Maybankard 2 Cards

photo source: http://www.maybank2u.com.my/

Maybankard 2 credit cards was launched some time ago, but it is still an interesting addition to your existing card collection. There are 2 levels to choose from; Gold or Platinum. For Gold, you need to earn RM30k per annum, while Platinum requires RM60k per annum. The good thing about the cards is the lifetime fee waiver for the annual fees. It also provides 2 cards (1 American Express and 1 MasterCard or Visa) for the single charge of Government Service Tax. Of course, even with 2cards, the same credit limit applies, but you can enjoy benefits from the 2 different credit providers.

Usage of the AMEX card gives 5x TreatsPoints for every RM spent. This translates to 2.5% cash back for redemption of the gifts provided by Maybank. The AMEX card also gives 5% cash back for weekend spending, but capped at RM50 per month. Seems like a very good deal indeed, with the only minus point being that the use of MasterCard or Visa only gives 1x for every RM spent and the 5% cash back on weekends doesn’t apply. Well, you can probably use only the AMEX and use the other card as a bookmark J

This card also charges the lowest interest rate I’ve ever seen for a credit card – only 8.88% per annum. I guess Maybank must really like the number 8. Oh, but the 8.88% applies only if you pay the minimum 5% monthly, with a minimum of RM25.

This is where the similarity for both cards end. For the platinum card, it gives some additional privileges like travel insurance coverage and retail protection. These are especially good to cover unwanted costs if any mishap happens during times of travel. Platinum card also provides complimentary golf at some of the courses within Malaysia.

To apply, you can just fill up your details for an officer to get in touch with you. Typically they will call within 2 days to follow up on the application. Only thing is unlike other banks, where they just need your IC and existing card, Maybank requires your 3months’ payslip and also active savings/current account. A little overboard, but they’re probably just being cautious, what with the many folks out there now not really knowing how to control their finances.

My verdict: having the AMEX of this Maybankard 2 card combo is a good deal, with emphasis on the 5x TreatsPoints and the 5% cashback. Only trade-off with a normal AMEX card is that this gives Maybank TreatsPoints instead of American Express’ Membership Rewards points (these are evergreen!!) The additional card doesn’t seem to have much use, but it does come in handy when there are promotions specifically for MasterCard or Visa. Oh, just a reminder, if you need both MasterCard and Visa on top of the AMEX, then an additional RM50 (GST) will be charged.

OCBC Great Eastern Credit Cards

photo source: http://www.ocbccards.com.my/

OCBC has just recently been named the world’s strongest bank by Bloomberg. What an achievement, beating the likes of Switzerland’s Svenska Handelsbanken AB and the National Bank of Canada, as well as top Europe, Canada and USA banks. This shows that Asian countries can compete with the top dogs too!!

OCBC doesn’t have a whole fleet of credit cards to choose from, as compared to some other banks, but one of the cards that caught my attention is the collaboration with Great Eastern (GE). The 2 available GE range, Platinum and Titanium, offers different rebate % off your insurance premiums. As the collaboration suggest, the insurance premium must come from GE, but if you own insurance policies from Oversea Assurance Corporation (OAC), it will also be eligible for the rebate, being that OAC is a member of the OCBC Group.

For the direct rebate off your insurance premiums, Platinum cardholders are eligible for a 3% rebate, while Titanium cardholders are eligible for a 2% rebate. Is there a limit you ask? Definitely!! For Platinum, the max insurance premium eligible for the rebate in a year is RM15k, which gives back a hefty RM450. For Titanium, a much lower max of RM6k is eligible, which amounts to RM120 per year only. However, these amounts are more than sufficient to cover the Government Service Tax, with still some change for your other uses. Only thing to remember to be eligible for the exclusive rebate is to sign up for GE Easi-Pay service, otherwise, you will just earn the retail rebate as described below.

Both card types also offer a Retail Spend Rebate of all your other transactions with the card. For total transactions up till RM20k (note that this is monthly, not yearly), rebate % is the same, where 0.75% will be rebated for spending up till RM10k, while amounts beyond this and up till RM20k will enjoy a rebate of 1.5%. Spending above this amounts gives back 3% for Platinum card and 2% for Titanium. Although the offer looks good, probably big spenders are the ones that can achieve the high amount required.

Apart from this, the card also offers 1.5% rebate from Medical and Education transactions. Again, Platinum offers a higher amount, where the cap is RM3k per year, while Titanium caps this at RM2.4k.

At the moment, this card is offered to GE existing policy holders, but you can also apply if you like. Only thing is that the benefits are not so good if you’re not getting the rebate for the insurance premium. My agent is offering me this, but I don’t plan to get it, as I only have a few policies under GE. Probably that’s his method of getting me to own more J I may consider though, since there is no other company that offers rebates on insurance premiums.

For the minimum income requirement, not sure if it will be a considering factor for the card application, since my agent did mention that I can just provide my IC without any proof of income. However, if you need to know, Platinum requires a minimum of RM100,000 per annum income, while Titanium requires a minimum of RM36,000 per annum income.

However, one weak point is the minimum annual retail spending needed to enjoy a waiver of the annual fee (RM138 for Platinum, RM68 for Titanium). Platinum cardholders need to spend at least RM24k and Titanium cardholders need to spend RM18k annually. Shouldn’t be too difficult to spend RM1.5k – 2k per month, but this does compare poorly against other banks offering automatic waiver for much less or even the free-for-life cards. By the description itself, retain spending doesn’t include the premium paid, but any OCBC card agent can probably help to answer better.

My verdict: if your insurance premium from GE/OAC comes to RM3k a year, the rebate off this alone will cover your GST, while the other rebate perks will get some $$ back for you. If your insurance premium is somewhere around the max allowed, it still looks like a good deal, even if you don’t get a waiver off the annual fee, but only for the Platinum card (paying off RM138 and RM50 from the RM450 rebate still leaves something, but paying RM68 and RM50 from the RM120 rebate leaves almost nothing for Titanium)

Citibank Cash Back Platinum Card

photo source: http://www.citibank.com.my/

The Citibank Cash Back Platinum Card is the latest cash back credit card released by Citibank. Unlike other banks, it offers cash back on all days, with the preset %, based on the different categories. However, as always, there is a cap on the petrol spending. For this card, Citibank is offering a maximum RM600 per month, which equals to maximum cash back of RM30 per month. Good news is that there is no stipulated cap on the cash back for other categories!!

The card offers 2% for pharmaceuticals at Guardian and Watsons, 2% for groceries at all the major hypermarkets in Malaysia (namely Tesco, Giant, Carrefour & Cold Storage), 2% for phone bills from Maxis, Digi & Celcom. For everything else, the cash back is only a meager 0.3%. I guess this is the trade off with the higher % for other categories.

Also coming with the card are some other perks, i.e. Retail Protection Plan and Healthcare privileges. For the RPP, items that are lost, damaged or stolen will be reimbursed, up till 50%, but to a maximum of RM10k per item and RM15k per occurrence. This is only limited to eligible purchases, but I don’t have much info on what will be considered ‘eligible’. For the Healthcare part, you will get to enjoy a 30% discount on all Executive Screening Packages and also a 15% discount on all walk-in hospital room. These health benefits are only available in KPJ Healthcare’s participating hospitals.

To apply for this card, you will need to earn RM48,000 in a year or have an existing credit card (minimum 6months-1year) with a credit limit of RM10k. According to Citibank’s published annual fees, the principal requires forking out RM195 while supplementary costs RM100. This doesn’t really matter, as most Citibank cards’ annual fees can be waived with a phone call to their Customer Service. The only thing is that the card needs to be used somewhat actively for them to waive the annual fees.

My verdict: this is one of the better cash back card there is in Malaysia, although you may need to do some tracking of your petrol spending to not exceed the set limit. Remember that there is no bonus points once the cap is exceeded, so spend wisely (on petrol, since there is no cap on other spending)..another cash back card that may be able to compare is OCBC’s Titanium Card, but that will be another blog..

credit cards..

Credit cards are popularly becoming an essential item in everyone’s possession in today’s modern world. Many blogs are out there talking about credit cards, but there is nothing that really breaks down each card for a regular user like me. So I’m just going to start one on my own.

Information and details that I will be posting comprises of info from my own experiences, talking with many friends and acquaintances, info from individual banks as well as directly from credit cards officers J