Digital wallets such as PayMe, Octopus O! ePay, WeChat Pay and AlipayHK are getting more and more popular nowadays. They all support P2P transactions in which uers are able to transfer money via credit cards. P2P transactions offer an alternative for you when chipping in with meals and helping out with family expenses. For some credit cards, you could even earn points or Miles when using P2P transactions.
Generally speaking, P2P payments are conducted by firstly, adding your credit card to your digital wallet and then adding value or deducting money directly from your credit card during the transaction. O! ePay requires users to add value to their Octopus cards and then using the balance from their O! ePay accounts to transfer.
Things to be noted:
- Beware of the daily, monthly and annual transaction limit of each digital wallet.
- O! ePay is only supported on NFC enabled Android mobile devices and Octopus Mobile Reader embedded iPhones.
- O! ePay requires 0.5% handling fees per month for transferring more than HK$5,000 of your account balance to your bank account.
- BOC and other credit card issuers require 1.5% and 3% handling fees respectively, for transferring more than HK$5,000 from your AlipayHK account per month.
Although many banks put explicitly in their user agreements that digital wallet top-up is not regarded as an eligible transaction, some claim that they could still earn Points with such kinds of credit cards. If you would like to know whether or not you can earn Points with your credit card, you could test it yourself by using the card for small purchases and transfer and see whether you are rewarded with points or Miles afterwards. However, banks may modify their regulations from time to time so nothing is really guaranteed.
|
Credit Card |
Digital Wallet |
Reward |
| DBS Black World Mastercard | PayMe
Alipay HK WeChat Pay |
HK$6=1 Asia Miles |
| CCB (Asia) eye Card | PayMe
Alipay HK |
HK$3=1 Asia Miles or 2% rebates |
| Dah Sing British Airways Platinum Card | PayMe
Alipay HK WeChat Pay O! ePay |
HK$6=1 Avios |
| Standard Chartered Asia Miles Mastercard | O! ePay | HK$6=1 Asia Miles |
DBS Black World Mastercard: PayMe / Alipay HK / WeChat Pay HK$6=1 Asia Miles
Although its welcoming offers do not include digital wallet reloading, you could still earn HK$6=1 Asia Miles with daily top-up or local purchases via P2P transactions. However, the rate of HK$250=$1DSB for Octopus automatic pop up service is quite low. It would wiser to pick other credit cards for this service.
Benefits:
- HK$250=DBS$2 (HK$6=1 Asia Miles) for local transactions.
- HK$250=DBS$3 (HK$4=1 Asia Miles) for overseas transactions.
- Redeem DBS$ for travel rewards on iGO Rewards with 45% off at most.
- A free copy of newspaper/magazine under $15 in RELAY bookstore at the HK airport.
- No handling fee for mileage conversion.
CCB (Asia) eye Card: Reloading taken as online transactions HK$3=1 Asia Miles or 2% rebates
Earn 5X Points for online transactions, including reloading your digital wallets. However, the reward offered may not be guaranteed because some people ended up not being rewarded with extra points.
Benefits:
- HK$1=1 Point, HK$15=1 Asia Miles or 0.4% rebates for basic transactions.
- 5X Points (HK$3=1 Asia miles or 2% rebates) for online and contactless payments.
- Permanent annual fee waiver (HK$1,500)
- 2X extra Points for travel and foreign currency spending after joining Instant Fly Club.
- More information.
Dah Sing British Airways Platinum Card: Best Pick for Earning Avios
As both Cathay Pacific and British Airways are members of oneworld Airline Alliance, you could redeem your Avios earned from BA Executive Club for air tickets of Cathay Pacific. Many would opt for earning Avios instead of Asia Miles. There are fewer options for earning Avios in Hong Kong, with this co-branded card being one of them. Enjoy HK$6=1 Avis for reloading digital wallet and Octopus Card, and free automatic conversion of Avios per month.
Noted that the validity period of Avios is 36 months. As long as there is transaction activity in your Avios account with 36 months, the validity period of the Avios would be suspended for another 36 months. That means the Avios are effective permanently if you keep your account active.
Benefits:
- HK$6=6 Points, or HK$6=1 Avios for basic transactions. HK$6=2 Avios on the birthday.
- HK$6=1.5 Avios for overseas transactions.
- Automatic monthly conversion to Avios. No handling fees required.
- 2X Avios, or HK$6=2 Avios for airfare booking on the official website of British Airways or via any Visitor Information Services Center.
- First 3-year annual fee waiver (HK$1,800).
- More information.
Standard Chartered Asia Miles Mastercard: Automatic Top Up for Octopus Card HK$6=1 Asia Miles
Apparently, there are no rewards for reloading your digital wallet with Standard Chartered Asia Miles Mastercard. However, some people claim that they are rewarded with HK$6=1 Asia Miles when paying with PayMe or P2P Payments. But whether or not it is true that banks are relaxing their rules on digital wallet reload still remains uncertain. You could sign up for adding value to your O! ePay account with your octopus in order to enjoy HK$6=1 Asia Miles offered by automatic reload.
Benefits:
- HK$4=1 Asia Miles for dining and foreign currency spending
- Auto-conversion to Miles per month
- No handling fee for mileage conversion
- On top of earning HK$4=1 Asia Miles, enjoy an extra offer of HK$1=1 Asia Miles on Mondays during promotion periods and HK$2=1 Asia Miles on all other days for dining in any Asia Miles Partner Restaurant