Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 So if i'm withdrawing from an ATM in a foreign country and i'm trying to figure out how much i'll be charged (minus all the fees), do i look at the THB > USD or the USD > THB exchange rate (using my bank app)? For example i want to withdraw THB 1000. And 1 THB = USD 0.033. But 1 USD = THB 34 (which makes it 29.411 when you change it to THB>USD) . So in this example, If i calculate the 1000 according to the exchange rate of THB>USD, i am charged 33. But if i calculate the 1000 according to the exchange rate of USD>THB, i am charged 34. Which one do i go with? btw, i did call the bank. They are giving me contradicting information. One says USD>THB. I call back later to double check, the other tells me THB>USD. And they are both sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701A Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 i think the bank the owns the ATM you are using controls the rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, NCC1701A said: i think the bank the owns the ATM you are using controls the rate. Not trying to know what the rates are. I am trying to know if they calculate BUY or SELL....so THB>USD or USD>THB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Dietz Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Easy. The worst rate for you, and then an extra percent or so for the bank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happystance Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I don't understand your math. The present exchange rate is 31.7 baht per 1 USD and atms are going to clip a little off of that, plus ding you 200 baht per transaction. If you have the right debit card, your home bank will reimburse the 200 baht fee. If you don't use a bank that refunds atm fees globally, then it's a better deal in Thailand to exchange cash. Rarely can you use a cc in Thailand without paying 3% juice or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Happystance said: I don't understand your math. The present exchange rate is 31.7 baht per 1 USD and atms are going to clip a little off of that, plus ding you 200 baht per transaction. If you have the right debit card, your home bank will reimburse the 200 baht fee. If you don't use a bank that refunds atm fees globally, then it's a better deal in Thailand to exchange cash. Rarely can you use a cc in Thailand without paying 3% juice or more. Thank you Happystance, but thats not what i was asking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Assuming that the "foreign" bank is in Thailand, and that your ATM card is from a US bank, it will be a USD>THB transaction. In other words, you will be using USD to buy THB. Your own US bank will set the buying rate. There may be charges applied by your own bank and by the Thai ATM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, chickenslegs said: Assuming that the "foreign" bank is in Thailand, and that your ATM card is from a US bank, it will be a USD>THB transaction. In other words, you will be using USD to buy THB. Your own US bank will set the buying rate. There may be charges applied by your own bank and by the Thai ATM. Even though i am withdrawing in baht? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 The rates are set by visa / mastercard, here the calculators: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html The Thai bank ATM adds 220THB on top of whatever you withdraw and your foreign bank might charge you a foreign currency fee (called "bank fee" in the calculator). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Just now, jackdd said: The rates are set by visa / mastercard, here the calculators: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html The Thai bank ATM adds 220THB on top of whatever you withdraw and your foreign bank might charge you a foreign currency fee (called "bank fee" in the calculator). I am using a debit card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Elizway said: I am using a debit card Should be the same rates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Elizway said: Even though i am withdrawing in baht? Your US bank will be using your USD to buy the THB that you withdraw from the ATM. The Thai bank will charge you for the convenience of using their ATM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 15 minutes ago, chickenslegs said: Your US bank will be using your USD to buy the THB that you withdraw from the ATM. The Thai bank will charge you for the convenience of using their ATM. BEAUTIFUL! Exactly what i've been trying to find out for 2 days!! Why in the world was i not able to get this information in the accumulated 3+ hours ive been talking to the bank?!? Is this standard, with all banks and all countries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 minutes ago, Elizway said: BEAUTIFUL! Exactly what i've been trying to find out for 2 days!! Why in the world was i not able to get this information in the accumulated 3+ hours ive been talking to the bank?!? Is this standard, with all banks and all countries? Bank charges will vary - but, if you are withdrawing from a USD bank account, you will always be using USD to buy the local currency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 6 minutes ago, chickenslegs said: Bank charges will vary - but, if you are withdrawing from a USD bank account, you will always be using USD to buy the local currency. And here is an online agent. This is what he said: Ok, thanks for clarifying, this would depend if you select to be charged in dollars or the local currency. If you select dollars the conversion would be from usd to the local currency. If you select the local currency the rate would be local currency to USD. It really depends what the ATM offers you and what you select. Is he saying the same thing you are? Am i missing something? Or is it false info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happystance Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 14 minutes ago, Elizway said: BEAUTIFUL! Exactly what i've been trying to find out for 2 days!! Why in the world was i not able to get this information in the accumulated 3+ hours ive been talking to the bank?!? Is this standard, with all banks and all countries? Why does this matter? Why would you spend 3+ hours talking to a bank about it?? Confusing .. All that matters to me is the exchange rate I end up with, and it takes less than a minute to calculate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 9 minutes ago, Elizway said: And here is an online agent. This is whay he said: Ok, thanks for clarifying, this would depend if you select to be charged in dollars or the local currency. If you select dollars the conversion would be from usd to the local currency. If you select the local currency the rate would be local currency to USD. It really depends what the ATM offers you and what you select. Is he saying the same thing you are? Am i missing something? Or is it false info? As far as I am aware ATM's in Thailand will dispense THB only - no choice. For card purchases in Thailand , you may be offered the choice to pay in THB or your own currency. Most people recommend that you pay in THB to avoid excessive charges and poor exchange rates applied by the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizway Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Just now, chickenslegs said: As far as I am aware ATM's in Thailand will dispense THB only - no choice. For card purchases in Thailand , you may be offered the choice to pay in THB or your own currency. Most people recommend that you pay in THB to avoid excessive charges and low exchange rates applied by the store. I get that. But according to what he's saying, if i select to withdraw in Thai baht (which happens to be the only choice i have), i'd be charged TBH>USD. At least that's how i understood it when he said: " If you select the local currency the rate would be local currency to USD." So i'm wondering...Is he saying the same thing you are? Am i missing something? Or is it false info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamJar Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Elizway said: I get that. But according to what he's saying, if i select to withdraw in Thai baht (which happens to be the only choice i have), i'd be charged TBH>USD. At least that's how i understood it when he said: " If you select the local currency the rate would be local currency to USD." So i'm wondering...Is he saying the same thing you are? Am i missing something? Or is it false info? Online agent is an idiot. If you have a US$ issued card(credit or debit), as you have been informed, you are using US$ to purchase Thai Baht via Mastercard/VISA. Use jackdd's links for the calculation. If you select US$ you will be using US$ to purchase Thai baht at at rate decided by a local institution(invariably at a much poorer rate than Mastercard/VISA). In actual fact it will be akin to using US$ to purchase Thai baht to purchase US$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParadiseLost Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 hours ago, Happystance said: Why does this matter? Why would you spend 3+ hours talking to a bank about it?? Confusing .. All that matters to me is the exchange rate I end up with, and it takes less than a minute to calculate... And even then there is nothing you can do about it... ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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