Info for credit card newbies:

1. Minimum income requirement to qualify for a credit card is RM24,000 per annum (effective from 18th March 2011). You must be able to submit proof of your income.

2. Minimum age to qualify for a Principal credit card : 21 years old. Supplementary cardholders: at least 18 years old.

If you do not/cannot meet the above requirements, then you are not qualified for a credit card. You still can go get a debit card and enjoy the convenient similar to a credit card.

3. If you are a foreigner or your income is from overseas (e.g. you work in Singapore), please refer directly with the bank if you are eligible for their credit cards

4. There is no such thing as the best credit card, it depends on your needs and each card has its own benefits.

5. For those earning less than RM36K, your credit limit should be 2X your monthly income in accordance to BNM guidelines. For those earning more than RM36K, the credit limit assigned to you is entirely up to the bank. With BNM latest guidelines, banks are no longer allowed to increase a cardholder's credit limit without his/her consent.

6. There is a Government Service Tax of RM50 for each Principal Credit Card. If you apply for a credit card and the moment it is approved, you are responsible for the RM50 GST. So make sure you want the card before applying for it.

7. And the only thing that is of importance regarding credit cards is - DO NOT do apply for a credit card if you have no cash or savings to pay for your transactions. Credit card interest rate is very high and many go bankrupt because they have no discipline in controlling their spending. Always settle credit card bills in full monthly, never say just once, if you don't have money today in the bank to pay your credit card bills, what makes you think you will have enough money tomorrow to pay your credit card bills? DON"T be a slave to the banks.

8. If you cannot afford to pay the RM50 GST, GO GET A DEBIT CARD!

When choosing a credit card, below are things to consider

1. Free Lifetime Annual Fee - if the card does not come with automatic annual fee waiver, e.g. 12 swipes per year, then you have to waste time requesting for annual fee waiver yearly.

2. What is the main purpose of you getting a credit card? - Petrol, Cash Back/Rebate Only, Overseas Transactions, Golf, Installment Plans, Airport Lounge etc. Do some homework and you shall benefit from using the right credit card instead of grumbling over the miserable RM50 GST.

3. Convenience in making payment. You are to make payment before the Due Date or else you may be imposed Late Penalty Fee and Interest Charges.

Gen-X's recommendation for those new to credit cards:

Annual Income RM24K/year to RM30K/year.

UOB One Card - good for Petrol as it earns you 5% cash back for all stations. However the cash back is capped at RM20/month, i.e. up to RM400 petrol. And if you pump at BHP, you get to earn SMART$ too PLUS BHP points.
Click here to UOB Thread for further info or click here to read my review of the UOB One Card.

MACH by HLB - from the very start you need to choose the right package based on your spending pattern. It earns you 10% cash back for movies or 5% cash back for dining.
Click here to MACH Thread for further info or click here to read my review of the MACH by Hong Leong Bank.

To see more credit cards where the eligible income starts at RM24K/year - click here to read my article on Entry Level Credit Cards.

Minimum Annual Income RM30K/year.

FREE FOR LIFE Maybankard 2 Cards. This is a combo package where you are issued an American Express and you can decide to partner it with either a Visa or MasterCard. The MBB 2 AMEX earns you 5X Treats Points everyday for any transactions which is like approximately 2.5% cash back when redeeming for cash vouchers AND best of all it also earns you 5% cash back on Saturdays and Sundays.
Click here to MBB 2 Cards V7 Thread for more info or click here to read my review of the Maybankard 2 Gold and Platinum Cards.

In my opinion, the Maybankard 2 AMEX is truly good for local transactions since we earn 5X Treats Points which are evergreen. For overseas, please bear in mind that the conversion rate is high (go read MBB 2 Thread Post#2 FAQ).

Note: if you can't wait tilll Saturday or Sunday to pump petrol, consider getting the UOB One Card. Also this free up the 5% cash back for the MBB2 AMEX on weekends for other types of expenses. And as of December 2012, Petronas stations accept AMEX

Minimum Annual Income RM36K/year.

OCBC Titanium MasterCard - Everyone should have this card as it earns the cardholder 5% cash back everyday for Petrol, Telco Bills, Dining, Groceries and Utilities. The cash back is capped at RM50/month. So with the 5% cash back and RM1K spending per month, you can earn RM600 in cash back a year. Annual Fee is waived with just 12 swipes a year.
Click here to OCBC Thread for more info and note the places you can earn 5% cash back and click here to read my review of the OCBC Titanium MasterCard.

OTHER RELATED LINKS

Click here to read my article Platinum Credit Card to find the right card for yourself.

If you are looking for Premier Credit Cards with good Enrich redemption and other goodies click here to read my article Malaysia Premier Credit Card - Privilege and Exclusive Credit Cards which are good for overseas transactions.

If you are looking for a credit card purely for petrol, go to Petrol Thread by clicking here.

If you are looking for a credit card for free access to KLIA and LCCT Plaza Premium airport lounge click here to that thread.

If you are into Enrich Miles for FREE air tickets, click here to Enrich Miles Thread and see which is the best card for converting points to Enrich Miles.

If you are looking for 0% Balance Transfer, click here to BT Thread. And if you are new to Balance Transfer, please click here to read my article Balance Transfer Plans - Facts You Need To Know before signing up for one.

If you are looking for cards that offers 0% installment plans, Maybank credit cards are accepted at many merchants where you can opt for Ezy Pay starting from 6 months and up to 36 months. However, once again, if you don't have savings please do not sign up for 0% Installment Plans because you will be in debt. And I advise you to go for shorter period. Click here to read my article 0% Installment Plans - It IS A Trap.

If you are an Insurance Agent or spend up to RM5K per month at places that do not accept American Express, look into Alliance Platinum Credit Card where you can earn up to 2% cash back (approximately RM68/month with RM5K spending) PLUS reward points too.

And if you must know what is the best credit card for overseas transactions (as of January 2013), well it is the Maybank Visa Infinite - click here to read my comprehensive review.

Last but not least, if you are new to credit cards please visit my Credit Card Tutorial Page by clicking here. I have designed a series of articles for you, after completing the FREE tuition, you'll be an expert on credit cards


This post has been edited by Gen-X: Sep 11 2013, 11:48 PM

premier miles cc

worth having?

Please fill items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6:

1. Annual Income: RM18K to RM30K or RM30K to RM60K or RM60K to RM100K or RM100K and above or leave blank.

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: A Must or No only.

3. Card required for: List all your needs. Example Petrol, Education, Cash Back/Rebate Only, AirMiles, Overseas Transactions, Free LCCT Lounge Access , Golf, etc or Don't Know.

4. Existing credit cards if any: List them or Nil.

5. Looking at CC from: Citibank - Premier Miles

6. Others: Please be specific. Example: I am a foreigner or I only want to pay amount due with my M2U online savings account or I want cash back only and no reward points.

By filling up the above, then others can make suggestion based on your needs. Actually, if you list out item 3, you yourself would most probably have answered your question above.

1. Annual Income: rm26400 per year

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: A Must

3. Card required for: instant cash but pay monthly/petrol/online shopping

4. Existing credit cards if any: Nil.

5. Looking at CC from: anybank seems im in kuala lumpur

6. Others: actualy i want to make a personal loan, but most of the bank rejected me coz i dont have any commitment. is there any solution about my financial?

For ur income if u can submit proof, u should not have problem getting a credit card.
As for instant cash with credit card, it is not advisable because besides the daily interest charges on the cash withdrawal, new transaction will also be imposed interest. My advise is never ever withdraw cash with credit card unless it is for emergency. Having said this, if u reall need the instant cash, look into Affin and MBB2 where the interest rate is less than 10%. Or HLB standard credit card for short term loan but do not withdraw cash with it instead do balance transfer where HLB will transfer the money into your savings account.
I am using my bb to reply this so kind of hard for me to give u link to HLB BT. Go check out yourself.

For petrol, look into MBB2 or even Ambank Carz or get a debit card where some give cash back.

Click on the links posted in the first post to read my articles.

EONBank call-for-cash is worth considering if you want 'instant cash'.
Have a look here:
http://www.eonbank.com.my/personal_banking...llforcash.shtml

Interest rate is 1.99% (Normally 2.99, but they're having a 1% cashback promo) for a 6 months tenure.

This post has been edited by cannavaro: Mar 15 2011, 10:37 PM

Hi everyone,I would like to apply credit card but I don't know how to choose it.

Can someone tell me which is the best credit card offer in the market?

The opinion from you all is highly appreciated..

Why don't you follow the template on the first post.

@Gen-X, suggest to change Q5 to Preferred Bank(s):

admin, can we pin this thread, Free Access to Airport Lounges with Credit Cards, Balance transfer and also MAYBE Credit Card v15, American Express® Cards v3, Debit Card V2

other forummers, any suggestions? thx

Yalah, noted 2 person join just to what is best card. Agree to suggestion, PM Mod on your suggestion. I will revise Q5 this weekend, now using BB very troublesome.

1. Annual Income: 33600

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: Must

3. Card required for: Petrol, tolls mostly. accepted at most stores overseas. will travel more due to work in the future. others are a bonus

4. Existing credit cards if any: none

5. Looking at CC from: anything

6. Others: none

1st choice, maybankard2 gold AMEX + Visa (Master available in April) - 5% plus 5x treat points with amex during weekend, capped at RM50 per month, no cap for 5x treat points; amex might not be accepted at all petrol stations and some other places; for overseas transactions, visa/master will give you almost the best forex rate amd also 1x treat points

2nd choice, OCBC Master titanium - 5% on any petrol, groceries and some others; while 1% for the rest, capped at RM50 per month, but OCBC might be strict on 1st timer and you annual income is slightly short of the required 36k. Also need to swipe minimum 12 times for annual fee waiver. Can get GST waiver if swipe 10k per annum.

This post has been edited by alexwsk: Mar 17 2011, 05:08 PM

I would recommend Maybankard because it is free for life, MBB Amex gives u points for petrol and 5% cashback on weekends except at Petronas it can't be used. For toll MBB 2 Visa or MC are accepted by Plus and Petronas and Maybank overseas conversion rate the lowest.

Go to Maybankard 2 cards thread to read more about it.

hello there. i'm looking for cc. i hd just started working at gov sector. i'm considering to apply for cc. below is the detail.

1. Annual Income: RM20400

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: No

3. Card required for: buy airline ticket, online transactions, petrol, shopping goods, bills

4. Existing credit cards if any: Nil.

5. Looking at CC from: MBB

6. Others: -

thanx

Citibank Clear Card.
- Income requirement RM18,000
- Can pay various bills in Citibank Online

The downside is, this card does not earn points for petrol transactions.
You may want to get a PB Esso Mobil Visa debit card which gives 1% cash rebate on Esso/Mobil purchases, and it is free for life.

for ur annual income, not much choices from MBB
i would say, go for the Maybankard2 Gold even though you're not qualified yet
1) since u are in the gov sector, might be easier to approve
2) maybankard2 is being approved like nobody's business, so u can try ur luck

come back here if ur application is not approved

UPDATED:
new rules from BNM, you'll not be eligible to apply for CC yet

This post has been edited by alexwsk: Mar 18 2011, 12:21 PM

Most of not all of us would agree that Maybankard Dua & OCBC Ti is a must-have.
However, when one does not meet the income requirement of these two cards, shall we still advise him go for the combo or so-called "try your luck"?

not for OCBC Ti, as they are strict
different case for MBB2, they are desperate, and also he preferred MBB

I think MBB is not as desperate as of one month ago.
Previously we heard many cases where one got issued new card by just clicking I'm Interested.
I asked my sister to do the same, but MBB just called and asked my sister to fax them the form and supporting docs.

well, now he can't apply cc
new rules from BNM, refer above updated post