3 Million Baht Visa + Everyday Banking

[peterjackson]

Hey

I am looking at maybe using the 3 Million Baht Investment as a way to secure a Visa and save doing the Visa Re-entry Runs every 90 days.

I would be looking to transfer the money from a USA bank into probably Krung Thai Bank and collect the 4.5% interest annually.

1) I have heard some nightmare stories about money going missing in Thai accounts or being frozen on a whim by the Thai authorities. Is it the general consensus that doing this type of transfer is safe ?

Also, I would like to pose a few questions on everyday living with regards to money withdrawal/transfer from the USA of funds whilst in Thailand. This is for day to day expenses etc...

Many years ago (15) I used to travel to Thailand a considerable amount and always brought USD to exchange into BAHT on the 'black/grey' market and always received a better rate than using TC's.

Fast Forwards to 2006, what is the best way to get a good exchange rate.

1) Transfer USD into a Thai Bank Account ?

2) Use USD TC's and exchange them at a bank/other outlet ?

3) Use USD physical currency and exchange it bank/other outlet ?

4) Use a US Bank Issued ATM card to withdraw Cash. What charges do the Thai ATM's make for this service ?

5) Use a USA Issued Credit Card and pay it via the USA Online Banking facility ?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated.

Just in case there are provincial anomalies, I will be based in the Phuket area.

Regards

Peter

[tjo o tjim]

No info on the visa money, but for day money, foreign credit cards are useless-- you will end up with 8% in service charges between the merchant, visa/mastercard, and card issuer fees.

Thai ATMs do not currently charge foreign cardholders any fees- you only pay what your bank charges you.

Changing cash is never a good deal, except when the baht is falling (dramatically) and locals want to buy US currency- you can sometimes get a great deal then.

Wiring the money into a thai account is generally more expensive than the individual atm fees, and there are fees associated with using ATMs from another branch of your bank (20Baht for mine).

[peterjackson]

Hey

So, if my USA bank make no charges for me to withdraw money from any ATM domestic or international, am I correct in thinking the only charge I will be hit with, would be my banks exchange rate fee, to convert the withdrawal from Baht to USD, which is currently only 1% ?

I think I will be opening a Krung Thai Bank account for the 3 million Baht and a Bangkok Bank account for my daily banking as my USA bank make no charges for wires to Bangkok Bank.

Any further advice or claification, would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Peter