US airline supports online booking via UnionPay cards for the first time

(Source: Internet)

On August 8, UnionPay International and Delta Air Lines jointly announced that the official website of Delta (delta.com) would accept UnionPay cards (card number starting with 62) issued both in mainland China and abroad. Delta Air Lines thus becomes the first US airline that has accepted UnionPay cards online. UnionPay cards are now accepted by more types of online and offline merchants in the US.

Previously, UnionPay International has cooperated with international airlines in regions the Chinese tourists visit often (Asia, Europe, and the Middle East) to enable about 20 airlines official websites to accept UnionPay cards. These airlines include AirAsia, ANA, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Russian Avia, Air France, Lufthansa, Finnair, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines, etc.

After logging into the official website of these airlines and filling in flight date and time and personal information, tourists can select “UnionPay Card” as their payment method, and then complete payment via UnionPay Online Payment. UnionPay Online Payment takes multiple security measures and implements risk monitoring to ensure that cardholders’ information is well stored.

The US is one of the Chinese tourists’ favorite long-distance destinations. To conform to this trend, Delta Air Lines is dedicated to being the “Most Friendly US Airlines to Chinese Tourists”, and has not only operated several direct flights between China and the US, but also arranged Chinese-speaking flight attendants and Chinese meals on these flights. The UnionPay card is the payment method most used by the Chinese outbound tourists, and accepting UnionPay Online Payment will enable Delta better serve Chinese tourists.

With the UnionPay acceptance network covering both online and offline, it is very convenient to use UnionPay cards in the US. Almost all the local AMTs accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal. 80% of local merchants support signature payment via UnionPay credit cards, and merchants with PIN pads accept UnionPay debit cards. Most UnionPay credit cards issued in mainland China support signature payment. Cardholders can contact the issuer to cancel the transaction PIN before departure so as to pay without PIN in the US.

Moreover, an increasing number of US-based online merchants and tuition fee payment platforms accept UnionPay cards. E-merchants like Amazon, Shopbop and eBay, tuition fee payment platforms like PeerTransfer and Western Union, as well as over 700 educational institutions under TMS and TouchNet all support UnionPay Online Payment.