Originally Posted by
moondog
Yeah, it's evolved into the worst of both worlds.
Like I've suggested before, if we can put this beast in its grave, in addition to saving ourselves $50/month/person, we'll be able to help the 99% of travelers that don't know or don't care.
Fighting it case by case doesn't work. It's a trap - so what? CRBC won't lift a finger to help a US company or tourists spending forex in the Mainland generally. It'll stay there so long as the state's attitude stays the same about Visa, inflation and the current account surplus.
In fact, I've been seeing more Visa acceptance in China (anecdotally), now that they're allowed to rip cardholders off and gain revenue from card use rather than suffer losses from merchant fees - provincial city hotels and third-line golf courses in Shenzhen are happy to take Visa.
Sadly and unfashionably, the only way to avoid this scam to either visit higher-end merchants and use Amex, or to "comply" and obtain a Unionpay-compatible card in US (Discover) or HK (dual-currency Unionpay).