For the OCBC new Great Eastern Mastercard, I think it's probably better for the general public to use Alliance CC (1.38%) or JustOne (between 2-5%) for the purpose of cash rebates as the rebate requirements are lower.

It is something to consider for high spenders and not to mention the card design is nice.

To all the Muslim folks here ... Selamat Hari Raya and to the rest ... enjoy your holidays with your family and loved ones.

Just noticed the latest update from SCB. Bro MilesAndMore previously mentioned this in Credit Card V7

SCB Priority Banking VISA Infinite

Not much difference from your typical SCB VISA Infinite except that you can now earn points from your deposits in SCB as well. Stated in the website that this will be a complimentary card and upon invitation only.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 21 2009, 10:22 AM

I am well aware that the SCB VI is open for the public to apply but I did not talk about this card. I mentioned about the SCB Priority Banking VI.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 21 2009, 12:55 PM

Yes ... JustOne is another card from SCB. Don't care about the Platinum status ... only you need to care about is the cash rebate. Not sure whether this card is back for public application as new application was suspended by SCB a few months back.

The rebate offered on the SCB Business Plat is only 0.5% for all retail purchase without any maximum limit.

Guys .... with the recent posts, I'm kindof worried what will eventually become of the cc holders. Trend seems to be low salary with high CL.

Signals a potentially high risk group if you ask me.

Back then I couldn't get a card before being confirmed in job position. Today we have graduates who "demands" to have credit cards within months after starting their first job.

Scary scenario.

P/S I'm not being old fashion or a killjoy but I'm just being practical about the idea.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 25 2009, 11:34 PM

Yes ... you can ignore whatever else the bank ask you once you have provided your 3 months salary slip. Unless your application requires more documentation then that's another story.

If I'm not mistaken, in most cases banks want to see the carbonised version of the salary slip. In your case then it should be alright then (make sure it got the company seal coz if not anyone could be the signatory and loses credibility) and if the bank ask then you explain it to them.

Shall I add a little bit more ?
It also depends the time you deposit the cheque. It will clear within 2 days if you deposit it before 2pm and after that ... cheque will only be processed the next working day and effectively 3 days to clear.

The answer to the original question
Deposit cheque on the 27th Sept (Sunday), what time you deposit also no impact coz cheque will be processed on the next working day which is the 28th. 2 days to clear and by the 30th SCB should have received the funds that you send via cheque and you cc account will be updated accordingly.

First thing for balance transfer, you need to have another credit card from another bank with sufficent credit limit. The CL which I'm talking about need to be larger than the debt that you want to transfer out.

Normally all banks offer balance transfer but you need to shop around to check which is the lowest interest and offer repayment period that is suitable to you. Again ... check out if there are promos for balance transfer @ the point of new card application or ongoing ones.

You can inquire this @ via the bank CS before you go out and apply the card. Likely you need to fill up an extra form in addition to the cc application. Please bear in mind that balance transfer is not automatically approved - new cc need to be issued first before the bank will check you out whether you are OK for the balance transfer.

One more tip ... the card you use for balance transfer do not ever use it for your retail purchase and please pay according to the monthly amount required by the bank. Please don't take it lightly and use the card for retail purchase or just pay minimum amount again against the bank required monthly payment. (Coz that's what got your friend into huge debt in the first place)

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 28 2009, 04:25 PM

It is the CS that does it. No need to complain la ... if they insist you to enroll auto billing say you don't like to use facility and ask them to still consider you for AF waiver + call you back later if they need to ask someone senior to approve. If can .... good for you if not then cancel card and reapply later.

Normally I just say I'll prefer an unconditional AF waiver and often I'll get it. The few times I don't get it, the CS get shocked when I replied then can proceed with card cancellation. What happen next is the long persuasion by them to get me to stay on.

As a noob then do listen to us.
Do not use credit card to obtain quick personal loans, you'll quickly regret it later. The calculations are very complex since they are calculated on daily basis and it is structured to benefit the bank and not the consumer.

One forummer regret doing so in V7 as what started as a simple cash withdrawal ends up to a lot of interest to be paid to the bank. So ... if you think you know what you are doing then do proceed withdrawing cash from your cc ... don't listen to us.

I share my sentiments with @winner. Just to add I don't like the idea of the repayment period of 36 months as it brings a false sense of security. Although the interest rate if 8.99% or even 4.99% (or whatever number) - effectively you have to multiply that by 3 since you are paying debt across 3 years and remember the interest rate quoted is based on 1 year.

If you are serious to reduce your debt then go for the 12 months plan. (or even lower) You'll be able to manage your finances better since that gives an accurate level of your available cash level on a monthly basis. I'll stop my comments here.

Actually all merchants in Malaysia (and around the world) are not allowed to charge any additional charges except the actual price of the item. This rule is imposed by VISA and Mastercard International. Problem is ... it is so rampant and lots of people are ignorant of this rule (or just want to buy stuff on credit) that the public think that the merchant have the right to do so.

Actually if they are reported and successfully charged, they will be fined a hefty fee. For me, I used to accept the additional charges but these days I don't tolerate it anymore. If I encounter such shops, either I will use cash or just walk away from buying anything. (I take it as a sign not to spend)

I get more irritated when some shops want to charge higher than the bank rate of 2.5%-3%. (Not sure whether it is 2.5% or 3% ... I used to have a friend who own a petrol station and they say it is 2.5%) Anything higher than the merchant wants to make extra cash from you. So please consumer .... if you can't afford the item in cash, don't think of buying it on credit card.

It looks like some kind of insurance. (Probably similar to Citibank's Credit Sheild) Try to remember whether you tick anything on your cc application form or you gave some consent to Allianz to charge your cc. If you can't and sure it is not your charge, call CS to dispute charge.

You won't gain anything by paying extra into your cc - no interest earned over that extra cash deposited nor you'll be penalised.

I'm a little shocked by this revelation. Seems your company is keen to protect their interest but provides no proof of salary payment to the employees. (I'm not a HR expect so not sure of the legal implication of this move) Do they even issue you EA form ? In the payslip will also have proof that they made payment to SOCSO, EPF and IRB then how do they proof to you that they did ?
** Guess this is a entirely different discussion and not for this thread.

Letter of appointment prove that you are employed by the company but it is not a proof that you receive regular income from the company. Banks wants to see that you have the ability to pay the monthly bills and that is substanciated by the presence of the payslip.

Your manager can say anything but I'm sure that the bank will request for your payslip and in absence of that document, the EA form.

This post has been edited by hye: Oct 2 2009, 10:56 AM

I attempted to do this several years back actually and I can tell you it is not that easy. You need to provide proof of the additional fee to begin with and retailers are also smart to mask this. They will usually combine the base price and the additional fee to provide the appearance of a single fee. They won't be so stupid to list in the receipt

1. Price Item RM xxx
2. Mastercard/VISA fees RM xxx

One idea that I could think of it

a. If they retailer put up a notice of the additional fee, capture that image as proof and send it to Mastercard / VISA International and cc it to their merchant bank.
b. If the merchant think they are smart then record their attempt to ask you for that fee.
,
Believe me ... the fines are substancial enough to deter the merchant to repeat the offense. I can't remember the number but if I remember it correctly it is something like first offense RMx,xxx and second offense RMxx,xxx + extra condition. In the US when the consumer is able to successfully challenge a chargeback then the retailer will refund the cash coz if the retailer wishes to fight on and loses - it is a hefty fine to pay!

If you ask me the best weapon is the consumer itself. So long consumer are willing to pay this fee then the retailer will continue to pass the charges to the consumer. I think cc sales makes up a substancial chunk of their total sale so that's why they have the terminal there. If the consumer boycott them (or walk away from these shops), sales drop and they have no choice but to bow to the consumer demands for no additional fee cc transactions.

My suspicion is that ... let's say the retailer charges you 2% and the one next door charges you 3%. Probably the one charging you 3% want to pass on the costs of the cc terminal rental to you! (The one which is used to swipe your card)

I agree with ya.
Retailers may argue what if the product is a low margin item and it's not fair for them to bear the cost. However, to a certain extent they need the consumers to boost up their sales and they do this via credit card acceptance. It should have been a win-win situation but it looks like it's the retailer that wins.

1. They rack up sales and their cost is ZERO coz the bank charges are being passed on to the consumers.
2. For those charging high cc "extras", maybe their terminal costs are also being charged to consumers!

However, the real sucker (please excuse me if I had to use this word) is actually the consumer - they allow themselves to be cheated so that they can live on credit facility. Not a healthy lifestyle!

Look @ Tesco / Carrefour where they offer low price, margins are small per item but yet they accept credit cards. You don't see them closing down just because they don't charge 2%-3% extra for cc transaction right ?

Oh yes ... just to add. If you think the local banks are unaware that the practice exist, you are wrong. They are aware of it and if you report with substancial proof they will act on it. It's just that the major hurdle is

1. Nobody bothers to do so.
2. Getting proof is a major challenge coz it's being masked.
3. Finally - Malaysians accept it to be normal. (Let me state this again ... this is an irregular practice and illegal as stated by MC / VISA International)

This post has been edited by hye: Oct 2 2009, 11:48 AM

Like bro bingozero mentioned, maybe your luck is better with the bank that you deposit your cheque into. Try that out first but don't be too overly optimistic about approval. BTW ... the part about you just being employed for 2 and a half month could complicate the application.

Nevermind ... just try and see what happens. Even myself have gotten credit card application rejection before.

On the subject of IBG, the following banks charges RM0.50 for IBG

1. SCB
2. Citibank
3. CIMB (till end of 2009)

Alliance Bank is RM 1.00 per transfer (subject to max RM5K per transaction)

This post has been edited by hye: Oct 2 2009, 07:34 PM

Yes ... I did it before. CS was rather shocked though coz often customer call to ask for CL increase.