Getting Started with Credit Cards from Scratch

First, let's start with some terminology:

Bank cards are divided into credit cards and debit cards.
Credit cards are issued by banks based on your credit and have a certain credit limit. You need to repay the amount before the specified due date. Generally, credit cards are only issued to individuals with sufficient repayment ability (i.e., those who are employed), but there are also a few exceptions, such as CMB's First Card.
Debit cards allow you to directly spend the balance in your bank account. Anyone who is of legal age (and even some minors in certain cases) can apply for a debit card.

温暖 (Warmth): Refers to the reduction of credit card benefits (including the cancellation or downgrade of certain benefits).

Annual fee: The fee that needs to be paid for using a credit card for one year (calculated from the activation date).
刷免 (Fee waiver through spending): The annual fee can be waived by accumulating a certain number of points or meeting a certain spending requirement.

So, why should we use credit cards instead of debit cards?

Credit cards provide a one-month interest-free period, allowing you to earn interest on your funds for one month. For example, if you spend 10,000 yuan in a month, at the current annual interest rate of 2%, you can earn about 200 yuan in a year.
Banks usually offer more activities for credit cards compared to debit cards. For example, CMB often has a lucky draw for a single purchase of 18 yuan, with a chance to win 0.1-3 yuan in cashback each time.
Credit card spending allows you to accumulate bank points, which can be used to redeem airline miles (even if you don't use them, you can sell the tickets for cash) or gifts, among other things.
High-end credit cards come with many valuable benefits, such as domestic/international airport VIP lounges, appointments with top-tier hospitals, road assistance, airport transfers, dental cleaning, medical check-ups, and various other benefits.

Now, let's get to the point. Which credit cards should we apply for? It depends on your card usage goals and personal conditions.

Currently, credit card benefits can be broadly categorized as follows:

Comprehensive cards. Representative card: CMB Classic White.
Travel cards. Representative cards: ABC Essence White, CCB Dashan White, ICBC Striving White.
Cashback cards. Representative cards: BOC Super V Card, CGB Dragon Master Card, CEB Red Bonus Card, HSBC Pulse Card.
Airline cards. Representative cards: Co-branded cards with major airlines.
Car owner cards. Representative cards: ...

Now, let's introduce some commonly used credit cards.

CMB Classic White#

A standard platinum card with a wide range of benefits.

Annual Fee#

3,600 RMB (2,000 RMB for supplementary cards)

You can use 10,000 permanent points to redeem the annual fee, and the annual fee for supplementary cards also requires 5,000 points.

Under normal circumstances, you earn 1 point for every 20 RMB spent. This means you need to spend 200,000 RMB per year to waive the annual fee. However, there is a birthday promotion that allows you to earn 10 times the points on your birthday. This means you only need to spend 20,000 RMB on your birthday to waive the annual fee.

Benefits#

Free annual medical check-up (worth 120 RMB)
Free annual dental cleaning (worth 100 RMB?)
6 opportunities per year to book hotels at a price of 300 RMB (can be used during holidays)
6 domestic airport VIP lounge visits per year
12 golf practice sessions per year
1,500 points = 2,000 miles for Eastern Airlines/China Airlines; 1,800 points = 2,000 miles for Asia Miles, with an annual limit of 50,000 miles
Delay insurance: Compensation of 600 RMB for delays of 3-5 hours, 2,000 RMB for delays of 6 hours or more, with a limit of 12 claims or 20,000 RMB per year. Compensation of 100 RMB for flight cancellations and 600 RMB for diversion or return flights.

Application Requirements#

Currently, the requirements have been increased. You need to have a Golden Sunflower account (with a deposit of 500,000 RMB) to apply for this card.

ABC Essence White#

The easiest card to get unlimited airport VIP lounge access, with a very easy-to-waive annual fee.

Annual Fee#

800 RMB (500 RMB for supplementary cards)

You can use 50,000 points to redeem the annual fee for the main card and supplementary card for the first year, and the annual fee for supplementary cards also requires 5,000 points.

You can waive the annual fee for the following year by meeting a certain spending requirement.

Under normal circumstances, you earn 1 point for every 1 RMB spent. This means you need to spend 50,000 RMB per year to waive the annual fee. However, there is a WeChat five times points package (discontinued in July) that allows you to waive the annual fee by spending a total of 10,000 RMB on the main and supplementary cards.

Benefits#

3 appointments for top-tier hospitals
Unlimited airport VIP lounge access
Roadside assistance
12,500 ABC points can be redeemed for 500 Eastern Airlines or Hainan Airlines miles

Application Requirements#

For individuals within the system, the annual income must exceed 200,000 RMB.
For individuals outside the system, the annual income must exceed 300,000 RMB.
Based on the amount of housing provident fund contributions.

CCB Dashan White#

Annual fee is not easy to waive, but the benefits are better than Essence White.

Annual Fee#

Main card: 1,800 RMB/year
Supplementary card: 1,200 RMB/year

Annual fee waiver policy:

Main card: From January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, the annual fee for the main card can be redeemed for 400,000 points, and the annual fee for the supplementary card can be redeemed for 200,000 points.
Supplementary card: If you apply for a supplementary card during the year 2024, you can apply for one free of charge, and the annual fee will be waived during the validity period. Supplementary cards can now be applied for directly through the CCB app.

Spending bonus points activity:

From January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024, the first 15,000 customers who apply for the Long Card Exclusive Platinum Card and use the card for any amount of consumption will receive 100,000 comprehensive points.

Benefits#

Business travel:

1 night in a luxury hotel:
- From January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, you can enjoy a discounted hotel stay. You can choose between "398 RMB + 1,000 points" or "998 RMB + 1,000 points" to book a stay at a high-end hotel.
Domestic airport/high-speed rail station pick-up and drop-off service:
- The main cardholder can enjoy 3 pick-up and drop-off services at domestic airports/high-speed rail stations per year. This service is available after card activation. If you meet the spending requirements, you can receive an additional pick-up and drop-off service (if you spend 60,000 RMB in the first quarter of 2024 and meet the requirements, you can receive an additional service before the 15th of the following month, up to a maximum of 1 additional service).
Global airport VIP lounge service:
- You can enjoy 5 visits to global Priority Pass airport VIP lounges per calendar year, covering 90 countries and 275 cities worldwide.
Domestic airport VIP lounge service:
- You can enjoy unlimited visits to more than 40 designated domestic airport VIP lounges per calendar year.
Chauffeur service:
- 6 one-way chauffeur services within mainland China (within 50 kilometers) per year, calculated on a calendar year basis.

Sports and fitness:

If you accumulate a total of 30,000 RMB in quarterly spending with the Exclusive Platinum Card, you will receive 2 sports points the following month. Each customer can only participate once per activity year. Activity period: Q1 2024 (accumulated on a quarterly basis); Booking period: Q2-Q4 2024, expired if not used.

Accidental insurance/flight delay insurance:

The flight delay insurance details have not been updated yet, but it is expected to be the same as last year. The coverage is automatically provided upon card activation and does not require card payment. Compensation of 1,000 RMB for delays of 4 hours or more, with an annual limit of up to 5,000 RMB.

Health benefits:

6 appointments for expert outpatient services at top-tier hospitals per year, available for yourself and 2 family members (a total of 3 people).
VIP service at CCB branches, with priority service.

Supplementary Card Benefits#

The first supplementary card is exempt from the annual fee during the validity period.
No hotel, chauffeur, pick-up and drop-off, or roadside assistance benefits, but other benefits are the same as the main card, including delay insurance, Priority Pass, and airport VIP guest services.

Application Requirements#

It is easier to apply if you have your salary deposited with CCB. For others, it depends on income/assets.

CGB Dragon Master Card#

Easy to get, suitable for those with poor conditions but want unlimited airport and high-speed rail VIP lounge access. The only drawback is that the annual fee cannot be waived, although the cashback can cover it.

Annual Fee Policy#

Fixed annual fee of 480 RMB, cannot be waived!

Main Benefits#

Unlimited CGB-operated airport/high-speed rail VIP lounge access
2 points for Longteng high-speed rail VIP lounges per year
1 point for Longteng airport VIP lounges per year
1% cashback for WeChat/Alipay/UnionPay QuickPass payments, with a maximum monthly cashback of 200 RMB per person and a maximum usage of 100 RMB
Choose 2 out of the following benefits:
- 10% cashback for Meituan/Douyin/Dewu/Heytea/Starbucks/McDonald's, with a maximum monthly cashback of 200 RMB per person and a maximum usage of 100 RMB
- If you spend a total of 3,000 RMB or make 12 transactions in a month, you can choose one of the four interest benefits: audio/video, reading, fitness, or gaming.

Application Requirements#

Very easy to apply

BOC Super V Card#

A combination card with one UnionPay card and one Visa card, looks very nice!!! The drawback is that the cashback from UnionPay has a monthly limit of 50 and only lasts for three months. The 10% cashback on overseas spending seems great, but I spent $700 on May 1st and still haven't received the cashback, currently in dispute with customer service...

Annual Fee#

First year is free, second year is waived with 6 transactions

Main Benefits#

Tencent benefits: Choose one of the six monthly benefits (worth 240 RMB): Spend 199 RMB or more in a single transaction using WeChat Pay to meet the requirements. Usually, choose the 20 RMB repayment voucher, which is equivalent to receiving 20 RMB for free every month.
Free repayment of up to 4,000 RMB per month: Not very useful, free repayment with UnionPay QuickPass.
Domestic cashback: During the first three months after card issuance, you can enjoy cashback for every transaction, up to 10%. The cashback rate is based on the transaction amount:
- 10% cashback for transactions between 10 RMB and 100 RMB
- 1.5 RMB cashback for transactions between 100 RMB and 150 RMB
- 2 RMB cashback for transactions between 150 RMB and 200 RMB
- The maximum cashback per transaction is 10 RMB, and the maximum cashback per month is 50 RMB.
3 free visits to overseas airport VIP lounges per year: Use the Longteng VIP lounge, better than nothing.
10% cashback on overseas Visa spending, with a monthly limit of 1,000 USD (100 USD cashback). However, I have been waiting for the cashback for a month and a half after spending 700 USD on May 1st, so there are doubts.

Application Requirements#

Very easy to apply

HSBC Pulse Card#

Annual Fee#

First year is free, subsequent years are waived with voice calls.

Benefits#

RewardCash: Earn a certain percentage of RewardCash (RC) for each transaction. 1 RC can be used to offset 1 HKD of your bill (equivalent to 1 RC = 1 HKD). However, since RC can be exchanged for miles at a high rate, unwanted RC can be sold on Xianyu at a rate of 1 RC:1.05 RMB, which is equivalent to a value of about 1.05 RMB per RC. RC can also be redeemed for airline miles: 1 RC can be exchanged for 10 Asia Miles (Asia Miles currently has a 10% bonus, so it's actually 1:11), British Airways miles, or Singapore Airlines miles. If you hold a Premier card, the exchange rate for British Airways and Singapore Airlines miles can be increased to 1:15.

Cashback:
- Basic cashback rate: 0.4%
- Additional 2% cashback for WeChat/Alipay/UnionPay QuickPass payments
- Additional 2% cashback for RMB/HKD spending (after registering for the World of Rewards)
- New customers can receive 800 RC as a reward for spending 8,000 HKD within 60 days (equivalent to 10%)
- Additional 3% cashback for spending over 8,000 HKD after registering for the Travel Guru membership program (up to 600 RC)

This means that the basic cashback rate is 0.4+2+2=4.4%. The cashback rate for new customers for the first 8,000 HKD spent is 4.4+10=14.4%. The cashback rate for spending between 8,000 HKD and 28,000 HKD is 4.4+3=7.4%. The cashback rate for spending over 28,000 HKD is 4.4%.

Application Requirements#

You must have an HSBC account in Hong Kong. You can either open an account in Hong Kong with a mainland HSBC Premier account (with assets of 500,000 RMB) or open an account in Hong Kong in person.

You need to deposit more than 10,000 HKD into your HSBC account in Hong Kong. 10,000 HKD corresponds to a credit card limit of about 5,000 HKD; 30,000 HKD corresponds to a credit card limit of 10,000 HKD.

Drawbacks#

Cashback can only be stacked with UnionPay + Apple Pay. Apple Pay is available in domestic apps such as Ctrip, Pinduoduo (excluding billion subsidies), Meituan, JD, but many apps do not support it.
RMB bills need to be repaid with offshore RMB, which requires converting mainland RMB to HKD, then converting to offshore RMB for repayment (can also be done by bringing cash of less than 20,000 RMB to Shenzhen for repayment).
Complex cashback rules and cumbersome registration process.

Summary#

These are just some of the credit cards I personally hold or think are good. If you have other needs, you can search for more information. There are many credit card-related public accounts (without promotions) that you can follow, such as:

Following one or two of them should be enough.

Also, try not to have more than five credit cards, as having too many may affect your personal credit.

If you have any other questions, feel free to message me~