Obtaining a credit card from Bangkok Bank

[new2here]

This is just simply my own recent report about what it was like for me to get a classic credit (visa) card from Bangkok Bank.

This is my own experience and yours may differ.

I applied in person at my branch, which is the 333 Silom head office. As it turned out, this was a plus.

I had with me my original passport, original condo lease, original work permit (just renewed for a second year), original employment and original 2014 Rev Dept. tax clearance letter (which shows my reported income). As I bank with Bangkok bank, I didn't bring any BB documents.

I filled out the app for their basic Visa card. Pretty straight forward. Took about :10. Application was mostly in English.

The clerk spent those same 10 minutes making copies of my documents that I brought.

After I was done she had me countersign all the copies, plus the BB account print outs. She did a quick check to make sure the applications was complete, then faxed the whole application, to the processing office - which turned out to be upstairs of the same building.

I was initially prepared to come back later or receive a call, but no less than 5 minutes after faxing her phone rang - it was the processing officer.

She asked what amount of credit line was I expecting? I said that about 100,000 would be about right, but that in the future I might seek an increase.

She had a short conversation with the processing officer and then hung up.

She said that my income was sufficient for the amount of credit proposed and other documentation was satisfactory. My application was approved and one card (I don't have any secondary users) will be mailed within one week or I may pick it up.

There was no secured deposit/savings account requested nor any monies I currently have on deposit with them now subject to a freeze. I was not required to buy any further BB products like insurances or otherwise.

My takeaway was that they were very attentive to only two basics; the work permit; how long I have had it and was there any gaps in time since it was originally issued, and the salary verification via the Revenue Department certification. All the rest seemed to be cursory elements.

Again, this is my experience - yours may vary.

[ferguston]

You don't mention how much your salary is.

I have a monthly combined "salary" of 100,000 baht ( Teacher's pension + UK State pension ). My Teacher's pension is index-.linked. I own a house and a small condo.I have a Thai partner. I live here on a retirement visa therefore I cannot work and I have no wish to.

When I asked my bank - Kasikorn, for a credit card I was turned down.

Where is the logic in that ?

[balo]

No logic perhaps, but a retirement visa is just not good enough to get a normal credit card here. Why ?

Because you're income is your pension and you get the money transfered from your home country. If you work in Thailand with a valid work permit the banks here will accept it , maybe because they have more control of your activities if you do not pay in time. Maybe they can even ask the employer to deduct money from your salary.

[Brit_Doggie]

WP ok retiree no freaking chance even with proof of sufficent funds.

[Pib]

And just to add to what balo said, banks probably feel more comfortable with validated income from a job in Thailand vs some foreign income document like a pension statement even though the pension income may be higher than work income and the pension income guaranteed for life vs a job you could get fired from tomorrow. Plus a person working in Thailand probably makes banks feel there is much less likelihood of the person just deciding to leave Thailand quickly with unpaid credit card bills compared to someone on a retirement visa. Most any person on a long term visa can easily get a "secured" Thai credit card with a locked deposit as collateral, but getting a "unsecured" card almost always requires a work permit with adequate income from the associated job. Just the way it is in Thailand.

[new2here]

I didn't mention any number specifics - but that was an oversight on my part.

To add more details. My employment contract shows a monthly salary of B72,500 and my Revenue Department tax clearance letter shows a total reported 2014 income of 912,510 which includes some special contract work I did for the University that was above and beyond my contractual work.

At the date of application I had just about 395,000 in a traditional savings account.

I didn't apply for or ask about any kind of elite card, I just wanted the basic card because BB does run some pretty good dining promos that are tied to their credit (but usually not debit) cards.

For me, obtaining the card really is more about getting access to the discounts than anything else.

As I noted in my original post, my impression was that the bank clerk and the processor (who I never actually saw in person) really were extra attentive to my work permit -- they went over the dates several times to be sure there were no gaps and that I had been continually employed.

They also were very attentive to the salary verification thru the Revenue Department form.

[Soutpeel]

You don't mention how much your salary is.

I have a monthly combined "salary" of 100,000 baht ( Teacher's pension + UK State pension ). My Teacher's pension is index-.linked. I own a house and a small condo.I have a Thai partner. I live here on a retirement visa therefore I cannot work and I have no wish to.

When I asked my bank - Kasikorn, for a credit card I was turned down.

Where is the logic in that ?

Cos your not legally resident in Thailand that's the logic, in the eyes of the particular bank, for most banks application criteria "residency " is a more important criteria

If you have a Thai wife get her to apply and get a second card in your name

[Soutpeel]

No logic perhaps, but a retirement visa is just not good enough to get a normal credit card here. Why ?

Because you're income is your pension and you get the money transfered from your home country. If you work in Thailand with a valid work permit the banks here will accept it , maybe because they have more control of your activities if you do not pay in time. Maybe they can even ask the employer to deduct money from your salary.

Its to do with perceived residency in Thailand nothing to with how much you got the bank and this sort of policy is no different from any other county

[Sailbad the sinner]

Obtaining a credit card with a retirement visa

[Sailbad the sinner]

Is this possible?

[CharlieH]

As far as I know the only way you will get one on a retirement extension, is by depositing the credit value of the card as security with them, which kind of defeats the object of "credit".

[Swiss1960]

As far as I know the only way you will get one on a retirement extension, is by depositing the credit value of the card as security with them, which kind of defeats the object of "credit".

Sorry, Charlie, you are wrong with the last part. Even with a secured limit on your account, the card will still act as credit card

- you pay with the card today

- your bank will pay the merchant within 2 days

- you will receive the credit card invoice at the end of the invoice period

- you have xx days to pay

- depending on your contract, you might still be allowed to do deferred payments / partial payments.

so all the features of a card are still there.

What banks want to do is ensure that you can / will pay the outstanding credit card debts

- with WP and steady income, they could approach your employer (through court) when you default on your invoice and request that part of your salary is used for installment payments of the outstanding debt

- with retirement extension and pension from abroad, they have no hands on that money, you could redirect the payments at any time to another bank.

That is why the secured card limit on your account is their (the bank's) security in case you do not follow the payment terms of the credit card contract, but the CARD itself still has all the functions of a credit card.

[Time Traveller]

Maybe Bangkok Bank are struggling to find new customers and have relaxed their lending standards because they were notoriously bad at approving credit cards for foreigners. I had an experience where I applied, gave them everything they wanted - they even called to my employer, my home and other witnesses to check my application information - then it took them 6 weeks to come back and say declined, because their requirement was having a work permit for at least 3 years and I could apply again in 6 months. No thanks, I was approved by another bank for credit limit of 300,000 and they have been great. That was 8 years ago, and the bank KrungThai bank (KTC now).

[CharlieH]

As far as I know the only way you will get one on a retirement extension, is by depositing the credit value of the card as security with them, which kind of defeats the object of "credit".

Sorry, Charlie, you are wrong with the last part. Even with a secured limit on your account, the card will still act as credit card

- you pay with the card today

- your bank will pay the merchant within 2 days

- you will receive the credit card invoice at the end of the invoice period

- you have xx days to pay

- depending on your contract, you might still be allowed to do deferred payments / partial payments.

so all the features of a card are still there.

What banks want to do is ensure that you can / will pay the outstanding credit card debts

- with WP and steady income, they could approach your employer (through court) when you default on your invoice and request that part of your salary is used for installment payments of the outstanding debt

- with retirement extension and pension from abroad, they have no hands on that money, you could redirect the payments at any time to another bank.

That is why the secured card limit on your account is their (the bank's) security in case you do not follow the payment terms of the credit card contract, but the CARD itself still has all the functions of a credit card.

Appreciate the info, thanks

[RT85]

well you are lucky!!

i ended up putting down 200k and they let me choose whatever card/s i wanted including supps for my wife who is thai..

then again at the time of application i had only worked for 1year+ or so...

the only consolation is.. at least i do get some interest on the security amount... 1.25+% i think.... not too bad considering they could have just held the security in a no interest account.. haha

also my entire application took over 1 month!!! i should have gone to their head office! smart move!

[Pib]

Over 1 month even with a Bt200K securing deposit???!!!! They must have wanted to double check if the Bt200K was counterfeit or not....or they just have a slow review process. My guess is the later. Glad you got card.

[merijn]

I applied and received CC from BB without any problems.

I was not a costumer but my wife is and is well known at the bank.

I do not hold a WP but live here on marriage extensions.

At the bank i opened two bank accounts (normal saving accounts) and applied for a CC at the same time.

My wife is the master card holder and i have the second cards. ( Master and Visa )

Both approved and received the cards within a week with a limit of 100.000 baht and if i want i can upgrade it later.

So it is possible to get a CC without WP but it is easier to do it via a master/slave card with your wife/husband.

[Swiss1960]

I applied and received CC from BB without any problems.

I was not a costumer but my wife is and is well known at the bank.

I do not hold a WP but live here on marriage extensions.

At the bank i opened two bank accounts (normal saving accounts) and applied for a CC at the same time.

My wife is the master card holder and i have the second cards. ( Master and Visa )

Both approved and received the cards within a week with a limit of 100.000 baht and if i want i can upgrade it later.

So it is possible to get a CC without WP but it is easier to do it via a master/slave card with your wife/husband.

Given the sentence I put in bold above, it means that you are the holder of the card (your name is on it), but NOT the owner of the card. It also means...

• your wife can cancel your card at any time, because SHE is the ultimate owner of the cards
• if you do not pay your invoice, your wife will be ultimately responsible for any outstanding debt
• the account limit (100K Baht) is to be shared between your wife and you, meaning if she goes on a shopping spree and uses the limit, your card will be declined for lack of credit limit
• also means that the accounts you opened / your marriage extension did not have anything to do with you getting the secondary (slave) cards on your wife's main account.

your wife can give secondary (slave) cards away to anybody she wants (as she will always be responsible for settling the debt), including but not limited to the family dog (if the dog can sign the transaction receipt...)

[merijn]

I applied and received CC from BB without any problems.

I was not a costumer but my wife is and is well known at the bank.

I do not hold a WP but live here on marriage extensions.

At the bank i opened two bank accounts (normal saving accounts) and applied for a CC at the same time.

My wife is the master card holder and i have the second cards. ( Master and Visa )

Both approved and received the cards within a week with a limit of 100.000 baht and if i want i can upgrade it later.

So it is possible to get a CC without WP but it is easier to do it via a master/slave card with your wife/husband.

Given the sentence I put in bold above, it means that you are the holder of the card (your name is on it), but NOT the owner of the card. It also means...

• your wife can cancel your card at any time, because SHE is the ultimate owner of the cards
• if you do not pay your invoice, your wife will be ultimately responsible for any outstanding debt
• the account limit (100K Baht) is to be shared between your wife and you, meaning if she goes on a shopping spree and uses the limit, your card will be declined for lack of credit limit
• also means that the accounts you opened / your marriage extension did not have anything to do with you getting the secondary (slave) cards on your wife's main account.

your wife can give secondary (slave) cards away to anybody she wants (as she will always be responsible for settling the debt), including but not limited to the family dog (if the dog can sign the transaction receipt...)

Most is indeed how you described it but for me that is not a problem.

Only the limits are separate for each card.

My wife and i have both each 100 K limit on our cards.

[Pib]

You sure both of your have "separate" Bt100K lines of credit. Usually when both spouses apply for a card on a joint application, with one spouse being the primary card holder (your wife in this case) and the other one being the supplemental card holder (you) then there is usually "one" credit line for the "one" account, whether the bank issued both of you cards with the same number or separate numbers.

Since your post makes it sound like you did a "joint" application with the wife and you are a supplemental card holder versus just you doing an application on your own, I expect there is "one" credit line for your two Mastercards which covers you and the wife.....and another "one" credit line for your Visa cards which covers you and the wife. Do you guys get separate credit card bills per month? If so, then you are right your credit line is completely separately, but if only one bill comes per month with charges made with the separate cards on one bill then then it really just one account whether your cards have separate or identical numbers.

An where you mentioned "you" opened two bank accounts and then applied for credit cards with the wife being the primary card holder, do you really mean the "wife and you" opened a joint bank account and applied for cards at the same time. If the later, that implies to me there is one Mastercard account with one credit line and ditto for the Visa account.

Glad you got your cards, but if getting a unsecured supplemental card without a WP then that is not unusual because the primary account holder (your Thai wfie in this case) is the one on the hook for all the bills; but if getting a unsecured card without a WP then you are one of the exceptions.

[merijn]

You sure both of your have "separate" Bt100K lines of credit. Usually when both spouses apply for a card on a joint application, with one spouse being the primary card holder (your wife in this case) and the other one being the supplemental card holder (you) then there is usually "one" credit line for the "one" account, whether the bank issued both of you cards with the same number or separate numbers.

Since your post makes it sound like you did a "joint" application with the wife and you are a supplemental card holder versus just you doing an application on your own, I expect there is "one" credit line for your two Mastercards which covers you and the wife.....and another "one" credit line for your Visa cards which covers you and the wife. Do you guys get separate credit card bills per month? If so, then you are right your credit line is completely separately, but if only one bill comes per month with charges made with the separate cards on one bill then then it really just one account whether your cards have separate or identical numbers.

An where you mentioned "you" opened two bank accounts and then applied for credit cards with the wife being the primary card holder, do you really mean the "wife and you" opened a joint bank account and applied for cards at the same time. If the later, that implies to me there is one Mastercard account with one credit line and ditto for the Visa account.

Glad you got your cards, but if getting a unsecured supplemental card without a WP then that is not unusual because the primary account holder (your Thai wfie in this case) is the one on the hook for all the bills; but if getting a unsecured card without a WP then you are one of the exceptions.

Yes we have separate credit lines. Even though my wife and i applied at the same time both cards holders are treated independent.

My wife get her bill and i get my own bill which are paid also from different bank accounts.

I alone opened two (saving) accounts on my own name (no joined account) from which i use one for my CC payment.

My wife had already accounts with that branch.

Maybe i was lucky and got it very easy and without restrictions as my wife is a very good client of the bank and i transferred my banking from Kasikorn to BB and they see what assets and money i (we) have.

[Pib]

Thanks for the clarification...you are indeed an exception for an unsecured card. Good deal.

[theoldgit]

It's sometimes reported that Amex are more friendly when it comes to issuing a credit card to retired foreigners who do not have a work permit and whose only income is a pension, or pensions, from their home county, albeit at a fee and some restrictions as to acceptability.

I don't know if this is still the case for new applicants.

[ricklev]

That's strange. Last month I stopped by the business center of the Bangkok Bank on Sukhumvit at Soi 8 and they definitively told me that under no circumstances will they issue unsecured credit cards to foreigners regardless of work permit, visa, income or how much money are in any accounts. The manager confirmed that that was the current policy of Bangkok Bank.

Has anyone else got an unsecured credit card from Bangkok Bank recently?

[theoldgit]

That's strange. Last month I stopped by the business center of the Bangkok Bank on Sukhumvit at Soi 8 and they definitively told me that under no circumstances will they issue unsecured credit cards to foreigners regardless of work permit, visa, income or how much money are in any accounts. The manager confirmed that that was the current policy of Bangkok Bank.

I think it's really a case of a different answer from whoever you ask, not really unusual here.

This is from the Bangkok Banks website:

You can apply in person at any Bangkok Bank branch by bringing in the documents listed below and completing an application form:

• Your citizen ID card, or passport and work permit if you're an expatriate.
• A copy of your house registration (not required for an expatriate).

I have no idea which is correct the manager you spoke to or their website.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/CreditCards/Pages/HowToApply.aspx

[merijn]

That's strange. Last month I stopped by the business center of the Bangkok Bank on Sukhumvit at Soi 8 and they definitively told me that under no circumstances will they issue unsecured credit cards to foreigners regardless of work permit, visa, income or how much money are in any accounts. The manager confirmed that that was the current policy of Bangkok Bank.

I think it's really a case of a different answer from whoever you ask, not really unusual here.

This is from the Bangkok Banks website:

You can apply in person at any Bangkok Bank branch by bringing in the documents listed below and completing an application form:

• Your citizen ID card, or passport and work permit if you're an expatriate.
• A copy of your house registration (not required for an expatriate).

I have no idea which is correct the manager you spoke to or their website.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/CreditCards/Pages/HowToApply.aspx

I believe that the information from there website is correct but as in many cases the responsible people can make exceptions if the are willing to do so.

Looks like that i was lucky or had just had the right credentials and support from the local branch manager.

[MUSTYJACK]

Is this possible?

I am here on a retirement visa and have a credit card.

It is from Krungsri Bank, it is a visa credit card, I didnt ask for it, but it was offered to me when I opened the account three years ago.

No mention of any minimum amounts to be held in the account.

I also have a Bangkok bank account at the head office on Silom Rd. and when I went in there last year to ask for a replacement for my old non-chipped ATM card, as well as replacing the ATM card with a new chipped one, they offered me a Visa credit card, which I declined as I don't need two credit cards here.

I dont have a fortune in either of my bank accounts here and i don't know what the criteria are for foreigners owning credit cards, but it is certainly possible to have one on a retirement visa.

[Pib]

Is this possible?

I am here on a retirement visa and have a credit card.

It is from Krungsri Bank, it is a visa credit card, I didnt ask for it, but it was offered to me when I opened the account three years ago.

No mention of any minimum amounts to be held in the account.

I also have a Bangkok bank account at the head office on Silom Rd. and when I went in there last year to ask for a replacement for my old non-chipped ATM card, as well as replacing the ATM card with a new chipped one, they offered me a Visa credit card, which I declined as I don't need two credit cards here.

I dont have a fortune in either of my bank accounts here and i don't know what the criteria are for foreigners owning credit cards, but it is certainly possible to have one on a retirement visa.

I'm on a retirement extension of stay also. Last December when I went to the Bangkok Bank branch in the HQ Bangkok Bank building on Silom Rd to get a new passbook they also offered me a credit card. I asked secured or unsecured? They responded secured...I said Thanks, but no Thanks since it was a secured card.

I would have turned them down even if it was a unsecured card since I have several no foreign transaction fee U.S. cards which I use all the time here.