Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

China Vacations Info - Can I Use America Issued Debit Or Credit Card In China?

This article is about the China vacations. You can find some helpful information in it if you are planning your China vacations now. As a Chinese graduate student pursuing my Master's Degree in the U.S. , I think I can have a better understanding of how to use the America issued debit or credit card in China. :-)

Lots of traveller have this kind of questions: Can I use America issued debit or credit card ( VISA,Mastercard,American Express,Discover ) in China? How to get cash and make purchases in China?

For most international travellers, they don't have a Chinese credit card. But the Visa and Mastercard credit cards are accepted at most ATMs (with the VISA or Mastercard logos in them) in China. You can get cash from these ATMs in China using your American VISA or Mastercard credit cards. Some Chinese banks also provide this kind of service and you can get cash (U.S. dollars or Chinese RMB) from your Visa or Mastercard credit cards by asking the tellers in these banks. But the fees are a little bit high and you will need to pay attention to this. For making purchases with the Visa or Mastercard credit cards in China, you will need to find the VISA or Mastercard POS machines. Most international hotels and high grade department stores accept the Visa and Mastercard. Technically, these 2 types of credit cards are accepted in China, but in most places of China, the VISA or Mastercard POS machines are not easy to find. Most Chinese retail merchants do not have these specail POS machines, all they got is the China UnionPay POS machines, which do not accept the Ameria issued VISA or Mastercard. (more info about Beijing airfare and China vacations at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM)

For the Discover credit card, it is much more convinient than Visa and Mastercard in China. China UnionPay is now the partner of Discover and they made a deal which enables the Discover cardholders to make purchases and get ATM cash in China. You can get cash in all the China UnionPay ATMs in China. ( Actually, about 99% of the ATMs in China are run by China UnionPay and this makes the Discover credit cards acceptable in almost all the ATMs in China ) Now China UnionPay has 80,000 ATMs and 365,000 retail merchants in China. For getting cash with the Discover credit cards from the ATM, you will need to pay some fees for this service. But if you wanna make purchases with them, there is no any hidden fees for your purchases in China. Pretty cool, right? (more info about Shanghai airfare and China vacations at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM)

I used my Discover credit card many times in China. It is always working. No any hidden fees even when you use it in the small cities or towns in China. (you will need to pay a 3% foreign transaction fees for Visa or Mastercard credit cards) Some chinese cashiers do not hear about this Discover credit card before, you can just tell them it is a dual currency China UnionPay card. In China, your Discover credit card is the same as the China UnionPay card in making purchases. No differences at all !

One good thing I find out about getting cash in the Chinese ATMs is that we can use the BOA (Bank Of America) debit cards to get ATM cash for free in China. Now the BOA is the partner of the CCB (China Construction Bank) and they made a deal which enables the BOA debit cardholders to get cash (the Chinese RMB) for free in all the CCB's ATMs in China. No hidden fees for this service. For instance, if the exchange rate is 1:7 (1 U.S. dollars=7 Chinese RMB), you will get 7 rmb for every dollar in your BOA debit card account. Although BOA claims that the BOA debit cards are accepted in all the ATMs of the CCB, I found that it is not working in some CCB's ATMs. Some friends of mine got cash successfully from the CCB's ATMs in some small cities or towns of China. But I failed sometimes in some CCB's ATMs in Beijing and Shanghai. Maybe this is because of the differences of these ATMs. The CCB's ATMs are new in the small Chinese cities, but you will probably meet some old ATMs in the big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai. A lot of people think that the old CCB's ATMs is not able to provide this kind of service to the BOA debit cardholders.(more info about Lhasa travel, Beijing airfare and Shanghai airfare at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM)

For the American Express credit card, it is not widely accepted in China. As I know, you can get cash with the American Express credit card in the Starwood and Ritz Carl Ton's international ATMs. The CITI's ATMs accept this credit card too. Most international hotels and high grade department stores accept this type of credit card in Shanghai and Beijing. But it is not as good as the Visa, Mastercard or Discover in China.

If you wanna make purchases online in China, most Chinese web sites do not accept the Discover credit card. I once bought something with my Chase Visa credit card. But I paid a 3% foreign transaction fees for it.

In summary, if you are planning your China travel, I think you can bring some U.S. dollars in cash. If you need some Chinese RMB, you can get cash with your BOA debit card in most CCB's ATMs (free currency exchange service). For the shopping in China, the best way to make the purchases is through a Discover credit card (no foreign transaction fees).

By Shane Lee. Date: 05/20/2009.

Copyright belongs to Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM . You can find more information about China vacations, Lhasa travel guide, Beijing airfare and Shanghai airfare from our web site.
NOTE: Permission is granted by the copyright owner to disseminate this article in whole or in part provided credit is given to the author (with a link to the article's source URL Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) and this NOTE is not removed.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
About the author:Shane Lee.More flights,airfares info at:cheap flights penticton to houston.And:Cheap flights from SFO to VPS.And:Cheapest flights from Las Vegas to JFK.

Tags: beijing

, airfare

, china

, vacations

, shanghai

, beiing airfare

, shanghai airfare

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Related....

Videos...

Recent Travel-and-Leisure Articles

Enjoy The Orlando Attractions With Orlando Flex & Beauty And The Beast Tickets By: Sjan Smith | Nov 9th 2009 - Another exciting place in Florida that you should not dare to miss is Orlando. This city has the famous theme parks in the state. Orlando attractions in Florida has so many things to offer when it comes to fun and entertainment is concern.

Orlando Attractions Florida

Orlando Flex Tickets

Family Ski Holidays Part One - How To Find The Best Ski Resort And Accommodation By: Edward Ockelton | Nov 9th 2009 - Our guide to booking the perfect family friendly ski holiday.

Family Ski Holidays

Family Skiing Holidays

Buying Cheap Florida Theme Park Tickets: Busch Gardens And Cirque Du Soleil Tickets By: Sjan Smith | Nov 9th 2009 - If you are planning to buy tickets for your Florida vacation tour and you are tight with your budget, you should purchase ticket that is consumable to buy at the same time, enjoyable to use.

Florida Theme Park Tickets

Busch Gardens Tickets

Limo Hire "�" The Ultimate Way To Celebrate A Special Occasion By: Felicity Lightbody | Nov 9th 2009 - The Limo is seen by many as the ideal way to impress friends, guests or business connections and it is one of the most stylish ways to travel. Read more.

Indore: City Of Holkars By: Rojar Mark | Nov 9th 2009 - Indore is the largest city and commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, also known as City of Holkars. It was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, famous queens of India.

Indore

indore city

about indore Madhya Pradesh

India

Cabo Luxury Villas By: Jake Daniels | Nov 9th 2009 - Imagine awakening to the gentle sound of the ocean and having nothing to do, but relax. You can have this by staying at one of our Cabo luxury villas, our private home rentals, or our many other Cabo rentals.

cabo luxury villas

cabo luxury real estate

Best Travel Destinations To Visit In Egypt By: Casper Da Silva | Nov 9th 2009 - Egypt is one of the few countries in the world that is known as an ancient land and has all types of beauties that can make every vacation ideal and memorable. Today it is one of the major tourist paradises where urban culture collides with the leftovers of a time. There i ...

holidays to Egypt

cheap Egypt holidays

Wine, Dine And Indulge In The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival By: david08 | Nov 9th 2009 - Billed as the finest luxury wining and dining experience in Southern California, The San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival will live up to its fame in its sixth edition this year.

Rajasthan Tours Narrate The Royal Story Of Mughals And Rajputs By: Adiba Roshan Khan | Nov 9th 2009 - Rajasthan in North West of India is a rich colorful state with distinguished historical past predominated by legends of bravery and valor. The warrior Hindu class Rajputs planned their crucial buildings keeping war in mind. Rajasthani culture is based on custom decorum of ...

Samburu Tented Camp Shaba Lodge Safari By: Edwin Muriithi | Nov 9th 2009 - Samburu tented camp safaris Buffalo Springs Lodge and Shaba Safari holiday packages & lodge camp accommodation tour