A deposit can remain pending after checkout, a merchant refund can precede a bank credit, and an instant tax refund can retain departure conditions. This guide uses official provider, tax and railway material read on 7 November 2026, including 2026 reforms. No universal settlement deadline or tax percentage is promised.
Before you start
- The issued departure journey, correct terminal and current passport/entry permission.
- A list of unused bookings, refundable amounts, deposits and unsettled payment orders.
- Original receipts, transaction/order references and the actual terms accepted at purchase.
- Access to the registered phone/email and a secure way to retrieve records after leaving.
- For tax-refundable shopping, the shop's official records, eligible goods and the actual departure-port process.
Step by step
- 01
Create an outstanding-money list
For every amount, record provider, original order, original payment method, amount/currency, present status and next action. Separate a pending card hold, a paid deposit, an approved refund and a disputed charge.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGNo unresolved amount is hidden inside a vague expectation that the wallet will return everything.
- 02
Cancel unused services through the right channel
Check hotel, rail, flight, attraction and tour terms separately. Use the original channel and inspect its deadline and fee before confirming. Save the accepted cancellation/refund result and any intermediary fee.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGEach unused service is either retained deliberately or has a documented cancellation outcome.
- 03
Settle the hotel account and deposit
Review the final bill and ask whether the deposit was cash, a completed charge or an authorisation hold. Obtain the appropriate return, reversal or final-settlement record. Keep the hotel's official contact until the result matches your account.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGYou understand the room bill, additional charges and what remains to return or release.
- 04
Prepare any departure tax-refund task
Confirm that the goods, shop, traveller and departure route qualify under current instructions. Retrieve the electronic records or requested paper copies. Ask the actual port how to handle goods before checking bags; follow any required Customs and agency verification.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGThe goods and records remain available for the process that applies to your purchase and exit.
- 05
Keep accounts and communications usable
Check unused SIM, eSIM or travel-wallet terms and any recurring plan before changing them. Keep access needed for support and bank verification. Deleting an app or removing a SIM does not itself demonstrate cancellation of its service or settlement of an order.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGYou have a deliberate service-closeout plan and a verified contact route for pending cases.
- 06
Complete the physical departure
Recheck the correct airport/station, transfer, operating cutoffs and onward-country documents. Keep passport, essential payment and any tax-refund goods accessible as required. After leaving, reconcile final credits and close remaining cases with their providers.
CHECK BEFORE CONTINUINGYou depart lawfully and can still resolve documented financial matters from outside China.
If it does not work
The hotel says the deposit is returned but I see a pending amount
Ask whether it was an authorisation release or a purchase refund and obtain the matching reference. Show that record to your issuer.
Another way forward: Keep the case open with the property and issuer rather than demanding a second payment without understanding the first record.
The wallet shows refunded but the bank does not
Compare the original funding method, refund detail and amount/currency. Contact the payment provider and issuer with the transaction reference.
Another way forward: Maintain access and evidence while they trace it; no single universal posting deadline is asserted here.
I received an instant tax refund but changed my departure
Contact the participating shop/refund agency about the agreement's departure conditions and the new port/date before leaving.
Another way forward: Follow its confirmed correction or settlement process; do not assume a shop payment eliminates later checks.
I am leaving with an unresolved travel cancellation
Save the accepted request, supplier notice, amount and support case. Confirm how the provider will contact you after departure.
Another way forward: Follow the actual complaint, issuer or insurance process where applicable; do not invent a guaranteed refund merely because the trip ended.
Words that help
Show the Chinese text when speaking is difficult. Copying happens on your device.
请问押金是退款，还是撤销预授权？
Is the deposit being refunded, or is an authorisation being released?
请给我退款凭证和交易编号。
Please give me the refund record and transaction reference.
One word, several different transactions
A merchant return reverses a purchase according to that order's conditions. A hotel can release an authorisation or return a charged deposit. A railway or airline applies transport-product terms. Departure tax refund is a separate tax procedure for qualifying shopping. A remaining wallet or SIM balance has its own provider rules. Approval of one does not settle the others.
Distinguish requested, accepted, processed and received. Record currencies too: a home-currency refund can differ from the original converted payment. Ask the issuer about the actual rate and fees before treating that difference as a merchant deduction.
A card hold is different from a charged deposit
The card issuer Capital One's explanation dated 15 September 2026 distinguishes an authorisation hold from a posted purchase and explains that a hold reduces available credit. This supports the distinction, not a promised release time for every foreign card or Chinese hotel. Ask the property and your actual issuer about the record on your card.
Ask what happens to the original authorisation if you settle another way. For cash, retain the deposit receipt and compare deductions. For a charged deposit, obtain the refund reference. Keep the final itemised bill.
An Alipay refund record and a bank credit can appear at different times
Alipay's public refund help, freshly checked, describes return to the original paying bank card and says actual card arrival depends on the bank. The page is undated and covers several legacy payment products, so its example times are not published here as a current universal service commitment. Check the actual refund detail and receiving account.
If the original card is closed, replaced or otherwise abnormal, ask the wallet and issuer how this specific refund will be handled. Do not assume an overseas card can receive a manual withdrawal from every wallet balance. Avoid closing an account simply because a merchant says it issued a refund; first preserve the records and the provider's follow-up route. An unexplained request to pay a separate code to 'release' a refund deserves independent verification.
Transport and attraction cancellations retain their own conditions
The current 12306 refund/change guidance contains different rules for ordinary tickets and special products. Use the order's actual result rather than treating every unused train ticket as refundable after departure. Airline fare rules, hotel cancellation deadlines and attraction session/no-show rules are separate contracts.
Shopping tax refunds: use the 2026 process, then satisfy the exit conditions
The State Taxation Administration's 22 May 2026 explanation describes reforms including electronic verification and revised instant-refund arrangements. Its 13 July 2026 operational notice supports electronic application/invoice records and a nationwide service code; paper copies remain available on request. An older printed-form-only guide should not override that update.
Ask the participating shop whether your purchase is eligible, what records it issued, which departure deadline applies and what the selected port needs. An instant refund can be conditional on an agreement and later departure checks; money received in a shop is not proof that all obligations are complete. Keep goods available if verification is required and ask before checking them into baggage. Do not assume every purchase, service, online seller or exit point qualifies.
Follow the actual Customs and refund-agency instructions at your departure port. Electronic processing does not mean goods can never be inspected. Keep the final status and refund/payment reference, and ask about the net amount and method rather than budgeting a headline tax rate as guaranteed money. This article does not supply a complete tax-eligibility determination for an individual purchase.
Keep enough access to finish the trip
Check the actual SIM/eSIM plan’s expiry, recurring charges, cancellation and unused-balance terms. Prepaid data and renewable accounts differ; no universal unused-data refund is established. Preserve the provider’s answer before discarding a SIM.
Retain the bank-verification and support access needed for pending orders, with references outside one phone. Update numbers through each provider’s supported process. Complete the airport journey before removing a service still needed for navigation or payment.
Common questions
Must every tax-refund claimant carry a paper application now?
The 2026 national notice supports electronic records and provides paper copies on request. Follow your shop and departure port's current process; keep records accessible and do not rely on a superseded paper-only checklist.
Should I delete wallets and cancel my SIM at checkout?
First check pending orders and the verification/contact access you still need. Follow each provider's closure or cancellation terms; deleting an app is not proof the service has ended.
How many days will every refund take?
There is no universal timetable covering a hotel hold, wallet/card refund, railway transaction and tax refund. Preserve each provider's actual confirmation and ask the receiving issuer about its record.
Sources & checking notes
- Alipay — refund destination and bank-dependent arrival; undated public help, no universal SLA adopted
- Capital One — authorisation-hold explanation, 15 September 2026; issuer example
- China Railway 12306 — current product-specific refund/change guidance
- State Taxation Administration — departure-tax-refund update, 22 May 2026
- State Taxation Administration — operational notice 2026 No.37, 13 July 2026, via Tianjin Tax Service
Sources checked on 7 November 2026. Workflows, routes and troubleshooting suggestions are editorial guidance. Fees, eligibility, reservations and local services can change; follow the official links before relying on a rule.
Original synthesis of public information and editorial planning advice. We have not performed a live account, payment or on-site test of every workflow. This guide does not claim a firsthand visit or professional accreditation.