International Roaming with Chinese SIMs
Jun 27, 2021, 7:59 am
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,685
Woodbury commons literally writes 推 and 拉 on the doors lol. I wouldn’t be surprised if retail workers get paid extra if they can speak mandarin there.
I’ve seen Alipay signs all over Manhattan at stores like Sephora.
Very strange that these Alipay terminals can only accept money from accounts tied to Chinese nationals. Foreigners cannot pay there. Given how strict China is with capital controls, it’s surprising they allow this from a capital inflow/outflow perspective.
I’ve seen Alipay signs all over Manhattan at stores like Sephora.
Very strange that these Alipay terminals can only accept money from accounts tied to Chinese nationals. Foreigners cannot pay there. Given how strict China is with capital controls, it’s surprising they allow this from a capital inflow/outflow perspective.
Jun 29, 2021, 2:25 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: HHonors Gold, Marriott Lifetime Gold, IHG Gold, OZ*G, AA Gold, AS MVP
Posts: 1,874
I don't know about Unicom as I use China Mobile.
When traveling outside of China on China Mobile, they have a plan where maximum data charges are capped at RMB 30 per day, with no data limit. You can't go on Google or any other blocked sites in China even if you're overseas, but this is the same with Unicom or any other China-based telco.
RMB30 or $5 can still get expensive, but this is better than the nightmare stories I've read about US telecom subscribers getting charged thousands of dollars for overseas roaming.
When traveling outside of China on China Mobile, they have a plan where maximum data charges are capped at RMB 30 per day, with no data limit. You can't go on Google or any other blocked sites in China even if you're overseas, but this is the same with Unicom or any other China-based telco.
RMB30 or $5 can still get expensive, but this is better than the nightmare stories I've read about US telecom subscribers getting charged thousands of dollars for overseas roaming.
From a certain perspective it makes sense- it's easier to implement the outflow limit for Chinese nationals ($50k per person per year) than it is for foreign nationals (variable depending on salary).
Jun 29, 2021, 8:56 pm
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,222
China Unicom offers similar but only on postpaid. If you're prepaid there's no cap on how much you can be charged, unlike China Mobile which offers it on both prepaid and postpaid.
From a certain perspective it makes sense- it's easier to implement the outflow limit for Chinese nationals ($50k per person per year) than it is for foreign nationals (variable depending on salary).
From a certain perspective it makes sense- it's easier to implement the outflow limit for Chinese nationals ($50k per person per year) than it is for foreign nationals (variable depending on salary).
Oct 29, 2021, 12:00 am
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,021
My China Unicom SIM worked okay in the US, but I ended up buying a Tmoblie SIM to use in slot 2 because I wanted friends/family to be able to call me without paying international rates.