But they still have a $10 cash advance fee though, right? Or is it recorded as straight purchase (and if you pay in full on time...no interest/fee)? That would be huge if it is.

There's no fee, and it's treated as a purchase. I imagine ICBC would put a stop to it if you tried to scale for the cash back. I received an inbound call from ICBC trying out different merchants with the card, so I imagine they'd start to examine large grocery story purchases.

Correct, I think trying to abuse this would be a grave mistake. I recall many many years ago when I still had a Discover card in college, I would pull $100 out each week from a grocery store and never paid a fee, but I believe Discover finally patched it. It's handy when you DO need cash however (but who uses cash much anymore these days :)).

Any news on hard new applications are these days?

I still find this interesting that you experienced this as they haven't bothered me. I've used & tested my card at a very wide variety of in-person & online merchants, with & without chip, with & without PIN, credit mode & debit modes.

But yeah, don't try to scale it up, & not worth it anyways.

Discover "Cash Over" still works in select stores (mostly big grocery stores & Walmart). Discover sets a maximum $120 per 24 hrs, though stores usually have limit of $40-60 per transaction. Treated as a purchase, but no rewards.

It is unrelated.

Discover Cash Over at grocery & others stores (incl Walmart) was a thing long before Discover bought the Pulse debit card network.

When you do a swipe + PIN with the ICBC UnionPay (swipe is a fallback mode when chip isn't supported), it is using the Pulse debit card network, and the receipts clearly show "Debit". Basically, the merchants see this card & treat this card used this way as a genuine PIN debit card even though it isn't.

This doesn't work once a merchant supports UnionPay chip, as actual cash back at the store isn't a normal feature of this card as chip/contactless.

I have used it multiple times at Arco gas station (where no credit cards are accepted) without issue, & it is treated as a real debit card, charging me the 35c debit card fee. Since I usually spend $35 on gas, and the card gets 1% back, I break even on the debit card fee & costs me the same as using cash, but it is more convenient.

[Edit to clarify: Arco is a swipe for this card, so it falls back to PIN debit mode, as there is no credit card option at Arco]

I applied in May 2019 which is only 5 months ago, so that is pretty recent, and was done in-person at a branch. Just answered the normal questions, and they didn't ask for any extra documentation besides a driver's license.

I don't think it is hard to get if you have decent credit. Limits are on the low side, but that is normal for this card. I have a high number of inquiries & new cards so they don't seem that sensitive.

The hardest part of getting the card is going to a branch & then waiting 3 weeks to get the card. :)

Does it have to be done in branch?
814 score in Alabama, so I think the nearest branch is NY unless there is one in Atlanta, Florida, or Texas.
Where did you apply in branch?

I applied in San Francisco, where there are several branches. Some people apply when they travel through a city with a branch, since there are no geographical (home address) requirements. Bank branches where you can apply are in California: SF (4), Oakland (1), LA area (5), and New York: NYC (3)

They had an online application early on but pulled it soon after. Their website indicates to apply in-branch. I did read a story somewhere where someone managed to apply working with someone in a branch without doing it in-person, so I would suggest calling a branch and asking them if that is possible.

I guess the best thing to do is try to reach out to a branch.

I’ve been finding it harder to use my UnionPay card in Shanghai this trip, as restaurants that previously had a terminal to process cards have removed them and only take a bar code. I see signs where a UnionPay barcode would be accepted but not sure how that would work?

I was able to activate Alipay since as of two weeks ago they accept foreign credit cards to fund a prepaid Bank of Shanghai debit card within the app. I used a Visa card but it was a pain to set up the app (spoke on phone to English speaking customer service agent) and I had to upload my passport details to unlock the account and again the verify identity once I completed my profile. The debit card expires in 90 days and any remaining balance goes back to your credit card.

WeChat pay also now takes foreign credit cards but I gave up as it kept failing.

Anyone else having difficulty using the physical UnionPay card, especially in Shanghai area?

New US based UnionPay ECARD
 

I came across another U.S. based UnionPay card from this company called "ECARD Inc." They issue UnionPay prepaid card. I have ordered mine and so far I have brought it with me when traveling to Santorini, Greece, and Shanghai, China. The main reason I applied is to utilize its reward program. I was able to receive a discount at the Turkey airport on my way to Santorini with Unionpay reward. Oh! And they give you a free sim data card to use in China which actually grants you VPN access!! I had no trouble using Instagram, and Youtube while in China.

1.49% FTF + up to $5.99 each reload makes it a worse deal than getting the ICBC credit card (assuming you can get the latter, of course). At least they finally got rid of the annual/monthly fee.

Nah. I load using my app and transfer from my bank, it's free. The fee is only collected when depositing cash. Online transfer is free.