you can do just that, but you won’t have the privilege of enjoying revolving balance.
And you won’t have the disadvantage of leaving a couple of hundred thousand NT in a crappy term deposit.
what would you rather do with the money?
[quote=“TaipeiD”]
what would you rather do with the money?[/quote]
I’d rather put it in the mutual fund that Mega Bank won’t fucking let me buy into online.
you can do just that, but you won’t have the priviledge of enjoying revolving balance.[/quote]
Yes, credit cards have a number of functions that debit cards do not, including the revolving balance option as TaipeiD says, as well as making purchases and reservations online (for Amazon purchases, hotel reservations, etc.), and whatever special perks the given credit card offers. Using the credit card responsibly also helps you to build a positive credit rating, whereas a debit card does not help you build credit as far as I know.
[quote=“spaint”][quote=“TaipeiD”]
what would you rather do with the money?[/quote]
I’d rather put it in the mutual fund that Mega Bank won’t fucking let me buy into online.[/quote]
Trust me. If you show up with a boat load of money to open a CD account, the friendly teller will kindly offer you a wide variety of other options, such as Nan Shan long-term bonds & or annuities.
[quote=“TaipeiD”][quote=“spaint”][quote=“TaipeiD”]
what would you rather do with the money?[/quote]
I’d rather put it in the mutual fund that Mega Bank won’t fucking let me buy into online.[/quote]
Trust me. If you show up with a boat load of money to open a CD account, the friendly teller will kindly offer you a wide variety of other options, such as Nan Shan long-term bonds & or annuities.[/quote]
:roflmao:
I guess they are out of Lehman Brothers annuities.
Actually, I offered to throw in a few hundred thousand NT$ the first time I asked, let’s see if they take me up on it.
There are no rules regarding foreigners and credit cards, YMMW, if you know them well, it’s easier, if you come in from the street, it’s very hard, I will keep pestering them until I get it, and I am happy to put money down.
I don’t see why you would do that. Couldn’t you just get a debit card and put the money on it when you need the credit?[/quote]
With Mega, you choose how much you want to put. 20 thousand is OK. 30 K is OK. As little or as much as you want.
I like having a small credit card for Internet transactions. If there is ever any mischief, won’t be big.
That’s what I have a debit card for. I only put enough in to cover my intended purchase. That way, even if someone gets a hold of my card (or steals it electronically), they can’t run up any kind of a bill.
[quote=“Mr He”][quote=“TaipeiD”][quote=“spaint”][quote=“TaipeiD”]
what would you rather do with the money?[/quote]
I’d rather put it in the mutual fund that Mega Bank won’t fucking let me buy into online.[/quote]
Trust me. If you show up with a boat load of money to open a CD account, the friendly teller will kindly offer you a wide variety of other options, such as Nan Shan long-term bonds & or annuities.[/quote]
:roflmao:
I guess they are out of Lehman Brothers annuities.
[/quote]
They better be. Lo Mein brothers is lone goners. 
My bank told me that I have been approved, and that I will get the card - unsecured. Platinum even. YES!
I’ve had a Visa card for more than 10 years…And, yes, I can use it overseas; wouldn’t want a cc that I couldn’t.
What about an HSBC Premier or Advance account? These accounts come with a lot of benefits, including a Gold or Platinum card. I wonder if they wouldn’t require locals to sign on your behalf or any of that nonsense…or maybe they would?
This is how I got mine the first time: Interview with the bank manager pointing out that I had been doing business with his bank for several years and had the proposed credit limit more than 10 times over in deposits in my account and had so for a long, long time. His only stipulation was that billing come directly out of the account every month; something I wanted anyway. Took about a week all toll. I think the initial limit was something like 30k, which they upped to 50 or 60 after a couple of months (this was 10 yrs ago, after all). Then after about a year they offered a platinum card with a 200k limit. They have offered more since then, but 200k is more than I could ever want on a card.
Not as far as I know, but the Premier account requires a minimum 3M deposit at all times. Some of the benefits are attractive, though. I have thought about shifting to HSBC, but so far the availability of branches is an issue. I still like to talk to someone when I do my banking…There are none close to Zhongxiao Fuxing, but they are building one across from the Eslite building on Dunhua and Anhe. Perhaps that will do.
There is no rhyme or reason. You find the right person at the bank, you get the card.
Not as far as I know, but the Premier account requires a minimum 3M deposit at all times. Some of the benefits are attractive, though. I have thought about shifting to HSBC, but so far the availability of branches is an issue. I still like to talk to someone when I do my banking…There are none close to Zhongxiao Fuxing, but they are building one across from the Eslite building on Dunhua and Anhe. Perhaps that will do.[/quote]
Ask about the Advance account then if you ever decide to go with HSBC…it has fewer requirements than Premium. I have the Advance account in the UAE and I love it! They automatically gave me a Platinum card with a 20,000 USD limit on it and I also get lots of benefits like free travel insurance, AAA (24-hour breakdown service for my car), etc. etc. It’s my understanding that the accounts at every HSBC worldwide are pretty much the same.
The requirements on the Premier are not necessarily a bad thing; they offer a lot of different investment instruments and preferential rates to their Premier customers that are not available to other account holders. And you are right, their accounts are pretty much the same the world over from what I understand. They also allow for holdings in multiple currencies, which might be attractive to some.
Question to you Indiana: Have you anything negative to say about the Advance? Fees?
NOT in Taiwan.
[quote=“citizen k”]
Question to you Indiana: Have you anything negative to say about the Advance? Fees?[/quote]
Actually, I think normally there would be a fee for the account of about NT1000 / month, but when I opened mine there was a promotion and all fees were waived. So, I don’t pay anything…but I needed to have my salary put in via direct deposit and there are minimum salary requirements to hold the account.
My only real complaint with them (in the UAE) is horrid service…but that’s true for pretty much every bank, business, etc. here. As for everything else, HSBC is just fine. I also have an e-saver account with them that gives 3% interest, and their term accounts (4 month, 6 month, etc.) yield about 3.6 percent. Not bad in times like these.