Originally Posted by
gudugan
Well turns out I forgot about this again and my card is expiring this month. Of course I didn't get a replacement card automatically. It looks like my current card only had 2 years validity rather than the 3
years noted above. I messaged them (sans DL) and let's see what happens.
Since WeChat and AliPay now accept foreign Visa/MC, this card no longer has a real use. I probably won't bother to close it since there's no AF and I'm grandfathered into not having a bank account but I would close it otherwise.
Coincidentally, my card expired in December, and I'm still in the process of renewing it! (The replacement cards have already been shipped.)
There was a delay for more than a month because the UnionPay card design had changed. By the time that I received the updated replacement cards, the activation time had expired. ICBC had to ship a second pair of cards for myself and my authorized user.
I still have a bank account, which has a minimum balance of $1,500 now. Despite no planned trips to Mainland China in the foreseeable future, I'm still hesitant to close this card.
My last trip to Mainland China was right before the 2020 shutdowns, and Alipay had no fees on its Tour Pass. I used that predominantly, but there were a few establishments that took credit cards, including UnionPay, and so that's where I used the card. (There were almost always strange looks that were curious how some random
laowai had a UnionPay card.) Strangely, The Fairmont Peace Hotel did not accept UnionPay or Alipay, but I had no issues with DCC on a Visa card.