Shipping to China
 

My 20 year old son is doing an internship in Shanghai and lost his wallet (or had it stolen)- credit card and debit card have been cancelled and replacement cards ordered. I have the credit card and I am expecting the debit card anyday. What is the best way to get these to China? FedEx? (My husband wants to use Priority Mail because it is cheaper- I don't trust it). He is staying a a Howard Johnson hotel in Shanghai- that's where he wants is to send it. Do you think that will be safe? I have emailed the consulate asking if we can send things in care of them. Just an over anxious mother here. He is fine- he gets a salary from his Chinese internship and has his passport. I have offered to wire money and he says I do not need to.

If the time is not a key factor, priority mail would work fine. Sending the mail to hotel with your son's name and room # on it would be fine too.

I strongly disagree with your husband and with #1. Anything sent through any US Mail product hooks into China Post. Do not risk this handoff going awry. Pay the money and use FedEx in one of their document envelopes, as they retain custody the entire way through, and deal with US and Chinese Customs themselves.

I also disagree on the address. Without a permanent residence or a business address (and sending to a business address is the preferable one), the best thing to do is have it sent to a FedEx permanent station (not an outsourced counter) where he must then go to pick it up and sign for it (with his passport as ID). It is very risky to have any sort of mail or package chasing around somebody with a temporary or hotel address. Too many workers and not enough accountability at most hotels, very easy for something to get misplaced or pilfered. At least at a FedEx station, it will be held safe--your son just needs to tell you which location in Shanghai works best for him, with the understanding that there may be no truly convenient choice. The price of aggravation he must pay for the carelessness in losing the wallet in the first place.

The Consulate will be of no help on this sort of thing, only if he lost his passport would he be dealing with them.

Having recently lost a wallet in China myself, I can relate your son's situation pretty well. You shouldn't need to do any Fedexing on your own because the banks will be happy to send cards directly to him, and very quickly (AMEX can even issue temporary cards on the spot in China).

Although it sounds like the bank has already issued the cards to the US address -- not sure if they will re-issue for free. I had a fraud alert on one of my US CCs and they did fedex to my chinese address -- but I think charged me $10 or so (I can't recall precisely).

Also second the fedex option, but would recommend the work address, or fedex station as suggested above.

tb

Most US banks will refuse to ship cards to any address other than the one they have on record, and definitely will balk at shipping overseas to China. And it does sound like the cards are either at the home address or enroute there, so it's up to Mom now.

Yes- his debit card holder absolutely refused to send card to China. When I reported credit card-it was all automatic (never spoke to a person) and they were automatically shipped to me. Could have called and tried to get them to change but it seemed like too much. I like the FedEx to a Fedex location.
Thanks.

I had to send Schwab a fax, advising them of my China address, but the rest simply sent me cards.

Think you found the exceptions. My banks/financial institutions in the USA would not ship to anything other than the US address of record they had.

If you have a good credit rating, those guys will bend over backwards for you. All you need to do is ask. While the fax thing was annoying, it worked like a charm (Schwab wanted to charge me $15 for the expedited service, but they didn't do so in end). For a 20 year old, the calculus might be slightly different, but phone calls from the mom (e.g. my son is in China, doesn't have any money, and I will close my account if you don't help him) could work wonders.

But WHY? What's the point in adding a layer of insecurity to the process? I WANT my cards and any negotiable instruments going to my address in the USA, not China. Given the huge level of incompetence in the banking industry, I no longer trust bank personnel to "get it right" (yes, even as a Premier customer) on oddball shipping requests, even if they are willing. Either I pick the cards up when I return to USA (depends on timing and need). Or have a family member send them to a trusted friend who will hand-courier them over to China (again, a timing issue), or they get FedEx'd to my business address or to an overseas station for my pickup with signature.

Note that we are talking about shipping financial instruments or sensitive materials. For shipping non-sensitive items, using the Postal Service is OK, though many people report issues of incoming packages not making it to them via China Post. Or not making it to them intact and complete.

All of my cards required some sort of activation process in order to used, and they were delivered in person to me. If I were to have them sent to my mom instead, I would have lost a week, and she would have had to pay the FedEx fees.

I see. I have the same issues. My situation:
Mom activates the cards, I never need anything that urgently, and I either pay Mom back the cash she fronts for the fees, or when I get back, she gets a nice gift or other quid-pro-quo (like remodeling her kitchen or painting the house!). Issues resolved. :)

I agree with moondog here, but call you bank first. Chase and Schwab were both willing to ship to China when I had issues.

Thanks all- they are on their way by Fed Ex, see another thread for a Western Union question.