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Answered2 years ago

Which Thai bank credit card offers the best perks for expats?

Mikko ***********
asked Apr 27, 2025
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From your experience, which Thai bank credit card has the best perks programme, e.g. airport lounge access, travel insurance, etc. Many thanks.
Answer summary
The discussion revolves around the experience of expats seeking credit cards from Thai banks and their associated perks. Users share advice on the difficulty of obtaining credit cards without a Thai ID or certain visas, suggesting that securing a credit card often requires having a work permit or income in Thailand. Recommendations include Bangkok Bank for easy credit access with a term deposit as collateral, while some members suggest using home country credit cards or debit cards instead.
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Mikko ***********
Mikko ***********
OP
Ok, thank you, looks like not a good idea. It's not that I desperately need a credit card from a Thai bank; I had a visa card from SCB a long time ago but closed it. I am good with my SCB debit card. Cheers.
Eddie **********
Eddie **********
@Mikko **********
Hi

You can get a credit car

But let say you put in 50-
*****
0 bath in a locked account. That you have no acces to. It takes 3-5 month then you can have a credit

Card with the same limit of mony

That you locked into a fix account..

Bank like to have sequriti at the same limit that your credit card have…

So in my opinion it no use to have one. Go with the normaly

Debit card.

There are no bank in Thailand that will give

A forginer a credit card

Like we can have in europé or usa or austrailia. May be if you have a work permittering

And can prove your monthly income. They Maybe

Give you a creditcard with a limit of 10-
*****
bath.
CjandBrigitte **********
CjandBrigitte **********
@Mikko **********
Except if you apply for a visa online, Vietnam being one of them. They dont accept debit cards, only credit cards when you have to submit payment. Thats why we got a credit card from Bangkok bank.
Charles **********
Charles **********
Go to Bangkok Bank. It’s easy to get a credit card. Just place a Term Deposit equivalent to your credit limit and you are good to go.
Greg ***********
Greg ***********
@Charles *********
that's not what a "term" or "fixed" deosit account is meant for. You cannot accesss the money that is on such an account, for at least a fixed period of time
Charles **********
Charles **********
@Greg **********
yes I know that. But the term deposit guarantees my credit card and that’s the only way I was able to get a credit card in Thailand. While the interest earned on the term deposit is negligible, the fact that I have a credit card in Thailand is worth more to me and the bank is protected by having my term deposit as their guarantee. But if you have a different solution …… 🤷🏼‍♂️
Bob **********
Bob **********
Best to keep credit cards from your home while over here
Bent *************
Bent *************
Get a Gold or Platinum Master Card.
SteBu ******
SteBu ******
You get a debit card with your bank account (visa, master etc)

Without Thai ID or Non B Visa, you never get a real credit card
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
@SteBu *****
I'm retired and have a credit/master card. You get it when you follow their procedure. Before I tried with 4 banks and they did not refuse immediately so had to fill 15-plus forms they would send to the main branch in Bangkok. With all 4 banks, I got an SMS within 2 weeks that it was refused due to bank policy. Then I went to a Kaskorn branch in Korat and said that I read that if you open a Fixed deposit account, as some kind of collateral, I could get a master card. They confimed, opened the fixed account, I put money in it and fill the forms to get the mastercard. Within 2 weeks it was in my mailbox.
Greg ***********
Greg ***********
@SteBu *****
thank you, it seems the two of us are the only ones who share some claritiy
Greg ***********
Greg ***********
@Mikko **********
first you should find out if the Thai bank where you got an account, will actually issue a credit card to you. As they normally hand out credit cards only to foreigners who have a work permit, earn money in Thailand and pay taxes
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
The nonsense worked for me. But I think basicalley you are right with 'Fixed' account. What happens is that if I pay e.g. 2,000฿ with my mastercard, it's deducted from my xxxk฿ on my fixed deposit account. Strange indeed but that's what happens. Then within a couple of days, I have to 'pay the bill'. When I push that button within the app, the 2,000฿ (in my example) is transfered from my savings account to that fixed account and the limit is again like before. By the way, I get interest every half year. Same like the savings account.

I read before that there are different 'Fixed deposit accounts' like Kai Kwan mentions. I asked if I could redraw the whole amount of my Fixed account when I wanted and the answer was yes. But.......You lose the interest from the last half year and y'r Mastercard.
Michael ********
Michael ********
@Greg **********
no its credit card and dont have work permit or Non B, i do have pink ID though
Michael ********
Michael ********
@Greg **********
Also you can get seperate account just for credit card and they will give you limit of what is in that account.
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
@Michael *******
Yep. That's the way to go. Have a Fixed deposit account and that amount is the limit of my Master card. It's more or less a pre-paid Master card 😉
Kai ******
Kai ******
@Greg **********
it’s a Time Deposit Account. Then they’ll use it as a collateral for your credit card. Usually the card limit will be only 80-90% of whatever amount you put in that TD. You can’t access this fund until you cancel your credit card. This is a way to get a credit card when you don’t have a credit history in a country. Some would say it’s less hassle to use a debit card but credit cards do have its benefits.
Greg ***********
Greg ***********
@Peter ***************
that's definitely not what "fixed accounts" are meant for
Greg ***********
Greg ***********
@Peter ***************
😃 How much more nonsense do we have to read here? How would it be possible to withdraw money with a card from an account, if this was a "fixed account" ?? Deposits on a "fixed account" need to be seasoned for a certain period of time, usually for the minimum of one year, before it can be acessed 😃
Paul *********
Paul *********
You be lucky to get a CREDIT card
Peter ****************
Peter ****************
@Paul ********
I'm retired and have a credit/master card. You get it when you follow their procedure. Before I tried with 4 banks and they did not refuse immediately so had to fill 15-plus forms they would send to the main branch in Bangkok. With all 4 banks, I got an SMS within 2 weeks that it was refused due to bank policy. Then I went to a Kaskorn branch in Korat and said that I read that if you open a Fixed deposit account, as some kind of collateral, I could get a master card. They confimed, opened the fixed account, I put money in it and fill the forms to get the mastercard. Within 2 weeks it was in my mailbox.

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