Originally Posted by temppeternh

The situation with foreign credit cards has changed little. Frequent sightings of VISA and MASTERCARD logos doesn't mean that foreign versions of these cards are acceptable, and where foreign cards *are* acceptable it's a good sign that you'll certainly be paying a lot more than you need to for whatever you're buying (in souvenir shops typically many multiples more). Where ticket agencies actually accept cards there may be a surcharge of up to 4%. In the big hotels where credit cards are routinely accepted, there are now frequent problems with currency conversion. Either the choice of paying in local currency (and letting the card do the conversion) is ignored when you make it, or the choice is not offered, even though credit card companies require that it be so. Opting to pay in your home currency can cost you as much as 7% extra, stolen by way of a poor conversion rate. Services such as ticket acquisition (which you shouldn't be asking your hotel to do anyway) still require cash and cannot be charged to the room.

But WeChat wallet, part of the ubiquitous WeChat app found on the phone of every single Chinese, and a principle form of payment, can now be linked to a foreign credit card or debit card (this has been possible since 2018, in fact), opening mobile phone payments to foreigners. So the option to download that app and set it up to make sure it works before leaving home is also there. (Alerting your card company that you're doing that would probably be a good idea.) It is possible that the other main phone-based method of payment, Alipay, can now also be linked to foreign cards, but it is said that you have to have a Chinese bank card to link first, before adding a foreign one. So that will be of little use to most.