DiDi temporarily no longer supports linking AMEX credit cards; cards already linked are unaffected, and you can still pay via WeChat Pay

KUKU noticed a few months ago that the DiDi app no longer supports linking AMEX credit cards, and that is still the case today. In the past, DiDi actually helped me complete quite a few AMEX credit card welcome bonuses. DiDi is currently the most commonly used ride-hailing service in mainland China, and it successfully acquired Uber China in August 2016. DiDi’s international credit card payment processing is supported by Adyen, the global payments company based in the Netherlands. It previously supported major credit cards such as Visa/Master/Amex/Discover/Diners/JCB. Since AMEX is only temporarily unsupported, this is almost certainly not Adyen’s fault; my guess is still that AE’s processing fees are too expensive.

AMEX cards that were already linked to DiDi are not affected and can still be used for payment normally. If you still want to use AMEX for DiDi, you can route the payment through WeChat Pay:

Link your AMEX card to WeChat Pay
Turn off all free payment methods and international credit card payment options in the DiDi app
After the ride ends, manually choose WeChat Pay and then select the AMEX card you want to use
You can also place the order directly through the DiDi mini program inside WeChat and complete the payment there

Note: WeChat Pay can be quite aggressive with risk controls on newly linked foreign credit cards. If your single ride fare or total daily ride spend exceeds 200RMB, a newly linked foreign card will usually not go through in the short term.

Whether through WeChat Pay or DiDi’s previous international credit card payment option, AMEX credit cards generally do not earn especially strong rewards in this category, so they are not ideal for long-term use. They can still be useful as a supplement for meeting various spending bonus requirements. For long-term use, I recommend a Visa/Master card in the Travel category, ideally one with no foreign transaction fee (FTF).

One more thing: the English version of DiDi may have even more opportunities for rewards. Just switch the app to English! YMMV