Unfortunately none of the local banks offer China Union Pay. Would that still be counted ?

These min requirement using existing cards to apply are non-published (and in a way not official) by the banks and may change from time to time. If the banks are so quick to offer you Platinum card at so low entry level then likely they are desperate for your business and their promos will not be good at all.

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Added on September 12, 2009, 6:04 pmYup you are right. If you have been paying in full then all the tiered interest does not mean a thing to you.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 12 2009, 06:04 PM

Actually it is quite simple. The banks had it for quite a while already - these banks are allocated a certain merchant ID code/class thus it is easily detectable by the terminal open they swipe the card. This system was already in place when AMBB introduced their Islamic cc several years back.

Yes ... a rough estimate would be like that. Note that several forummer have posted this info before ... the final amount would not be precisely @ 0.5%, it will be a number between 0.5%-0.8% perhaps. Why and how this occurs ... I have no idea. The actual calculation method/breakdown is only known to the bank. Even calling the CS would not help as they have no visibility over the actual breakdown.

To be precise ... anything not in MYR and outside of Malaysia will incur the charges. Anyway I have yet to see any merchant in Malaysia not charging in MYR.

Yes ... Alliance Bank is perhaps the only cc issuer in Malaysia issuing 0% fees for overseas transactions. CIMB went out of the list a few months ago when they started charging 1% fee on top of your transactions.

Just to put up a mention here.
You can actually convert your purchases in SCB to 12 months easy payment inside their internet banking system.

Each retail transaction has to be at least RM500 and transacted in the last 30 days to be eligible for FlexiPay.

How to Apply?
To apply, simply select from the list of eligible transactions below and submit your request via Internet Banking. Your request will be processed within 5 - 7 working days.

Terms & Conditions
1. All FlexiPay Application submitted before 3.00pm (Monday - Friday) will be processed on the same business day. Any application submitted on a public holiday, Saturday and Sunday will only be processed on the next working day.
2. Please note that the Monthly Installment Amount (MYR) shown above are indicative and the amount charged and reflected on the statement may differ due to rounding differences or other reasons, as applicable.
3. Maximum conversion amount is RM40,000 per transaction.
4. The calculation of interest charge will be as follows:-
5. Flat interest of 7.99% p.a. (12 months FlexiPay)

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 14 2009, 09:16 AM

Another news to note ... I received this notification a few days ago from AMEX.

SG Airlines KrisFlyer AMEX card holders can now enjoy complimentary access to the Plaza Premium Lounge @ KLIA, LCCT and Senai Airport by presenting the card 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Previously when they initially launched this card, they gave 2 vouchers for 2 entries to the lounge. Seems now this priviledge is now a permanent feature to the card.

We'll see whether that happens or not next year. My take is that there's a chance cc companies to continue giving out petrol rebates but on the other hand this incentive will be very expensive for the banks to sustain as oil prices goes up and the banks have to pay out more to their customers.

... Just my 20 cents