Credit card with no foreign transaction fees and great air miles bonus.

[JimmyJ]

On 1/8/2017 at 10:42 PM, 4MyEgo said:

 

Who wants credit cars when you have $'s, they were set up to fleece millions of ordinary working class people and that's exactly what they do.

 

Wouldn't have one if you gave it to me for free 555

 

" Who wants credit cars when you have $'s, they were set up to fleece millions..."

 

Hopefully I can find people to fleece me like this on a daily basis.

 

$1500 air travel ultimately for free.

What a chump I am!

[Langsuan Man]

22 hours ago, elgenon said:

The Capital One card was bad. Travel alert limited to 30 days, wouldn't give me much of a credit limit

 

Now that Cap One has the chipped cards there are no longer any travel alerts / notifications whatsoever 

 

Quote

Travel Notifications are no longer needed!

 

With the added security of your Capital One chip card, you don’t have to tell us when and where you’re traveling, inside or outside the United States. Your chip card is 100% covered for fraud while you’re traveling, and we will alert you if we see anything suspicious. Make sure your security alerts are up to date with your current email and mobile phone information before you go. If you need a PIN for cash advances or while traveling, you can request one here. Please note it will take 7-10 business days for your PIN to arrive in the mail. Capital One doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees!

source: https://servicing.capitalone.com/C1/SelfService/search.aspx?pgnm=COS&txtSearch=travel alerts

[JimmyJ]

On 1/10/2017 at 11:12 PM, elgenon said:

The Capital One card was bad. Travel alert limited to 30 days, wouldn't give me much of a credit limit. BofA Has no foreign trans fees and I got a limit of $50k. Important if you go to the hospital. No fees.

 

So hard to redeem miles for flights I really want, I prefer cheaper now.

Colabamumbai- OP said no foreign transaction fees not no fees.

 

"BofA Has no foreign trans fees and I got a limit of $50k. Important if you go to the hospital. No fees."

 

Are credit cards acceptable to the hospitals  in Thailand?

If so, that's an excellent point.

 

I thought the issues with hospitals in Thailand is that they want cash payment only?

Incorrect?

Edited January 12, 2017 by JimmyJ

[wimpy]

48 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Are credit cards acceptable to the hospitals  in Thailand?

If so, that's an excellent point.

 

I thought the issues with hospitals in Thailand is that they want cash payment only?

Incorrect?

 

I use a credit card at a small government hospital all the time.

[Langsuan Man]

I always use a US credit card for Thai hospitals, even just for doctors visits

 

Keeps the arguments with my insurance company to a minimum since there is no question of currency valuations since I submit a copy of the credit card transaction with the Thai bill when I make a claim

 

Even though an insurance company may be paying the bill,  I still don't use Dynamic Conversion and insist that the card be run in Thai Baht.  I can wait a day for the conversion amount to be posted 

 

[Pib]

Me too....been using my credit cards (which pay 1.5% cash back) to pay Thailand hospital/doctor bills for years and attached the credit card receipt to the Tricare insurance reimbursement claims I send in since they want to see some kind of receipt.    Also use a credit card for most of my drug store buys as the drug store I use gladly accepts credit cards for any purchase of at least Bt500.    I also "always" process card transaction in baht....no rip-off DCC for me.  

 

Plus, Tricare uses a U.S. govt cash exchange rate to convert from baht to dollars for reimbursement which is a "good thing" for reimbursement purposes as it puts a higher reimbursement amount in your pocket.   Since Tricare Overseas reimburses at 75% when cranking in my card cash back and the Tricare exchange rate I really end up getting reimbursed at approx 78%....works for me.

[Mansell]

18 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

 

"BofA Has no foreign trans fees and I got a limit of $50k. Important if you go to the hospital. No fees."

 

Are credit cards acceptable to the hospitals  in Thailand?

If so, that's an excellent point.

 

I thought the issues with hospitals in Thailand is that they want cash payment only?

Incorrect?

I have used a number of hospitals like Bangkok Phuket Hospital, Phuket International, Rutnin Eye Hospital, Sara Buri Hospital. All take credit cards and will charge in dollars....my Citi card requires that for no conversion charges. Also Big C and Lotus will take cards, but won't charge in dollars. I had one of the cards that gave points, and I had to first purchase the ticket with the card and then they reimbursed me. I prefer straight mileage then I can get a ticket without laying out money. I get a pretty good feeling inside when I travel in business and have paid zip. Most lounges do give free alcohol....especially JAL.

[JimmyJ]

Glad to find out I misunderstood and Thai hospitals do take credit cards.

Gives me  the solution to "What happens if I need emergency hospital care" - will take all credit cards to Thailand.

[1FinickyOne]

22 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

 

"BofA Has no foreign trans fees and I got a limit of $50k. Important if you go to the hospital. No fees."

 

Are credit cards acceptable to the hospitals  in Thailand?

If so, that's an excellent point.

 

I thought the issues with hospitals in Thailand is that they want cash payment only?

Incorrect?

 

On January 11, 2560 BE at 1:44 PM, charliebadenhop said:

Well, if you cannot pay your rent using a credit card, yes, to me, hard to see how one can rack up $1,000 a month here on a regular basis.

 

I took four other folks to lunch at Le Meridien the other day. B2,000 for all five of us. 

 

Yes, Charlie - - it can be challenging to use $1,000 a month on a CC... as many places insist on adding 3% on top and it is not really worth using... 

 

Charlie & Jimmy J - yes, hospitals will ask first for insurance and second for a credit card - they will run off what they expect the charges to be if you go in for a procedure and then square it up at the end... 

 

I have had some pretty good breakfast buffets at the Meridian, how was lunch? 

[Pib]

5 hours ago, Mansell said:

I have used a number of hospitals like Bangkok Phuket Hospital, Phuket International, Rutnin Eye Hospital, Sara Buri Hospital. All take credit cards and will charge in dollars....my Citi card requires that for no conversion charges. Also Big C and Lotus will take cards, but won't charge in dollars. I had one of the cards that gave points, and I had to first purchase the ticket with the card and then they reimbursed me. I prefer straight mileage then I can get a ticket without laying out money. I get a pretty good feeling inside when I travel in business and have paid zip. Most lounges do give free alcohol....especially JAL.

Basically you are accepting a DCC rate which will be approx 3 to 4% lower than the Visa/Mastercard rate.  Merchants (hospital included) and their local transaction processing bank basically earn an additional 3 to 4% profit  since it cost  you more with a DCC transaction.  You may escape a foreign transaction fee by your card-issuing bank (Citi) since the charge hits your account already in dollars, but you still being hit with a 3 to 4% indirect fee by the merchant/hospital due to the DCC transaction.   

 

Generally it's better (cheaper to you) to avoid a DCC transaction as the lower exchange rate is usually closer to 4%....even if you had a card with 3% foreign transaction fee you would be better off cost-wise processing the transaction in baht.

 

It's purely up to the "merchant" whether they charge a DCC transaction in case they tell you it's a Visa/Mastercard policy.....or say that's the only way a foreign card can be processed.  It's just greed....desire to make more profit.   Visa/Mastercard point out a DCC transaction will cost you more.

 

If unsure if a merchant defaults to processing a DCC transaction , when handing the cashier your card with direct eye contact say, "Charge Thai Baht; not USD."  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Pib

[Langsuan Man]

Quote

18 hours ago, Mansell said:

I have used a number of hospitals like Bangkok Phuket Hospital, Phuket International, Rutnin Eye Hospital, Sara Buri Hospital. All take credit cards and will charge in dollars....my Citi card requires that for no conversion charges. Also Big C and Lotus will take cards, but won't charge in dollars.

 

 

Don't know what you are on about.  They will use whatever I tell them to use.  If they won't run it up in Baht then I won't sign the charge slip and will void the sale.    No retailer, hospital or any other business in Thailand has ever forced me to accept Dynamic Conversion 

 

Lotus and Big C will charge you Dynamic Conversion (charge in dollars) most of the time unless you specifically tell them Thai Baht 

[Pib]

The Lotus and Big C stores I use in western Bangkok and Nakorn Pathom (province that borders western Bangkok) (around 6 stores)  have never attempted a DCC transaction on me or the wife.   Guess it depends on the store and is not a corporate policy...and maybe in areas where there is a high concentration of farangs with foreign cards they feel more tempted to try the DCC....treating them like a tourist who are usually are not too concerned about the amount of money they are spending on their short vacation.

[theswedishguy]

Just a hint: Transactions fees are unimportant.

Its the exchange rate/and how they exchange money. 

You loose 7-10% exchange rate on almost all CC cards. This because Thailand have a locked currency. 

If you transfer your currency to a Thaibank and exchange: Less than 1% total currency loss/fees. 

Otherwise: bring your currency/dollars and exchange in TH (or travelers checks).

 

If you visit TH often: always open a bank account in TH. And for Euros: Its great to have a TH bank card. No Value added tax when you shop online with the TH card. Euro cards are by EU law, must add local VAT (in my case: 25%). Love my TH bank card. 
Got it on a tourist visa. Just have to pay 2000TH/year for an insurance/the bank card. Transfer money from EU country with about 0.3% currency loss and a 1 time transfer fee for the EU bank (about 800THB). Free ATM in TH. No bank charge TH.

 

Fight the western bank system. They are ripping us of. 

 

 

[theswedishguy]

Since I do a lot of internet shopping and look at local TH currency rates each day.

It always amazes me how much the CC cards rip us of with the exchange rates. If I for example buys something from US Amazon. The CC card exchanges my currency to dollars. No fees, but the exchange rate is 10% under the trading rate.

 

This currency loss is something that happens between all "open" currencies. You can test it: Exchange dollar to Euro and see how many times you can exchange. If you start with 100 dollars its about 8-10 times before all money is gone because of rip-off currency rates. This is the banks profit margin.

 

Thailand have a locked currency. Thats why we get so great exchange rates for our local currency. If I take paper bills from my country and go to a good exchange booth in Pattaya: I loose 1.5%-3% compared to the spotrates. 1/5 compared between open currencies. 

 

Since I have a TH bank account I transfer directly to my account. If I send my currency and let the bank exchange the currency: I loose less than 0.5%. Something nobody told me. My original bank in Farrang country forced exchange to Baht in home country. Lost 10%.  You have to bring your currency to TH.

 

Also remember that CC cards charge the shop 3-5%. Even failed attempts are charged 50 cent! Its inane that todays CC cards have a tax on all shopping and get 3-5%. If I pay with real bills: it should be 3-5% cheaper (but that is illegal in EU countries. You have to protect the banks and hide the fact that CC cards take 3-5%. Debit cards take 0.1-0.3%. Thats why good companies in TH demands debit cards, not CC cards).

 

Imagine if all countries introduced government CC cards so the government got the 3-5%?

Imagine the tax income that would cost us no extra, but today thats straight into the banks profit margins.

How quickly this have gone in west. Just 15 years ago in EU you did all shopping with cash. Today CC cards = banks gets 3-5%

 

(I have a TH CC debit card. A secret US CC card = why I know every single charge they do and a home country CC card)

[Pib]

I just don't know where to start with your two posts above and the inaccurate statements in them.    A few corrections.   

 

You say, transaction fees are unimportant.   Incorrect.    Say a CC has a 3% foreign transaction fee which is common (by the way that 3%  includes the Visa/Mastercard currency conversion fee of approx 1%...the remaining 2% is pure profit for the card-issuing bank), the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate will be plus or minus a few stang of the Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming wire transfer.  I don't know where you are getting 7 to 10%...you must be one of the most expensive credit cards in the world, making bad purchase decisions, and/or have a fee-evil card-issuing bank.   The TT Buying Rate is about the best the common man can get.    Looking at the average Thai bank TT Buying Rate for today it's Bt35.24/USD.  The full Visa exchange rate for today is Bt35.34/USD....slightly better than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate.   Let's call the exchange rate a wash since they are so close.  

 

The only thing that remains is the transaction fees....3% on credit card and the receiving fee for the money you wired over earlier.  The Thai bank receiving fee for an international transfer is 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max).   And yes you would have a fee from your Sending bank which can range from a little bit to around $50USD but whatever percentage that came to out of the total cash you wired over wouldn't come to 3% like the typical credit card.

 

Now for me all the U.S. credit cards I use in Thailand are no foreign transaction fee cards....no fee for purchases.   I use my credit cards as much as possible in Thailand since I incur no fees....greatly lessens my need to wire cash over....plus I earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase.   For me, using a CC is no-brainer....the least expensive way to purchase items....cheaper than using cash....greatly reduces my need to bring cash into Thailand.

 

And yes, never let your home country Sending bank convert the currency for you as it will be 3 to 4% lower than the Thai bank TT Buying Rate.

 

You say, Thailand has a locked currency.  Incorrect.   If it was locked (pegged) it would vary very little with certain currencies such as the USD, Euro, pound, etc., but it does have very significant variations.    

 

You say, credit cards charge the shop 3 to 5%.  Incorrect.  Too high.   Typically it ranges from 1 to 2% but can peak up around 3%.  See data below for Visa/Mastercard Interchange Fees for Various Countries for 2015.

https://www.kansascityfed.org/~/media/files/publicat/psr/dataset/intl_if_august2015.pdf

 

 

You say, That's why good companies in TH demands debit cards, not CC cards.   .   Been quite a few ThaiVisa threads where companies will not accept debit cards, but only accept credit cards.  Can occur with hotels, rent-a-car, and airlines.  Just like Santa Fe restaurants here in Thailand have a sign at checkout saying Sorry, Debit Cards Not Accepted; We Gladly Accept Credit Cards.    Just some issues where debit cards transactions can cause more grief for a merchant...it's not fee related as debit card fees are usually lower the credit card fee....just deals with the company getting boned/charge-backs on debit cards at a higher rate than credit cards.  But I will admit there are some Thailand merchants that don't want to accept a credit card unless you agree to them adding a 2-3% extra charge/fee...but will accept a "Thai" debit card.   Or some Thai companies will only accept a foreign credit card if you accept a DCC transaction which is the merchant's/local processing bank's rate and approx 3 to 4% lower than the Visa/Mastercard rate.

 

Sorry, just can't agree with quite a few of your statements mainly due to the "high" fees such as 7-10%repeatedly mentioned.    A person would just have to be making all the wrong purchase transaction decisions and have a very fee-evil card-issuing bank.  By bad purchase decision I mean accepting a DCC transaction and/or accepting the merchant 3% additional charge for a credit card transaction.  By fee-evil bank is a bank that has a 3% or higher foreign transaction fee and also charges that fee even for a DCC transaction simply because it was a transaction in a foreign country although the bank or Visa/Mastercard was not involved in the currency exchange.   Then  you could be getting up to around 6 to 10% in total fees  by bad purchase decisions and a fee-evil card-issuing bank.   And yes, if for some reason you home country currency needs to be exchanged several times on each transaction baht to USD to Euro, each time a conversion occurs a bank is probably going to take fee. 

 

 

 

[rijb]

The Top 11 Checking Accounts for Avoiding Foreign ATM Fees

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2014/02/the-top-11-checking-accounts-for-avoiding-foreign-atm-fees/

[balo]

Can anyone apply for this or only Americans  ? 

[Langsuan Man]

12 hours ago, balo said:

Can anyone apply for this or only Americans  ? 

 

Since they all are based in the US, my guess is the only Americans 

[wimpy]

19 hours ago, theswedishguy said:

Just a hint: Transactions fees are unimportant.

Its the exchange rate/and how they exchange money. 

You loose 7-10% exchange rate on almost all CC cards. This because Thailand have a locked currency. 

If you transfer your currency to a Thaibank and exchange: Less than 1% total currency loss/fees. 

Otherwise: bring your currency/dollars and exchange in TH (or travelers checks).

 

If you visit TH often: always open a bank account in TH. And for Euros: Its great to have a TH bank card. No Value added tax when you shop online with the TH card. Euro cards are by EU law, must add local VAT (in my case: 25%). Love my TH bank card. 
Got it on a tourist visa. Just have to pay 2000TH/year for an insurance/the bank card. Transfer money from EU country with about 0.3% currency loss and a 1 time transfer fee for the EU bank (about 800THB). Free ATM in TH. No bank charge TH.

 

Fight the western bank system. They are ripping us of. 

 

 

 

I don't know what you are talking about. On 12/30 I made a purchase at Tesco Lotus with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card for 826 baht. I was billed 23.11 USD. That is an exchange rate of 35.74. On that day, Bangkok Bank shows a TT rate of 35.67 baht / USD.

[charliebadenhop]

Lunch at the CR Meridien is a buffet and quite good. Just writing since someone asked....

 

I would still like to know how folks can regularly spend $1,000 a month here in Thailand. Seems quite excessive to me.

 

 

[lkn]

12 hours ago, charliebadenhop said:

I would still like to know how folks can regularly spend $1,000 a month here in Thailand. Seems quite excessive to me.

 

I think they spend it on more than just food, for example rent, maid, electricity, water, internet, phone, netflix, spotify, clothes, gadgets, consumables, etc.

 

And as for food, many like to buy imported products like wine and cheese, which can be pretty expensive.

 

[Pib]

Throw in vehicles, insurance, family, A/C-utility bills, etc...etc....etc.   Now if you are single, rent a room, don't bar hop much, etc., living is cheaper.

[charliebadenhop]

I can’t imagine there are landlords that accept a credit card payment for rent.

 

Is this really possible here? Of course with rent or a mortgage paid by card, then many people could easily go over the minimum. 

 

 

Yes, people with a family can reach $1,000 a month.

 

I was hoping that someone would have had a thought here, that would lead me to think I could also somehow bill that much a month, without simply wasting money.

[lkn]

7 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

I can’t imagine there are landlords that accept a credit card payment for rent.

 

I missed the context, i.e. that you were talking about spending $4,000 on the credit card for the first 4 months.

 

I’ll concede that it’s a lot, but depends on what four months of the year. Add e.g. plane tickets, a new phone or laptop, or accessories for these (like the new AirPort headphones), or any old appliance in your home that needs replacing, a hotel stay, etc. and it’s less of a challenge.

 

[charliebadenhop]

Hi Ikn,

 

Yes to what you say, but then after that I believe that one still has to average $1,000 a month from what I read. No?

 

 

[wimpy]

22 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

Hi Ikn,

 

Yes to what you say, but then after that I believe that one still has to average $1,000 a month from what I read. No?

 

 

Assuming you never paid for any restaurant meals or purchased any travel, you would need to spend $15,000 a year to make up for the effective $150 annual fee.

[wimpy]

1 minute ago, wimpy said:

Assuming you never paid for any restaurant meals or purchased any travel, you would need to spend $15,000 a year to make up for the effective $150 annual fee.

 

Also keep in mind that if you purchase travel through Chase, the points are worth 50% more.

[lkn]

13 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

[…] but then after that I believe that one still has to average $1,000 a month from what I read. No?

 

I only read the OP which says “first four months” (awards you 100,000 frequent flyer miles).

 

For me, 100,000 miles have a cash value of ~$3,225 as I use miles for business class upgrades, and I buy the business class ticket when I have no miles. This assumes that the miles are regular miles that can be used for upgrades. Buying tickets (instead of upgrades) with your miles tend to give you less value.

 

I don’t think I qualify for Chase though (because of citizenship) and the bonus has been discontinued, so a moot point.

 

I would also be unlikely to sign up for something with a yearly fee of $450, even if they give me back $300 as a “travel credit” (when I book via Chase).

[wimpy]

34 minutes ago, lkn said:

 

I only read the OP which says “first four months” (awards you 100,000 frequent flyer miles).

 

For me, 100,000 miles have a cash value of ~$3,225 as I use miles for business class upgrades, and I buy the business class ticket when I have no miles. This assumes that the miles are regular miles that can be used for upgrades. Buying tickets (instead of upgrades) with your miles tend to give you less value.

 

I don’t think I qualify for Chase though (because of citizenship) and the bonus has been discontinued, so a moot point.

 

I would also be unlikely to sign up for something with a yearly fee of $450, even if they give me back $300 as a “travel credit” (when I book via Chase).

 

You don't have to book through Chase to use the $300 travel credit. I just bought a Nok Air ticket direct, and the credit was automatically applied to that.

[tf6122]

I am waiting to receive my Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card.
 
It's the card with the best bonuses currently:
 
Unlike most Chase cards, no 3% foreign transaction fees.
 
If $4,000 USD charged within the 1st 4 months of being approved for the card, there is a bonus of 100,000 air miles.
Booking the flight thru Chase travel they give an extra 50% so it is worth 150,000 miles ($1500).
 
The card costs $450 annually including the 1st year. They give an annual $300 travel credit, so effectively it will cost me $150.
 
There are a few other extras including being able to use it in some cases to enter airport lounges without charge (afaik).
 
They did recognize that the address I gave is actually a mail drop (PMB) so I had to give a physical residential address.
 

Chase Sapphire Reserve, a great card, but I have read they recently reduced the sign up points bonus to 50K

Sent from my HTC 10 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app