Credit Card in Thailand

Credit Card in Thailand

It is a good idea to carry 1 credit card with you in Thailand (Visa and Mastercard are the two most accepted despite what the others claim) but don’t plan on using it for much more than booking travel, flights, and possibly diving / scuba courses or big tours. The few shop merchants that can accept credit cards will add a fee (as much as 15%) if you try to pay with plastic.

Keep your card number on file at home and possibly hidden in an email account along with the phone number for customer service. Remember, it may not be possible to dial a 1-800 number so write down the international support number as well in case you need to cancel it.

Very Important! Contact your credit card and let them know that you will be traveling in Thailand. They will put a note on your file of the countries that you will be visiting. Otherwise, when charges start popping up in Asia it will look fishy and they may lock the card to protect you from yourself!

If you are going to carry a credit card, you might as well use one that builds reward points. Even if it takes years, a free flight is better than no flight at all!  Read: How to find cheap flights.

In general, it is a good idea to carry a credit card in Thailand while backpacking, at the very least for peace of mind.