[Krad]

Originally Posted by cerberus

hey laughing monkey, no visa debits alas, just those eps cards. that's one thing i'm enjoying now stateside, the convenience of debit usage.

but hsbc and hang seng are the same bank, no prob there. and five months on the job will be more than enough. i recommend standard chartered, best bank in hk.

Well, technically, Octopus is a debit card, just doesn't have quite the versatility of the Visa debits. I never quite understood the use of debit cards, anyways. If you have the money to pay for it, why not pay off your credit card every month and take advantage of the interest float?

Heh, I found it interesting that they're just rolling out those Mastercard "tap" cards in the US and touting it as "new, state of the art technology", and we've been using Octopus on the subways, buses, 7-11s for years now...

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by Krad

Well, technically, Octopus is a debit card

No it isn't - EPS is the debit card. Octopus is an electronic stored value card.

[Krad]

Originally Posted by PDLM

No it isn't - EPS is the debit card. Octopus is an electronic stored value card.

Yes, but you're deducting transaction amounts from a preset amount stored on your card. Wouldn't that be a debit?

Either way, you should really consider paying off credit card balances monthly, in which case, the interest amount of each credit card doesn't really matter anymore. You save money and the banks don't get to screw you over with interest.

[dropdedfwed]

Originally Posted by Krad

Heh, I found it interesting that they're just rolling out those Mastercard "tap" cards in the US and touting it as "new, state of the art technology", and we've been using Octopus on the subways, buses, 7-11s for years now...

yes, and if i remember correctly, the technology was bought from an aussie company. in melbourne, all the hardware is already at every station, but as no company had the $ or foresight to implement the idea further, it has all gone to waste. but then, that's nothing new when it comes to aussie ideas/tech/research - no-one local can afford to implement them, so it all goes o/s...

[coolgirl]

Originally Posted by JohnO

Apparently they only issue cards to permanent residents - and I am not quite patient enough to wait 7 years to get that status in order to have one of their cards.

Not true. I applied and my card is waiting in the main branch but im so lazy to pick it up.

That is absolutely bad service. How can they decline an application of a depositor? Unless your documents are incomplete.

I have around 12-14 cards now. It's so easy to apply. Just stop by any of the booths offering them around Central / Causeway Bay / Mongkok.

Fastest application: Citibank, DBS, ABN Amro. HSBC took a lot of prodding, but after my first two cards with them, it was easy to give me another two.

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by coolgirl

I have around 12-14 cards now.

I just have to ask... WHY? What's the point of having more than 2 or 3 credit cards? (Say one Visa, one mastercard, one Amex). Am I missing something obvious here?

[freeier]

cos...

1. u are not a woman
2. u are not a woman
3. u are not a woman
4. u are not a woman ...
.
.
.
.
.

8-P

[coolgirl]

Originally Posted by PDLM

I just have to ask... WHY? What's the point of having more than 2 or 3 credit cards? (Say one Visa, one mastercard, one Amex). Am I missing something obvious here?

Free gifts. I "retire" most cards after I get the welcome gift.

[discobay]

Fastest application: Citibank, DBS, ABN Amro. HSBC took a lot of prodding, but after my first two cards with them, it was easy to give me another two.

Citibank took nearly five weeks to issue my card. AMEX took five days - absolutely fantastic and by courier too!

[applefan]

Originally Posted by discobay

Citibank took nearly five weeks to issue my card. AMEX took five days - absolutely fantastic and by courier too!

I applied for a Citibank card about three weeks ago and am still waiting for it. This is ridiculous. Why does it take so long to process a card? Since I just moved to HK about a month ago, I'm buying all my stuff with cash and it gets to be rather inconvenient and annoying. I also have a Citibank card in the U.S. but I don't think they take that into consideration at all. I should take a look at Amex then even though I thought I wouldn't...