Bangkok Bank caution about Visa Letter - things have changed

[LannaGuy]

I have been here nearly 10 years and assumed my 800,000, which I never touch, would produce the yearly letter for my retirement visa as it has always done but NO.  They changed their systems and my local branch in Chiang Mai no longer types the letter it is now automated in BKK.

 

Now the letter said 600,000. On further questioning 200,000 is my credit card guarantee and cannot be used as part of the 800,000 so i had to top up a further 200,000 to 1m.  

 

Luckily Immigration accepted this with some explanation but members might want to review how their 800,000 is made up. It was a total shock to me!

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

Now the letter said 600,000. On further questioning 200,000 is my credit card guarantee and cannot be used as part of the 800,000 so i had to top up a further 200,000 to 1m.  

I don't think it is only Bangkok Bank that is issuing the letter like that when you are using your account as a collateral for a credit card. Others have had the same thing happen at other banks and their extension applications were not accepted.

You are lucky immigration allowed you to get the extension.

I suggest you put an additional 200k baht in the account before you apply next year.

[allane]

To the OP: if the letter now has to come from Bangkok, how many days does it take to get it done ?

[meatboy]

tell bkk bank were to stuff their credit card,i expect you pay them enough for the privlige.

not sure how a credit card works,but for once imm.might be right,to refuse your ext.

if you drew money on the card before your ext.that means you will be x amount short of the 800,000bht.as it wouldnt show till the end of the month.

Edited March 24, 2017 by meatboy

[Sophon]

What do you mean by " They changed their systems and my local branch in Chiang Mai no longer types the letter it is now automated in BKK "? Are you saying that you had to wait for the letter to be sent from Bangkok, or just that it's now fully automated but still printed out at your local branch while you wait?

 

If the latter, I find it a welcome change. Last year my local branch managed to make three errors in the very short letter, two separate spelling errors in my name as well as an error in the account number. And because I thought it was already fully automated, I didn't notice until I got to the Immigration Office in Promenada, and had to get a new letter at the Bangkok Bank branch there.

 

Sophon

[colinchaffers]

Get yourself a Kasikorn or CITI credit card they don't hold money as a guarantee

Sent from my SM-G935F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[daveAustin]

As an aside, I was always under the impression that - unless you can show other monies or have a job to support yourself - that money should be drawn down for living expenses month-by-month and then topped up ready for extension time. By not spending from it, it might suggest that you are getting money from somewhere else (such as working).

 

As another aside, it would be nice for Thailand to get into line regards all this and not have to continually show money.

[LannaGuy]

45 minutes ago, Sophon said:

What do you mean by " They changed their systems and my local branch in Chiang Mai no longer types the letter it is now automated in BKK "? Are you saying that you had to wait for the letter to be sent from Bangkok, or just that it's now fully automated but still printed out at your local branch while you wait?

 

If the latter, I find it a welcome change. Last year my local branch managed to make three errors in the very short letter, two separate spelling errors in my name as well as an error in the account number. And because I thought it was already fully automated, I didn't notice until I got to the Immigration Office in Promenada, and had to get a new letter at the Bangkok Bank branch there.

 

Sophon

ok to make it clearer : the letter is printed off at your local branch but for a Bangkok Bank credit card you have a guarantee limit (mine is 200,000) and the change is that the local branch ignored this and typed a letter @ 800,000 the automated letter now say's 600,000 so you have to put in another 200,000

[phuketrichard]

sounds like a debit card  NOT a credit card

[LannaGuy]

48 minutes ago, meatboy said:

tell bkk bank were to stuff their credit card,i expect you pay them enough for the privlige.

not sure how a credit card works,but for once imm.might be right,to refuse your ext.

if you drew money on the card before your ext.that means you will be x amount short of the 800,000bht.as it wouldnt show till the end of the month.

you misunderstand - i never, ever touch the 800,000 and the 200,000 is a guarantee only but NOW is not counted towards the 800,000

[LannaGuy]

1 minute ago, phuketrichard said:

sounds like a debit card  NOT a credit card

Nope it's a credit card that has 200,000 as a GUARANTEE  

[phuketrichard]

none of my US or THAI credit cards do i need to have a GUARANTEE amount in the bank. :-)

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

sounds like a debit card  NOT a credit card

It is a secured credit card guaranteed by XXX amount of baht in a bank account. The credit limit is the same as the amount in the bank and money cannot be withdrawn unless the card is cancelled.

If you don't  pay the bill on time they debit the account.

[LannaGuy]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I don't think it is only Bangkok Bank that is issuing the letter like that when you are using your account as a collateral for a credit card. Others have had the same thing happen at other banks and their extension applications were not accepted.

You are lucky immigration allowed you to get the extension.

I suggest you put an additional 200k baht in the account before you apply next year.

Yes... but they have done it for 8 years and only this year changed the way they produced the letter and I had NO IDEA which meant, as you point out, that I could have been refused an extension 

 

I am reducing my credit limit to 100,000 and keeping 900,000 in the account but it's annoying to tie up 900,000 

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, LannaGuy said:

Yes... but they have done it for 8 years and only this year changed the way they produced the letter and I had NO IDEA which meant, as you point out, that I could have been refused an extension 

 

I am reducing my credit limit to 100,000 and keeping 900,000 in the account but it's annoying to tie up 900,000 

As I wrote others have a had a similar problem.

If you could prove any amount of annual income you would only need enough in the bank to reach a total of 800k baht. It would not take a lot of monthly income to cover the 200k baht for the card.

[BEVUP]

I would say that since you have a credit card attached to your savings card that only head office in BKK can authorize the letter 

A bit like when my credit card was hacked (still had card) they stopped my credit card but said savings will be ok (rubbish) 

[pieeyed]

I have the same guaranteed wisdom credit card with Kasikorn with a 200,000 baht limit that I paid up front. For people without a work permit it is one of the only ways to get a credit card. Some years ago I used to use my USD dollar account to get my retirement extension. Chang Wattana told me that this was no longer acceptable and that I had to show 800,000 in thai baht. Also the account had to be active showing money in and out on a regular basis. You cannot just leave 800,000 baht sitting idle in your account all year.

[allane]

A "secured credit card" is a debit card. In Post # 13 Ubon Joe explained how they work.

[pieeyed]

No it is not a debit card. You can use it to purchase anything online worldwide like  normal credit card.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, allane said:

A "secured credit card" is a debit card. In Post # 13 Ubon Joe explained how they work.

It is not a debit card. With a debit card the charges are taken from your account as soon  as you do a transaction.

A secured card does not debit the account. You get a monthly bill to pay like a normal credit card.

[meatboy]

32 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

you misunderstand - i never, ever touch the 800,000 and the 200,000 is a guarantee only but NOW is not counted towards the 800,000

no LG.what i meant if you have a credit card,if you did draw down it wouldnt show on your letter as credit withdrawals aint taken till end of the month.my 800,000bht.extension money is in a fixed term acc.and hasnt been touched for 7yrs.earns interest at best was 3.5%

now 1.80%.and have never had a problem at imm.i always take a current acc.book aswell showing trans.from the uk.but they have twice asked what we live on.

so LG change your acc.to a fixed term,more than enough to cover your 90day reports and your ext.[traveling exs.]

[colinchaffers]

Its a credit card for sure

Sent from my SM-G935F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[wgdanson]

9 minutes ago, meatboy said:

no LG.what i meant if you have a credit card,if you did draw down it wouldnt show on your letter as credit withdrawals aint taken till end of the month.my 800,000bht.extension money is in a fixed term acc.and hasnt been touched for 7yrs.earns interest at best was 3.5%

now 1.80%.and have never had a problem at imm.i always take a current acc.book aswell showing trans.from the uk.but they have twice asked what we live on.

so LG change your acc.to a fixed term,more than enough to cover your 90day reports and your ext.[traveling exs.]

What has this to do with 90 day reports?

 

[buick]

21 minutes ago, pieeyed said:

Some years ago I used to use my USD dollar account to get my retirement extension. Chang Wattana told me that this was no longer acceptable and that I had to show 800,000 in thai baht.

 

i just used my USD account (bangkok bank) to convert a visa exempt entry to a non imm O at CW.  the IO's i dealt with had no problems with the USD account.  things may have changed since your visit a few years back. 

 

[colinchaffers]

tell bkk bank were to stuff their credit card,i expect you pay them enough for the privlige.
not sure how a credit card works,but for once imm.might be right,to refuse your ext.
if you drew money on the card before your ext.that means you will be x amount short of the 800,000bht.as it wouldnt show till the end of the month.

I dont think it works that way your money will remain at 800kthb (in this case) even if you use the credit card, but you can only withdraw 600K as the other 200Kthb is held as a guarantee.

I think its to avoid someone skipping the country and leaving a unpaid debit.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

As an aside, I was always under the impression that - unless you can show other monies or have a job to support yourself - that money should be drawn down for living expenses month-by-month and then topped up ready for extension time. By not spending from it, it might suggest that you are getting money from somewhere else (such as working).

 

I have never been asked for anything apart from the proof of the 800k. It is on time deposit and has not varied in 5 years. As a precaution I always have another bank book with me that does show some monthly movements, but I have never been asked to show it (Jomtien).

[Linesy]

Is having a credit card instead of a debit card worth the hassle?

[MichaelJohn]

I cannot understand the benefit of a credit card when you have to provide security upfront?

Surely the idea of a credit card is that the bank gives you "credit"; this way you're just spending your own money as there's no credit given.

It's the same as a debit card except all the transactions come out at one time.

The benefit of a credit card is that you continue to earn interest on monies spent until such time as you pay the bill; maybe as much as 6 weeks. If you have to deposit money you're losing interest and hence no benefit to having the card; apart from status?

I'll stick with my debit card :-)

 

For those that have said you need to use some of the B800k during the year that's not true. You can leave B800k in the account from year to year untouched.

[steve187]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

As another aside, it would be nice for Thailand to get into line regards all this and not have to continually show money.

what do you mean, having the money is a condition of the extension

[meatboy]

31 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

What has this to do with 90 day reports?

 

for your benefit, quote 90day reports plus an ext,800,000bht.in a fixed term acc.will earn enough interest to cover the EXPENSES

to and from immigration.

is that not better than a credit card account.