Today, a reader shared an amazing DP: Alipay/Taobao purchases can trigger Chase’s temporary grocery bonus during the pandemic. See:

It had also been quite a while since KUKU last looked into Alipay. So after searching the Alipay app’s FAQ about using foreign credit cards, we found two new explanations.

Foreign Credit Card Spending Limits

As we know, using a foreign credit card with WeChat Pay does not incur a fee on WeChat’s side (though there is FTF), but there are hidden limits that WeChat has never clearly disclosed; the author mentioned this in the WeChat Pay + US credit card guide. Alipay has now explicitly stated what those hidden limits are.

  • When buying train tickets on 12306, there is no Alipay-imposed limit; only your credit card’s own limit applies
  • When using Alipay + a foreign credit card anywhere other than 12306, the limit is 5,000 RMB per transaction, 20,000 RMB per day, and 100,000 RMB per month
  • Different merchants may have different limits

Where Foreign Credit Cards Are Supported

In the author’s Alipay + US credit card guide, we had already covered where it currently works and what rewards opportunities exist. Alipay has now also officially listed some supported use cases.

  • JCB only supports Taobao and 12306
  • V/M supports both online and offline use; for offline payments, the merchant must scan your code (similar to WeChat), though the author has not tested this yet (mainly because the 3% Alipay fee is too painful)
  • Supports automatic billing services through Alipay (such as Didi)

One more note: as of now, 12306 is the only known Alipay use case with no fee, and it codes as Travel, so it can trigger the CSR $300 travel credit. Everything else requires a 3% fee. So aside from CSR+12306, it is generally better to just use WeChat Pay and earn dining multipliers. Of course, if you can’t fully use Chase’s grocery bonus, Alipay may still be worth considering in some cases.

Related Articles

The author is more focused on earning rewards from US credit cards or other US deals while in China. For more on Alipay and WeChat, you can refer to KUKU’s earlier roundup articles: