Does anyone have a TW credit card that allows them to get airline mileage? I have one in the US but because of the 3% foreign currency fee, I don’t use it for any purchases.
Yes, I got one from Taipei Fubon Bank. Earn Asia Miles every time I use it. :discodance:
Yes, I got one from Taipei Fubon Bank. Earn Asia Miles every time I use it. :discodance:[/quote]
Nice. I wonder if other banks are offering the same deal? I’m with China Trust and E. Sun at the moment.
For my AMEX, I usually have my purchases go towards my SkyMiles account but would likely accept any arrangement that the TW credit card company has with the frequent flier mileage program.
[quote=“rocky raccoon”]
Nice. I wonder if other banks are offering the same deal? I’m with China Trust and E. Sun at the moment. [/quote]
I believe Citi has some arrangement with EVA to accumulate air miles.
Hot damn, this is uncle llary’s favourite topic. I have investigated and/or used almost all of the major airline cobrand cards in Taiwan.
The worth of any particular card depends on your monthly spend and travel habits.
Someone mentiond the Eva/Citibank cobrand. I held the Platinum version as my primary card for a few years because of the 1 mile per $15 overseas spend ratio and some useful benefits (2x round-trip airport pickups from anywhere in Taiwan, 20 days free airport parking, 10% off tickets to Hong Kong). There is a $1200/year annual fee. A small problem related to the low number of cards issued is that many other benefits offered to Citibank cardholders at cinemas etc. are not available because the employees cannot verify it as an eligible card. I still have this card but I stopped using it as my primary card because I never fly Eva on my own money and the benefits are reduced with no frequent flyer status. I was getting a lot of free flights on an airline I don’t really enjoy flying.
I recently switched to the American Express Cathay Pacific Elite card. The benefits are not particularly generous but I am loyal to Cathay and this is the best card available in Taiwan that credits to CX. There is a $5000 annual fee for the Elite card with a 15,000 mile signup bonus and free roundtrip ticket to HKG on each yearly renewal plus a 20% mileage bonus if you spend at least $400k in the first year. 20 days free parking like the EVA card. The regular card has a lower annual fee but only 3,000 mile bonus and, no free ticket and no additional bonus. You get 1 mile for every $25 spent and 20% extra on all miles earned if you hit $400k spend in the first year. There is no limit to mileage accrual and miles transfer automatically to your CX account very quickly with no fee and no minimum transfer.
[quote=“cfimages”]
I’ve tried a couple of times to change address with Chinatrust and just gave up in the end. Now I just go to any branch, make a nuisance of myself and they seem to serve me. I’ve pretty much moved all my Chinatrust banking over to Taishin now - Taishin at least know what a proper debit card is and don’t impose restrictions on them for ARC holders.[/quote]
I found the service at Chinatrust Guting branch okay. They gave me a debit card that will work overseas, but for some reason I have to renew it each time my ARC expires.
Taixin will also give foreigners debit cards, but unfortunately they don’t work abroad according to the branch I spoke to.
Both better than the post office which doesn’t have any function to transfer money overseas, and refuses to let its foreign customers have a debit card despite my repeated complaints. :fume:
Well, have anyone signed up for Cathay’s online banking? As my GF has a China Trust account and the online banking they offer is great, as you can pay all your bills and transfer money really easily.
Cathay on the other hand doesn’t let you do anything except check your balance, well, that’s unless you’ve gone to your local branch and asked them to manually add accounts you want to transfer money to… wtf? :loco:
Talk about antiquated banking systems here…
Was in the UK recently, refused to accept signed credit card again , get new pin chip cards folks if you want to go to Europe!
Got my visa card from Chinatrust today, and realized it doesn’t have any name on it. Will I still be able to use it for on-line purchases?
[quote=“Mawvellous”][quote=“cfimages”]
I’ve tried a couple of times to change address with Chinatrust and just gave up in the end. Now I just go to any branch, make a nuisance of myself and they seem to serve me. I’ve pretty much moved all my Chinatrust banking over to Taishin now - Taishin at least know what a proper debit card is and don’t impose restrictions on them for ARC holders.[/quote]
I found the service at Chinatrust Guting branch okay. They gave me a debit card that will work overseas, but for some reason I have to renew it each time my ARC expires.
Taixin will also give foreigners debit cards, but unfortunately they don’t work abroad according to the branch I spoke to.
Both better than the post office which doesn’t have any function to transfer money overseas, and refuses to let its foreign customers have a debit card despite my repeated complaints. :fume:[/quote]
Funny how it differs branch to branch. Chinatrust told me a few months ago that they have a blanket policy of no debit cards for foreigners. Taishin gave me one easily and I used it regularly to pay for stuff online/overseas. Just today, a friend that I mentioned Taishin to, told me that he picked his up and was able to pay for a Flickr Pro account with it.
[quote=“cfimages”][quote=“Mawvellous”][quote=“cfimages”]
I’ve tried a couple of times to change address with Chinatrust and just gave up in the end. Now I just go to any branch, make a nuisance of myself and they seem to serve me. I’ve pretty much moved all my Chinatrust banking over to Taishin now - Taishin at least know what a proper debit card is and don’t impose restrictions on them for ARC holders.[/quote]
I found the service at Chinatrust Guting branch okay. They gave me a debit card that will work overseas, but for some reason I have to renew it each time my ARC expires.
Taixin will also give foreigners debit cards, but unfortunately they don’t work abroad according to the branch I spoke to.
Both better than the post office which doesn’t have any function to transfer money overseas, and refuses to let its foreign customers have a debit card despite my repeated complaints. :fume:[/quote]
Funny how it differs branch to branch. Chinatrust told me a few months ago that they have a blanket policy of no debit cards for foreigners. Taishin gave me one easily and I used it regularly to pay for stuff online/overseas. Just today, a friend that I mentioned Taishin to, told me that he picked his up and was able to pay for a Flickr Pro account with it.[/quote]
Yes, the security guard downstairs who gives out the number said no cards to foreigners, but the lady upstairs gave me one. But it has no name on it, how will I be able to shop online?
Does your Taixin card have a name on the front?
It’s for electronic use only, I have the same thing, i.e. it doesn’t work online, you have to either sign or key in the pin code to be able to use it.
Yes, my Taishin has my name on it, raised letter/numbers, the works.I’ve used it in stores in Taiwan, and online to book flights, hotels, Amazon. It was even easy to link to Paypal and I’ve successfully transferred money from Paypal into my bank account and vice versa. The card itself has an expiry date of 2016 on it but they said I need to update their computer records whenever my ARC date changes, which is not a big deal.
So I went back to Taixin today, and they said that I could now have a debit card. However, it wouldn’t have my name on it, so I don’t think it would work for online purchases. Also asked at Fubon and Megabank with the same result.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
Not really, I got my name on a debit card from Union Bank, however have yet to use it online or overseas. Once I have, I would love to share my experiences.
[quote=“Mr He”]Not really, I got my name on a debit card from Union Bank, however have yet to use it online or overseas. Once I have, I would love to share my experiences.[/quote]Do you really intend to take it for a spin shortly?
If so, I guess we won’t hold our breath.
Hello Everyone
Sorry to high jack this thread. I've been reading this forum for two days now, trying to get a sense of what I am going to go through when I get to NTU.
My question is, since I am in San Francisco. it would be best for me to get a bank account here with a Chinese bank and use it in TWN? I have no idea nor have I searched yet if I can do this in San Francisco nor the banks that operate here. But from what I am reading, it would save me a lot of trouble and hassle to get it done before I leave to TWN. And what is this “ARC” that everyone is talking about? Is that some sort of work permit only issued in TWN?
Thank you
Gus
[quote=“gmontoya”]Hello Everyone
Sorry to high jack this thread. I've been reading this forum for two days now, trying to get a sense of what I am going to go through when I get to NTU.
My question is, since I am in San Francisco. it would be best for me to get a bank account here with a Chinese bank and use it in TWN? I have no idea nor have I searched yet if I can do this in San Francisco nor the banks that operate here. But from what I am reading, it would save me a lot of trouble and hassle to get it done before I leave to TWN. And what is this “ARC” that everyone is talking about? Is that some sort of work permit only issued in TWN?
Thank you
Gus[/quote]
Open the bank account when you come over here, the ARC - that’s your Taiwan ID. You can open an account without.
And a Chinese bank would do you little good as Taiwan isn’t a part of China…
Hey if your still overseas. I would like to see you head into like the Taiwan first bank or Fubon LA branch and see what happens if you try to setup an account. They do provide personal banking for Taiwanese living abroad. I really what would happen if a wei-guo-ren walked into there and asked to open an account.