too many choices to make

There are so many choices to make in our daily lives.

Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna^* get. As Forrest Gump^* said.

Credit / Debit Card

UnionPay

Why I advise against applying for Visa / Mastercard cards issued by most Chinese banks?

Including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, most of the credit and debit cards issued by most Chinese banks are invalid at card readers when used abroad.

There are so many banks available in China that it can be difficult for you to choose.

All recommended banks in China are listed below:

bank	full name	Chinese	feature	rating	note
BOC	Bank of China	中國銀行	international	🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡	the most common bank in foreign countries
ABC	Agriculture bank of China	中國農業銀行	down-to-earth	🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡	the most accessible bank in both urban and rural areas
ICBC	Industrial and commercial bank of China	中國工商銀行	business	🧡🧡🧡🧡	the bank with the largest assets under management in China
CIB/SPDB/CGB	Industrial bank / Shanghai Pudong development bank / Guangdong development bank	興業銀行 / 浦發銀行 / 廣發銀行	regional bank	🧡🧡🧡	optional
CMB	China merchants bank	招商銀行	app	🧡🧡🧡🧡	excellent app features

Opening a red envelope account for your child is a wise choice.

I advise you not to apply for a dual-standard UnionPay credit card, as there are many restrictions on discounts and benefits during promotional activities.

Mastercard

CIB universal life Mastercard credit card with the symbol “Business executive” on the cover can’t be successfully added to Apple Pay.

HSBC HK Mastercard debit card and BOC HK Mastercard debit card, issued by banks in Hong Kong, are good choices and can be successfully added to Apple Pay.

Visa

Visa cards are more common than American Express cards, but not as common as Mastercard.

I have two Visa debit cards, both converted from virtual cards issued by digital banks in Hong Kong.

I don’t have a Visa card issued by a bank in China.

American Express

American Express cards are rarely seen in our daily lives, while UnionPay cards are the most common in China.

Phone number

You must have a Chinese SIM card, and if possible, get another SIM card such as a Hong Kong SIM card.

The additional SIM card is prepared for foreign apps such as WhatsApp, Google, Apple, and Discord.

personal preference:

• China Unicom +86
• Club Sim +852

None

Keep it as it’s.

Apple ID

Due to the policies of a particular country, some apps are not available in the App Store of that country / region.

You need to change the country / region of your Apple account to download the apps you need.

country / region change: (may continue)
CHN ~> USA ~> HKG ~> USA ~> SGP ~> AUS ~> HKG ~> SGP

Due to the “ Fraudulent Website Warning ” section mentioned in Safari & Privacy, I’m confused again about the region selection.

If you would like to view the Chinese version, please refer to Safari & Privacy.

Feature	Hong Kong 🇭🇰	Singapore 🇸🇬	USA 🇺🇸
Payment	Easy	Difficult	Hard
Time zone*	UTC+8, the same	UTC+8, the same	12 hours behind
Easy access	Difficult	Easy	Very easy
App Store	Limited	Sufficient*	Rich
Language	British English & Cantonese (not Traditional Chinese)	British English	English

[!TIP] *:

• gonna: is used in written English to present the words ‘going to’ when they are pronounced informally. 用于书面英语中表示 going to 的非正式发音形式
• Forrest Gump: Forrest Gump quoted his mother.
• time zone: [N-Count] a time zone is one of the areas into which the world is divided where the time is calculated as being a particular number of hours behind or ahead of GMT. 时区
  also time-zone.
• sufficient: [Adj.] if something is sufficient for a particular purpose, there is enough of it for the purpose. 足够的;充足的 [also + for]
  [Adj.] if something is a sufficient cause or condition for something to happen, it can happen. (理由、条件)充足的,充分的 [formal]

Reference

• Universal Life