One of the most common piece of advice we give to fellow American slow travelers and expats is to sign up for a Charles Schwab Investor Checking Account before coming to Thailand. The Charles Schwab foreign ATM fee refund we got back this past year even surprised us!
One of the downsides of traveling or living overseas is the constant bombardment of foreign related fees. Banks, credit card companies, foreign ATMs, and money exchanges all want their cut for granting us the privilege of accessing our own money in a different currency.
It’s a ridiculous business practice and hard to avoid. Unless, of course, you have an account with a company like Charles Schwab.
The other day we were doing a little financial account maintenance. We pulled up our Charles Schwab account and totaled the monthly refunds we had credited back to our account over the last year. These refunds cover international ATM fees and the 3% foreign transaction fee, and boy do they really add up!
Fees Slapped On During Foreign Travel
The only way we have access to our cash is by withdrawing it from Thailand’s ATMs. Unfortunately, these ATMs charge a 200 baht fee per withdrawal (5.50 USD), which really add up over time. When we first got to Thailand, there were AEON ATMs that didn’t charge this fee. Unfortunately, as of early 2014, this company no longer offers this service for free.
Assuming that most people go to the ATM once or twice a week, this racks up anywhere from $20 to $48 in ATM fees over the course of a month. Although this can be minimized by maxing out your withdrawal, even we admit to regularly doing small withdrawals of 5,000 or 10,000 baht (165 or 330 USD).
But there’s more bad news. Most financial institutions, whether banks or credit card companies, charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases made overseas.
So for a typical 5,000 baht withdrawal, 200 baht is charged as the ATM withdrawal fee plus another 150 baht charged as the foreign transaction fee. That’s 350 baht or 10 USD just to get access to $165. The frustration!
Charles Schwab’s Foreign ATM Fee Refund
By signing up for a Charles Schwab Investor Checking Account, not only do we receive a foreign ATM fee refund every month, but foreign transaction fees are completely done away with, too.
So what did we save in the last twelve months?
The fact that we would have otherwise spent over $900 in fees in a year using another account, which is almost 5% of our money, is complete nonsense. In fact, the best word to describe what is going on is theft. Who agrees?
We cannot stress the importance of signing up for the Charles Schwab Investor Checking Account before doing any long-term travel abroad. So before you do, here are a few things to remember:
- This account is a checking account that issues one debit card for security reasons. Hold onto that card with your life.
- Signing up online may be easier than going into a bank or setting up an account over the phone. We did with no problem.
- Do not mention that you are living or will be moving overseas. Just say you are traveling. Otherwise, they may not issue you the card.
- Charles Schwab’s physical branches do not handle cash. Therefore, you will need another bank account from which you can transfer your funds in and out.
Americans will benefit from knowing this little travel secret. Getting foreign ATM fee refunds is just one of many.
Do you have other money saving tips to share?
The Charles Schwab website says something about having a brokerage account attached to the checking account to avoid fees. Do you know anything about that? Thanks!
Yes, it’s an investor’s checking account so a brokerage account is required. Having said that, it’s free and you don’t ever have to use it.
Hi Chris and Angela! Which Thai banks do you use to take money out using your Charles Schwab card? I read on some forums that some banks do not show the access fee as a separate charge. Taking out 20,000 baht from the ATM would have receipt show as withdrawing 20,200 baht and there’s no way for Charles Schwab to reimburse the 200 baht charge. So I need to know which banks (that you have tried and tested) show the access fee as a separate charge. Thank you!
Hi Mischa, we take money out at all different ATMs and we always receive the correct ATM Fee Rebate at the end of every month. Last month we made four withdrawals and received the equivalent of an 800 THB ATM fee rebate.
If I am taking out an equivalent of $100 USD, will they give me the full amount and then charge the fees or $100 -fees?
TYIA
Full $100 withdrawal but charge your account $100 plus fees
You will be refunded the difference between the cash dispensed and the charge on your account. The refund will occur on the last day of the month of the transaction.
You have nothing to worry about.
I’m a little late on this post but does Charles schwab refund it automatically or do you need to submit something? Not sure if I should be saving all the ATM receipts.
Good question. We get out refund automatically. Only hold onto the receipts (without submitting them) if you want to double check the refund amount for accuracy.
I withdrew cash with my Schwab card from an ATM at BKK, which warned me of the 200baht, but in this ATM transaction, the 200 was added to the withdrawal amount. there was no fee charged, & no way for Schwab to refund.
Oh dang! That’s not good to hear….
Just wanted to send my thanks for this post. We are leaving in Khon Kaen, and today i received my account credit of $56 for ATM fees last month. Whoooo Hoooooo!
Niiiiiiice. Totally worth signing up, right? :) :)
Thanks for the info. What ATMs in Thailand can I use my Schwab debit card from?
You’re welcome. You can use this debit card at every single ATM. It’s great!
Hey Chris & Angela! First of all thank you so much for this blog, really really really, it makes me feel so much more secure about moving to Chiang Mai n the near future. Although i’ve already travelled Thailand a bit I’m only 22 and will be moving alone, so I’ve been researching a lot before I arrive as a way of fighting off nerves… So to already know how to pay my Thai elec bill is like omg YES! So thank you thank you thank you! Now this might be a painfully stupid question but… do all these fees… Read more »
You won’t have foreign transaction fees if you open a Thai account and use that debit card when paying for things. However, if you don’t have a source of Thai income and are relying on your savings or pension in dollars or Euros, you will still have to pay a fee to transfer your funds from your bank account back home into you Thai account.
To avoid any fees we suggest the Charles Schwab account, or alternatively, having a job in Thailand and depositing you earned Thai baht into an account for later use.
Hey Thea! I’m a 22 y/o from California moving to Chiang Mai on my own as well, literally getting on a bus in 45 minutes to jump into it all. I feel your struggle! Find me on Facebook at /ronarbel if you want to compare notes.
Cheers!
Wow, amazing! It’s a long journey from California to Chiang Mai, but totally worth it. Good luck with everything!
That is awesome, thanks a lot for the tip, I’m currently here in BKK so when i get back to USA soon I’ll definitely move banks from my hometown one to this Shwab one. Thanks a lot! I think i’ll be saving up around $2k/year then :)
Wowzers, totally worth the signup! That’s practically a round-trip ticket!
Yes, I usually pay $1600-1700 roundtrip, so even a little left over for quite a few Leo’s! haha
Really C&A, thanks a lot for this post, seriously going to do this bank switch.
You’re very welcome!
This is an interesting topic and I’m following along with great interest. My wife and i are planning on spending a year ( at least) in Thailand from 2015. We spent a couple of months in Bangkok a year or so ago and were very frustrated by the never ending fees involved with getting our cash from ATM’s. At one point I noticed were were being charged foreign transaction fees and ATM withdrawal fees of up to $10AUD for a $50 withdraw, crazy. We wondered if opening an account with one of the big ” world” companies like Citibank would… Read more »
The Qantas pre-paid travel card seems like a great option for Australians to avoid those ATM and foreign transaction/currency exchange fees. If you plan on using it, we’d like to hear about your experience and if the card really is as good as it seems :) Citibank will work if you withdrawal money from Citibank-branded ATMs but not all ATMs. Both good finds!
if you need more money than ATM allows, you can go to the counter at any banks in the world to get more cash by using debit card, any fees will be refunded. I was told that normal maximum amount I can withdraw at the counter was $15000.00. I’m not sure $15000 applies to people in overseas. .Just make sure let them know before taking big amount out You were lucky to open an account over the phone. I couldn’t. One lesson I learned by dealing with Charles Schwab is that sometimes have to talk to several representatives to find… Read more »
Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for your advice. Even though we are in Australia, planning on coming to live in Thailand, what if you had funds in a BKK Bank and you accessed a certain amount per month over the counter (this is providing that the BKK bank is in your area of Thailand), would that work much better and cheaper? And also, are you only able to withdraw a certain amount at any one time?
As with any wire transfer, you’ll pay a fee to transfer your funds from your Australian bank account to your Thai bank. Transferring funds between different Thai bank accounts (of the same bank, just a different account) is free, and access to that money is free. We don’t what the max withdrawal is from your Thai bank account, but we assume it can be the entire amount if needed. ATMs vary in output. We typically max out at 20,000 and 25,000 baht per withdrawal, but our friend mentioned that Krungsri ATMs allow up to 30,000 baht per withdrawal. If you… Read more »
Some banks have lower ATM fees but their currency conversion rates to Thai baht are typically worse than the others. You have to work out the currency conversion loss against the lower ATM fees charged. Also, I am a Canadian and tried to open up a Charles Swabb account but could not because I did not have a US taxpayer number (nor did I want one). I am currently using a Thai bank account to store and withdraw my monies. This might be a practical solution for those who are here for longer term stays. You will require a Thai… Read more »
Yes, Charles Schwab is only available for Americans :/ But taking the extra steps as you’ve mentioned, including knowing which ATMs have the best currency conversion rate as well as doing a large wire transfer for the $25 fee, are work arounds. We personally do not feel comfortable about moving cash across country borders… we aren’t aware of the law in Thailand that would protect us from a search and seizure!
I agree completely. It saves a lot of baht. Our Schwab account is a joint account and we each received a debit card (with different numbers). We always withdraw the maximum so as to not take advantage of their generosity about how many 180 baht fees that Schwab refunds to our account. We have also found that Krungsri ATM’s allows us to withdraw 30K baht per withdrawal. The other thing we do, to keep another degree of separation, is all of our funds are direct deposited into our credit union account and then we transfer what we need to the… Read more »
Good to know that Krungsri ATM gives out that much. Sometimes we only get 20,000 baht, other times it’s 25,000 baht from various ATMs. It makes a big difference when it comes time to pay rent! We have a joint account too, just so we have access to two numbers in case one gets lost or eaten by an ATM machine. Thanks for sharing your experience with Charles Schwab!