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Q: Is it safe to have a credit card mailed here from abroad?
My US credit card expired about a month ago. The new one is waiting for me back home in the US, but that doesn't really help, since I don't plan on returning anytime soon or know anyone whose making the trip. I was hoping to travel around China and maybe in SE Asia this summer, and would feel much more comfortable doing so if I had a credit card (in case I need to buy an emergency ticket or something). Hence the question.
I saw someone just posted a similar question about having stuff mailed here, and the results didn't look too reassuring. I would like to know what my options are for getting the card here. Is there a "safer" way to get it here, like using a private service, or is it basically a big crap shoot? As far as I know, the card isn't activated yet, so maybe that makes it not as dangerous if it gets lost and finds its way into the wrong hands?
10 years 48 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
I've had that done. The sender put it in a sealed envelope inside a book in a way that I would be able to tell if it had been opened. The credit card would not be usable in any case until it was activated through netbank, so only risk would be if it had been opened, it should never be activated.
Have your family (or whomever) DHL/FedEx the card to a trusted Chinese friend's home or to your place of work. Email your "card holder" back home with the physical postal address in Chinese - not pinyin - and English. Once you receive the card, activate via phone or Skype. If phone is not an option, buy PC-to-phone minutes on Skype. Very reasonable rates.
With a courier service, you can track the shipment of your card online and you will know if and when it is delivered to the address you provide.
Many banks in USA will not renew or mail a credit card if your address is outside USA. What I did was go hav the card mailed by bank to my brother in law, he copied it (frontg and back) and sent it to me Fed Ex. When I received it(took 7 days to get here) I emailed him, and he called the bank for me to activate it. It work like a charm.
I had my credit card mailed to China, which was no problem at all, the REGISTERED letter arrived without problem. The first time trying to receive an unregistered letter with some important document failed, I guess...
Lesson learned: Send all mail REGISTERED and maybe even with insurance. In case of credit cards, send card and code with different mail on different days.
