Travelling to China - money help - which credit /debit cards

spadge77

Hi we are travelling to China in a few weeks and I’m little concerned on our options for money. We will take some cash and have a Barclay credit card ( no fees etc) but I’d like something else – something that we can withdraw cash on and ideally make payments on and that’s not going to cost us  a fortune in charges and is of course widely accepted. If it’s a card may link to Ali pay /we chat – very interested in others opinions and if you have travelled recently from the UK to China what did you do ? thanks

Thrifty_Taylor

My son has just been on a solo trip to Hong Kong. He said that the smaller shops like cash payments, but some accept Oyster card, not Visa which he had. Hope that helps 😊 Have a great trip!

Westin

We did an escorted tour of mainland China over 12 days back in 2018.  Whilst hotel, most transport and some meals included we used our Halifax Clarity credit card for an initial cash withdrawal for small purchases and tips, then used the same credit card for paying for meals, metro, gifts etc.  We also had alternative credit cards but found no problem using the Halifax Clarity Mastercard.

Officer_Dibble

It's a while since I went, but I didn't have a problem finding an ATM. It must have been fee-free or at least reasonable, as I'd still be feeling resentment several years later if it hadn't been.

The only issue I had was that the card was returned after the cash was dispensed, not the other way round as it is here. In my jetlagged state I managed to leave a card in a machine after leaving with the precious renminbi. oops.

jbrassy

I went to China back in 2019 (Beijing, Xian, Guilin, and Yangshuo). Bear in mind, a lot of places do not accept Mastercard or Visa. Union Pay / Alipay / Wepay are far more popular. You need a Chinese bank account to get a Union Pay card and Alipay and Wepay require Chinese ID so they're a non-starter.

Mastercard and Visa are more likely to be accepted in hotels, but outside that I found it surprisingly rare. I mainly had to pay for things with cash which meant withdrawing from ATMs. Also worth noting that a lot of ATMs didn't accept Mastercard or Visa. The banks that did were HSBC and ICBC, so keep an eye out for those. In terms of what card to use, I withdrew using a Starling Bank debit card which doesn't charge fees. I wouldn't worry about getting cash beforehand, you should be OK.

If you're going to Hong Kong, it's a different story. Mastercard and Visa are widely accepted there so not an issue.

Hope you enjoy China. The Great Wall is incredible.

Katiehound

I went to China quite some years ago and there were a few ATMs then. I honestly don't which card I used- but definitely did because I wanted some cash. I couldn't quite decide  how much money I wanted and the tour escort was getting agitated. After, when I asked why she said that if you didn't make your selection in a short time it would swallow the card!!That would have caused major problems as we were constantly on the move.

I remember if you wanted to buy things off street vendors they wanted cash, and I think US dollars were acceptable. I always have some of them as you can get 1$ bills.

simongregson

I believe it is now possible to set up alipay/wechat pay for a visit, which apparently are used for payments far more widely than cards.

Emily_Joy

China went almost card-free and cash-free during the pandemic. You can easily link your Barclay card to Alipay. I also added my Halifax clarity there. You need to verify yourself by uploading a photo of the passport photopage to be able to pay larger sums. Remember also get Chinese Mobile SIM card, as you need internet to use Alipay. Mine cost like 5GBP and gave me decend GB for 2 months from China Mobile. Make sure also install Baidu Translate - I found it invaluable for communicating with locals and reading labels in supermarkets.

(I travelled China guide-free and tour-free, arranging my own accommodation and train/plane/bus tickets before and after the pandemic. Last time I was there in December 2023).

jbrassy

The above poster makes a fair point. It's worth getting a Chinese SIM at the airport. 

What's annoying about China is they block a lot of Western websites, including Google. It's a good idea to download a couple of reliable VPNs before you go. Express VPN and Nord VPN worked for me. This way you can access Google while in China and use apps like Google Maps and Google Translate. 

One thing to be aware of is the tea house scam. It happened to me a couple of times where people would come to you and ask if you want to go for tea because they would like to practice their English. Just decline these offers politely as it's a scam (Google it for more info). 

Emily_Joy

jbrassy said:

The above poster makes a fair point. It's worth getting a Chinese SIM at the airport. What's annoying about China is they block a lot of Western websites, including Google. It's a good idea to download a couple of reliable VPNs before you go. Express VPN and Nord VPN worked for me. This way you can access Google while in China and use apps like Google Maps and Google Translate. 

Do NOT use Google Maps and Google Translate while in China. Learn to use Baidu Maps and Baidu Translate and install relevant apps on your phone. They are by far superior when dealing with Chinese language. The Alipay app is fully translated into English.

lyic

Thrifty_Taylor said:

My son has just been on a solo trip to Hong Kong. He said that the smaller shops like cash payments, but some accept Oyster card, not Visa which he had. Hope that helps 😊 Have a great trip!

I think it should be called Octopus card?