Visa/mc For Accom.?

[zach]

Does anyone know places on Samui that accept major credit cards to pay for accomadation or motor bike rental? Preferably on the budget end? Thanks in advance,

Zach.

[goldfish]

I can only speak for personal opinion here (ie. not experience, but I have seen a friends credit card statement after being in the middle east), but I would never pay using a credit card when on holiday as the chances, I suspect, are quite high at getting ripped off and you wont discover it until you get home

[Beachedwhale]

I can only speak for personal opinion here (ie. not experience, but I have seen a friends credit card statement after being in the middle east), but I would never pay using a credit card when on holiday as the chances, I suspect, are quite high at getting ripped off and you wont discover it until you get home

This is a bit misleading. Credit cards are generally very safe for the consumer and while it might be an administrative hassle to get the bank / card company to credit you back the fraudulent spending, the majority of fraud falls back on the merchant to prove. Visa and M/C have about .08% of the turnover as fraudulent transactions. It is common in some countries in Asia to have higher fraud levels but generally it is never near 1%.

The main issue in Thailand is generally that the merchants do not want to pay the bank fees and therefore will not accept the cards (or only accept them while adding a procesing fee). I believe you wil have problems in trying to get the budget providers to accept cards, it will normally be the high end providers that accept cards.

[SamuiJens]

Does anyone know places on Samui that accept major credit cards to pay for accomadation or motor bike rental? Preferably on the budget end? Thanks in advance,

Zach.

For budget places, generally no, but just go to one of the millions of ATMs and pay cash, will get you better rates on bikes and other things zach.

[zach]

ok, thanks alot for the help guys.

[kdvsn]

ok, thanks alot for the help guys.

Most hotels that charge roughly 1000 Baht and up will take Visa or MC but generally they will take on a 3 o 4% surcharge for the privelege of using plastic. For motorbike rental, you're better off using cash as the rental prices are generally low.

[zach]

i just figured the cards would be nice for bike rental because they have insurance for that, so just in case anything went wrong. thanks

[Beachedwhale]

i just figured the cards would be nice for bike rental because they have insurance for that, so just in case anything went wrong. thanks

Insurance is a totally different matter and it is unlikely that it would apply anyway whether you paid cash or card. Just make sure you get good medical insurance before you come to cover that side of it if you unfortunately have an accident (which based on the quality of our roads, the huge amount of traffic and dust and the bad driving is very highly likely). If you use a motorbike and are in an accident you will more than likely have to pay out some cash to whoever you hit or the owner of what you hit, the police, plus the motorbike rental company plus any medical. It normally does not matter whether you are in the wrong or not, but you just happen to be a tourist here so you are the one that pays. I always try to encourage tourist to rent a jeep or something, just because it is much safer for all. Even if you ride a bike at home the conditions here are dangerous - the bike is unlikely to be well maintained, there are huge holes in the roads and on the sides of roads, there is a lot of dust ... and then there is all of the rest of the traffic

[SamuiJens]

[quote name='BeacInsurance is a totally different matter and it is unlikely that it would apply anyway whether you paid cash or card. Just make sure you get good medical insurance before you come to cover that side of it if you unfortunately have an accident (which based on the quality of our roads, the huge amount of traffic and dust and the bad driving is very highly likely). If you use a motorbike and are in an accident you will more than likely have to pay out some cash to whoever you hit or the owner of what you hit, the police, plus the motorbike rental company plus any medical. It normally does not matter whether you are in the wrong or not, but you just happen to be a tourist here so you are the one that pays. I always try to encourage tourist to rent a jeep or something, just because it is much safer for all. Even if you ride a bike at home the conditions here are dangerous - the bike is unlikely to be well maintained, there are huge holes in the roads and on the sides of roads, there is a lot of dust ... and then there is all of the rest of the traffic

Thats been the PROBLEM the last 3+ years; bad drivers (mostly of cars, pick-ups, not to mention the monster trucks that are ruining the landscape as well as the roads with their enormous loads of rocks & dirt), and bad roads. Cause as I see it, nothing is better than jumping on a bike and just driving into the sun with the wind in your hair, even if its a 125cc, It's great. And I know MANY feel like me and would stop coming to Samui if driving BIKES weren't possible, especially when it's real hot and you want to cool off a bit, but the dangers are getting worse all the time (unfortunatly) just like my spelling. I feel strongly that the Island needs to reduce the amount of cars & trucks, since thats the reason for most bike accidents, or at least have a bike lane on ALL of the Ring rd. and not just some places. So far I've been lucky, no accidents, and hope there will be friendlier BIKE LANES for the visitors as well as the locals that don't have cars or pick-up trucks. Sorry if this is a bit off topic-BUT darn IMPORTANT!!!!

PS should also have weight limits on All roads! Would save the roads from potholes etc.

Edited November 27, 2006 by SamuiJens