is living in Thailand full time and then close the account for that reason...but they will tell you that you can instead open an International Schwab brokerage account with debt card which has high opening and balance requirements.

Pib

Schwab already knows I live in Thailand full-time and don't have a problem with it. If they decide they do, I have an address that I use in Texas as well as my current Texas driver's license for that address. For all intents and purposes, I am a Texas resident on a very long vacation/trip.

David

Yea, I've got a similar setup with a U.S. and Thai address. I probably been using my Schwab Visa card at least 4 times a month in Thailand but always in AEON ATMs where no fee "use" to be applied...but now with every ATM in Thailand charging the fee would add up to approx $20 (4 times Bt150) in reimbursement fees per month...$240 per year...I would turn into a kinda pricey bank customer for Schwab.

How much have you been typically been getting reimbursed by Schwab each month if you don't mind me asking?

[paz]

Actually AEON was not losing money. Nowhere do they post an exchange rate that I could find, and when I tried them a few times because they did not charge a fee, the transaction saved me a few cents once, was about the same once, and actually cost me more three times, even including the banks 150 baht fee. Suffice it to say, I did not use them again. So if they use an exchange rate that is lower than the going rate, they DO make money on it, especially if the suckers-err, customers, cannot see what that rate is before saying accept and do not bother to do the math on the amount debited.

I always use this site: http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx to check the daily rates when I need cash. MOST times it is accurate, though there have been minor descrepencies, up and down, in the past. Usually due to a rate change before I can get to the ATM I think. But at least you have a good idea of what the exchange rate will be for the transaction, unlike AEON.

My two cents...your milage may vary.

KB

As above: AEON uses published MC or Visa exchange rates.

[paz]

The solution is simple - it just takes a few minutes longer. Just go into the bank with your passport & foreign credit/debit card & ask for a cash advance on your credit card. The trick is that the sum being requested must be higher than the ATM's usual maximum advance (THB 20,000?).

The bank does the paperwork, gets the authorisation, copies your passport (which you also sign) and the bank give you the cash. Best thing is that there's no fees! Not a single Baht & you get personalised service as part if the deal

I dont think getting an advance against your credit card is the deal you make it sound like. Most cash advances against your credit card start the interest rate charge ticking from day 1, so no grace period to pay off the credit card balance. So, you are borrowing money at the CC interest rate, until you pay it back, with no grace period. And we all know interest rates on CC's are ridiculously high.

So, unless you have something different than the norm, dont think this approach is as good as it sounds.

Correct. I have read this so many times, but nobody was ever able to prove one could use his DEBIT card for a cash advance at the counter.

For a CREDIT card, there will ALWAYS be interest running and a cash advance charge, even when using "invitation only" credit cards having $,1000 yearly fee.

[zeekgarcia]

I've got a Schwab card also, but I wonder once Schwab sees how much money they may be sending on you for ATM reimbursement especially if you use the card frequently that they may find a reason to close your account...maybe gives them more incentive to see if a person is living in Thailand full time and then close the account for that reason...but they will tell you that you can instead open an International Schwab brokerage account with debt card which has high opening and balance requirements.

Hello PIB

Does this mean for Americans that the cheapest way to get money is by transferring through BBK in New York???

if a USA bank:

1. stops refunding atm fees?

2. has a 15k baht limit per a day?

3. has a 30k baht limit per a day?

Please help us with the math

[Genericnic]

It is too bad that Aeon made the change. I'm not concerned with the ATM fees since I have a Charles Schwab card that refunds any ATM fees I get charged but I still tried to not incur charges if I didn't need to. Since Aeon has started charging, I have no reason to use them over any other bank here. A bank just down the street has a 30,000 baht limit and so one transaction there will pretty much cover me for a month.

David

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I've got a Schwab card also, but I wonder once Schwab sees how much money they may be sending on you for ATM reimbursement especially if you use the card frequently that they may find a reason to close your account...maybe gives them more incentive to see if a person is living in Thailand full time and then close the account for that reason...but they will tell you that you can instead open an International Schwab brokerage account with debt card which has high opening and balance requirements.

Pib

Schwab already knows I live in Thailand full-time and don't have a problem with it. If they decide they do, I have an address that I use in Texas as well as my current Texas driver's license for that address. For all intents and purposes, I am a Texas resident on a very long vacation/trip.

David

Yea, I've got a similar setup with a U.S. and Thai address. I probably been using my Schwab Visa card at least 4 times a month in Thailand but always in AEON ATMs where no fee "use" to be applied...but now with every ATM in Thailand charging the fee would add up to approx $20 (4 times Bt150) in reimbursement fees per month...$240 per year...I would turn into a kinda pricey bank customer for Schwab.

How much have you been typically been getting reimbursed by Schwab each month if you don't mind me asking?

I've traveled a lot internationally over the past few years and racked up some pretty good ATM fees along the way. Schwab has never had a problem with them.

Even with the free Aeon ATMs here, I use a number of others as I travel. When I am traveling, it isn't unusual to hit $20 to $25 per month in fees. Maybe that got offset by the months when I hung around CM or BKK and predominantly used the Aeon ATMS.

David

[zeekgarcia]

The solution is simple - it just takes a few minutes longer. Just go into the bank with your passport & foreign credit/debit card & ask for a cash advance on your credit card. The trick is that the sum being requested must be higher than the ATM's usual maximum advance (THB 20,000?).

The bank does the paperwork, gets the authorisation, copies your passport (which you also sign) and the bank give you the cash. Best thing is that there's no fees! Not a single Baht & you get personalised service as part if the deal

I dont think getting an advance against your credit card is the deal you make it sound like. Most cash advances against your credit card start the interest rate charge ticking from day 1, so no grace period to pay off the credit card balance. So, you are borrowing money at the CC interest rate, until you pay it back, with no grace period. And we all know interest rates on CC's are ridiculously high.

So, unless you have something different than the norm, dont think this approach is as good as it sounds.

Correct. I have read this so many times, but nobody was ever able to prove one could use his DEBIT card for a cash advance at the counter.

For a CREDIT card, there will ALWAYS be interest running and a cash advance charge, even when using "invitation only" credit cards having $,1000 yearly fee.

Yes, you can do this with a debit card but you better make triple sure that your bank in your country will not charge any fees for doing this and they could have a different maximum daily withdrawal rate for doing this than their atm withdrawal rate.

I think if your bank would charge a 1% fee for doing this then it would be cheaper to transfer money through Bangkok Banks New York branch via ACH transfer.

[KBTexas]

As above: AEON uses published MC or Visa exchange rates.

Then it was coincidental that of the 5 times I used AEON, 3 of those times the Baht strengthened between the time I read the rate and when I hit the ATM. That is possible I guess as the baht/dollar rate fluctuates significantly.

As an aside, is AEON a bank? I thought they were something else, like a loan company or something?

KB

[slipperylobster]

Yeah, good. It took me four months (with no help) from AEON to get my money out of a broken machine. They just cannot service them...at least the two here in Udon.

[mowgus]

Open a bank

Account

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks for that... tried and denied twice at two different banks. Seems they don't accept an education visa. Even if I did, getting the funds from home to here will still incur costs that might very well exceed a monthly withdrawl.

I was always surprised they didn't charge a fee...made no sense because it's not like foreigners withdrawing money would open an account there. If they were smart, they should have gone with a lower fee. If they charged 50, we'd all mumble but we'd still use their machines and they'd get baht in their pockets. Now, because of their 20,000 baht limit, they're the last on my list. Not to mention they're not exactly conveniently located like other bank machines. Now Bank of Ayutthaya will get my monthly 150 baht.

[Sam Gold]

<deleted>????????? Worst news all year

Let me be the first to congratulate you on having a pretty good year so far.

only 40 days in and all down hill from here 555

Words of advice:

Stick with DTAC, don't fall in love, always use a condom, beware of street cart food, don't complain about Russians, get used to hearing Free Bird and Hotel California, always ask how much something cost beforehand, get a Thailand drivers license from the DLT immediately, buy a cheap secondhand moped and don't take any crap!

If you live in Pattaya or Phuket, yes. Agree with the condoms and license. However:

What's wrong with 12Call?

Why not fall in love?

Why cheap and second hand?

[Pib]

I've got a Schwab card also, but I wonder once Schwab sees how much money they may be sending on you for ATM reimbursement especially if you use the card frequently that they may find a reason to close your account...maybe gives them more incentive to see if a person is living in Thailand full time and then close the account for that reason...but they will tell you that you can instead open an International Schwab brokerage account with debt card which has high opening and balance requirements.

Hello PIB

Does this mean for Americans that the cheapest way to get money is by transferring through BBK in New York???

if a USA bank:

1. stops refunding atm fees?

2. has a 15k baht limit per a day?

3. has a 30k baht limit per a day?

Please help us with the math

For Americans using the Bangkok Bank New York branch routing number with their in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch account number is most likely always going to be the cheapest way to wire funds. Let's assume your U.S. bank applies no Sending fee of it own (but many do)...then you only have the two Bangkok Bank fees of usually $5 or $10 as the funds flow through the NY branch and then the currency receipt/conversion fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) on the local branch end. For a $2,000 transfer Bangkok Bank NY would slice off $5 as it flowed through them on to Thailand which means $1,995 arrives your local branch for conversion...they apply the the TT Buying Rate in effect at the time and then apply/substract the 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) which in this case would result in the Bt200 min fee (or about $6 in this case), and then the remaining amount is posted to your account. A total of approx $11 in fees...sure beats a pricey SWIFT transfer which probably runs in the $25 to $40 ballpark charged by your U.S. Sending bank...and then you still have the 0.25% (Bt200, Bt500) that will be applied on the local branch end for receiving/converting the transfer. And neither of these Bangkok Bank fees will appear anywhere on your Bangkok Bank account/passbook or your Sending bank account as these fees were applied after they left your U.S. bank and before the funds were posted to your loal Bangkok Bank account...this makes some people think the transfer was free but it wasn't...those fees were applied.

Since the Bankgok Bank NY fee is a sliding scale fee when you reach $2000.01 through $50,000 they slice off a $10 fee as the funds flow through them....so if a person usually ACH's over "right around $2,000 (plus or minus a few dollars) then that "one penny" over $2,000 just cost them $5 more in fees...a $10 fee instead of $5.

Regarding those ATM/debit card limits per day and how the fees/exchange rates would work out that depends on what foreign transaction fee your card may apply (i.e., 1, 2, 3%..and maybe a second flat fee of a few dollars)....most charge such a fee and the fee varies amount banks...you just need to use the Vista/Mastercard card exchange rates and then apply whatever fee your card-issuing bank may apply and of course the local Thai bank ATM foreign card Visa Bt150 fee/Mastercard Bt180 fee...apparently AEON is charging Bt150 for either a foreign Visa or Mastercard card. That's some fee math you need to figure out on your own.

[paz]

Open a bank

Account

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks for that... tried and denied twice at two different banks. Seems they don't accept an education visa. Even if I did, getting the funds from home to here will still incur costs that might very well exceed a monthly withdrawl.

As mentioned one million times, open at Kasikorn. No Visa whatsoever is needed. cost 400 Bt. Reasonable incoming wire fees, fully disclosed. Even better must the BKK bank as explained above and so many other times.

Edited February 11, 2014 by paz

[paz]

Words of advice:

Stick with DTAC, don't fall in love, always use a condom, beware of street cart food, don't complain about Russians, get used to hearing Free Bird and Hotel California, always ask how much something cost beforehand, get a Thailand drivers license from the DLT immediately, buy a cheap secondhand moped and don't take any crap!

If you live in Pattaya or Phuket, yes. Agree with the condoms and license. However:

What's wrong with 12Call?

Why not fall in love?

Why cheap and second hand?

CC gave you the smart full package and it's a damn damn one. Leaving items out breaks its ring of protection and may let in bad spirits.

[slipperylobster]

I started using XE. 20 USD but can wire 5 times my atm limit of 600 usd. Better baht rate..you lock that in when you purchase. You purchase baht from XE and they debit your bank (no atm/credit card requiredand no charge for that part). Then they wire from XE to Bank of Bangkok. That is where the 21 USD comes in. Whatever I do..it amounts to almost the same costs.

Takes 14 days..prepare in advance.

[reflectionx]

As above: AEON uses published MC or Visa exchange rates.

Then it was coincidental that of the 5 times I used AEON, 3 of those times the Baht strengthened between the time I read the rate and when I hit the ATM. That is possible I guess as the baht/dollar rate fluctuates significantly.

As an aside, is AEON a bank? I thought they were something else, like a loan company or something?

KB

Keep in mind that the exchange rate is applied on the day the transaction is POSTED to your account, not at the day the transaction was done. It usually takes 1-2 days for me to get it on my no forex fee Chase visa, so there is no way to predict what the exact rate would be. SOMETIMES "LIUN", SOMETIMES WIN:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf6qMXi5n4I&t=1m1s

PS Murphy's law - I always get screwed

Sent via the app thingy

Edited February 11, 2014 by reflectionx

[paz]

As an aside, is AEON a bank? I thought they were something else, like a loan company or something?

Correct, it is the biggest consumer credit company and does not do foreigh exchange at the counter like banks do.

The ATM fee notice has been published on their website for ages but for reasons better know to themselves it was not applied.

[reflectionx]

I started using XE. 20 USD but can wire 5 times my atm limit of 600 usd. Better baht rate..you lock that in when you purchase. You purchase baht from XE and they debit your bank (no atm/credit card requiredand no charge for that part). Then they wire from XE to Bank of Bangkok. That is where the 21 USD comes in. Whatever I do..it amounts to almost the same costs.

Takes 14 days..prepare in advance.

I actually planned to use them once to transfer good amount of loonies, but the exchange raye was horrifying. Talking about 50k range; the offered rate was like 3% off the rate you see on their website.

What a scam...

Sent via the app thingy

[paz]

Keep in mind that the exchange rate is applied on the day the transaction is POSTED to your account, not at the day the transaction was done. It usually takes 1-2 days for me to get it on my no forex fee Chase visa, so there is no way to predict what the exact rate would be. SOMETIMES "LIUN", SOMETIMES WIN:

Actually the rate applied is the one of the day before the transaction as published on visa / MC websites.

Once I was taught that, I re-did the math for all my withdrawals and numbers squared perfectly.

[elzach]

It sems that they don't want anymore ATM withdrawals from farangs. Very soon nobody will be using their ATMs.

Just wonder why they did not opt for lower fee, say 70-80 baht; they would have still kept most of the clientele and make some extra cash ...

Because that would require a bit of creativity, planning and forward thinking....and we are in Asia, copy-and-paste land.

[HooHaa]

didnt realize so many people were using overseas cards. why not open an account here? you could do large transfers every few months from you account back home to an account here and just use your local card to take the cash as needed. this would reduce the fees a lot.

apparently that makes too much sense