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[stumonster]

isn't your platinum card unlimited credit ?
just purchase the store with it.
that'll learn em

[onnut]

DP25, on 2008-07-14 20:13:36, said:

I noticed this too at the foodland in Patpong. I went to the check out with about 2000 baht worth of groceries and they refused to take my card. They told me the fees are too high and showed me a sign taped up that said they no longer accept platinum cards. Fair enough, they can take whatever cards they want, and I can also choose to spend my money elsewhere. So I left my items at the checkout and they got to restock all of it, and got a cab to Villa in Suhkumvit. I will NEVER shop at foodland again.

So I am not the only one then. to the rest of yers.

[onnut]

stumonster, on 2008-07-14 20:21:49, said:

isn't your platinum card unlimited credit ?
just purchase the store with it.
that'll learn em

no, and I am glad it is not. not in this town anyway...

[onnut]

steveromagnino, on 2008-07-14 14:54:13, said:

bkkjames, on 2008-07-14 12:02:43, said:

Quite simple actually, the CC companies charge 2-4% more to retailers for using Plat cards over Gold and Regular cards. I don't blame companies like foodland to stop taking them.

Alternatively, would you be happy if they passed the charge along to you, like so many air ticketing companies do?

this is news to me.....and until recently I consulted to one of the CC firms and also had to pay the charges via another retail client.

I think most likely somehow there has been a miscommunication.

VISA cards attract one range of charges. Mastercard another. Amex another and discovery/JCB yet again....another set of charges.

my guess is foodland is probably paying 1.35- 1.8% for ALL Visa card transactions; Amex probably something like 1.8 - 3%; I have not seen their volume so not sure.

There is no difference for the merchant between a Plat card or a gold card or a green card except that sometimes they want to try to attract wealthier customers who spend more so they might run a promotion just for plat and thus have to absorb a discount or whatever.

As for why have one (and I have one): no annual fee; free entry to airport lounges; better points scheme; higher limit; discounts on petrol/restuarants etc (far more than a std card); direct call centre line 24 hours with staff answering the phone within usually 20 sec or so.

Without any changes to my life, the Plat card effectively would allow me to take a trip abroad every 2nd year to somewhere decent; or get some Tumi bag or a fancy TV or some other pointless thing. Much as I don't care for credit cards in everyday life; 3% off my petrol bill sure helps and then there is a 25% discount at Fireplace Grill.

AMEX Plat has a non negotiable annual fee. That's why I don't have one. but most VISA Plat cards do not.

This is starting to sound like every why would anyone own a Zegna suit/BMW/Swan yacht/Swiss watch and why would they fly business class/first class/eat cavier/pay 100,000b a month rent/go to resort and wouldn't they catch a taxi/ride the bus/complain about double pricing/not pay a sin sot/choose from the fishbowl and not the sideline.

With money come options.

With options come choices.

With Choices come advantages.

With advantages come undertakings of great profit but for only for those willing and able to invest.

For those willing to invest comes money.

And around the cycle we go again.*

* please help me join this cycle. I have the bike shorts.

Very true, thank you for taking the time to write such a long post.

[thaigene2]

Think it just shows us all that even though we may qualify for these cards  - we may also REJECT the offer. Though as Britmaverisk pointed out they may offer "upgrade" you to something without you even asking for it. I'm sure I am not the only who keeps getting pestered by these guys on the phone

Edited by thaigene2, 2008-07-14 23:10:00.

[LivinLOS]

thaigene2, on 2008-07-14 12:09:57, said:

Aside from snob appeal, what's the purpose of a Platinum card? Are there extra benefits like CDW/LDW when renting a car? I got rid of my Amex Gold Card when they changed the rules on the LDW/CDW waiver for non-us-resident cardholders. Couldn't see the point in an $80 USD fee for a US Dollar Card I never used (except to rent a car).

Perks galore if you get the right card.. Visa Infinite allows me to use the first class lounges no matter what my ticket is in most airports worldwide, free travel insurance, free extended warranty and purchase protection, and even though I have never used the service all kinds of travel assistance, concierge stuff etc etc etc.

The first class lounge access would be enough to get me to use the card alone. What I dont understand is they waive the card fees annually, so its perks for nothing, its not even like I leave an outstanding balance on the card or even use it much (I am a cash kind of guy)..

[bkkjames]

"There is no difference for the merchant between a Plat card or a gold card or a green card except that sometimes they want to try to attract wealthier customers who spend more so they might run a promotion just for plat and thus have to absorb a discount or whatever"

Then could you please offer a guess as to why foodland would stop taking Plat cards? Nobody I guess is forcing them to run promotions for Plat card holders are they?

[steveromagnino]

bkkjames, on 2008-07-15 09:49:26, said:

"There is no difference for the merchant between a Plat card or a gold card or a green card except that sometimes they want to try to attract wealthier customers who spend more so they might run a promotion just for plat and thus have to absorb a discount or whatever"

Then could you please offer a guess as to why foodland would stop taking Plat cards? Nobody I guess is forcing them to run promotions for Plat card holders are they?

it has been confirmed that it is indeed not accepting plat cards but it is accepting others....for me I really am at a bit of a loss to understand why this would be.

Maybe they have somehow been hit by fraud for plat cards (if you were going to make fake cards you would make copies of the cards with the highest limits) or maybe somehow they have indeed negotiated some special rate although I really cannot see how they could do so (since there are a ton of Plat issuers).

Maybe they don't want to invest in chip card EDC machines (ok really grasping straws here); most plat maybe all plat cards use a chip plus strip system, but the chip is the technology that protects against fraud.

Or maybe they did have a promotion, and have not got a way to stop it so have instead stopped accepting the cards.  I know my plat card I get I think it is 7% discount on everything at Paragon and 3% I think it is at Tesco Lotus; maybe there was a similar deal they could not legally stop so they just decided to launch this new way.

I am Stumped.  Frigging Foodland aye.  Might have to get in touch with them and solve the mystery.

[AFKAFSinLOS]

I'd say in Thailand among many Thais Platinum vs Titanium vs Gold vs regular vs whatever is a status symbol more strongly than back in the west.

In terms of what the benefits are, these include:
- higher limits
- likely better interest rate due to your financial status of being able to get one . This is only really relevant to people who don't for some reason pay it off
After that it's down to promotions and the add-ons they throw in
- better promotions
- higher reward point accruals, eg 3x airmiles compared to classic cards
- higher levels of free insurance
- higher WW emergency cash
- larger discounts and cash backs/free vouchers
- exclusive travel benefits
etc etc

For some people who use cards a lot, they could actually save themselves a fair bit...

Platinum Elite is the latest in a long line of top of the range...

Personally I have never paid a fee for a credit card in my life... I just take the highest one I'm given free

BTW Foodland have always been weird. I remember them grinning and telling me once they didn't take foreign credit cards on giving them my Bank of Asia card. Bank of Asia at the time was a Thai local bank, that had been bought by ABN Amro. They never moved from Thailand, and would still settle everything thru Thai systems in the way prior to ABN's takeover, so to all intents and purposes nothing changed. However, this seemed to be a good enough reason to not want to deal with foreigners... It was nothing to do with rates charged, just they didn't want foreign cards... Over the years that Bank of Asia Gold Card (before someone "invented" Platinum cards) has transformed into a UOB Platinum... and no I still don't pay for it.

Edited by AFKAFSinLOS, 2008-07-15 12:15:46.

[bkkjames]

AFKAFSinLOS, on 2008-07-15 12:10:10, said:

I'd say in Thailand among many Thais Platinum vs Titanium vs Gold vs regular vs whatever is a status symbol more strongly than back in the west.

In terms of what the benefits are, these include:
- higher limits
- likely better interest rate due to your financial status of being able to get one . This is only really relevant to people who don't for some reason pay it off
After that it's down to promotions and the add-ons they throw in
- better promotions
- higher reward point accruals, eg 3x airmiles compared to classic cards
- higher levels of free insurance
- higher WW emergency cash
- larger discounts and cash backs/free vouchers
- exclusive travel benefits
etc etc

For some people who use cards a lot, they could actually save themselves a fair bit...

Platinum Elite is the latest in a long line of top of the range...

Personally I have never paid a fee for a credit card in my life... I just take the highest one I'm given free

BTW Foodland have always been weird. I remember them grinning and telling me once they didn't take foreign credit cards on giving them my Bank of Asia card. Bank of Asia at the time was a Thai local bank, that had been bought by ABN Amro. They never moved from Thailand, and would still settle everything thru Thai systems in the way prior to ABN's takeover, so to all intents and purposes nothing changed. However, this seemed to be a good enough reason to not want to deal with foreigners... It was nothing to do with rates charged, just they didn't want foreign cards... Over the years that Bank of Asia Gold Card (before someone "invented" Platinum cards) has transformed into a UOB Platinum... and no I still don't pay for it.

Feeling a bit insecure are we?

[Plus]

They took Platinum cards all the way before July1 or whatever the date was. Now they accept only regular visa and Bangkok Bank Visa Platinum, which leads me to think it has to do with individual banks charging higher processing fees or something.

They also don't take MasterCard - Foodland has become one fuc_king inconvenience.

At one point Foodland Hua Mark didn't sell any alcohol at all, at all times.

[bkkjames]

Plus, on 2008-07-15 13:18:20, said:

They took Platinum cards all the way before July1 or whatever the date was. Now they accept only regular visa and Bangkok Bank Visa Platinum, which leads me to think it has to do with individual banks charging higher processing fees or something.

They also don't take MasterCard - Foodland has become one fuc_king inconvenience.

At one point Foodland Hua Mark didn't sell any alcohol at all, at all times.

This must vary from Branch to Branch as the one at Patpong hasn't taken plat for months. I wish we could just get a Thai to call them and ask so we can conclude this topic.

[steveromagnino]

bkkjames, on 2008-07-15 13:32:32, said:

I wish we could just get a Thai to call them and ask so we can conclude this topic.

done.

As of 1 July the banks have increased their fee for Platinum cards, so Foodland no longer wish to accept them.  They stated they were not aware whether other retailers were affected by the same charges as Foodland, but they cannot absorb the increased fee for Platinum level cards.

There you go; so you were right BKK James!  Certainly this is news to me, it never used to be like this; I guess all the loss making Plat cards might be starting to affect the banks so they are trying to make it back via EDC charges (the Plat cards tend to lose money for CC companies as the cost of acquisition is higher, fewer people run balances and the giveaways are far more).

Foodland will try to renegotiate the charges however.

[Naam]

Plus, on 2008-07-15 13:18:20, said:

They took Platinum cards all the way before July1 or whatever the date was. Now they accept only regular visa and Bangkok Bank Visa Platinum, which leads me to think it has to do with individual banks charging higher processing fees or something.

They also don't take MasterCard - Foodland has become one fuc_king inconvenience.

At one point Foodland Hua Mark didn't sell any alcohol at all, at all times.

Foodland still accepted Visa Gold last friday. wife shopped, have the slip here on my desk.

[Plus]

Quote

Foodland still accepted Visa Gold last friday.

Yeah, Gold is ok with them.

Upcountry banks might not have increased their charges yet.

[AFKAFSinLOS]

bkkjames, on 2008-07-15 13:13:40, said:

AFKAFSinLOS, on 2008-07-15 12:10:10, said:

I'd say in Thailand among many Thais Platinum vs Titanium vs Gold vs regular vs whatever is a status symbol more strongly than back in the west.

In terms of what the benefits are, these include:
- higher limits
- likely better interest rate due to your financial status of being able to get one . This is only really relevant to people who don't for some reason pay it off
After that it's down to promotions and the add-ons they throw in
- better promotions
- higher reward point accruals, eg 3x airmiles compared to classic cards
- higher levels of free insurance
- higher WW emergency cash
- larger discounts and cash backs/free vouchers
- exclusive travel benefits
etc etc

For some people who use cards a lot, they could actually save themselves a fair bit...

Platinum Elite is the latest in a long line of top of the range...

Personally I have never paid a fee for a credit card in my life... I just take the highest one I'm given free

BTW Foodland have always been weird. I remember them grinning and telling me once they didn't take foreign credit cards on giving them my Bank of Asia card. Bank of Asia at the time was a Thai local bank, that had been bought by ABN Amro. They never moved from Thailand, and would still settle everything thru Thai systems in the way prior to ABN's takeover, so to all intents and purposes nothing changed. However, this seemed to be a good enough reason to not want to deal with foreigners... It was nothing to do with rates charged, just they didn't want foreign cards... Over the years that Bank of Asia Gold Card (before someone "invented" Platinum cards) has transformed into a UOB Platinum... and no I still don't pay for it.

Feeling a bit insecure are we?

Never crossed my mind for a moment... just sharing a few things...

Myself I'm a bit of a mirror to other people. It's often said that we interpret the actions of others by projecting our own image onto them. With that in mind... might I return the question and ask if you're feeling a little insecure yourself...

[farangene]

I was in Foodland Soi 5 and took picture of the Platinum card announcement poster but not sure how or whether I am allowed to post it here.  So I added a summary below.

Due to a recent change to the credit card processing fees, as of June 1 2008,  Foodland will no longer accept Platinum or Titanium visa cards from any issuer EXCEPT Bangkok Bank.  Foodland will continue to accept all Gold and all regular Visa cards.

Visa Card types accepted at Foodland:                                  
Regular and Gold------------------ Foodland accepts cards from all issuers  
Platinum and Titanium-------------Foodland accepts cards from Bangkok Bank only


I was told by a friend who owns several retail shops that Platinum cards incur an extra 1/4 percent charge payable by the merchant.

[steveromagnino]

farangene, on 2008-07-16 21:17:32, said:

I was told by a friend who owns several retail shops that Platinum cards incur an extra 1/4 percent charge payable by the merchant.

Probably something like that; however this did not used to be the case - that is what was confirmed to me (although not the amount) by Foodland over the phone yesterday.

Doesn't bother me, will keep using my Plat card ;-)

[samran]

farangene, on 2008-07-16 15:17:32, said:

I was in Foodland Soi 5 and took picture of the Platinum card announcement poster but not sure how or whether I am allowed to post it here.  So I added a summary below.

Due to a recent change to the credit card processing fees, as of June 1 2008,  Foodland will no longer accept Platinum or Titanium visa cards from any issuer EXCEPT Bangkok Bank.  Foodland will continue to accept all Gold and all regular Visa cards.

Visa Card types accepted at Foodland:                                  
Regular and Gold------------------ Foodland accepts cards from all issuers  
Platinum and Titanium-------------Foodland accepts cards from Bangkok Bank only


I was told by a friend who owns several retail shops that Platinum cards incur an extra 1/4 percent charge payable by the merchant.

the plot thickens... I was just there and she said they accept BKK Bank and AMEX platinum. I even waved my Amex platinum in her face and she asked her co-worker who also said 'yes'.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

I use cash, never refused!

[bino]

Pakboong, on 2008-07-14 12:40:34, said:

It is posted in the check-out line in the Pattaya Foodland.

Ditto at Foodland in Lad Prao. Bangkok Bank Platinum cards only.

[PREXPRESSBKK]

I just find it hilarious whenever I am in a que and the people in front of me at a supermarket or departmental store pay for items like about 300bt or so using their cards! I have never owned a card and will be want to....believe in the old fashion concept of cash and living within my means...no credit or debts...life is more peaceful then

[samran]

PREXPRESSBKK, on 2008-07-17 15:38:04, said:

I just find it hilarious whenever I am in a que and the people in front of me at a supermarket or departmental store pay for items like about 300bt or so using their cards! I have never owned a card and will be want to....believe in the old fashion concept of cash and living within my means...no credit or debts...life is more peaceful then

true true. They are dangerous things in the wrong hands - sometimes even the right ones!!!

But I've just gotten a enough points for a return trip to Australia from one years of normal usuage. Pay the bill at the end of every month in full.

[pampal]

Cash is best, legal tender in all jurisdictions