CITIC issued this card early on with American Express after Amex obtained its license. On the American Express official website, it is categorized under Gold Debit Cards.

I also opened this card very early. This is essentially the first post in a new series.

Card Application

Applying for the card online with CITIC is very simple. For debit cards, you can apply directly in the CITIC Bank APP homepage → All Services → Bank Card Supermarket. The American Express RMB Card you want to apply for is under 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.

Click Apply for Card, and it will automatically jump to the application form page. Then, just fill out the form according to the on-screen prompts.

Opening the card will deduct 5 RMB, which will later be directly deposited into your account.

After filling it out, just wait at home. You will later receive a card as shown in the picture below.

The BIN is 377138, and the validity period is only five years. However, CITIC does not require a branch visit for card replacement or reissuance. You can do it in the APP by filling in the card number, CVV, and identity information. This means that, barring other issues, you only need to visit a branch once after receiving this card.

Branch Activation

I activated it at the CITIC Bank Nanning Branch. I only brought my bank card and ID card, nothing else (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 permanently residing locally. Then, they didn't ask me to provide additional documents like proof of employment or student status. They opened a Type II card for me with a monthly limit of 5000. For me at the time, being able to get a Type II card was already satisfying.

Usage Experience

According to online information, several of CITIC's non-UnionPay cards have 3DS. Indeed, when binding this Amex card on Fantia, it could send verification codes. However, CITIC Bank's chargeback rate is truly frightening, which is why I don't use this card much myself.

Binding to Google Play works normally, binding to WeChat and Alipay works normally, and binding to UnionPay QuickPass works normally. At least this indicates the card functions properly. What a shame. CITIC, when will you fix that chargeback rate issue?

Afterword

Some people will definitely say, "Hey, you should have opened it as a Type I card." That's correct, but I later gave that opportunity to another card of mine—the CITIC Wealth Management Treasure Standard Card (this card was opened via a bug, with almost unlimited limits). I feel it's better to allocate the Type I card to UnionPay, after all, Type I cards can handle foreign exchange purchases. I did the same with Bank of China.