credit cards

I have read that you should not use your credit cards in Thailand. It doesn%26#39;t seem to make any sense to have to carry a lot cash around. Does any one have any comments on the subject.

Mike

credit cards

Hi - I have had a lot of clients who have gone to Thailand and their credit card details have been used fradulently once they have returned to NZ. We recommened taking a Travelex Cash Passport AKA Visa TravelMoney Card...

Visa TravelMoney is the newest way to carry money abroad since the invention of the travelers cheque. It is simply a card which you pre-load with your spending money before you travel. Then you can use your Visa TravelMoney card to withdraw cash from ATMs or to spend money in shops, restaurants and hotels while you%26#39;re away, exactly as you would use a bank card at home.

You can buy Visa TravelMoney at branches of Travelex and also at AAA, CAA, CUNA, ICBA and ABA in the USA.

Visa TravelMoney is just as secure as a travelers cheque. It has PIN and signature protection, and you can choose to take a second card with you which will still be active if the first card is lost or stolen. Plus you are covered by 24 hour emergency assistance to help with replacement cash, legal and medical assistance or even getting you home in a hurry.

Hope this helps :)

credit cards

Hi

We have travelled to Phuket twice and are going again in September 07. So far we have not had a problem using credit cards. We only use them to pay for any tours and some meals. We do use them at the hotel to pay for drinks and any meals or room service. Apart from that we take travellers cheques and cash

Use your credit card (or debit card) to obtain cash from ATM%26#39;s and use that CASH to pay for cheap purchases. I wouldn%26#39;t use credit cards to pay for cheap meals in restaurants or even stuff from vendors, too much opportunity for credit card fraud.

Don%26#39;t worry about getting stuck with Thai baht when you leave for home, you will have a chance at the airport to convert the baht back to your home currency.

Make sure that you NOTIFY your bank that you will be overseas otherwise they may decline to allow you to get money out of an ATM. When a request for purchases or cash come in from Thailand your bank may suspect fraud. Some ATM charges are high, some are not, check with your bank. Take out the maximum amount you can to cut down on ATM fees!

Forgot to respond to your other question.

'; It doesn%26#39;t seem to make any sense to have to carry a lot cash around........';

*

Use the security box at your hotel to safeguard any spare cash, travelers checks or other valuables. It%26#39;s not always the hotel staff that may rip you off, your fellow tourist next door may be a thief!

You can record the serial number of your travelers checks on the internet in an email to yourself that you save. (You can also record lots of ';need to remember in an emergency'; information in an email too! Lots of cheap internets shops available in Thailand if you need to recall that info!)

The fee to cash a travelers check is only 33 baht, usually much less than an ATM fee. If you bring travelers checks only take the largest amounts such as $100 denominations. Why bother to spend 33 baht to cash a $5 or $10 TC? Some banks and credit unions sell travelers checks without charge to their customers and some credit unions may pay ATM fees for you!

Have fun.

Hi Mike,

I have written a few posts about this subject . This is what I do to minimise the chance of being ripped off whilst on holiday:

1. I take cash with me (AUD and Baht) to last a couple of days.

2. I pay for most things before I leave at a travel agent which gives me a bunch of vouchers that can be copied (in case you lose a set)and only useful to me (with passport).

3. I let my banks know where and when I will be using my debit/credit cards.

4. I use predominately one bank ATM%26#39;s which is in a well lit area and I draw out approx 10,000 Baht at a time.(Some banks have daily limits)

5. I never give my credit cards to restaurants, shops and hotels.

Note:Patong Merlin did not need a credit card security deposit when I was there last April, But I did check and get their agreeance for No deposit in writing.

Hope this helps.

Niko

i%26#39;ve come across many people expressing the same concern, I am also worried about using my credit card in Phuket.

Many recommend using your card to withdraw money from the ATMs when you need it and to notify your bank of your travel plan. And indeed that is what I intend to do.

You could also store excess cash in the safe deposit box in your room or at the hotel lobby if they have one.

hi mike last year we used our credit card in kousomui and it was the first time we ever did as we allways pay cash we got ripped of at our hotel by one of the reception staff . 25.000 aus dollors when we got home we got the bad news affter many arguments with the bank for allowing such a large transaction to go a head .it was sheer luck that befor we left aus we notified our bank and told them what bills to expect and not to let any thing but accomandation to the value of 3000 dollors to be approved .but some one at the bank stufed up big time and oked it so there for the bank had to pay. it took 8 months and the police finaly caught the staff in concern . so now we still allways notifie the bank when we travel and get it in writing as it saved our bacon about 7 weeks ago there was a warning about your room key pass as if you hand it back in on your departure it holds your personal details on it and makes one think if the reception staff dont delite it and simply take it home and they have a scaning machine what could happen then it was sent in to the fourm by paul bennet try and look it up makes good reading . so from now on we wont hand in our door cards as it is not elegal .my advise is take cash and put it in yous in room safe or saftey box . fromm one that has been ripped off kob rob

I used our creadit card but only big stores when we bought a camcorder and iPod. Never use it on small street stalls. For cash we took some out and put it in the room safe deposit box. When we ran out we would go and get some from a cash machine.

I%26#39;m with Barclays Bank and they did stop my card after taking out cash until i phoned them to confirm it was me out in thailand (which is a nice thing to know they are looking after my money)

Remember when you get back to tell your bank / credit card company you are home and that any further use of that card in that area will not be you.

The info about the room key pass holding personal information posted a couple of messages up is an urban legend that%26#39;s been floating around for a few years now. The keys have the technology to hold data, it just isn%26#39;t ever used in that manner. Just type into any search engine ';hotel key card identity theft'; or a similar phrase and you%26#39;ll find dozens of sites showing this to be false. My personal favorite to check facts on is www.snopes.com, but there are plenty of others. There%26#39;s enough actual ways to get ripped off while travelling without having to worry about the urban legends.

Thanks everyone for all the info it will really help to make it a great trip.

Mike