cash society

Can-do attitude + Internet + Credit card = China travel here I come!

Wait, not so fast.

First, I have PC paperwork to complete, with approval and signatures to gather from all around.  I feel like a Jr. HS student asking parents to go on a field trip.  But, the bigger hassle is money.  Not that I don’t have much because I’m a volunteer, even though that’s a stark reality, but that I have a foreign credit card.  As a true American, I’m willing to use my credit card to make my dreams happen.  That American value of consumerism totally conflicts with the Chinese value of saving money.  The problem: Chinais largely a cash based society.

I’ve read on the tourist websites that foreign credit cards are accepted at international hotels, fancy restaurants, and high-end stores, none of which are in my near or distant future.

Ty and Stu are coming in a few weeks, so I want to buy plane tickets to southern China.  My tutor, “Jack,” researched Chinese airline websites to see about prices.

Jack gets a Thanksgiving kiss from the French teacher

Jack is a 22 year old graduate student, about to graduate with a degree in English translation and interpretation.  He’s been hanging out with PCVs since he was a freshman, so he's very understanding of and comfortable with American ways.  I had only been in Chongqing a few weeks when I met him on a city bus.  He was bold enough to come up to me and start a conversation, and immediately helped me with directions.  His English is perfect.

The ticket prices sound great, much cheaper than I can find using kayak.com.  I called the airline, press 2 for English, make it through the reservation, only to get shut-down at the US MasterCard payment.  “You need a Chinese credit card.”

I have a Chinese bank account, with a national Union Pay debit card, but little money on it because of the volunteer part.  So, I reviewed my banking vocabulary, and went to the bank, thinking I can move money from my US debit card to my China debit card.  The bank teller doesn’t think it’s so simple.  I called Jack to translate, by passing the phone back and forth through the window slot, and pushing the patience of the teller.

I get sent to the ATM to withdraw CASH, ...whoa, I need a lot of RMB!  Of course, there is a too low RMB transaction limit, and I don’t come close to the amount I need.  While the machine is spitting out bills, I’m thinking about the PCV safety and security video of a Chinese girl getting stabbed at an ATM machine, and I’m thinking about the lesson on checking all bills 50 yuan or bigger to see if they are counterfeit.  Everyone check their bills here, counterfeiting is that common.    

With a fist full of unchecked bills, I go back to the teller who makes the deposit on my Bank of China debit card.  I think all is good, I head up the hill and to the phone for the airline tickets: same person, same conversation, and same outcome.  This time, the problem is my debit card is not established for online/phone purchases.  What?

Another trip to the bank is needed, but Jack is on a plane to Saudi Arabia.  Ever thoughtful, Jack leaves his friend “Michael” to tutor me while he is away for a month.  We go back to the bank together, and unbelievably, I remember my passport, a good thing because new forms are required.  The teller is obviously relieved to see Michael this time.   

In the end, I now have a small electronic device with numbers scrolling and changing every so often.  To make a purchase, I need to enter these numbers, my card number, AND I need to enter numbers from a text message.  Talk about security! 

Do I have the tickets? Not yet.

My sister emailed me a few possible airline websites with competitive prices and with an international credit card option.  I love and miss using my credit card.