Paying for a China Odyssey Tours holiday

ozmoto on 24/08/2013 - 08:04

I am about to pay for a holiday to China through China Odyssey Tours. They have given me three options to pay.

  1. Paypal
  2. Credit Card (authorization letter by fax)
  3. Wire Transfer (Regular Bank Transfer)

I don't like PayPal as although the transaction is supposed to be free to me they actually add a hidden fee of over $500 through their exchange rates!
The credit card method sounds really dodgy - send them photocopies of your card plus a heap of personal details.
Don't know much about the third method.

What have others used to pay for holidays when the company you are dealing with is based in China?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Travel

Comments

  • c64 on 24/08/2013 - 08:29
    +1

    if you did have to deal with a chinese company, i would be inclined to use a credit card. paypal offers no buyer protection for services. you will get stung with a foreign currency conversion fee by your bank using credit card but credit card offers some protection for up to 180 days in certain circumstances. once you do a wire transfer your money is gone, but probably has the best exchange rates.

    are they much cheaper than an australian agent? all the tours you could probably get locally in china once you arrive or you could just do it your own.

  • ozmoto on 24/08/2013 - 09:03

    Thanks for the reply. I'm happy with the tour company and what they offer. It's just the payment part that I don't like.

    I won flights to Hong Kong and needed to organise a land based tour. China odyssey Tours come highly recommended.

    With regard to paying by credit card they say in their blurb … "Right now we do not provide online credit card payment. The reason is that the current e-commerce infrastructure in China is not as mature as that in western countries. Hence its reliability and safety could be concerns." Thats why they need photocopies of your card plus heaps of other info - great for identity fraud :-) I will find out from the bank what the charges are.

  • anna10 on 25/08/2013 - 08:55

    Perhaps use the 28Degrees card w' no forex fees and good exchange rates. if you have not got it, it can be quick to apply for online..

  • zhenjie on 25/08/2013 - 09:42

    If you have a 28Degrees card go for Paypal with money charged at at the currency being paid (an option you need to change). 28degrees will have better rates then even a wire transfer (Ozforex, your bank, etc).

  • ozmoto on 25/08/2013 - 10:33

    Just tried applying for a 28 degrees card - unfortunately not eligible :-(

  • anna10 on 25/08/2013 - 10:40

    Who is it that actually pays money out of the gross amount to Paypal for their fees?

    Citibank also have a good no forex fees card. Just apply for the lowest limit that will cover you for the tkts perhaps.

    • ozmoto on 25/08/2013 - 13:39

      PayPal wins at both ends. Even though there are no fees to pay by the sender, they get the sender of money if there needs to be a change of currency eg. Australian dollars to US dollars, because of their poor exchange rate. The receiver of the funds then pays a percentage fee to PayPal.

  • anna10 on 25/08/2013 - 16:19

    I have loaded my 28 Degrees card, AmeX and everything on to Paypal depending on what's best for the purpose. Amex etc of course racks up points.

    If the OP has trouble getting a cc due to low income or no credit history, it's a good idea to start working up a good credit history.

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