My wife has used a Thai travel agent for booking hotels and domestic flights within Thailand for a family vacation and they are asking for payment through Wise app which appears to be similar to Venmo in that you transfer the money directly from your bank account. I don't think there is any protection in the event this is a scam. Is this a common method to pay for international travel? Is there a good way to confirm this travel agent is legit?

Here is the company info and website:
See Real Thailand
Operated by Travel Designer Co., Ltd.
M: +66 94 466 6294
www.seerealthailand.com

Backstory:
My wife originally contacted a trusted domestic travel agent who is not doing summer bookings because she will be traveling this summer and unable to help clients if they run into travel problems. She told my wife to contact EXO Travel and EXO Travel referred my wife to See Real Thailand.

I wouldn't recommend it. They could take your money and run and you'll be SOL with no vacation. Your credit card may offer anti-fraud protection but I wouldn't count anything done through an app.

Get the itinerary and pricing from the travel agent then tell them you only pay with credit card. If they balk, tell them to pound sand and book all the stuff yourself.

My wife uses Wise a lot for payments here.

My concern wouldn't just be that it's a scam…when you pay for travel with your cc, you get certain protections built in. If you or they cancel, even if the vendor refuses a refund, you can dispute the charge with your cc. Many ccs also come with various types of trip protection/insurance, if you pay with the card. You are basically giving all of this up if you pay with a bank transfer.

As a travel agent this makes me very nervous for you. They may very well be legit but I personally wouldn't do it.

I never ever take Venmo unless it's for something small like transfers that I had to put on my card or something. Zero protection.

Wise is 100% legit and a preferred method for expats to send local paid currencies back to their home countries. I use it monthly to transfer CHF to USD. With that said, I would not use it to pay for travel services as there are zero protections like a CC would offer.

Don't do it. Run away. This is coming from someone that is in Thailand a lot. While Wise is widely used this sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen.

Just curious what you need an agent for in Thailand?

I wouldn't do that. Thailand is easy enough to just book the stuff yourself.

If you need help with hotels and have them picked out, happy to provide you pricing. Sometimes I can beat pricing, sometimes I cannot.

I use Wise all the time as an expat.

I've used EXO Travel for Asia before for clients and I know sometimes they work with local agencies like See Real Thailand for certain things. It's weird to me that they sent you directly to work with another agency though?
Nonetheless, I would be wary about the transaction as well. All of our suppliers we work with internationally accept credit card payments.

My wife pushed back and said she would like to pay with Amex. They said they will accept Paypal. I told my wife to use Amex through Paypal.

TxAg20 said:

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My wife pushed back and said she would like to pay with Amex. They said they will accept Paypal. I told my wife to use Amex through Paypal.

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Just make sure it is as "goods and services" and not "friends and family"

Won't you be paying an extra fee through PayPal to use AMEX, then another fee for a goods and services" transaction?

I wouldn't think you need the AMEX if paying via goods and services, but not 100% familiar with PayPal policies.

If doing both fees, may just be worth it to reach out to one of the above agents.

htxag09 said:

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Won't you be paying an extra fee through PayPal to use AMEX, then another fee for a goods and services" transaction?

I wouldn't think you need the AMEX if paying via goods and services, but not 100% familiar with PayPal policies.

If doing both fees, may just be worth it to reach out to one of the above agents.

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I think its the tour operator who will be pay the fees, not the buyer usually.

I don't have a lot of experience with tour bookings through PayPal, but I know with buying items, tickets, etc. it's generally I get $100, so if doing goods and services up the payment….

Amex fees will be charged to the buyer.

It's been paid with Amex via Paypal. The invoice was sent through Paypal, so it shouldn't be "friends and family". The total was the same, so I guess seller is paying Amex and/or Paypal fees.

Thank you all for the responses.