Just wanted to know how u bros do it when u go mongering in china..
i carry cash and card, but am always paranoid abt running out of cash especially on weekends when banks are not open..
i have a credit card but cannot access my cash as the bank i use in oz wont allow it, they charge me cash advance fees, which is bloody expensive. so these days i resort to carrying around abt 5krmb.. just incase i want a real fuckfest.. lol

Cash is always KING in China. Too bad the maximum denomination is only RMB100. It really stacks up in the pocket.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 4-5-2010 17:43 ]

yeah but waiting in line in the bank of china sux... i waited for like 2 hours once.. the foreign transaction teller went to lunch without telling anyone... pricks!

Proposal of issuing RMB 500

China Net March 11 reports, the largest denomination of RMB is too small, 100 yuan notes can no longer meet the rapid growth of economy. CPPCC national Committee member, Chairman of the Board at Hong Kong Yu Zhen Holding Group Co. Ltd. Chen Zhendong (陈振东) submitted a proposal at the CPPCC National Committee yesterday that the time for issuing 500 yuan RMB notes has come.

Read full article

would be a good move IMO.....i don't use credit cards at anything other than major hotels...............just goto to the atm and get wads of cash the safest option

I carry around about 500rmb and a Bank of China ATM card when I'm in China. If I need more there's branches all over the place, most now have ATM's.

I do have my credit card with me, but this is for emergencies only, the extra fees for using it in China would be exorbitant. Luckily never had to use it yet, but always ring my credit card company before leaving and let then know I'll be in China for x number of weeks.

Cash is indeed king. I was present at a small apartment purchase in Kunming a few years back. The buyer showed up with 320,000rmb in a shopping bag.

[ Last edited by  atomic3d at 5-5-2010 05:06 ]

... leave it in my relatives' house and have them help me get a black-market exchange whenever I need RMBs.  So I just carry about 2000 RMB unless I am going to dinner where I have to treat friends or relatives.  I can't see any reason to carry more than 2000RMB, it is more than sufficient for anything that may come up, especially for me, I am usually in very small cities.

You do not need to go to a bank in China to change HK$ or US$ into RMB. I usually go a convenience store which also sells water and cigarettes or apparel. They're all over the place, these black market money changers. I've changed hundreds of  thousands this way, my biggest transaction was HK$122,000 in one go which exceeds the daily legal limit at a bank. I do have a few regular shops I visit. All these shops have a money counting machine. Make sure the shop has the Meili brand as this could reliably detect the counterfeit bills.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 4-5-2010 19:00 ]

RMB 500 notes? This is tricky. There are just too many fake RMB100 bills in China. The problem may get 5 times worse if they started printing bigger denominations.

eh ... have you tried to pay a girl with a credit card ?  
and even if you're in a sauna or OK, what type of credit cards do they accept in China ?

cash is the best payment solution with your limit.
When finish you stack, you will not pay for more.
Credit card only for the big hotel, restaurant...
As you can see most of the Chinese who come to HK pay in cash too.

Common Sense. Carry both.
Just like you travel to any other countries for business or leisure.


China in particularly:
Cash depend how many days you will be in China. (RMB500 to 800 a day).
Card 1 - 1 Union PAy (accepted countrywide as long as they have the machine)
Card 2 - Credit + ATM. Just in case you need extra cash, you can withdraw some. But keep the liquid cash at minimal in this account.



For punting purposes:
Only well established and bigger joints accept cards. Sometime only union pay card.

coming from oz..i dont have usd or hkd.. only aud. They dont accept it.. alot of them dont know what our currencies look like.

[ Last edited by  cnf at 5-5-2010 00:09 ]

i have no problems paying ktv or saunas with credit.. mostly try for amex first coz its triple points, if that dosnt work... the mastercard always does.
the girls aways want cash... if i get the girls in the sauna, they expect cash however i have also been able to pay them with credit in some places, such as the ramada spa/sauna in humen, DG

like hunt said and what I tried to say ... in China, places accepting international credit cards are far and few in between,
maybe some big hotels but most big establishments don't. When you punt in China cash (RMB) is king !

I would never pay the saunas or ktvs with credit as I have heard stories that some of the staff may be dodgy and use a card skimmer to get all your sensitive credit card details from the magnetic strip.  Credit is solely reserved for the foreign-branded hotels.  At least with those hotels, if there is any theft, I can file a claim with them.  With the saunas or ktvs, not a chance.

Carrying too much too cash is extremely unsafe traveling alone. Once you are off from some form of transportation, like a bus, train, taxi carrying LUGGAGE, it is extremely dangerous. It is hard to run away with luggage.

If I'm staying away from home for a long time, I carry traveler checks like American Express. They are free from my bank.  The banks in China will give you a slightly higher rate than cash.  If lost or stolen, you can get your money back. The bad thing they are hard to cash at banks. You have to go to a MAIN branch.

I generally use my cash first then use my ATM and credit cards last when I run out.  

The amounts in the ATM account is just enough for my travels. In other words, a small amount of money in case I get robbed or kidnapped.  If I need more, I just ask someone to deposit more money in my account back home. For example an email to a friend for money to be deposited but it has not happen yet.


In the end, it depends on how long are you traveling and how big of a spender are you. Some people can spend 5000RMB in 2-3 days mongering.  They stay at 5 star hotels and go to high end KTVs. The longer away from home, the more money you will need.

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 5-5-2010 18:11 ]

cash - 5000 rmb, 1-2000usd/cad

credit card - visa x 2

debit card (plus) - 1

macau saunas - usually cc @ rio, cash at all the other operations

so in otherwords, not too much cash, and not too little... i roll in a BIG group. almost never alone.

That is odd I've never encountered a problem converting AUD$ into remimbi, wether legally at the bank or via the money changers. Usually use the money changers if I need small amounts of AUD$ in China. If I need to convert large amounts I use a forex changer in Burwood, Sydney.

If you are in Sydney cnf and are going to be travelling to China regularly P.M. me and I'll arrange an introduction.

What they need to do is adopt the plastic fantastic notes that we developed and use here in Australia. Very hard to counterfeit, virtually wiped out the counterfeit trade here in Australia overnight.

I find the Chinese always have a big smile on their faces on the odd occasion when I've given them one of our strange notes to feel, though oddly they seem more fascinated by Elizabeth2 on the back of our coins.