Apr 25, 2017, 8:05 pm
Last edit by: geclub1
Application Link:
Preferred (UnionPay): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...y&origin=00002
Preferred (Visa): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...a&origin=00002
Premier (UnionPay): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...y&origin=00002
Premier (Visa): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...a&origin=00002
Card Service email address:
[email protected]
Preferred (UnionPay): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...y&origin=00002
Preferred (Visa): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...a&origin=00002
Premier (UnionPay): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...y&origin=00002
Premier (Visa): https://icbc-uscards.com/#/?product=...a&origin=00002
Card Service email address:
[email protected]
US based Union Pay card?
Dec 13, 2016, 8:04 am
#77
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: B6, DL, UA, AGR
Posts: 69
First attempt at US domestic use was a total fail. Attempted chip, which failed as expected, swipe fallback didn't work due to busted CVS point of sale system. Tried twice with the same results each time. Going to try a few more merchants, but need to meet that minimum spend requirement!
Dec 13, 2016, 8:30 am
#78
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,537
Dec 13, 2016, 1:13 pm
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
I can confirm the CVM list for the Union Pay card as: Signature, online PIN, no CVM. I thought Union Pay required Chip and PIN but maybe not?
@tmiw I think because it runs on the Union Pay network here and not on Discover's that's perhaps why it asks for a PIN with swipe transactions. I'm not sure though as I don't know all the technical details.
@tmiw I think because it runs on the Union Pay network here and not on Discover's that's perhaps why it asks for a PIN with swipe transactions. I'm not sure though as I don't know all the technical details.
Dec 13, 2016, 5:58 pm
#80
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,171
Dec 13, 2016, 7:35 pm
#81
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,059
Just to confirm before I update my site, this is one of the ICBC US UnionPay cards? http://www.icbc-us.com/ICBC/海外分行/工银美...secreditcards/
Dec 15, 2016, 7:39 am
#83
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
Dec 20, 2016, 4:56 pm
#85
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SIN / SFO
Programs: UA GS, SQ PPS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Accor Gold
Posts: 1,215
Finally got my Preferred card today... took three weeks from application to arrival.
First, the good: no trouble activating as others had reported, or setting up the online banking, and they gave me a generous limit.
Next, the bad: the big question I (and I suspect many others) had was whether this would work with Alipay/WeChat Wallet/other online payments. It does not. WeChat recognizes it as a valid ICBC card, but fails at trying to verify the phone number and ID (likely at least in part because ICBC US doesn't have my passport number, nor the Chinese mobile linked to my WeChat). Alipay refuses to recognize it as a valid card number at all. "Direct" online payments through ICBC are initially promising—it even lets me to log in!—but then fail with an "overseas cards not supported" error in Chinese.
Other observations: the online banking lists this as a "dual currency card"—would be nice if that was true and they'd let me pay RMB balances in RMB, but it appears not to be. ICBC (China) says they will link it with my Chinese accounts "within 72 hours," but we shall see. All the customer service appears to be based in China. I strongly suspect that I'm the ~2000th person to get one of these, given the number.
I've reached out to friends at Alipay and Tencent to see if they have any tricks to make online payments for foreign UnionPay cards work, but I suspect this is hopeless in the near term.
Will need to wait until my next China trip to see how useful this really is, but with no annual fee, it probably doesn't hurt to hold on to it.
First, the good: no trouble activating as others had reported, or setting up the online banking, and they gave me a generous limit.
Next, the bad: the big question I (and I suspect many others) had was whether this would work with Alipay/WeChat Wallet/other online payments. It does not. WeChat recognizes it as a valid ICBC card, but fails at trying to verify the phone number and ID (likely at least in part because ICBC US doesn't have my passport number, nor the Chinese mobile linked to my WeChat). Alipay refuses to recognize it as a valid card number at all. "Direct" online payments through ICBC are initially promising—it even lets me to log in!—but then fail with an "overseas cards not supported" error in Chinese.
Other observations: the online banking lists this as a "dual currency card"—would be nice if that was true and they'd let me pay RMB balances in RMB, but it appears not to be. ICBC (China) says they will link it with my Chinese accounts "within 72 hours," but we shall see. All the customer service appears to be based in China. I strongly suspect that I'm the ~2000th person to get one of these, given the number.
I've reached out to friends at Alipay and Tencent to see if they have any tricks to make online payments for foreign UnionPay cards work, but I suspect this is hopeless in the near term.
Will need to wait until my next China trip to see how useful this really is, but with no annual fee, it probably doesn't hurt to hold on to it.
Dec 21, 2016, 5:59 am
#86
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,481
You can link your Chinese bank account to WeChat payment directly. I don't have, and doesn't want to open, a Chinese bank account.Please keep us updated.
Last edited by TerryK; Dec 21, 2016 at 6:19 am
Dec 21, 2016, 8:18 am
#87
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SIN / SFO
Programs: UA GS, SQ PPS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Accor Gold
Posts: 1,215
I don't have a China-issued credit card; additionally, keeping a ton of RMB on hand given its downward trajectory doesn't feel like the smartest thing at the moment, and it's hard to do USD-RMB transfers remotely. The USD-denominated UnionPay card would in theory solve all of these, if it worked...
Dec 27, 2016, 3:37 pm
#89
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,059
Dec 27, 2016, 9:54 pm
#90
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 7
Alipay, Wechat Pay both utilize direct debit to link the cards/accounts to their service, rather than using CUP network, most probably due to lower service fee.
Therefore it is not possible to link CUP cards issued outside Mainland China or use those card on Alipay/WeChat as if it were cards issued in Mainland China.
Even Alipay/Wechat Pay can link some cards of oversea banks, the use is greatly limited to payments of certain type.
However, the ICBC(US) credit card probably can be used on many sites that support CUP online payment, including 12306.cn(railway tickets), 10010.com(recharge Unicom mobile) , jd.com(online shopping),
Therefore it is not possible to link CUP cards issued outside Mainland China or use those card on Alipay/WeChat as if it were cards issued in Mainland China.
Even Alipay/Wechat Pay can link some cards of oversea banks, the use is greatly limited to payments of certain type.
However, the ICBC(US) credit card probably can be used on many sites that support CUP online payment, including 12306.cn(railway tickets), 10010.com(recharge Unicom mobile) , jd.com(online shopping),
Last edited by karlcheong; Dec 27, 2016 at 10:15 pm Reason: more accurate wording