Originally Posted by
TerryK
You can link a foreign credit card, UnionPay or not, yet you cannot use it unless you are validated against a China based bank account. In other words, this foreign credit card feature is only useful to expats in China or foreigners who can open a bank account in China. BTW, ICBC USA, even though owned by iCBC, is not an eligible bank.
UnionPay cards issued by ICBC USA, however, is useful for card present transactions. Most POS machines in China takes UnionPay only.
Thanks Terry, sounds like it's still worth applying for then. I didn't venture out too much in my last trip so failed to survey whether most vendors still have POS machines or not. Eventually I'm sure the answer is a local bank account, just trying to avoid that for now. Happy Friday!