That's good enough la. I mean wirelessdude could be occupied and could not answer the call. Tha fact that HSBC is proactive enough to detect anomalies in customers cc transactions and alert the customer is worth mentioning.

Coz you need RM1 million in deposit before RHB issue you this card. This card is a complimentary card for its PB customers. You are better off somewhere else my friend. RHB will only give complimentary Gold as entry level for its PB and to qualify for Platinum, you'll need RM500k in deposits.

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Added on December 20, 2009, 7:22 amI'm happy with my card despite the frequent annoying requirement to teach the cashier to press the CR or Credit menu selection. No way am I going to cancel this card! (Plus indirectly it is an exclusive card now coz you can no longer apply for it)

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 20 2009, 07:24 AM

Not really. For new card application, the service tax will be charged right away. I forsee banks getting a hard time growing their customer base in the coming future unless they are willing to absorb the tax. Bulk of the market will have existing cards and they will hold on to their existing cards.

We already see this trend emerging from the forummers in this thread. Many are cancelling cards they don't want and hanging on to cards that fits their spending habits.

Don't get confused between card expiry and card anniversary. Anniversary on its own indicates every year occurance. You'll be charged the service tax on July 2010.

The quick answer is no. But I do know of such practice but I don't think you want to be associated with it. Banks will do this to their customers who are defaulters and your name will be listed. Just pay off your debt lah ... or execute a Balance Transfer.

Slightly OT ... if you are using a debit card then might as well do a ATM withdrawal overseas. Conversion rates are better than the money changer, up to RM15 ATM fee per withdrawal charges - works out well if you are withdrawing a certain sum. (But not for small withdrawals as you incur ATM fee each time)

Credit card is useful if you don't want to carry large sum of cash and to provide protection while you are overseas.

Just now when I called the bank to cancel my credit card, the CS officer asked "May I know whay are you cancelling the card?"
I answered with "The same reason why all Malaysians are now cancelling the card - Don't want to pay service tax!"

The CS officer laughed and proceed to assist me with my card cancellation.

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 22 2009, 05:52 PM

Tuesday December 22, 2009
BIMB too won’t absorb credit card service tax
By AU KA-SHING

It says it has other perks for credit-card holders

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) has announced that it will not “cover” the proposed service tax on credit cards, saying it already has enough other incentives for its credit card customers. It is the second bank to annouce this after Malayan Banking Bhd.

The Government will soon impose a RM50 tax on primary credit cards and RM25 on supplementary credit cards, as announced during the unveiling of Budget 2010.

A random survey by StarBiz found that banks like Citibank and RHB Bank were also not in favour of covering the tax for their customers.

Indications are that banks are only willing to waive annual fees (if not already waived) and/or allow customers to use their points collected to help pay for the tax.
Khairul Kamarudin (2nd from right) poses with the winners of BIMB’s ExtraBagAnza campaign

“BIMB has always had annual fee waivers and rebates way before the Government considered implementation of the credit card tax,” Khairul Kamarudin, BIMB’s consumer banking division general manager, told reporters at a prize-giving ceremony at BIMB’s ExtraBagAnza campaign yesterday.

He said covering the tax would not be in the “spirit of the tax,” which aims to discipline spending among Malaysians.

“Most banks are not looking to cover this tax, but BIMB on the other hand is providing cash rebates for customers to decide if they want to cover the tax or not,” he said.

Khairul said BIMB had not experienced any decline in the number of credit card users, but acknowledged that a reduction in credit card applications could happen in the months ahead due to the introduction of the tax.

He added that BIMB had several products in the pipeline to counteract the problem, with debit cards among the new products.

Meanwhile, BIMB aims to increase its personal financing portfolio to RM2bil for the financial year ending June 30, 2010, from RM1.5bil previously. To achieve this, Khairul said the bank would execute an aggressive and effective marketing campaign to attract customers.

He noted that under the bank’s ExtraBagAnza campaign, RM30mil in loans had been disbursed under its Personal Financing-I facility up to Nov 30 from the campaign’s kick-off on Sept 1.

Card selection is very much an individual choice. What you like and want in a card would not be applicable to all.

Let's go over to your next question. NO ... it won't make it easier for you to apply for HSBC card. You need to be a principal card holder of any cards to make it count towards your financial history. Once you are approved as a principal, you are free to sub it to another person - in fact that can even be done at the point of your own application.

If existing card = anniversary.
New supp card holder = right away will charge.

Can but you need to reconsider this option coz normally it is meant for cc defaulting customers. I don't think you or your sister would want to have such a bad record. Plus although the option is available but it is up to the bank to decide - not necessarily they will agree to your proposal.

Best if she could consider taking a personal loan option from the bank - at least this still achieve your end objective which is to avoid paying high interest.

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Added on December 23, 2009, 4:07 pmJuly 2011 is your card expiry date and your card anniversary is every year in July. Gov will charge you the tax in July 2010 and every year in July till they withdraw this service tax. (Applicable to the principle and the supp, normally supp card follow principle anniversary date)

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 23 2009, 04:07 PM

Read the fine prints again my friend. The privacy clause applies for their external parties and what happens is that the info is shared internally within the bank group of companies. Applications form will sometime ask this question but it is actually to ask for your consent for marketing and promotional activities to their business partners. (something like that)

If you cancel this then your junk mail will decrease. E.g. Reader's Digest subscription offer by xxx bank. (Ever received such promo?) So receiving a credit card from the bank that you have your deposits is not wrong in Malaysia.

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 24 2009, 04:42 PM

Many has stated forummer in here has started cancelling their cards as early as late last month. Marital status won't affect his application.

IMHO .... the SCB JustOne card. The 2-in-1 function comes in handy when withdrawing cash overseas.

High CL does not mean you have a very low debt level. Likewise for low CL .... doesn't mean that you have no or low debt.
It depends on an individual's spending and payment discipline.

I seriously disagree on the notion that high CL means you have high risk to be in debt.

I had a cashier saying I had a nice looking credit card. BTW ... it wasn't a local bank's card and it wasn't Citibank.

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 26 2009, 10:52 PM

I'm just curious since I never received any offer from CIMB/DA although I cancelled my card already. I cancelled it this year but not recently though.

If they don't want to upgrade you then just cancel the card ... simple. No need to raise your blood pressure.
These days it is very easy to get Platinum thus just by virtue of having one doesn't mean anything. An anology about this ... a gold card with classic card level CL .... e.g. a gold card with RM3.5K limit. Or a Platinum with a RM5K limit (Myself is an example).

May I know why is it so important to hold a Platinum card ?

This post has been edited by hye: Dec 27 2009, 10:23 PM

It's not called GST lah bro. More like plain old "Service Tax". You need to cancel your card before the anniversary of your cc to avoid the tax.

Yes ... you need to do full settlement.