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Q: How do I get home without using an American credit card?
Yeah, so I got a performance bonus this month and got paid over 21k RMB including my salary. Feeling pretty gangster with my white monkey money-magnet skills. Any way I can use my Chinese credit/debit cards to purchase tickets online? I'm gonna go back and visit my family for about a week and then come back.
If I can't do that, how do I transfer from a Chinese bank to a U.S. bank? What information do I need?
Thanks!
10 years 50 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
Man you must be brave overly confident or nobody has ever taught you about keeping secrets. Why in the world would you make your bank statement public? Good luck when you get back home. Hope you ain't from New York. LOL!
99Silva:
If you haven't understood by now living free I'm afraid you will never know!
Hulk:
livingfree85, you'll have to excuse 99Mattaya. He's an institutionalized, mentally-disabled Chinese man who thinks he's still a PoW in Afghanistan, despite having never served in any armed forces.
livingfree85:
hahaha! done and done.....that guy has me questioning my own sanity sometimes
TedDBayer:
I think his medication keeps him in a fantasy world, one where he believes that he is American living in China or else that is his delusional disorder.
Is your American credit card maxed out or are you using a Bank debit card or something? For me, the easiest and least "麻烦" way to get money into a US bank account is to just carry the cash with me. You can have your wife exchange the RMB into USD quite easily at your local Chinese bank branch (the price of a roundtrip ticket to the US is obviously well below her annual 50k USD exchange limit 
).
Hulk:
But how can I buy a round-trip ticket on the internet without a card?
The card isn't able to be used in China, sadly. I do have a debit which is authorized, but that's it, and it doesn't have much money left on it. I need a painless way to do it...
You can walk into an airline agent office with cash and buy a ticket, it's a bit retarded compared to buying online, but could still be at decent prices.
Hulk:
I'd need to go to Beijing to do that. I'm gonna spend a day in Beijing... but, er, what if the prices are jacked up? They normally are...
I tried to transfer money between banks a while back. I was told that along with the bank account details, you also need an IBAN number for your specific branch back home. They also charge you a fair bit to transfer from here to the UK but not sure about the US. Other than that, Western Union the cash back home and have someone there pay for your ticket for you, a few of my mates from the states have done that too.
I hope this helps.
I guess it's my turn to not be able to comment. So here's another reply. You said your card can't be used in China. Can it be used in the US? Try using it on one of the American airline company's websites. I use my American USD credit card (MasterCard) on www.aa.com while I'm in China....it's just like using it at home. I've also used it on other sites like Orbitz, etc.....just make sure you're visiting the USA version of the site.
Hulk:
Well, I tried it a few times in China and it got locked down. It'll be locked down until I get home to unlock it. :/
Scandinavian:
If you use a VPN to a connection point in the US, then your bank will not be able to tell you are not in the US when using your card.
Did you ever try to, very slowly tell a person at your bank, that you live in China, so your card being used in China does not always mean card stolen & being used for fraud. , therefore they should not disable your card. My bank, which of course in not American, does the same, but my mastercard does not get this treatment as they know I live in China
Hulk:
I forgot to tell one credit card company, but informed my bank. Sadly, the bank also locked me down too. I had to have my mother fix it since she has access to one account. Unfortunately, she doesn't have card access and they won't believe her when I ask. This lock happened before I got my VPN. Awesome.
use paypal, you can use paypal with elong.net. you can connect paypal to a chinese bank account or an american one.
TedDBayer:
paypal cut me off in China, no matter what questions I answered, they said I could not prove it was my account
crimochina:
the verification process is easy. just take photos of your documents and send it to them. it takes 2 days for them to review it
Hulk, unfortunately you're not alone. I have a bank account and a credit card I can't use for crazy reasons. For example, the account requires a password change with phone call verification. Hahahahaha dammit. So I must fix that this summer, but I cannot use that account at this time. Yea, the account I set up to use when in China. Bwahahaha.
Anyway, maybe your school can help. Also I'm sure you know but it bears repeating: exchange RMB to dollars here, not at home. The exchange rates at home are pathetic.
Crimo is right, but I only have $14 in Paypal and no way to transfer until this summer.
Cash is king here, but be sure to bring the little lady to avoid the Laowai Discount, wherein they charge you double.
Maybe someone at the school can help you? Better to pay an extra agent's fee than to have no ticket. Sorry, that's all I got.
Hulk:
The school has no clue. They just plopped 22k in my lap and asked me to figure it out, lol. I told them I would, and spent the whole day figuring it out.
You can open Debit card at China Merchants Bank with Visa or MC logo. I got my CMB Gold Visa Debit card with 1000 Rmb deposit.
CMB will charge you 50 Rmb monthly, if your balance is bellow 50 000 Rmb, what is acceptable rate IMO.
You can make online purchases only on Chinese website with Windows OS computer. English website version is still in construction.
With Gold Visa/MC card, you will receive USB port for online purchases.
At CMB Gold Visa account you can hold money in any currency you desire. If you want to change your Rmb to any other currency (US$), CMB will apply 'spot rate', what means the best exchange rate possible at the World Banks.
You can see current 'spot rate' at Yahoo Currency Exchange.
You can spend US$ on your account while you are in USA, just using CMB card for purchases in USA instead American CC. No need to travel home with cash.
I suggest, you stop at one of CMB, and ask for more info about transfer funds to anywhere in the World.
I didn't use my card anywhere else, but in China yet. I am sure, I won't have problems to use it in Europe.
I wasn't able to make online purchases, just because I am using Mac without Windows OS, and CMB online stuff runs only on Windows, and in Chinese.
However, CMB will let you use their computer at the Bank, so you just need Chinese translator.
I had trouble purchasing airplane tickets on line because they were last minute and not 24 hours left to clear. I had to borrow my Chinese GFs Visa card, That worked.
Alot of places let you pay cash when they drop the tix off.
I'm glad you asked. BUlky Hulky! Here is a suggestion and you can take it or leave it. There was a couple that traveled around the world in a boat. It took them months to get to each place, but from the story I read they said they had fun although they did put their lives in danger. You could do that rent a boat and sail the seas.....
That way you would have a long long vacation!! 
Buying a ticket from a travel agent will cost the same as buying it yourself online (and you don't even have to tip). I have done both. Once, I looked online but could not get the transaction through. I went to a travel agent and he got me the exact same flight for the exact same money. I tried to give him a tip and he would not accept it. (It was a few years ago.) Oh, and you can pay with your RMB!
