where to buy pre-paid credit card in thailand

[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

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....

Yea, the USAA card is a Mastercard whose exchange rate is usually a tad lower than Visa's rate...and based on what you are reporting lower than American Express' rate.

I'm a little confused by your response....can you please clarify for me. Why even go to an online money exchanger webpage to determine the rate?

Instead, just divide the dollar charge hitting your BlueBird (excluding the Bt50 and $2.50 fees) online account by the baht amount withdrawn and that's the real world exchange rate. So, was the rate still 32.89 when doing the calculation that way?

[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....

Yea, the USAA card is a Mastercard whose exchange rate is usually a tad lower than Visa's rate...and based on what you are reporting lower than American Express' rate.

I'm a little confused by your response....can you please clarify for me. Why even go to an online money exchanger webpage to determine the rate?

Instead, just divide the dollar charge hitting your BlueBird (excluding the Bt50 and $2.50 fees) online account by the baht amount withdrawn and that's the real world exchange rate. So, was the rate still 32.89 when doing the calculation that way?

I corrected my posting error - 32.82 was my correct on line calculation ... And there was no need for me to deduct the $2.50 as you suggest as it was not commingled with the withdraw - a separate ledger entry ...

The line item charge submitted to Bluebird from Bangkok bank was a straight 8050 Baht (8000 + 50 fee) ...

Bluebird deducted/debited $245.28 from my account to transmit to Bangkok Bank the 8050 Baht equivalent - per normal transaction.

My math and the on line calculator comes to the same answer -- so in my excitement - I reported it slightly wrong in my second post as 32.89 (error) Actually should have been ... 32.82 - rounded from 32.819 (or 245.28 USD = 8,049.89 THB rounded to 8050.... I realize that rounding errors mount up when one is dealing with millions of dollars or Baht -- which I not - so it is not a big deal to me. If you are dealing with millions of Baht or Dollars - I am not sure why you are even concerned with a prepaid debit card.

Regardless of rounding or not - or including the extra 50 Baht or not .... I was charged by Bluebird for 8050 converted and was debited $245.28 real dollars - much lower than I had expected ...

Sorry - I did not mention - nor didn't make it clear - I was not able to see any summary detail on the Bangkok ATM screen ... no Exchange Rate was reported... I went inside and ask a Bank Clerk - she looked it up and reported the same figures as I am reporting... after my minor corrections... 32.82 Baht per USD

Personally I am disappointed that it did not appear on the ATM screen or on the skimpy printed receipt -- but I know what I was charged in USD by bluebird - and I know what I got in cash 8000 Baht and 50 Baht paid to Bkk Bank

I just cannot get overwrought about the situation as - THIS IS THE BEST ATM / USD to THAI BAHT Conversion I have received in 10 months in Thailand -- and I am damned glad to get it ...

Sorry for the confusion - but I am not in charge of Bkk Bank nor Bluebird -- but today I know I got a damned good deal for the small amount of Baht in play.

Chill out a bit - okay? ... I am trying to help. I reported in BRIEF - because I did not want to - nor do I think I should have to - just to quell your pedantic reactions...

If you want to assume I am lying - then stop communicating with me -- I reported earlier by PHONE APP - not conducive to long winded reports - after a 25 kilometer motorbike ride to Tesco Lotus - .

Edited November 12, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Take it easy, JD.... No one's suggesting anything about lying here.

But, you brought a new financial account here to the forum, one that no one else has reported much experience with. (And we're very appreciative for that, BTW).

So Pib was just trying to double check and verify the exchange rate details, so the rest of us can know for certain how the AMEX account's rate compared with VISA and MC... and thus give people the info they might want in terms of deciding whether this is an account they want to open.

I've made calculation mistakes before. You obviously made a mistake in your original exchange rate that you posted above. No reason to take offense at trying to double check financial stuff posted here in the forum. Everyone benefits from having accurate information.

[billphillips]

I have a prepaid credit card with SIam Comercial Bank. Great for Internet or telephone purchases both here and abroad. The only setback is that the security deposit is twice the credit limit per month. It works for me.

Iv read many comments on this thread and find some (many) of them beyond belief. In fact I would go as far to say; written by dreamers. This is Thailand, none of the banks give credit cards with massive limits, without some security. Anyone who tells you differently is a confused and delirious idiot.

[Pib]

No, when I saw the 32.89 rate I figured it may be high since it basically matched the AmEx webpage interbank rate of almost 32.90 which really don't leave AmEx any room for a currency spread profit. The 32.82 rate gives AmEx around a 0.25% spread profit which appears to be less than Visa and Mastercard's spread profit of around 0.40%. And that little bit of better exchange rate in comparison to Visa/Mastercard completely offsets the Bt50 Bangkok Bank ATM fee when withdrawing close to the Bluebird's max daily allowed of $750...just leaves the person with the the Bluebird $2.50 fee which is not bad at all.

I'm still in semi-shock that AmEx which is known for low exchange rates on many of its currency products/services and like mentioned in earlier posts don't provide a straight-forward exchange rate calculator like Visa and Mastercard is providing a prepaid card with few fees "and excellent exchange rate." And googling for some actual exchange rates received by folks came up with only one or two specific examples in all of Google Land which can feed suspicion of the actual exchange rate.

Thanks for the exchange rate info and the other good details given in your posts. The Bluebird prepaid debit card is definitely a card that can greatly lower the cost of getting money from the U.S. without the bankster high fees and/or low exchange rate.

[myshem]

hello,

 

do you know if the virtual number changes for each purchase ? thanks.

[CharlieH]

The virtual number with kasikorn does not change but you can turn it on and off and state max amount etc on any transaction.