Is it better to select "Pay in Baht or "Pay in GBP"

When given the option on their card reader ?

Usually pay in baht but depends what your credit card charges are? mine are zero

Always THB. If you accept GBP then you will suffer Dynamic Currency Conversion and get a very poor exchange rate.

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

Always THB. If you accept GBP then you will suffer Dynamic Currency Conversion and get a very poor exchange rate.

That is true, but I find that HSBC Visa charge 3% if billed in anything but GBP, so for me it's Hobson's choice. Maybe other credit cards are different.

15 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

That is true, but I find that HSBC Visa charge 3% if billed in anything but GBP, so for me it's Hobson's choice. Maybe other credit cards are different.

Are you sure that it's only THB transactions that you are being charged the 3% for?

I think about 20 years ago most UK banks who make charges (the ones I banked with, at least) switched from charing based on currency to charging based on location, so even a GBP transaction in Thailand gets charged the fee. It would be pretty painful to suffer DCC and still get charged a percentage by your card issuer.

5 minutes ago, JayClay said:

Are you sure that it's only THB transactions that you are being charged the 3% for?

As I previously wrote, "billed in anything except GBP". Occasional purchases in dollars attract the same surcharge.

21 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Maybe other credit cards are different.

Most aren't but there's a few around that are. Current ones offering probaly the best deals are Lloyds Ultra and Barclaycard Rewards. I have Halifax Clarity and an MBNA one which are similar with no fees on overseas transactions.

always select local currency, otherwise the merchant / atm has the chance to give you a bad exchange rate and they'll use it 😉

On 4/13/2026 at 3:17 PM, treetops said:

Most aren't but there's a few around that are. Current ones offering probaly the best deals are Lloyds Ultra and Barclaycard Rewards. I have Halifax Clarity and an MBNA one which are similar with no fees on overseas transactions.

Can any of these UK credit cards with no fees on overseas transactions be obtained on the basis of a Thai address?

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

Can any of these UK credit cards with no fees on overseas transactions be obtained on the basis of a Thai address?

No

Interesting responses. Maybe it depends on your home country's CC conditions, added fees, etc.

My understanding is that it is always better to choose the local currency when given a choice because Visa etc., will give you a better exchange rate. But maybe it depends on your CC's country of origin.