The short answer

Use a credit card with no foreign transaction fee to book and pay for hotels in Thailand. It gives you Section 75 protection on bookings over £100, and when the hotel takes a deposit at check-in, the hold sits on your credit limit rather than your current account.

Whenever you're asked to choose a currency — on a booking site, a payment link or the card machine at reception — choose Thai baht. Accepting pounds lets someone else pick the exchange rate, and it's rarely in your favour.

Check whether the room price includes tax and service ("net") or has "++" added, ask whether the hotel adds a surcharge for cards, and never pay a hotel through a link sent by message without checking with the hotel directly.

Booking: sites, currencies and when you pay

Most British travellers book Thai hotels through Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia or Hotels.com, or directly with the hotel. How and when you pay depends on the rate you choose.

Pay now

You pay the booking site when you book. The site charges your card, often in the currency shown on screen. If you choose pounds, the site converts the baht price at its own rate; if you choose baht, your card provider converts it. With a fee-free card, paying in baht is usually the cheaper option. With a standard card, you'll pay its non-sterling fee either way on a baht charge.

Check the small print on currency. Agoda's terms, for example, allow it to add a surcharge in some cases where the currency you pay in doesn't match the display currency or the hotel's local currency (with exceptions, including bookings made from the UK). Whatever site you use, check the final amount and currency on the payment page before you confirm.

Pay later, or pay at the hotel

Many rates let you reserve now and pay later — either charged by the site a few days before arrival, or paid to the hotel at check-in or checkout in baht. You'll normally need to give card details as a guarantee. Paying at the property avoids any currency conversion by the booking site; just make sure you choose baht on the hotel's card machine.

Cancellations and refunds

If you cancel a prepaid booking on a free-cancellation rate, the refund comes back in the currency you were charged. On a standard UK card, a baht refund can cost you twice — the non-sterling fee on the original payment usually isn't refunded, and exchange rates may have moved. One more reason to use a fee-free card for bookings.

Booking direct

Booking directly with a hotel can bring perks — a better rate, breakfast, a late checkout — and puts you in direct contact if anything goes wrong. Pay by card through the hotel's official website or at the property. Be wary of any hotel that asks for a deposit by bank transfer to a personal account.

Check-in: deposits and card holds

Most Thai hotels take a security deposit at check-in to cover the minibar, room service and any damage. Larger hotels usually do it as a pre-authorisation — a temporary hold on your card for a set amount, often a few thousand baht or a sum per night. Nothing is actually charged unless you run up extras; the hold is released after checkout.

The card you use for the hold matters:

• On a credit card, the hold reduces your available credit, not your bank balance. Releases typically show within about 1 to 3 business days of checkout, sometimes up to 7.
• On a debit card, the held amount is taken out of your available balance until it's released — commonly 3 to 10 business days. Move between three or four hotels in a fortnight and several holds can overlap.
• Holds are in baht, so the amount in pounds you see in your app is an estimate and may differ slightly when it's released.
• On long stays, some hotels re-authorise the hold every week. Ask at check-in.

Some smaller hotels and guesthouses ask for a cash deposit instead — typically ฿500 to a few thousand baht. That's normal; get a written receipt and keep it safe for checkout.

Reception will also ask for your passport to photocopy or scan — hotels have to report foreign guests to immigration. That's routine. Don't leave your passport behind as a deposit; offer a card or cash deposit instead.

What "++" means on a Thai hotel price

In Thailand you'll often see hotel and restaurant prices written as "฿3,500++". The two plus signs mean two charges are added on top: a 10% service charge and 7% VAT. Because VAT is charged on the price plus the service charge, the total adds about 17.7%.

• ฿3,500++ becomes about ฿4,120.
• "Net" means taxes and service are already included.
• VAT stays at 7% for now — the Thai cabinet has extended the reduced rate until 30 September 2027.

Booking sites usually show the full price including taxes and charges, but check the line items on the final page, particularly for extras such as breakfast, airport transfers or spa treatments added at the hotel, which are often quoted "++".

Checkout: currency, surcharges and the final bill

The "pay in pounds" question

Card machines at many Thai hotels will show the bill in baht and in pounds, and ask which you'd like. Choosing pounds is called dynamic currency conversion (DCC). It feels reassuring, but the rate is set by the hotel's payment provider and typically works out 6% to 9% worse than your card's own rate. On a ฿35,000 bill — about £789 — that's around £47 to £71 extra.

Card surcharges

Some smaller hotels, guesthouses and resorts add a few percent if you pay by card, particularly by credit card. Ask at check-in rather than discovering it at checkout. On a large bill, a 3% surcharge can cost more than paying in cash withdrawn from an ATM on a fee-free card — on ฿35,000, for example, a 3% surcharge is ฿1,050, while two ATM withdrawals cost ฿440. Surcharges are often negotiable, and many hotels will waive them if asked.

Check the bill

Ask for an itemised folio before you pay: room nights, minibar, restaurant charges, laundry and spa. Query anything you don't recognise at the desk, where it's easiest to fix. Keep the final receipt with your booking confirmation until the deposit hold has disappeared and the charge has settled.

Splitting the bill

Hotels will usually let you split a bill between cards, or between card and cash. Paying the room on a fee-free credit card and settling small extras in cash is common.

Which card for each hotel payment

The best way to pay at each stage of a Thai hotel stay. Scroll sideways on a phone.

Section 75 applies to credit card purchases over £100 and up to £30,000; booking through a third-party site can affect how it applies. Checked October 2026.

Guesthouses, homestays and holiday rentals

Smaller places work differently. Family-run guesthouses, island bungalows and rural homestays often prefer cash, and some don't take cards at all. Others accept cards with a surcharge, or ask for a Thai bank transfer or QR payment — which most visitors without a Thai bank account can't easily make.

• Check the payment policy on the booking page or ask before you arrive.
• Bring enough cash for the stay if you're heading somewhere remote; island and rural ATMs can run out at weekends and holidays.
• Prepay through the booking site if that's an option and you'd rather not carry cash.
• For holiday rentals booked through Airbnb or similar, pay only through the platform. A host who asks you to pay outside it, by bank transfer, is a red flag.

Hotel booking scams to watch for

In April 2026, Thailand's Personal Data Protection Committee issued a top-level alert after Booking.com confirmed that unauthorised parties had accessed some customers' reservation details. Scammers used real names, dates and hotel names to message guests on WhatsApp or in-app chat, posing as the hotel or Booking.com, claiming a problem with the payment card, and demanding payment through a link or into a personal account.

• Real hotels don't ask you to re-enter card details through a link sent by message, especially with a deadline.
• Never pay into a personal bank account for a hotel booking.
• Check in the booking site's app or website, not through the link you've been sent.
• Phone the hotel using the number on its official website if you're unsure.
• If you've entered card details, freeze the card in your app and call your bank straight away.

Our guide to ATM safety and card fraud in Thailand covers these scams in more detail.

If something goes wrong: Section 75 and chargeback

Paying by card gives you options if a hotel closes, cancels your booking, takes a deposit it won't return, or charges you for something you didn't have.

• Section 75 makes a UK credit card provider jointly liable with the seller for purchases over £100 and up to £30,000 — including hotel bookings paid on the card. Booking through a third-party site can affect how it applies, so keep all your records.
• Chargeback is a card scheme process available on debit and credit cards, with no minimum spend. Your bank asks the hotel's bank to reverse the payment. There are time limits — usually about 120 days — so act quickly.
• Start with the hotel or booking site, and keep emails, receipts and photos.

Travel insurance can also help if illness or a cancelled flight means you lose a prepaid stay — check what your policy covers before you travel.

Long stays and moving to Thailand

Spending a winter in Hua Hin or Chiang Mai, or testing out life in Thailand before a move, changes how you pay. Serviced apartments often offer monthly rates; condo rentals normally ask for a security deposit and rent in advance, typically paid by bank transfer or in cash rather than by card.

At that point, card payments aren't the best tool. Paying a month's rent on a UK card can mean surcharges and, on a standard card, foreign fees every month; carrying enough cash for a deposit is risky. Most long-stay visitors and new residents open a Thai bank account once their visa allows it, and move money from the UK by transfer.

That's also when the bigger questions arrive: how to move savings and pension income efficiently, how much to keep in pounds and baht, and how your finances should be set up now that you're living in Thailand rather than visiting.

The best cards for Thai hotels

A fee-free credit card for bookings and deposits, plus a fee-free debit card for everything else.

Your hotel payment checklist

• Book on a fee-free credit card and check the currency on the payment page.
• Choose baht everywhere you're offered a choice.
• Check "++" or "net" before you compare prices.
• Use the credit card for the deposit hold at check-in.
• Ask about card surcharges before you check out.
• Check the itemised bill and the currency on the card machine.
• Ask for the hold to be released and keep your receipt.
• Ignore "reconfirm your card" messages — check with the hotel directly.