Originally Posted by
barracuda93
There are several EVA co-brands in Cathay United, the top one is ridiculously expensive for what it is and IMO not worth it, unless you fly EVA in Economy many times, but without *A Gold status, and have loads of cash, since yearly fee is 20k TWD (which is a strange combination). You get free access to EVA own lounges with it and DragonPass lounges.
I am having EVA Visa Infinite and IMO this is the best deal on the market, especially if you spend on it outside of Taiwan (1 mile for 10 TWD, roughly 3 miles per dollar spent!). Yearly fee is very moderate and is partly offset by complementary miles package, but no free lounges included. Got it as a foreigner, but you are generally right, it's difficult in Taiwan.
Lower versions of the card have worse earnings.
P. S. I am having Russia-issued BAEC Amex and still wonder if that may somehow help me get an Amex in Taiwan.
Amex can easily pull your credit data from other countries(for example, they used my US income and credit score for my Singapore card). However, if your country has, for example China, a cash withdrawal limit, your credit limit will be severely limited(lower than the legal limit) and cannot rise as you have no local cash(money in the bank does not count).