will be moving to thailand in september but am stumped still on the best way to get mail, i don;t have an address in thailand yet so i can't put in a change of address to my banks, etc.

what do some of you do to stay on top of your mail?

jblubber

Most banks are not going to be set up for international mail (domestic postage and lost/returned mail often as a result) so on line everything is the way to go. For things like new cards and such I would advise a relatives address and have them forward monthly or weekly or whatever is required. If no family a Mail Box type operation should work. All in all I would try to get rid of mail as much as possible. I have my credit card paid automatically by direct debit rather than risk losing checks in the mail. Bank statements are online.

If you have a friend over here in Thailand already you could ask them to open up a PO Box address for you at a post office near to where you plan to live, all they need is their ID card and probably about 1000 Baht for the first 3 months. It is best to open one in a the Post Office as opposed to these companies who set up in Malls and haddle mail for a fee. I opened up a PO Box with them and besides being treated with overwhelming apathy, more than once I was handed other peoples mail!

As Lopburi3 said you could get a family member to collect all your post and send it out once a month/2 weeks. I would advise that they use a method that enbles tracking should they be sending out essential post. I should imagine it would deter most 'opportunist' mail theives.

Definately the best advise has already been given by Lopburi3, get as much as you can online. If a family member back home is computer smart, couldn't they scan and email your post to you, and post only items that need to be signed?

Good luck with your move out here.

I have my

USA bank mail delivered here

Visit Usa2me.com or USABox.com

They receive your mail at a normal address and you can 'access' it online, etc.

The above replies mirror my own experience. US institutions like banks and credit card companies have trouble believing that an American lives abroad and make a complete mess out of mailing to foreign addresses. Worse, many of them (credit card companies and airline frequent flyer accounts come immediately to mind) will cancel you out if you do not have a US mailing address (it usually says so in the fine print of your account agreement).

Do not give US institutions a foreign address. At best, you will lose a lot of your mail. At worst, you will lose your accounts. Have your mail sent somewhere (anywhere, really) in the US and then set each account up for online access. It will never be necessary then for whoever is receiving your mail to forward it. It can just be destroyed since you have full access to its contents online.

I have my

USA bank mail delivered here

Do you mean you gave a change of address to the bank, and they actually mail you statements and new cards to Thailand? Please tell us more details, what bank, and how you changed the address (from the US in person or online.)

Edited June 24, 200620 yr by Thaiquila

thank you very good info

jasper

All my banks and credit card companies have my Thai address, and send mail to me. I even get my ATM cards and credit cards mailed to me when they expire. No problem with mailing anything to Thailand.

I would do your banking via the internet if you are computer savy.

Barry

All my banks and credit card companies have my Thai address, and send mail to me. I even get my ATM cards and credit cards mailed to me when they expire. No problem with mailing anything to Thailand.

I would do your banking via the internet if you are computer savy.

Barry

Hi Barry,

Could you say which banks? Because I think not all of them would do this. It might help some people to choose more expat friendly ones.

Usaa Savings bank, and the Lockheed federal credit union. Most banks in the U.S will do this with the exception of Wells Fargo. City bank, and Bank of America both have branches in bangkok.

Barry