[Update] WeChat Pay finally supports RMB AMEX credit cards. In addition, the RMB version of AMEX credit cards can now be added directly to the Cloud QuickPass App, which was supposedly limited to UnionPay cards. AMEX has essentially turned its own RMB cards into UnionPay cards (I still don’t fully understand how this works... are they just sharing revenue with UnionPay directly?). At this point, aside from a few POS terminals that still can’t process them, these cards are now accepted almost everywhere.

This article only reflects KUKU’s recent testing. If you’ve found anything new, feel free to share more data points (DPs).

Some time ago, I applied for Ping An Bank’s RMB AMEX credit card, the Yaohong Card. This is an RMB single-network credit card. At the moment, it’s actually pretty interesting to use. Here’s a summary of my testing:

Spending

There are still places where it works and places where it doesn’t.

Swipe Fees

Within China, based on merchant acquiring information released by some banks, the transaction fee should be the same as the UnionPay card acceptance fee. Outside China, it’s unclear, but I would guess it follows AMEX’s normal rate.

Where It Works

  • Any merchant outside China that accepts AMEX, whether online or in person, should accept this card
  • Alipay supports this card, so it can be used at merchants in mainland China that accept UnionPay online or offline
  • JD also supports this card, and more merchants like it should as well
  • [2020.9 update] WeChat Pay and Cloud QuickPass now support it too, which means coverage is basically complete

Where It Does Not Work

  • Most POS terminals in mainland China do not support it yet; banks or acquirers need to update the machines, but this will probably be fixed soon
  • Based on the behavior seen with Alipay and JD, even if a POS terminal can recognize an RMB AMEX card, it still cannot recognize foreign-issued AMEX credit cards

Other Uses

One thing worth mentioning is that because this is a China-issued card, it inherits a characteristic shared by many China-issued cards and AMEX credit cards: you can basically enter whatever you want for the billing address, which can be very useful sometimes. On top of that, AMEX credit cards themselves generally don’t care much about billing details, so this card is actually pretty good for overseas online shopping. That’s also one reason I think Ping An’s Safari credit card is pretty good.

Also, Plastiq currently identifies RMB AMEX credit cards as U.S. credit cards, which is different from how AMEX Connect identifies them. When Plastiq processes any China-issued USD single-network or dual-network VISA/Master/Amex card, it normally treats it as a foreign credit card, with an extra 1% fee, bringing the total to 3.85%. U.S. credit cards, by comparison, are charged 2.85%. But the RMB version is pretty nice here: it really is being charged only the 2.85% fee, so my guess is that Plastiq’s database hasn’t been updated yet.

China-issued USD single-network or dual-network credit cards (V/M/Amex)
China RMB version AMEX credit card

The reason I say the database hasn’t been updated is that for a long time before this, China-issued business master credit card products were identified by U.S. payment systems as debit cards, including on Amazon and Plastiq. A classic example, or at least a card with good gaming potential, was CCB’s Bonus+ (1% + occasional 8%). When used on Plastiq back then, the fee was 1%, and you could still get 1% + 8% cash back. But that opportunity has been dead for about half a year now. So for RMB AMEX credit cards, I suspect this is also because PQ’s system hasn’t been updated yet. If you can find a China bank with a good online promotion, it may be worth making a few payments with it.

Repayment

As for repayment, since this is an AMEX credit card, you can only pay it through the issuing bank’s own system, Alipay, or JD Finance. Those three are the more practical options.

[2020.9 update] Since it can now be linked directly to the Cloud QuickPass app, you can also make payments through Cloud QuickPass.

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