Use American (foreign) credit card in Thailand (Bangkok) throughout holiday?

[labik]

Been 4 years since I've been in Thailand, and when I was there last I had a local bank account (Thai, Cam, or VN) and also always had plenty of local currency.  How is it as a "tourist" to use your credit card in most places, meaning do you end up getting hit real bad on the credit card exchange rate?  Do many places peg you with an extra markup for CCs?

[pgrahmm]

Notify your bank of your destination & travel dates first or you might find yourself with unusable plastic after your first purchase....

 

Wiser to draw local cash & pay for incidentals that way....

 

Some banks really ream you on international transaction fees....

[55Jay]

Can use credit card here in larger cities/tourist areas, but especially in the latter, you need to be on guard for what's called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).  This is when merchant (attempts) to charge you in your card's base currency, at a worse exchange rate for you. 

 

Always reject DCC, insist on being charged in Thai Baht and let the transaction be converted  by Visa or Mastercard at their rates.

 

Always good to have Baht in your pocket for the smaller shops and stalls, tuk tuk, etc.

 

Edit: And as others stated already, know your card issuer's fees for foreign currency/Int'l transactions.  Get a card that has no foreign transaction fees and a decent rewards program as well.

 

Edited August 24, 2016 by 55Jay

[lopburi3]

Also you may want to have a high cash withdrawal limit using ATM as you are hit with an extra 200 baht fee each time when getting local currency at most machines - but they can supply up to 20-30 thousand baht if your bank allows - most American ATM limits are very low if you do not change them.

[55Jay]

My Schwab card daily limit for cash is $1,000.   Believe that's the default amount. 

[KhunBENQ]

Withdraw cash at ATM and use Thai Baht to pay.

 

Take a considerable amount of USD in big notes (as much as you feel comfortable with) and change to Thai Baht at the specialized exchanges.

Painless and best rates.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[Michael8511]

Just take out a large amount at one time and pay cash. Better exchange rate. Also u need to notify your us bank that U are traveling. Have a nice stay here

[BudRight]

Many cards have no foreign exchange fees, (plus no annual fee). Use one of those.

 

American Express prohibits Dynamic Currency Conversion entirely.

 

Credit cards actually offer the best exchange rates you can get. I used my Quicksilver last trip and it worked great. If they want to add a percent charge tell them no and pay with cash.

 

 

[Suradit69]

15 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Withdraw cash at ATM and use Thai Baht to pay.

 

Take a considerable amount of USD in big notes (as much as you feel comfortable with) and change to Thai Baht at the specialized exchanges.

Painless and best rates.

 

 

" Take a considerable amount of USD in big notes  ..."

 

Make sure all the money is clean and undamaged. Thai currency exchanges and banks can't take torn or soiled notes since they would be unacceptable to their customers who want to buy dollars.

 

 In the US they would be accepted because commercial banks can turn damaged notes into the Treasury in exchange for new notes, but obviously Thai banks can't do that.

 

I occasionally use my US credit cards at major businesses like Big C, Central or Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. The amount I'm charged in dollar terms is in line with the current exchange rates, but Citi does add a small "foreign transaction fee" to each charge.

 

As someone else mentioned, I go to my credit card account online and there is an option to notify them that I will be traveling in Thailand (even though I'm actually here full-time) whenever I expect to use one of the cards. You can tell them the dates. I think there may be a limit (3 months?) for each notification.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Suradit69

[DrDave]

(1) For day-to-day expenses, bring a sufficient amount of cash from the US. Larger denominations (50s and 100s) will get you a better exchange rate, and always insist that the bank in the US give you new or "clean" bills, as bill that have any markings on them will most likely not be accepted for exchange.

 

(2) A credit card will come in handy for things like online hotel and in-country air bookings, as well as for any unplanned or emergency expenses. Try to get a card that has no international transaction fees, such as the Travel Rewards card from Bank of America. When using the card in Thailand, always tell the vendor that you want to be charged in Thai Baht, not USD. Also, to avoid having your card declined, contact the bank and tell them that you'll be in Thailand during that period. 

 

[umbanda]

It is  not just expensive to use credit and debit cards here. Some ATM charges the  $5 fee plus 2%  to 3%. To use in local business, is also the risk in giving card info for later use by scammers. In my opinion, it is better to use cash for all purchasing in Thailand.

[abhaya]

I have had my card "frozen" after making too many purchases because the bank was suspicious of so many transactions in Thailand. I finally had to call the bank call to sort it out. A pain in the butt!

[Rdrokit]

Depends on your credit card company what they charge for foreign transactions. I have lived here for 10 years now and still use my stateside Capital One credit card as they do not charge for international transactions plus I get 1 and a half percent cash back. Also they charge the current exchange rate on the date I use the card. As others said you can use your ATM bank card here in any Thai ATM machine and get Thai baht but you get charged on both ends. Here in Thailand, usually 180 baht per transaction and your bank on the other end will charge you a fee so if you go this route take a few large withdraws rather than many small withdraws.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Rdrokit

[Kabula]

18 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Also you may want to have a high cash withdrawal limit using ATM as you are hit with an extra 200 baht fee each time when getting local currency at most machines - but they can supply up to 20-30 thousand baht if your bank allows - most American ATM limits are very low if you do not change them.

Good idea, but not to high in case someone gains access to your PIN number!

[lopburi3]

Most US cards are now chip protected (major change in last several months) and US banks offer good fraud protection regardless of where card is used.  

[55Jay]

A notional transaction for $1,000 (Schwab's daily ATM cash limit/No Foreign Transaction Fees).

 

Schwab/Visa@ 34.716528 = 34,716.53 Baht, rounded down to viable ATM amount of 34,700.   Noting, of course, that amount exceeds transaction limit of all Thai bank ATMs, so even using Krungsi or TMB, you would still have to do two transactions, both incurring 180 ATM fees, ultimately reimbursed at the end of the month. 

 

Transferwise@ mid-market rate 34.58= 34,580 - $14.45 as indicated on their website calculator, results in 34,080.32 Baht in your pocket.  Note, the fee is taken out up front, so the transfer would actually be $985.55 @34.58 = 34, 080.32 Baht.

 

34,700 Card in hand (rounded down from 34,716.53)

34,080.32 Transferwise in hand

(619.68) Baht

[55Jay]

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re the OP's very general question, there are several different kinds of answers as various posters have alluded to above:

 

1. For the exchange rate a U.S. credit card will receive, it all depends on whether the particular U.S. credit card charges a foreign currency conversion fee, which most (but not all e.g. Cap One's Quicksilver) do. Often it's 3% or more. If the card charges such a fee, it's bad to use for purchases in Thailand.

 

2. For using a credit card to withdraw cash from Thai ATMs, that's generally going to be a bad move. Because, most U.S. credit cards, including Cap One, charge hefty cash advance fees on ATM withdrawals, usually a flat rate $ charge plus a percentage fee as well... Like $10 plus 3 or 4% of the amount withdrawn. Plus, if there's any foreign currency fee, that would get added on also. Plus a high rate of interest, often like 24-26%, is going to be charged on the cash advance from day 1 until the balance is repaid.

 

3. Overall,.it's likely going to be better to use a U.S. debit card for cash withdrawals from Thai ATMs. You'll still be hit by the 200 baht ATM fee charged by Thai banks for using foreign (non-Thai) cards, whether you use a U.S. debit or credit card. But at least, you won't be hit by the credit card cash advance fees and interest on the withdrawal. If you have multiple debit cards, check with your banks and find and use the  one with the lowest foreign currency conversion fee.

 

4. Security: U.S. banks are becoming increasingly concerned about fraud, so before doing any travel abroad, be sure to notify your banks for any credit or debit cards you plan to use abroad. Often can do via the banks' websites. Called a travel advisory. That's going to prevent the bank from freezing your card when they suddenly see unexpected (out of pattern) charges from a foreign country like Thailand.

 

5 Acceptance: VISA and MC logo credit and debit cards are widely accepted in Thailand, whether locally issued or foreign cards. The main places where they may not be is small shops and local/mom and pop shops/restaurants, and of course street vendors. In general, probably going to be easier in BKK and any of the bigger tourist cities, and more difficult in the smaller, up-country, off the beaten path locations.

 

6: Consumer protection: one good thing about using U.S. issued bank cards abroad is both U.S. debit and credit cards carry the same consumer protection/fraud protections when used abroad as they do when used back in the U.S. Things like VISA's zero liability policy and the federal limits on cardholder liability for fraudulent transactions. Just make sure to monitor your card accounts carefully and promptly report any fraudulent or incorrect transactions.

 

For Americans, the Schwab debit card is probably the best deal going because it has no foreign currency fee and reimburses other banks' ATM withdrawal charges, including the 200 baht fee charged by Thai banks.

 

For credit cards, the Capital One Quicksilver card is a good deal because it has no foreign currency fee and includes a cash back benefit. That's a good card to use for purchases abroad, but not for cash advances, for the reason I explained above. BofA's Cash Rewards and Travel Rewards VISA cards also have no foreign currency fee, making them OK to use for foreign purchases.

 

BTW, if someone's going to use any Thai bank ATMs for cash withdrawals, the best bets are to use either yellow Krungsri or blue Thai Military Bank (TMB) ATMs. That's because both of those provide up to 30,000 baht per withdrawal, which is higher than the other banking companies. If you have to pay a 200 baht Thai ATM fee, it only makes sense to get the largest amount per withdrawal as possible. The other banking company maximums are 20-25K per w/d.

 

But also be aware of the daily card withdrawal limits imposed by your home country bank. A lot of U.S. bank debit cards have $300 to $500 per day cash withdrawal limits. Sometimes you can ask the bank to temporarily increase those limits. A few, like Schwab, have standard $1000 daily limits, which fits well with the 30K Krungsri and TMB ATM limits.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[GOLDBUGGY]

20 hours ago, bazza40 said:

What you say is partially true. However, if you let that affect the way you live your own life and can't move on from it, you are doomed to be bitter. I prefer looking forward to looking back.

 

19 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Withdraw cash at ATM and use Thai Baht to pay.

 

Take a considerable amount of USD in big notes (as much as you feel comfortable with) and change to Thai Baht at the specialized exchanges.

Painless and best rates.

 

 

This is good advice and one should listen to this.

 

If you have a morbid fear that you will put your Visa Card into an ATM Machine and it won't come back, which actually happened to me 2 times in my life while overseas, then go directly to the bank to withdraw on your card. It is safer this way. But you will have to withdraw more than your daily limit, or at least 50,000 Baht, as otherwise they will tell you to use the ATM. The maximum you can pull on your Visa Card seems to be about 150,000 Baht at a time and even when you have a higher limit. 

 

Above all else, use you Visa Card very sparingly while in Thailand. Inside of banks and online for airplane tickets seem to be safe. But other than that you are taking a big chance. There is a huge Black Market in Thailand for making duplicate fake Visa Cards. They make these fake cards from the information they get from a valid card, or in your case you. 

 

While visiting Thailand frequently and only in one year,  I had to have my Visa Card replaced twice because of fraud. The first time I used it carelessly for hotels, shopping, and restaurants, and such. The second time I used it sparely and only used it to pay my hotel bills. But it turns out the one using my card for making a duplicate was this 4 star hotel.

 

When I book a room in a hotel now, I flash them that I have a Visa Card, but explain to them why I don't want to use it to pay for my room or have it registered as a deposit. Some hotels may ask for a cash deposit to have access to the room mini bar, while most don't. I found out that once they know you have a card, and why you don't want to use it their, they trust me, and give me free access. 

 

I have never used a Credit Card to rent a car in Thailand but I think the big brand name places would probably be safe to use. Others here may advice further on that. But I have rented a car in Greece once by a local company and was double billed for the same car. I had to go through Visa to get my money back after they refused to reply to me by email. 

 

When overseas anywhere, always use your Visa Card sparingly. I don't even use my Visa Card for an ATM. I carry another Bank Card which I can use to withdraw cash from the ATM, as I found sometimes at airports and such I need to. But no big deal if the machine eats that one up or gets stuck in it, which has happened to me before. Far better to lose your Bank Card their than your Visa, and when you need to book rooms or flights.     

[mfd101]

I agree with Goldbuggy. Having been burnt twice when using Visa card in Thailand, I now use cash for everything (even vehicle & land purchases & house construction) except hotel & air bookings online. And I generally avoid atms unless they're inside a bank - NEVER use one attached to a shop or at a BTS station or such.

 

The 2 burns occurred in 2011 & 2013. In the first case, withdrawals were made from my account by someone in Kuala Lumpur (while I was in CM or BKK). Had a bit of a battle with my Oz bank to get the money refunded but eventually I won. Then in 2013 I was rung in BKK at 0600 & asked by my bank in Sydney: Are you in London currently? I said No. They said: Well someone's using your card in London to make purchases. I said: It's right here beside me. They said: Don't worry, we thought it looked odd & we've put a block on it.

 

In both instances, the real embuggerance for me was that I had to go without a usable Visa card for weeks or months till my next travel back to Oz when I could pick up a new one ... Lesson learned.

[55Jay]

1 hour ago, 55Jay said:

A notional transaction for $1,000 (Schwab's daily ATM cash limit/No Foreign Transaction Fees).

 

Schwab/Visa@ 34.716528 = 34,716.53 Baht, rounded down to viable ATM amount of 34,700.   Noting, of course, that amount exceeds transaction limit of all Thai bank ATMs, so even using Krungsi or TMB, you would still have to do two transactions, both incurring 180 ATM fees, ultimately reimbursed at the end of the month. 

 

Transferwise@ mid-market rate 34.58= 34,580 - $14.45 as indicated on their website calculator, results in 34,080.32 Baht in your pocket.  Note, the fee is taken out up front, so the transfer would actually be $985.55 @34.58 = 34, 080.32 Baht.

 

34,700 Card in hand (rounded down from 34,716.53)

34,080.32 Transferwise in hand

(619.68) Baht

Ooops!  Sorry guys, I meant to be responding to a different thread.

Edited August 25, 2016 by 55Jay

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

People from other countries may not understand this, because their rules are not the same.

 

But Americans have very strong consumer protections in federal law against fraudulent or unauthorized charges on their banks cards, whether used in the U.S. or abroad, the rules are the same. And VISA U.S. goes even further, with its zero fraud liability policy.

 

So it really isn't so much of an issue as perhaps for other nationalities. But it does always pay to carry multiple cards, just in case one is lost or frozen or compromised. But that's just common sense.

 

I've been using my U.S. debit cards and credit cards in Thailand for many years. And the ONLY fraudulent charges I ever had to deal with was once when I was pickpocketed and my cards used in the hour before I could call in to report the theft and freeze those cards. Within 2 weeks, all the fraudulent charges were refunded to my account.

 

A lot of U.S. banks these days also offer immediate SMS and/or email notifications whenever transactions occur on your account, or transactions over a set limit that you determine via online banking. Anytime your bank offers those, it's good to use them so you'd get an early warning if anything is amiss.

 

 

[Rdrokit]

I agree with Tallguyjohn. As I said I have been living here full time the past ten years and before that vacationed here many times and never had a problem with a credit card transaction. U.S. bank are high on fraud protection even if you had a problem. Just used my credit card to buy groceries at Tesco. Transaction was 2766.75 baht and when I got home I checked my emails and there was an email from my credit card company saying there was an $80 international charge to my account which works out to 34.58 and FX rate is 34.64, pretty close.

[Gillyflower]

There are many Guest Houses who don't accept cards.  I have stayed in several who do, but for many years I have been staying in a very large GH (3 buildings) and they do not accept cards.  Cash only.

[Pib]

I use my U.S. no foreign transaction fee credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) almost daily in Bangkok.   Been doing it for years...no problem to date.

 

Now if your card carries a foreign transaction fee (3% is common) and/or you accept a DCC transaction which will give a 3 to 4% lower exchange rate than the card-network (i.e., Visa/Mastercard), then using a credit card can cause everything you buy in a foreign country to effectively cost you 3 to 7% more due to the effect of that fee on the effective exchange rate.

 

As already mentioned, never accept a DCC transaction.  If it's a DCC transaction the receipt for signature will printout showing Thai baht/local currency and your card's home country currency...STOP...do not sign...tell the cashier to cancel that transaction and rerun in Thai baht...only takes them approx 2 minutes regardless of what they might say...happens to me a couple times per year.  If unsure if a merchant defaults to DCC for a foreign card, best to tell the checkout clerk to "Charge in Thai Baht" when a handing them your card...be sure to make eye contact when telling them that.

 

And if your card-issuing bank applies a foreign transaction fee, well, don't blame Visa/Mastercard or the merchant for that as that purely a card-issuing bank fee.

 

All credit cards are not created equal...some do not apply foreign transactions but most do....get the ones that do not charge foreign transaction fees.  Know the fees associated with your particular card.   And be sure to notify your card-issuing bank/company about your travel itinerary before you begin your travel to help ensure the card will work in the foreign countries you plan to visit.   And one more repeat, do not accept a DCC transaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Pib

[RedQualia]

A few recommendations for Capital One credit cards above. I strongly concur. Other credit cards can be quite bad, depending. There are several charging foreign currency transaction fees. In addition, some banks make up their own (shirty) exchange rates, just for you. Because Americans are stupid, you know?) Be sure to leave a big tip in this non-tipping culture, and charge it on your crappy American card). Never ever tale a cash advance on any card. Whopping interest will start accruing immediately, compounded every chance they get. Just don't do it. Ever. Under any circumstances.

 

 

[Pib]

10 hours ago, RedQualia said:

A few recommendations for Capital One credit cards above. I strongly concur. Other credit cards can be quite bad, depending. There are several charging foreign currency transaction fees. In addition, some banks make up their own (shirty) exchange rates, just for you. Because Americans are stupid, you know?) Be sure to leave a big tip in this non-tipping culture, and charge it on your crappy American card). Never ever tale a cash advance on any card. Whopping interest will start accruing immediately, compounded every chance they get. Just don't do it. Ever. Under any circumstances.

 

 

Never say never as a few credit cards do not charge a cash advance fee such as my Pentagon Federal Credit Union credit cards...nor do they charge a foreign transaction fee.  

 

So, just prepay the amount of cash advance you plan to get which puts a credit on your account and go do the cash advance.  When the cash advance hits your account it's immediately paid off and as mentioned there is no foreign transaction fee.   You can get up to $2,000 (around Bt70K) per day per counter cash advance and if desiring you can go over to an ATM and also withdraw up to $1,000 per day but there is not ATM Use Fee reimbursement.   And some of PenFed's credit cards also pay 1.5% cash back like one of two I have.

 

Been using this prepaid cash advance counter method at Krungsri and Bankgok Bank for around 18 months now.   And I just have the funds put directly into my accounts at these banks in the same transaction.  Immediate money with absolutely no fees.  And both branches I use are at malls I frequent several times per week.  Just easy.   Your results may vary.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Pib