where to buy pre-paid credit card in thailand

[balo]

You can also apply for the global Neteller Mastercard , First sign up at Neteller.com, transfer money into the account from any bank account, then get verified , and you're ready to apply for the credit card. As long as you have a balance in the account you can use the card anywhere in the world.

[mrfaroukh]

i know what you mean but sorry i have never seen such a product here

but having said that even credit cards in Thailand are pre paid as such because even if you as a foreigner can get one you are required to open an account and deposit an equal amount to your given credit limit and i think the deposit cannot be accessed to be used in any other way apart from collateral for that limit that's my take on the situation but again i do not have a credit card so a second opinion might shed more factual info basically go without its easy to manage now i am going to stick my neck out and say if your credit card were say cloned any loss i am sure will be debited initially from your pocket or the security account until such times as you prove different Thai banks have a strict one way policy and its their way loaded

This information isn't correct.

I have a number of credit cards issued by banks in Thailand, none of which I have deposited funds into their banks, or given any form of security. Credit limits on these cards vary from 150,000 to 400,000.

They all require a minimum of 10% of the outstanding paid every month. I would hate to have anything outstanding as the interest rates are very high.

Main reason I have these credit cards are to be able to benefit from their favorable dining promotions, many cases are 30 to 50% off the bill at hotel restaurants

Which bank i offering this card? I have a KK and they told me I have to put money in an account as security.

[8OA8]

International bank brands in Thailand. But on the other hand and purely by coincidence, my current (cheque book) accounts are all with local banks. And again No I don't and didn't have to deposit funds before they gave me cheque books. Or maybe I did have to initially deposit Baht 5,000.

I have just visited (one of the one's I have a credit card from) online applications and this one says minimum Baht 30k income required. (When I applied there wasn't online options)

https://www.citibank.co.th/en/apply/rop-select/index.html?icid=THCCAOSENCCROCAAN

[Pib]

Well - there are many of Expats and long term tourists that find dealing with our money here in Thailand using home country banks works just fine. I have USAA as my regular American bank and with my Debit/ATM card getting money from the USD converted to Thai Baht works just fine... I am not dealing in huge sums ... so if I need 6000 Baht for spending money I used my USAA Debit/ATM card ... Bangkok Bank delivers 31.5 Baht /USD with slight variance due to the money market exchange rates on a given day... Sometimes down to 30.9 or so...

It goes like this: 6000 Baht taken out by ATM, Bangkok Bank charges 180 Baht (ouch) I got a 31.5 Baht rate as of two days ago for this sum.. USAA on a monthly basis reimburses all of the ATM charges (domestic or international) up to $15.00 per month per each Debit Card account. I have two cards/accounts and I use both - so I always get all ATM charges reimbursed... If USAA is charging an International transaction fee, my math applied to my account cannot find it and it is not entered as a line item entry - as are the ATM fees... So I get relatively cheap ATM usage for conversion of USD to Thai Baht... for the amounts of money I deal in on a typical transaction which may be from 6000 to 18000

With the Bluebird Card used at Bangkok bank to get the 6000 Baht, Bangkok Bank charged me 50 Baht and Bluebird yes charged me $2.50. Thanks for the correction. This is not bad for small time transactions. Making it relatively cheap. Also Bluebird / AMEX says it does not charge an International Transaction Fee... They use another term but as far as I can tell they do not charge one. Also I do not know if Bangkok Bank would charge me - say 100 Baht for a 12000 Baht withdraw twice what I just withdrew. I will check this should I make such a withdraw...

Good info on the Bluebird card....thanks.

I just spend a few minutes reviewing their website, fees, and terms of agreement. It does indeed say no foreign transaction fee, $2.50 AmEx fee for ATM withdrawal (excluding any local ATM fee like the Thai bank Bt50 fee for AmEx cards and Thai bank fee of Bt150-180 for Visa/Mastercard), and if I remember right up to $2,000 monthly ATM withdrawal and $750/day. And they don't seem to charge any fee to fund the BlueBird prepaid account, but I did read everything pretty fast.

But here's my questions, what exchange rate did you get from AmEx and specifically on what date? I see you mentioned the rate you got with your USAA Mastercard debit card but not what you got for with your AmEx BlueBird debit card.

The main reason I ask is AmEx does not have an exchange rate page like Visa/Mastercard although you can find plenty of AmEx pages showing a forex exchange rate but on those same pages they say in the fine print that rate is an approx/FYI rate and not the rate you will get...instead you need to contact a local AmEx office for the latest rate. AmEx just seems to be a tad coy/not fully open about the exchange rate given. Below is cut and paste from their terms and agreement regarding their currency exchange rate. Maybe their rate is good; maybe not...I just wish they had an exchange rate page like Visa/Matercard which specifically told a person their past and current exchange rates.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Pib

[JDGRUEN]

Well - there are many of Expats and long term tourists that find dealing with our money here in Thailand using home country banks works just fine. I have USAA as my regular American bank and with my Debit/ATM card getting money from the USD converted to Thai Baht works just fine... I am not dealing in huge sums ... so if I need 6000 Baht for spending money I used my USAA Debit/ATM card ... Bangkok Bank delivers 31.5 Baht /USD with slight variance due to the money market exchange rates on a given day... Sometimes down to 30.9 or so...

It goes like this: 6000 Baht taken out by ATM, Bangkok Bank charges 180 Baht (ouch) I got a 31.5 Baht rate as of two days ago for this sum.. USAA on a monthly basis reimburses all of the ATM charges (domestic or international) up to $15.00 per month per each Debit Card account. I have two cards/accounts and I use both - so I always get all ATM charges reimbursed... If USAA is charging an International transaction fee, my math applied to my account cannot find it and it is not entered as a line item entry - as are the ATM fees... So I get relatively cheap ATM usage for conversion of USD to Thai Baht... for the amounts of money I deal in on a typical transaction which may be from 6000 to 18000

With the Bluebird Card used at Bangkok bank to get the 6000 Baht, Bangkok Bank charged me 50 Baht and Bluebird yes charged me $2.50. Thanks for the correction. This is not bad for small time transactions. Making it relatively cheap. Also Bluebird / AMEX says it does not charge an International Transaction Fee... They use another term but as far as I can tell they do not charge one. Also I do not know if Bangkok Bank would charge me - say 100 Baht for a 12000 Baht withdraw twice what I just withdrew. I will check this should I make such a withdraw...

Good info on the Bluebird card....thanks.

I just spend a few minutes reviewing their website, fees, and terms of agreement. It does indeed say no foreign transaction fee, $2.50 AmEx fee for ATM withdrawal (excluding any local ATM fee like the Thai bank Bt50 fee for AmEx cards and Thai bank fee of Bt150-180 for Visa/Mastercard), and if I remember right up to $2,000 monthly ATM withdrawal and $750/day. And they don't seem to charge any fee to fund the BlueBird prepaid account, but I did read everything pretty fast.

But here's my questions, what exchange rate did you get from AmEx and specifically on what date? I see you mentioned the rate you got with your USAA Mastercard debit card but not what you got for with your AmEx BlueBird debit card.

The main reason I ask is AmEx does not have an exchange rate page like Visa/Mastercard although you can find plenty of AmEx pages showing a forex exchange rate but on those same pages they say in the fine print that rate is an approx/FYI rate and not the rate you will get...instead you need to contact a local AmEx office for the latest rate. AmEx just seems to be a tad coy/not fully open about the exchange rate given. Below is cut and paste from their terms and agreement regarding their currency exchange rate. Maybe their rate is good; maybe not...I just wish they had an exchange rate page like Visa/Matercard which specifically told a person their past and current exchange rates.

Capture.JPG

Pib ... the exchange rate for the Bluebird Card and the USAA Cards has been about the same within a very small variance - say 31.5 up or down a point - depending on the day. Funny thing though ... Bangkok Bank receipt for the Bluebird transaction is shorter and with little information. However, I did take note of the summary screen display that always shows up giving a complete set of details - rate of exchange, the fee charged, so forth - and I notice little variance between cards.

I have not used the two different cards on the same day - so I could not test for a difference on a given day.

I have trained myself to look closely at the summary transaction screen with a Bangkok Bank ATM before pushing the next button. If anything seems unusual I study the screen closely and notice nothing strange except my near shock when the Bank Fee was only 50 Baht.

In Ao Nang I have experienced some under 31 Baht exchange rates on a given day when using my USAA cards. One fellow here on TVF said that couldn't be possible has he had never experienced in Bkk... But it happened.

No money is needed to open the Bluebird Card/Account and you can easily fund it by going through a verify routine for your existing regular Bank Debit / Card ... I warn you that in order to verify your Existing Bank Debit / ATM card to be used and on record for transfers to Bluebird -- you have to go through a process where you ACTUALLY give them your on line username and Password - PIN for your regular bank Debit / ATM card ... This startled me at first - then I got to thinking - I am dealing with American Express on a Secure Site and I followed through... Worked Great and I feel my user name and password has been held in confidence ... and you can then go change your regular bank on line password anyway... I wanted money in my bluebird asap and took the chance - turned out to be nothing - AMEX is a fine company.

The Bank to Bluebird transfer using ACH - Automated Clearing House takes up to 4-5 days every time -- so for fast funding of your Bluebird card - the debit/ATM card is the answer.

Bottom Line I am very happy to have the Bluebird card -- it gives me a backup and I can use it to buy Thailand Flight tickets without a hassle ... The Mastercard endorsed cards are easy to foul up when you have to - and Must go their on line security B.S.

Get with me anytime on PM and I will discuss it more with you. I hope it provides you a new way to handle things.

Edited November 9, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[Pib]

Thanks. But it sure would be nice if I could get an exact exchange that hit your account for a certain date---any date as long as it known. Then I could just go to the Visa exchange rate website and compare. If you could do that that would be great...and hopefully the Thai ATM fee and AmEX $2.50 fees were shown separately versus getting mixed in with the actual cash withdrawn which would distort the exchange rate.

By chance I just logged off my AmEx card account (at BlueCash card I used in the U.S. but not in Thailand due to its foreign transaction fee) to see if an exchange rate calculator might be available from a person's account, but it was not. I ended up have a online chat with a AmEx rep about exchange rate and the rep just referred me to this weblink which I've been at before and carries the disclamier of and to quote: "This conversion is made using the Interbank rate. It should be used as a guide only. Call your local American Express travel office for the latest rates. Not all locations offer foreign currency exchange services."

In some more goggling I did run across a UK American Express website that had a exchange rate comparion example of using a AmEx credit card, debit card, traveler cheques, etc. on 4 Jun 14. While they give different rates depending on which AmEx product you are using the credit/debit card rate did calculate out to being almost identical to the Visa exchange rate on 4 Jun 14. But I sure would like to get an example a specific/real life example from a customer versus the AmEx website.

I have several no foreign transaction fee debit and credit Visa cards already...the debit cards also reimburse the Thai ATM Bt150-180 fee. But having a AmEx BlueBird card as another backup debit card in case my other debit cards every change their foreign transaction fee policy could be beneficial to me. And a Bt50 Thai bank ATM fee is quite acceptable to me even if not reimbursed. Thanks and cheers.

[Pib]

Barring my still slight concern regarding the American Express exchange rate and although I'm not drawing U.S. social security yet, from review of the BlueBird prepaid debit card in comparison to the Social Security US Direct Express Debit card which some U.S. expats use, it appears the BlueBird card would be a much better deal fee-wise when withdrawing funds in Thailand.

Since a person's social security payment can be Direct Deposited to a BlueBird account just like the US Direct Express account, and the BlueBird card has no foreign transaction fee but does have an ATM withdrawal fee of $2.50 if not using a MoneyPass network ATM then for example a Bt20K withdrawal from a say a Bangkok Bank ATM would be as follows:

Bangkok Bank foreign card ATM fee: Bt50 since its an AmEx card

BlueBird Foreign Transaction Fee: zero

BlueBird ATM Withdrawal Fee: Bt80 ($2.50 at Bt32/USD)

Total in Fees: Bt130 (approx $4.06)

Now, lets do that same Bt20K withdrawal using the US Direct Express debit card

Bangkok Bank foreign card ATM fee: Bt180 since its a Mastercard

US Direct Express foreign transaction fee: Bt96 flat fee ($3)

US Direct Express add'l foreign tansaciton fee of: Bt600 (3% of amount withdrawn)

Total in Fees: Bt876 (approx $27.38)

So, for you fine folks using the US Direct Express card to withdraw a US pension in Thailand you probably should give the BlueBird card a serious look. A person can also have a Family Account with a BlueBird card where you get them a BlueBird card and control the amount allowed for that member...such a card could be very handy for a child, family member, etc.

[natway09]

A prepaid credit card ? Is that not just a debit card in mufti?

[Pib]

Ok, I think I now feel comfortable with the American Express exchange rate based on jdgruen's posts, some googling on Amercian Express exchange rates looking for some actual/real world example exchange rates vs the AmEx Exchange Rate pages that just use the Interbank Rate and say just use that as a guide only/call your nearest AmEx Office.

Today I actually found a post where someone posted what appeared on their BlueBird account for an ATM withdrawal on 2 Feb 13 in Bangkok...and I expect they may have used an AEON ATM since their post said they were not charged a local ATM fee and at that time AEON ATMs did not charge a foreign card fee. You also see on the post the BlueBird ATM fee was still $2.00 back then but is $2.50 now.

Anyway, the post showed a Bt5,000 withdrawal with a $168.07 charge hitting their account which equates to a Bt29.75/USD exchange rate. I then checked the Visa exchange rate on the VisaEurope exchange rate page for 2 Feb 13 and the Visa rate for European issued Visa cards was Bt29.73/USD on 2 Feb 13. I wanted to check the rate on VisaUSA and Mastercard exchange rate pages but on those pages they only go back 12 months in rates. The VisaUSA and VisaEurope rates are always very close to each other...and Mastercard rates are very close to Visa rates. And when checking the Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfers for 2 Feb 13 it was 29.70. So I think I have resolved my concern over AmEx exchange rates when using their BlueBird card.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The issue about obtaining Thai bank credit cards (though why you'd want one at a standard 20% APR interest rate and typical annual card fees is another issue) really comes down to having or not having a work permit and official Thailand-based monthly income.

If you have a Thai work permit and can show official monthly Thai income (I wanna say over 50K per month -- the Thai banks' income requirements for foreigners tend to be higher than for Thais), then you probably can qualify for a Thai bank credit card directly.

But if you DON'T have a Thai work permit and can't show the required Thai monthly income, then you're probably left seeking out one of the various Thai banks that will issue cards to farangs based on having a locked deposit on hold with the bank to cover, or more than cover, your credit line.

[JDGRUEN]

Barring my still slight concern regarding the American Express exchange rate and although I'm not drawing U.S. social security yet, from review of the BlueBird prepaid debit card in comparison to the Social Security US Direct Express Debit card which some U.S. expats use, it appears the BlueBird card would be a much better deal fee-wise when withdrawing funds in Thailand.

Since a person's social security payment can be Direct Deposited to a BlueBird account just like the US Direct Express account, and the BlueBird card has no foreign transaction fee but does have an ATM withdrawal fee of $2.50 if not using a MoneyPass network ATM then for example a Bt20K withdrawal from a say a Bangkok Bank ATM would be as follows:

Bangkok Bank foreign card ATM fee: Bt50 since its an AmEx card

BlueBird Foreign Transaction Fee: zero

BlueBird ATM Withdrawal Fee: Bt80 ($2.50 at Bt32/USD)

Total in Fees: Bt130 (approx $4.06)

Now, lets do that same Bt20K withdrawal using the US Direct Express debit card

Bangkok Bank foreign card ATM fee: Bt180 since its a Mastercard

US Direct Express foreign transaction fee: Bt96 flat fee ($3)

US Direct Express add'l foreign transaction fee of: Bt600 (3% of amount withdrawn)

Total in Fees: Bt876 (approx $27.38)

So, for you fine folks using the US Direct Express card to withdraw a US pension in Thailand you probably should give the BlueBird card a serious look. A person can also have a Family Account with a BlueBird card where you get them a BlueBird card and control the amount allowed for that member...such a card could be very handy for a child, family member, etc.

Pib your analysis is very impressive ... I will be using my Bluebird card in the next few days for at least a 8000 Baht withdraw. I will let you know the exchange rate I see on the screen... And remember the 50 Baht fee I was charged by Bangkok Bank has been for 6000 Baht withdraws - so I will see if the fee goes up slightly.

Also in addition to a family card - any other person in America who is eligible for a Bluebird Card and gets one -- if they are a family member - friend, agent doing work for you... or as for me a friend who is garaging my motor home ... Money can be sent - Card to Card... and it works the other way around ... Me a Bluebird Card holder here in Thailand --- my sister could send me extra money for expense recovering from a broken leg in a motorcycle accident (hypothetical situation), That is money transfer with no hassle - near instantly and I am not even sure Bluebird charges a fee for this... Even if they charged $2.50 - it would be a lot less by far than something like Western Union or other.

For an older Mom or Dad back in the States this works great too.

And - anyone with a family card could go to a Walmart and deposit cash into the card for you

I am using the Set Aside Account feature where I put a small amount of cash into this side account on my bluebird account and it is taken off the account running ledger and does not show up... I call mine OutOfSight... just money for a rainy day and can be pulled back into the main account in a minute on line. By the way their Smartphone app works great.

Because I have my USAA on line account, I have't found use for the bluebird Bil Pay feature. Which however, is a good way to send money to older family members in America who just will not fool with Debit/ATM cards (as they say).

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Regarding Bluebird by AMEX, I tend to be suspicious about AMEX and their foreign currency exchange practices. And that suspicion isn't lessened by AMEX's apparent refusal to publicly post their actual day-to-day foreign exchange rates anywhere... But what I'm seeing online thus far doesn't seem to show a problem with their exchange rates:

Here's a 2013-14 FlyerTalk forum thread specifically on using the BlueBird card at foreign ATMs where posters generally claimed no fees and comparable exchange rates, though a fair number of posters were complaining about the use of their BB card being denied in various ATMs, including some listed as being AMEX compatible:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1468971-any-experience-using-bluebird-foreign-atms.html

The AMEX website ATM Finder for Thailand seems to show their cards ought to work at Bangkok Bank ATMs. Not clear about the other Thai banks.

http://www.amexnetwork.com/atmfinder/

Likewise, the same AMEX site seems to show no compatible ATMs in other places such as Cambodia and Laos, though it did show compatible ATMs for both Vietnam and Malaysia.

Still, for me, I'd prefer to continue using any of several U.S. debit cards I have that both charge no foreign ATM or currency exchange fees of their own (or reimburse them at month's end) and reimburse any fees from the foreign ATM. That's still going to come out ahead of BlueBird in terms of dollars and sense, given BB's $2.50 foreign ATM fee and no reimbursement for foreign ATM fees.

Edited November 10, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

From my research (i.e., googling) so far I think Bangkok Bank ATMs are the only ones that accept American Express cards, but there are plenty of Bangkok Bank machines everywhere.

From reading the AmEx BlueBird Terms of Agreement and Fee Schedule a couple of times I don't have anything bad to say about this prepaid debit card. With other prepaid debit cards I've reviewed it only takes a few seconds to determine they are fee-laden and have limitations I wouldn't won't to be bothered with. Now with my regular no foreign transaction fee debt and credit cards I really have no need for a prepaid card, but it could still come in handy for some situations....and I can see how for some people it would be "very" handy. I still deciding if I want to get a BlueBird card...there no inactivity, dormancy, or annual fees so it wouldn't cost me anything on a reoccurring basis.

[Pib]

... I will be using my Bluebird card in the next few days for at least a 8000 Baht withdraw. I will let you know the exchange rate I see on the screen... And remember the 50 Baht fee I was charged by Bangkok Bank has been for 6000 Baht withdraws - so I will see if the fee goes up slightly.

The Bt50 won't go up...that's Bangkok Bank fee foreign card fee for AmEx cards all the way up to their Bt25K per transaction limit. Below is a cut and paste of their ATM fee schedule for foreign cards.

Also, where you say "...the exchange rate I see on the screen...", usually that implies a DCC rate is being offered which will surely be several percent lower than the card network exchange rate. You wouldn't want to accept that unless maybe when using the AmEx card they do show you the rate whether it's DCC or the card network rate. Maybe you meant the exchange rate shown on your BlueBird online account screen? Anyway, thanks in advance for getting back to us on the rate you get.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Pib

[Pib]

But when it comes to getting a BlueBird card you will need to have it sent to an address within the U.S. See this Link and partial quote below:

We cannot send cards to P.O. Boxes, FPO, APO, Vermont residents, or outside the United States.

[sprq]

i know what you mean but sorry i have never seen such a product here

but having said that even credit cards in Thailand are pre paid as such because even if you as a foreigner can get one you are required to open an account and deposit an equal amount to your given credit limit and i think the deposit cannot be accessed to be used in any other way apart from collateral for that limit that's my take on the situation but again i do not have a credit card so a second opinion might shed more factual info basically go without its easy to manage now i am going to stick my neck out and say if your credit card were say cloned any loss i am sure will be debited initially from your pocket or the security account until such times as you prove different Thai banks have a strict one way policy and its their way loaded

Anybody can get a credit card that way, but if you work here you can get one without a deposit, as long as you can prove your employment with the minimum salary required by the bank. This is enormous in some cases, e.g. 150,000 baht at Siam Commercial as opposed to 15,000 baht for a Thai national (the last time I asked anyway). It makes you think they don't actually want you as a credit card customer, even if you have been an account holder at their bank for 30 years, as was my case.

[sprq]

The issue about obtaining Thai bank credit cards (though why you'd want one at a standard 20% APR interest rate and typical annual card fees is another issue) really comes down to having or not having a work permit and official Thailand-based monthly income.

If you have a Thai work permit and can show official monthly Thai income (I wanna say over 50K per month -- the Thai banks' income requirements for foreigners tend to be higher than for Thais), then you probably can qualify for a Thai bank credit card directly.

But if you DON'T have a Thai work permit and can't show the required Thai monthly income, then you're probably left seeking out one of the various Thai banks that will issue cards to farangs based on having a locked deposit on hold with the bank to cover, or more than cover, your credit line.

Correct, in my experience, with SCB wanting an income - I kid you not - of 150,000 baht a month. Which translates as "f*** off, foreigner.".

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I can only presume, apparently they're afraid disreputable farangs are going to run up a big bill on their Thai credit cards and then skip the country for their next expat/expense account heaven!

[KhunBENQ]

You have a facility at Kasikorn bank, which is a virtual credit card, called a shopping card. They just give you "credit Card " numbers not an actual card and debit out your account. When your debit card get's turned down, this works. I had the problem when i wanted to hire a car in the US only credit cards accepted, well the KK virtual Card worked, and has worked many other times when a debit card won't. The beauty of it they cannot draw any more out same as a debit card.

Great tip. Works fine.

Just successfully booked a flight with Thai Smile using my new Web Shopping "Card".

[JDGRUEN]

But when it comes to getting a BlueBird card you will need to have it sent to an address within the U.S. See this Link and partial quote below:

We cannot send cards to P.O. Boxes, FPO, APO, Vermont residents, or outside the United States.

Yes Pib .. I sold all my property - parked my motor home at a friend's place, pay him modest rent. What mail I get goes to that address.

Bluebird does not check your residential mailing address to send the card to. If you have a trusted friend or relative - you can use that address. Have them forward the card to you. You won't be getting any more mail from bluebird after you check box using on line statements and reports and other corresponsence.

Also almost all banks with on line services - including credit card companies want you to use on line email and websites for all communications. USAA Bank and Bluebird send me no mail -- it is all email and notices to log in to their site for a document. Same with GEICO Insurance and Discover Card. I even got a notice from Social Security that my use of an USPS Post Box was frowned up. So I changed to the street address I maintain.

There a numerous companies in America that offer mail boxes with street addresses and a notation #xxx that appears like it is an apartment -- I used one for years - these same companies often do mail forwarding to overseas on a extra fee basis.

I even found one that offers a street address with no number like #xxx - appears totally like your home residential addres in a major city in your chosen state ... you can even pick a state that has no state income tax like Texas. This same company will scan the front and back of any envelope you have - post it in your on line private account so you can view any received mail - then check box any that you want forwarded to you in Thailand. Last time I looked it was a base $20.00 a month fee and mailing cost for any forwards.

I will go look it up in my bookmarks... hopefully I can find it.

[Pib]

What length of validity comes on your Bluebird card...3, 4, 10 years etc., to give us an idea how often they are replaced which would require mailing. Thanks.

[JDGRUEN]

What length of validity comes on your Bluebird card...3, 4, 10 years etc., to give us an idea how often they are replaced which would require mailing. Thanks.

My Bluebird Card was issued for 4 years duration.

Here is a link to the mailbox - mail forwarding company I previously mentioned - with on line viewing and selection of items to forward and your address is a street address. They also offer document scanning now and sent to you as a .PDF.

https://www.earthclassmail.com/?gclid=CKSJ4IzQm7kCFe1AMgodS3YADQ

I have sent an email requesting clarification of certain points of this company's services - as I may opt to switch to their service.

[Xa1]

You have a facility at Kasikorn bank, which is a virtual credit card, called a shopping card. They just give you "credit Card " numbers not an actual card and debit out your account. ....

can you make overseas purchases with it?

[Xa1]

Kasikorn Bank (Main Branches only) issued my credit card many years ago. 200,000 Baht cash deposited into an locked account(The bank holds the book) for a 200,000 Baht credit limit VISA credit card, that can be used internationally for any purpose. A friend tells me that he has recently been issued a credit card at this bank without any security deposit, so things appear to getting a little easier.

Note: Issuance of the card is 'discretionary' by the bank - I am not sure one could just walk off the street and get a credit card without establishing some sort of relationship with the bank first, since once the front office minions had finished with the paperwork, the final sign off occurred only after a friendly chat with the bank manager -....

thanks for the info but I was more interested in a one-off easy purchase that could be made for single purchases. Actually making friends with bank personnel is a bit much.

[Xa1]

I think all the USA pre paid cards require that your are a USA citizen and have SS number

How do the illegals get a pre paid card ?

or someone visiting the USA that wants to use the card when they travel around the USA ?

or want to send it back to thailand and fund it from the USA

the pre-paid part solves the problem of user reliability.

the user buys the card with exactly the amount the card is good for. There is no risk to the issuer.

[JDGRUEN]

I think all the USA pre paid cards require that your are a USA citizen and have SS number

How do the illegals get a pre paid card ?

or someone visiting the USA that wants to use the card when they travel around the USA ?

or want to send it back to thailand and fund it from the USA

the pre-paid part solves the problem of user reliability.

the user buys the card with exactly the amount the card is good for. There is no risk to the issuer.

Illegal (Illegal Alien) they very often have stolen ID along with Social Security numbers - a very long story.

Legal Foreign nationals who visit America - not sure how they get one

Most PrePaid Debit/ATM cards are high fee, multiple fee and are not cost effective

The Bluebird Card from AMEX and Walmart sponsor is an exception. The Bluebird card IMO is a good deal.

But the Bluebird Card is actually far more than just a PrePaid Debit/ATM card.

https://bluebird.com ... Any American needing a backup Debit/ATM card should go see

[JDGRUEN]

I just withdrew 8000 Baht using my Bluecatd... from Bkk Bank... 50 Baht bank fee ... exchange rate ... 32.81 Baht per one USD !!!!

[JDGRUEN]

Also Bluebird fee $2.50

[Pib]

I just withdrew 8000 Baht using my Bluecatd... from Bkk Bank... 50 Baht bank fee ... exchange rate ... 32.81 Baht per one USD !!!!

Was that exchange rate shown on the ATM screen/receipt or on your BlueBird account webpage?

Looking at the American Express Exchange rate webpage at 16:17, which they say to use as a guide only as its an interbank rate, they showed 32.90. I only mention this to give folks an idea of how close the AmEx webpage calculator was to your real world exchange rate. And looking at the Visa rate for today its 32.71

[JDGRUEN]

I just withdrew 8000 Baht using my Bluecatd... from Bkk Bank... 50 Baht bank fee ... exchange rate ... 32.81 Baht per one USD !!!!

Was that exchange rate shown on the ATM screen/receipt or on your BlueBird account webpage?

Looking at the American Express Exchange rate webpage at 16:17, which they say to use as a guide only as its an interbank rate, they showed 32.90. I only mention this to give folks an idea of how close the AmEx webpage calculator was to your real world exchange rate. And looking at the Visa rate for today its 32.71

Quite frankly I was shocked as I never get a rate like this with my USAA Debit/ATM Cards...

I went to an On line Money - Exchange Converter - and converted dollars debited by bluebird to Baht delivered ... the rate is as reported... Actually 32.89.... CORRECTION 32.82

Edited November 12, 2014 by JDGRUEN