150 baht fee for cashing travelers checks

[SiamSam]

I'd stick with the $100 Amex TCs. Gonna cost you $30 to cash 5 of them. About the cost of 6 LDs or a mid afternoon blow job on Soi 6 . Not the end of the world for relative peace of mind. 

 

Another thing you can do (if you have a no charge fee TC arrangement with your bank) is take $500 Amex TCs along with an equal amount of $100 ones. Try to cash the $500 in Thailand first and if there is no problem you can then return the $100 TC once you get back home. If there is a problem with the $500 you then have the 100s to fall back on  

[globetrotter]

ya I have a no fee for TCS deal with all of my banks, it's just trying to track down a bank that carries or can even order in $500 cheques is proving to be harder than expected, but ya I probably, will bring a combination of both $100 and $500 and hope for the best

[xyzzy]

Any of the foreign exchange booths will accept the USD$500 or CAD$500 Amex TCs without a problem. You will need to show your passport and fill a form out that says what hotel you are staying at. With the ATM fee increased to 180 Baht, TC are the better option now, unless you want to carry cash.

 

  If you have a debt card with a limit high enough it can handle 30k baht you can pull 30k from Krungsri, TMB and CIMB ATMs with a 180 baht fee. So that is US$900+ for your 180 baht. I haven't tried CIMB yet but I can verify the other two will give 30k. 

 

  If you have a credit card, that charges no foreign transaction fees, that will do that big of a cash advance you can use it as well *if* you get online and pay off the card as soom as the charge hits. One trip I only used cash advances from a credit card and pulled US$4500. I only ended up paying US$2 in cash advance interest to the credit card. But it does require you to remember to get online and pay off your card. In my case the I could see the limit on my credit card had gone down immediately after I used the ATM. But it took a couple of days before the transaction would post.

 

  And of course if you live in the US you can get a debt card from Schwab Bank and it will reimburse you for all ATM charges. So you can still use ATMs for free if you have that card. I don't think the Schwab card is available in Canada but not totally sure.

 

  Currently, and usually, you get about 0.1 baht more per US$ dollar from an ATM pull than a travellers check at a bank. So you can make up the difference between the 180 baht ATM fee and 150 baht travellers check fee even if you only pull US$500.

 

  Of course this all depends on having some kind of card that will work in an ATM and charges you no foreign transaction/conversion fees.   

[globetrotter]

unfortunately this year all these fees and charges are way more relevant and painful as our dollar has been totally tanking lately, even compared to last trip, which was only last March

[pdogg]

ok with the increase in charge was thinking of bringing some $500 Amex cheques, but since I have only used $100 and $50 in the past not sure if I will have any issues trying to cash them, anyone had any experiences positive or negative using $500 cheques

 

My info is VERY old but I have cashed 500USD Amex checks at the exchange nooths of major Thai banks.  A passport is required.  Assumingyou can get the checks for free in Canada, using one 500 TC instead of five 100 checks will save you 612 baht if the fee is 153 per check (or 732 if the fee is 183 per check), a significant difference.

[rxpharm]

If you have a premium bank account or credit card, one of the benefits can be commission free traveler's cheques. Ask them, because if you do then traveler's cheques are good strategy if you get the highest denomination.

 

If you can't get them commission free, then it is a wash vs the ATM card. Unfortunately Schwab Bank cards are not available in Canada. One other strategy that has been discusses is opening a Thai bank account and sending wire transfer funds over before you holidays - but you need to check on the bank charges. Typically a wire transfer from a Canadian bank costs $30.00 and there are fees on the receiving bank's side as well.

 

I also discovered the Citibank ATMs on Sukhumvit/Asoke will dispense up to 30,000 Baht at one time as long as you do not exceed your home bank's daily withdrawal limits. They do charge the 180 THB foreign ATM card user fee.

[xyzzy]

IMO if you have a card with no foreign transaction fee it's better than a wash with travelers check unless I have hosed up the math somewhere..

 

Using the current rate I see posted on Kasikorn FX they show travelers checks at 32.48 baht to the US$. The current TT rate that you will get with a card is 32.58 or better.

 

US$500 travelers check  x  32.48 = 16240 baht  -150 batt fee = 16090 baht   (exchange rate after fee 16090/500 = 32.18)

 

now an ATM transaction:

 

US$505.52 x 32.58 = 16470 baht  -180 baht fee  =  16290 baht  (exchange rate after fee 16290/505.52 = 32.22)

 

now if you have a card that can allow a full 30k baht ATM pull:

 

US$926.34  x 32.58  = 30180 baht  -180 baht fee = 30000 baht  (exchange rate after fee 30000/926.34 =  32.38)

 

The bigger the ATM pull the better the rate gets. Travellers checks always stay the same.

 

I probably made a stupid mistake somewhere. Feel free to point it out.

[pdogg]

Is the TT rate the same as the Visa Interbank rate?

 

Or does the TT rate vary from bank to bank?

 

I'm pretty good with math but the international banking fees are intentionally opaque making it difficult to compare alternatives,

[rxpharm]

TT rates vary from Bank to Bank - generally better than cash, and the advantage of no interbank rates. Don't forget your home bank charges you as well (unless you are lucky enough to have a no fee ATM card), for using a non-home bank ATM. In Canada the rate is $6.00 CAD per transaction.

 

The only ATMs I know of that will allow a 30K Baht transaction are Citibank's, which are sparse. Bangkok Bank allows up to 25K Baht transactions, while most of the other Thail banks allow for a maximum 20K Baht transaction.

[pdogg]

The Yellow Bank will spit out 30 notes.  But some guys may have a limit such as 500 USD or 500 CAD imposed by their home bank.

[xyzzy]

TT rates vary from Bank to Bank - generally better than cash, and the advantage of no interbank rates. Don't forget your home bank charges you as well (unless you are lucky enough to have a no fee ATM card), for using a non-home bank ATM. In Canada the rate is $6.00 CAD per transaction.

 

The only ATMs I know of that will allow a 30K Baht transaction are Citibank's, which are sparse. Bangkok Bank allows up to 25K Baht transactions, while most of the other Thail banks allow for a maximum 20K Baht transaction.

 

  Well the $6 you get charged at home is the rub. Beside paying my ATM fees my Schwab debt card also charges no foreign transaction fees. I have three credit cards that charge no foreign transaction fees. In the US generally most airline/travel oriented  credit cards have no foreign transaction fee. I can't make an argument that an ATM pull is better than travellers checks with that $6 fee. Using $500 travelers checks would yield about 100-200 more baht per 30k baht (~US$925) over a 30k baht ATM pull. However US$100 travelers check would again be more expensive than using plastic even if you get charged $6 at home (sorry I'm too lazy to convert this stuff to CAD$).

 

  I don't *think* the TT rate is exactaly the same as the inter bank rate but it is about the closest thing to judge that rate. I usually get a little better rate on my card pulls than I was expecting using the TT rate. But maybe someone can better explain or correct me. I think the BKK bank FX web page will let one look back in time at the rate for the past few days. I might be able to compare the rate I got on my ATM pulls to that days TT rate at BKK bank. Or I can certainly do it for my next ATM pull.  

 

  As I stated earlier Krungsri, TMB and CIMB ATMs will all give 30k baht in one transaction. I have personally pulled 30k baht from Krungsri and TMB ATMs in the last two weeks. I have yet to try a CIMB ATM. Even though Schwab pays my ATM fees I always use an ATM that will give 30k.

[xyzzy]

I did a 30k + 180 pull from Krungsri a couple of weeks ago. The TT rate at the time at BKK bank was 32.59, I got 32.70.

 

A few days later I did a 30k + 180 pull from TMB. The BKK Bank TT rate at the time was 32.43, I got 32.49.

 

FWIW

[pdogg]

 

How does Visa calculate its rate?

Every day—except weekends, Memorial Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day—Visa calculates the rate for the next day's transactions. The Visa rate is selected from a range of rates available in wholesale currency markets or the government-mandated rate in effect one day prior to the applicable central processing date. Visa makes this rate available to issuing banks, which may adjust the rate when billing cardholders by applying a foreign transaction fee. The rate Visa makes available to issuing banks may vary from the rate Visa itself receives. Most consumers find that using Visa is a convenient and cost-effective way to make purchases and obtain cash when traveling internationally.

 

http://usa.visa.com/personal/card-benefits/travel/exchange-rates-faq.jsp

 

It seems Visa is using a stale rate.   So if the dollar, euro, whatever rises vs the baht on a given day, Visa is still using yesterday's rate.

 

Visa doesn't state what time of day they recalculate the rates.

 

And unclear if the Processing Date is the same as the Withdrawal Date.

[xyzzy]

And unclear if the Processing Date is the same as the Withdrawal Rate.

 

  If I use a debt card the amount comes out of my account immediately.

[rxpharm]

xyzzy, thanks for the update on the Thai bank ATMs that allow up to 30K Baht transactions. I tried Kungsri (yellow bank as per PD), and TMB ATMs around 1.5 years ago and the limits were 20K back then.

 

The majority of Thai bank ATMs - SCB, Kasikorn Bank, Government Savings Bank, Aeon Bank have a 20 K limit, Bangkok Bank has a 25K limit.

[pdogg]

It's also possible that some banks may have old machines and new machines and perhaps the old machines have a physical limit that tops out at 20.

[xyzzy]

xyzzy, thanks for the update on the Thai bank ATMs that allow up to 30K Baht transactions. I tried Kungsri (yellow bank as per PD), and TMB ATMs around 1.5 years ago and the limits were 20K back then.

 

The majority of Thai bank ATMs - SCB, Kasikorn Bank, Government Savings Bank, Aeon Bank have a 20 K limit, Bangkok Bank has a 25K limit.

 

yw, I was doing 30k last year at this time at the Krungsri Bank in The Avenue. So maybe they started at the new year last year? I learned about TMB and CIMB more recently on a GG board. This trip I will usually pull 30k at the Krungsri in Central Festival and then walk the few feet to the Kasikorn Bank and use the deposit machine to put it in my K-bank account.

 

An international transfer to a Kasikorn accoint is also an option. But unfortunately of my two US banks the lowest intl xfer fee I get is $40 and that will pay for a lot of ATM fees unless on a very long trip. Plus I have monthly income so I don't have the lump sum for a two month trip at the beginning. I see some others guys seem to be able to do intl xfers for less than US$20. That would be a good option for some if you can keep the xfer price down. Luckily I have Schwab but I wonder how long they can continue to pay these crazy high Thai ATM fees. They refunded the US$11 I have in fees so far yesterday.     

[Trenton42]

Check with your bank as you may be able to set up a Standing Wire Order, which greatly reduces the cost of a transfer.

IIRC, Wells Fargo charges $50 for an international wire, but only $14.95 for a SWO.

1 international wire per quarter is free at Schwab with qualifying balance.

[globetrotter]

hey rx, are you aware of any similar type card to Schwab that is available to us?

[rxpharm]

globetrotter, unfortunately not. If you get a premium account with TD Bank (TD Select Service, 29.00 Monthly fee and minimum 5000 monthly balance), will allow you unlimited foreign ATM transactions per month - however that is their fee. If the other country ATM charges a fee, that is not refundable.

 

Scotia Bank has a plan as well which allows for free foreign ATM transactions, but only those in their global network alliance (which has no Asian bank members).

 

Here's a good summary: Best Canadian Bank for Overseas Travel

[globetrotter]

thanks for the link rx, thinking of opening up a TD acct as well then as the foreign bank is going to charge an ATM fee regardless of who you bank with back home so if I can at least save on domestic bank atm fees thats at least something

[xyzzy]

Here's a good summary: Best Canadian Bank for Overseas Travel

 

Geez you guys seem to only have expensive banking options. Does any airline/travel company offer a no/low foreign fee credit card? It's a minor pain to have to check you account online often after an ATM pull with a credit card. But if you pay off the card as soon as you can after doing a cash advance you will end up with very little interest to pay. FWIW

[pdogg]

Some credit cards have a Cash Advance Fee.  I remember on one card I had it was 3%, OUCH.  They would not permit you to prepay the card to avoid the fee either.

[rxpharm]

Unfortunately there is not a lot of competition in the Canadian bank/financial services market, so although quite secure and less likely to have failures like other countries, we end up paying more via ATM/credit card/user fees.

 

pdogg is correct most credit cards from a Canadian financial institution have a cash advance fee, plus no prepay.

[globetrotter]

so rx, what bank have you gotten your $500 Amex cheques from in the past , it's proving to be quite a challenge out here on the left Coast (I have a feeling it would be easier back in TO)