When you travel in Hong Kong, you can use your credit cards freely. Mastercard and Visa are more widely accepted than American Express cards, but there are cash machines and merchants where you can use Amex.
Most cash machines in Hong Kong won’t charge you fees for cash withdrawals – so if you need some cash once you land, you can get it at the airport ATMs. You’ll be charged for the currency conversion, but if you opt for a credit card with fee-free spending overseas, your funds will be converted at the standard Mastercard or Visa rates.
When you use your card in Hong Kong, you may incur these fees:
Yes, you can. But the good news is you can avoid most fees if you get a credit card without foreign transaction fees (or even better, one that doesn’t charge for overseas cash withdrawals either), decline the DCC when offered, and only use cash machines that don’t charge a fee.
Getting cash with your credit card in Hong Kong has more favourable exchange rates than if you exchange cash. However, depending on your card, there could be a cash advance fee and/or a non-sterling transaction fee. Also, it’s not unusual for cards to charge a different rate of interest on cash advances, and to charge interest from the day the account is debited (rather than letting you take advantage of interest-free days).
No. But you can use Uber and pay for a rideshare with your card through the app.
In Hong Kong, most credit cards are chip without a PIN cards. In some cases, if your PIN has four digits, you may need to add two zeros at the end for it to work.
Yes, it’s safe to use your card in Hong Kong. But for added security, always try to:
Hong Kong is a credit-card-friendly territory. You shouldn’t have any issues using your plastic to pay in most places. Taxis are the only service that won’t accept credit cards, but if that’s the case, you can always call Uber and pay through the app.
Consider taking out a card with no overseas transaction fees, and then decline DCC if offered.
Consider a card with fee-free spending abroad and decline decline dynamic currency conversion to avoid card charges in Taiwan.
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