While Visa and Mastercard are more widely accepted in Hong Kong, some merchants do accept American Express.

American Express, Visa and Mastercard are all credit card companies that maintain global payment networks. American Express is slightly less widely accepted than the other two but is still valid at many major hotels, department stores, and restaurants. Amex also issues credit cards directly (rather than through banks), so it may offer more attractive perks and better customer service.

Yes, you can convert Amex Membership Rewards points into miles with any of Amex’s partner frequent flyer programs, including Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Every 15,000 points can be changed to 1,000 Asia Miles, which can then be used to redeem Cathay Pacific flights.

Easy: Just call the number on the back of the credit card. Alternatively, you can activate your credit card online. We recommend registering for American Express online services as well, so you can receive credit card e-statements, pay bills online, and manage your rewards points easily.

Several American Express credit cards offer a first-year annual fee waiver. Subsequently, you may be able to get your annual fee waived if you meet specific spending requirements. For example, American Express Cathay Pacific credit card holders get a fee waiver by spending HK$100,000 in a year.

You might have heard that American Express credit cards are for high net worth individuals and are therefore out of reach for most regular people in Hong Kong. This is true for certain American Express cards such as The Platinum Card, which has a very high annual income requirement of HK$1,000,000. If you’re not a millionaire, however, there are still quite a few American Express credit cards to choose from. In fact, the annual income requirements can be as low as HK$150,000, making Amex cards suitable even as entry-level credit cards.