After American Express obtained its license, CITIC Bank quickly partnered with Amex to issue this card. On the American Express official website, it is categorized under Gold Debit Card.

I also applied for this card early on. Now, this is like the first article of a new series.

Card Application

Applying for the card online via CITIC Bank is very simple. For a debit card, go to the CITIC Bank APP homepage → All Services → Bank Card Supermarket to apply. The American Express RMB Card you want is in the Standard Card Series. In the same category, there are also three CITIC UnionPay card types, as well as MasterCard dual-currency cards, MasterCard foreign currency cards, and VISA foreign currency cards.

Press Apply for Card, and it will automatically jump to the form page. Fill in the form according to the prompts.

Applying for the card costs 5 RMB, which will be directly credited to your account.

After filling in the form, just wait at home. You will receive a card like the one below.

The BIN is 377138, and the card is valid for only five years. However, for card replacement or renewal, you don't need to visit a branch; you can do it in the APP by entering the card number, CVV, and identity information. That means, if there are no other issues, you only need to go to a branch once to get this card.

Branch Activation

I activated the card at the CITIC Bank Nanning Branch. I only brought my bank card and ID card (I was quite naive at the time).

The entire process was done on a self-service machine. During the process, the staff repeatedly confirmed that I was a local resident and lived locally. Then they didn't ask me to provide additional documents like proof of employment or student status. They issued me a Type II card with a monthly limit of 5,000 RMB. For me at that time, being able to get a Type II card was already satisfying.

Usage

According to online sources, several of CITIC's non-UnionPay cards support 3DS. When I actually bound this Amex card on Fantia, it did send a verification code. However, CITIC Bank's chargeback rate is terrifying, which is why I don't use this card much myself.

Binding to Google Play works fine, binding to WeChat and Alipay works fine, and binding to UnionPay QuickPass works fine. At least this shows the card is functional. It's a pity, CITIC, when will you solve your chargeback rate issue?

Afterword

Some people will surely say, "You should have applied for a Type I card." That's true, but I later gave that opportunity to another card of mine—the CITIC LiCaiBao PuKa (this card was obtained through a bug exploit and has almost no limit). I feel it's better to give the Type I card to UnionPay, since Type I cards can purchase foreign currency. I did the same with Bank of China.