Originally Posted by
ckosh
Outside of major hotels and tourist-focused businesses, are credit cards widely accepted? The cities that I will be visiting are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Hua Hin.
Also, are swipe cards as widely acccepted or is it like Europe that the chip cards are easier to use? Also--would the Chase Sapphire Preferred that doesn't have raised numbers on the front be an issue (I read somewhere that this was an issue in a South American country because there it was common to make an imprint of the raised numbers on the front).
I appreciate your advice so I can make sure I bring the most useful credit cards. Thanks!
I use debit cards in ATM's for cash when needed. I have credit cards but only keep them available for emergencies that may come up and buying plane tickets. My advice is to use cash for cheap purchases. I believe that the less you use credit or debit cards for cheap purchases in restaurants or shops the less chance of credit card fraud.
So far in over a dozen years no problem with my Visa and MasterCard debit cards. There is a fee for withdrawals from Thai ATM's plus whatever your bank charges. The fee for most Thai ATM's is 150 baht per withdrawal so take out the maximum you can. My credit union pays some of my ATM fees overseas. Some Aeon ATM's do not charge a fee. But they are not as plentiful as bank ATM's.
Thailand is probably the easiest place to cash travelers checks. There are many bank and mini bank money changers in major cities open just about every day, usually late into the evening too. They can change travelers checks. The fee to cash a TC is 33 baht which works out to a bargain compared to an ATM withdrawal. Only bring the largest denominations you can get. (I can get my travelers checks without any charge when back home and have used them for years but only in
Thai banks and with mini bank money changers.)
If you do bring a debit or credit card remember to notify your bank ahead of time that you will be in Thailand. That way any ATM withdrawals will not be suspected of being fraudulent. Depends on your bank how judicious they are in safeguarding your money.
I don't have cards with chips and the pin number is 4 numbers. I do not really want a chip in my card if possible. But that is an issue for another day!