South East Asia: debit card vs credit card

CATSEYES8787

Hi guys

I'm going to SEA (Indonesia/Malaysia) in a few weeks for a month and would like people's opinions about credit/debit cards (I'm with AIB).
I was in Thailand in December for a few weeks and had brought enough cash with me so I didn't entirely rely on withdrawals.
However, when I did withdraw money with my debit card, there was a 180B fee as well as AIB charges (about 3%).
So here are my questions:

1. Does anyone know what the ATM fees are in Indonesia/Malaysia (i.e that 180B in Thailand)?
2. I was advised in the bank to get a credit card and load it up with enough money for the whole trip..I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, having already a debit card. Are credit card charges are smaller?

Thanks in advance

keithclancy

CATSEYES8787 wrote: »

Hi guys

I'm going to SEA (Indonesia/Malaysia) in a few weeks for a month and would like people's opinions about credit/debit cards (I'm with AIB).
I was in Thailand in December for a few weeks and had brought enough cash with me so I didn't entirely rely on withdrawals.
However, when I did withdraw money with my debit card, there was a 180B fee as well as AIB charges (about 3%).
So here are my questions:

1. Does anyone know what the ATM fees are in Indonesia/Malaysia (i.e that 180B in Thailand)?
2. I was advised in the bank to get a credit card and load it up with enough money for the whole trip..I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, having already a debit card. Are credit card charges are smaller?

Thanks in advance

Weird.... Normally the banks don't like you doing this.

Ya ... credit card is cheaper if you have it in credit for withdrawls.

househero

CATSEYES8787 wrote: »

Hi guys

I'm going to SEA (Indonesia/Malaysia) in a few weeks for a month and would like people's opinions about credit/debit cards (I'm with AIB).
I was in Thailand in December for a few weeks and had brought enough cash with me so I didn't entirely rely on withdrawals.
However, when I did withdraw money with my debit card, there was a 180B fee as well as AIB charges (about 3%).
So here are my questions:

1. Does anyone know what the ATM fees are in Indonesia/Malaysia (i.e that 180B in Thailand)?
2. I was advised in the bank to get a credit card and load it up with enough money for the whole trip..I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, having already a debit card. Are credit card charges are smaller?

Thanks in advance

Fek AIB and their charges.

But yr creditcard and use the interbank rate. Although AIB rape you on that too.

Check their minimum foreign transaction fees.

Malaysia doesn't have high ATM charges like Thailand but Indonesia does. If you bring euros you can get them changed at a decent rate in KL or bali airports. If that's where you are going.

killbillvol2

househero wrote: »

Fek AIB and their charges.

But yr creditcard and use the interbank rate. Although AIB rape you on that too.

Check their minimum foreign transaction fees.

Malaysia doesn't have high ATM charges like Thailand but Indonesia does. If you bring euros you can get them changed at a decent rate in KL or bali airports. If that's where you are going.

The exchange rate in KLIA is appalling. I'd seriously doubt the accuracy of your info on Bali also.

househero

killbillvol2 wrote: »

The exchange rate in KLIA is appalling. I'd seriously doubt the accuracy of your info on Bali also.

Good for you. But as AIB charge a fixed minimum on top of the interbank + 0.5% the appalling KLIA rate becomes very appealing on anything under €150

As I said. Check the AIB charges to see which works out better for you. It depends on how much you are getting changed. If you were only staying in KL for a few days (its a boring city) then bring € and change in airport. Why the hell am I explaining this twice.

Ed_Stephens

The advantage of transferring money on your credit card means you don't get charged the cash advance fee on top of everything else. SEA tends to be a cash society especially for tourists so I tend to use the credit card for withdrawing cash only, just make sure when you do so you take out a good chunk every time so you can minimize the fees, in Thailand anyway you get charged the 180 baht regardless of how much you take out.

Bob24

One annoying issue I have had in some (but not all) Asian countries with my BOI Visa debit card is ridiculously low withdrawal limits (around 20 euros per transaction). BOI said it wasn't them and it must have been the foreign bank, but on the other hand my other Visa card allowed me to get the equivalent of 200 euros from the same ATMs (debit card from a French bank but using the regular Visa system and not Visa Debit).

So I would say whatever your bank tells you your withdrawal limit is abroad, don't rely only on the debit card.

househero

Also get the number for the fraud ppl. Your card might get blocked. Embarrassing if you are trying to pay for a meal or hotel. They sort it straight away.