Using Visa/ATM cards in Thailand-any issues?
 

I am leaving for Thailand on 10.30, and just called my bank to make them aware that I will be in Thailand and Cambodia. I was told that there have been issues using ATM and Visa cards due to the "political situation" and to be advised that there was a good chance that I would not be able to use them at all. Has anyone heard of anything similiar, or anyone that has recently returned that had an issue? Thanks.

My daughter and I just returned from a trip to Thailand -- no problem using credit cards or ATM cards anywhere.

As far as the "political situation", we barely noticed anything unusual, except for a single soldier here and there with yellow bows tied to his gun. In our hotels, however, we were not able to get CNN, and the audio on the other "foreign" channels was delayed by several seconds. The Thai channels seemed to be showing news reports of one sort or another, mostly about the king's anniversary.

Have a great time!

there might have been a problem on the day of the coup and maybe a day afterwards but i can't imagine any other potential problems....

take more than one card if you have it available....give your self lots of options....debit cards can be a problem in some asian nations....use them as a credit card and they work fine....

all I can say that I'm staying in phuket,Thailand for a long time. I'm using my Visa and mastercard on daily basic and I never had a problem with that.

Johny
www.allaboutphuket.com

I just used my BofA card last weekend and had no problems. DO be aware of the bank's charges for international ATM use. BofA takes 5$ + 1% so it can be a bit of a bite.

Check with your bank about currency exchange charges before so there's no surprises. For me, my credit union offered the best rate (both ATM and VISA). I'd also suggest having two cards if you can - or at least a backup plan.