Mailing credit cards to Vietnam

I think postal service for credit cards internationally is a bad idea.

Document service from a reputable courier would work... Probably around 30USD

Credit cards do not fall into the  Documents category. Neither for shipping nor for customs purposes.

I recently had a credit card shipped to Saigon via DHL Express International from Berlin together with two pairs of sneakers (~80 EUR per pair).

All important info on the card was carefully taped with black tape beforehand and the card was sealed in an envelope.  Clearance took about two days and fees were 1.5 million VND. Envelope was opened but the tape that hid the card info was unharmed. I still reduced my limit for online payments and I'll get a new card once I'll be able to travel to Europe again but at least for now I can continue to withdraw money without any additional fees.

Credit and bank cards by DHL will be fine and can safely be sent using Dhls document pouches, if they are shipped alone they will not be treated as 'goods' and fall under the clearance process employed for documents, after all you don't pay for a credit or bank card and as such had no commercial value.

Shipping them with them with the trainer's that do fall under commercially sellable goods is why the formal clearance process was used by DHL

Yes and no.

In practice you'll not have any problems shipping credit cards with any courier service. I didn't keep the receipt so, not exactly sure if they applied any value to my card.

However cards still don't count as documents even when shipped alone neither by the DHL guidelines nor from customs side. The definition is vague ***

"any piece of written, drawn, printed or digital information, excluding objects of merchandise, whose physical specifications lie within the limits specified in the Regulations"

When developing gateway software for Aramex - DHL exchange we were instructed to handle everything that's not informational print or digital copy of files as goods.

Doesn't matter in the end, every courier service will ship it as a document and every customs agency will clear it eventually.

Simple take it along to DHL with identification and watch them package it for you and attached "DOX" waybill... Originally document service rendered to the DHL flyer envelopes, and later had the terminology updated to be more specific.

As for software, that is a physical product for sale or distribution for commercial uses... Credit cards and bank cards are not for sale, and intended to be used by the person named on the card.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

As for software, that is a physical product for sale or distribution for commercial uses...

I wasn't clear here. My company developed an exchange gateway for interchanging shipment data between DHL and Aramex  for a huge NGO operation. Though highly unlikely to ever be be shipped with this service level, credit cards would have been treated as goods not as documents.

Any item shipped that is accepted for shipment that has a value has to be accompanied with an invoice confirming the value of the item. Even if the shipper declares it as free if charge or gift it MUST show a value, since credit cards do not have a face value they cannot be classified as such.

Credit and debit cards are not documents per se, but have no value. Under HS heading 4901 which covers printed matter the description doesn't accurately match for bank issued cards for personal users.

Zero commercial value means they have to ship as if they were documents.

A non-document or product shipment defines all other shipments and printed materials of value. Examples include clothing, automobile parts, sports equipment, books, etc. All non-document international shipments require a commercial invoice.

Last year, our banks sent credit cards to us 4 times:  twice with DHL, once with FedEx, and once with UPS.  The 2 envelopes by DHL and the one by FedEx arrived safely.  The envelope by UPS disappeared without trace.

This year, my daughter sent 2 credit cards to me via UPS.  She put the credit cards inside two pairs of compression socks.  One credit card was missing, together with one sock from each pair, leaving me with one credit card, one blue sock, and one grey sock.  She paid $125 for the shipping (she claimed $17 value on the socks).

The bank then sent the replacement for my credit card plus my husband's new credit card by DHL.  The envelope arrived untampered.

Seems to be a bit hit and miss. Previous company I worked for had a contract for Burberry, every two years we sent between 4000-5000 customer cards out globally to the rich and famous, all went with DHL problems.

Like anything there is always a risk...

I was in Hoi An last year and had an issue with my credit card, so my bank sent me a replacement via Fedex.  Totally traceable, arrived in 5 days from Canada, no problems, no tampering.

zeubie wrote:

I was in Hoi An last year and had an issue with my credit card, so my bank sent me a replacement via Fedex.  Totally traceable, arrived in 5 days from Canada, no problems, no tampering.

That's been my general experience as well when a replacement card was needed here.

The one instance that didn't work was an initial mailing by U.S. Bank in response to my call to their call center.

The person then said they didn't have an option for special handling.

Of course the card never arrived through normal mail, and I eventually needed to reach a supervisor who could authorize mail/courier with tracking.

An important distinction in this thread:

It's best if you arrange to have the card issuer send the card directly to you here in Vietnam.

The card won't be activated while in transit.

The scheme of hiding a card in other mail from a third party is especially unwise, as the card won't officially be in that mail and you'll have zero recourse should customs seize or pilfer it.

Especially unwise is to have your 3rd party mail you an activated card.

My friend's daughter activated a card prior to mailing it to Vietnam, and of course, the card was used by someone illegally, though it was as good as mailing cash by having it be activated beforehand. I believe all of the services will refuse to ship an active card for that very reason. I attempted to send active cards to a friend traveling out of the country, and FEDEX & DHL refused.

Not familiar with credit cards issued from US banks, how much control do you have over your cards?

I have three cards, two from German banks and one from a Swiss bank. All three come with apps that allow me to activate/deactivate the card, setting limits for withdrawals and online payments within my credit line and limiting the use of the card to specific countries.

Do American banks not offer this?

devbob wrote:

Not familiar with credit cards issued from US banks, how much control do you have over your cards?

I have three cards, two from German banks and one from a Swiss bank. All three come with apps that allow me to activate/deactivate the card, setting limits for withdrawals and online payments within my credit line and limiting the use of the card to specific countries.

Do American banks not offer this?

There are some who are adding those features. Some more than others. My Schwab Bank app allows me some of those controls. My US Bank doesn't allow any control so far

Royal Bank of Canada VISA card - four days Toronto to Vung Tau with UPS.

Vietnam Post - forget it.

thank you one and all - at least now i know what my options are and that there is a reasonable probability of success..!

Get an Amex platinum card, great perks, amazing offers, if you are staying abroad for 48hrs after losing your card they will send one to you abroad.

I'm a proper amex points nerd.

I used FEDEX from New Zealand to Vung Tau for credit card delivery in June this year.

Agent made comment to send in original packaging, not as opened and in use (in use currency) as a safeguard.

CC arrived within 6 days cleared and in use.

How is Amex acceptance in VN? It's TERRIBLE in Germany, so I never bothered getting one even though they have amazing benefits when spending proper amounts.

Think most places don't like it anywhere, I have been told AMEX take longer to pay merchants than other card issuers.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Think most places don't like it anywhere, I have been told AMEX take longer to pay merchants than other card issuers.

In my previous business in Canada, we accepted credit cards.  AMEX had higher fees (4.5% I think versus 2.5% for Visa and MC).

I remember years ago being a in a restaurant trying to pay with AMEX... the owner asked if I could use another type of credit card because dealing with AMEX was such a hassle for them.

zeubie wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Think most places don't like it anywhere, I have been told AMEX take longer to pay merchants than other card issuers.

In my previous business in Canada, we accepted credit cards.  AMEX had higher fees (4.5% I think versus 2.5% for Visa and MC).

I remember years ago being a in a restaurant trying to pay with AMEX... the owner asked if I could use another type of credit card because dealing with AMEX was such a hassle for them.

Correct.. higher fees for merchants also, I forgot about that.

Visa and MasterCard have the market pretty much seen up between them.

I struggled to use it in Vietnam but I would also avoid it if I could.  There's a 2.99% foreign transaction charge  for UK cardholders but since mines a business platinum, if it's a genuine business expense, it has to go on it regardless.

It's only really good if you are a US card holder with 0% foreign transactions fees.

It will get you access into the Song Hong business lounge though with your free priority pass and that is one of the better lounges. I prefer asian lounges as they serve a mix of asian and western food as opposed to Lounges in the West.

I would talk to your credit card company.  They may suggest cancelling those cards and send you new ones directly to Vietnam.  I contacted my company (in Canada) ahead of renewal date.  They treated my request like a lost or stolen card.  They cancelled my current cards and sent me replacements at no cost.  I believe it only took about 5 days.

I have the same. Brilliant!

I've been sending - or taking a replacement Mastercard to my wife in Saigon - from my bank in Australia, whenever the current card has about one month left before it is due to expire. Only, of course, if I happen to not be here when the card is due to expire otherwise, I simply let the bank forward the two cards, one for each of us, to myself, at our home address here in Saigon.
So far, the cards that te bank has tried to send me have 'vanished' three times - cost the bank $80 each time this has happened.
Each time, wrapping the card in just a couple of layers of aluminium cooking foil and closing with one strip of electricians tape.
Use DHL to send in a DHL business envelope this has worked perfectly every time so far.  -)

Rule of thumb, and generally it is never a good idea to ship your debit cards, credit cards from your foreign home country into Vietnam. Unless you absolutely have no other choice or means to retrieve the financial cards personally yourself back in your home country.

Anything that gets imported, shipped into Vietnam is already a shady process with the local customs. A country where most employed people are vastly underpaid and overworked, there's a high risk of these people doing things they shouldn't on the job.

About a year ago I had a replacement card sent by Citi via DHL (their choice) to my then address in Binh Thanh.   Package had to be signed for and since there wasn't always someone at my residence, I moved the drop off location to a DHL location on Nguyen Hue.  It arrived successfully after about five days. Shipping went smoothly.  I have sent valuables back to the US via Fed Ex and that has always gone smoothly.  I wouldn't worry too much about the major shippers.

Just had another card sent from the US.  Used my usual shipper.  Was here in four days.  Had Schwab send it to my shipper, shipper to here.  As for the 'Vietnamese are thieves' statement....I have not seen that in my time here.  In fact, just the opposite.

def1412 wrote:

As for the 'Vietnamese are thieves' statement....

That poster is banned.  Insulting the entire country and all of its citizens is not allowed on this forum.  Doing that on the very first day of joining the site is the same as shouting out:  "Ban me, I'm a troll."  His wish has been fulfilled.

I'm glad to hear that I really did not like that kind of generalization. And day in and day out my experience exactly the opposite of what he's got to say.

I have  Traveling Mailbox as my mail drop, and when mail comes in that I want to save I have it sent to my sister, who then ships it to me.  I've received somewhere between 15-30 cards that way without a hitch, but I can't remember which service she uses. I think FedEx. 

One early shipment of mail that she shipped using the USPS soon after I moved here (no credit cards) never came, but I eventually found out it was at the Saigon PO and I had to go pick it up.  After that we stopped using the post office.

Hi, very nice to hear that you're able to withdraw cash from your credit card without any fee. Please instruct us     of how and where/ what banks to do this? Thanks

Ken Pham87 wrote:

Hi, very nice to hear that you're able to withdraw cash from your credit card without any fee. Please instruct us     of how and where/ what banks to do this? Thanks

1- You should use the Quote button under the post that interested you. so that poster will know he was the one to whom you asked the question.  Just like what I did above, I clicked on "Quote" under your post before typing my comment, and now you know I'm talking to you.

2- The poster to whom you asked the question is a German expat so it's more than likely his bank wouldn't be available to US citizens.  Many American expats use Charles Schwab -- the brokerage, banking, and financial service that offers unlimited refunds for ATM fees.  In addition, Schwab doesn't charge foreign transaction fees on credit card either.  However, you must have a US address when you open an account and you must do that in person.

Ciambella wrote:

However, you must have a US address when you open an account and you must do that in person.

I opened my Schwab account almost entirely online so I suspect that if one used a VPN and was careful, you might manage to start an account from Vietnam.  I did go into the local office to deliver one document but that could have been done by mail.  In that case you would need a cooperating friend or family member in the US to receive the documents and re-mail them.

THIGV wrote:

In that case you would need a cooperating friend or family member in the US to receive the documents and re-mail them.

I should emphasize what I only implied above, that you do not want to mail documents from Vietnam.  I had a life insurance policy cancelled by NY Life because I sent in a form that was postmarked in Vietnam.  Apparently they had a well hidden policy clause that excluded living outside the US.   Also you will need the cooperation of friends or family to maintain that US mailing address for Schwab even if you get all your subsequent documents online.

THIGV wrote:

I should emphasize what I only implied above, that you do not want to mail documents from Vietnam.  I had a life insurance policy cancelled by NY Life because I sent in a form that was postmarked in Vietnam.  Apparently they had a well hidden policy clause that excluded living outside the US.   Also you will need the cooperation of friends or family to maintain that US mailing address for Schwab even if you get all your subsequent documents online.

1- With Schwab, when the client no longer maintains a US address, the account would be switched to international, meaning the balance must be $25k instead of $1. 

2- For a US account, Schwab allows an alternate address outside of the country, but two of their agents explained to me that their software includes a code that automatically overrides the alternative address when card is sent out -- the reason that twice in the last 4 years, our cards were sent to CA when they should be sent to VN.  Schwab sent the replacement cards as soon as we called to correct their mistake, but it was still a slight inconvenience.

My ATM card (with Visa logo ) is from Chase Bank in CA. I tried to withdraw cash once at a Jewelry store in Nha trang and Chase charged a us$30.00 for us$1000.00. This us$1000.00 was withdrawed from my checking account with Chase NOT from Visa company.  I am looking for a bank, where, or an ATM here in Vietnam that I can withdraw my own money without having to pay any additional fees. Thanks you in advance for sharing your thoughts.
All is well
Ken Pham

Ken Pham87 wrote:

My ATM card (with Visa logo ) is from Chase Bank in CA. I tried to withdraw cash once at a Jewelry store in Nha trang and Chase charged a us$30.00 for us$1000.00. This us$1000.00 was withdrawed from my checking account with Chase NOT from Visa company.  I am looking for a bank, where, or an ATM here in Vietnam that I can withdraw my own money without having to pay any additional fees. Thanks you in advance for sharing your thoughts.
All is well
Ken Pham

The fee charged by ATM in Vietnam is insignificant comparing to your own bank in the States.  For instance, Chase charges $5 for international withdrawal while Sacombank charges 30k or $1.30 for using their ATM service.

From the numbers you gave, I have a feeling that your cash withdrawal at the jewelry store was considered a foreign transaction (not ATM), thus Chase charged you 3% of the amount ($30 for $1000 cash).

Anyway, unless you have a Chase Sapphire account, you always have to pay ATM fees outside of the US.  Even Chase Premier Plus charges ATM fees after the 4th withdrawal of the month.