Hi Bro,

Below is my summary. Need your advise and suggestion.


1. Annual Income: RM40,000 per year

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: I dont mind. Can be waiveable.

3. Card required for: Petrol/online shopping/Tesco/Guardian/Boutiqes/Dining etc etc

4. Existing credit cards if any: Nil.

5. Looking at CC from: Suggest me

6. Others: nil. Maybe want to buy house and new car in next few years.

Bro, your above too general so I'll just recommend you get both Maybankard 2 Cards and OCBC Titanium MasterCard.


To ALL: Please post in accordance to the format below:

1. Annual Income: RM24K to RM30K or RM30K to RM36K or RM36K to RM48K or RM48 to RM60K or RM60K-RM100K or RM100K-RM200K or RM200K 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, Overseas Transactions, Golf, Installment Plans, Airport Lounge etc or Don't Know.

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

5. Preferred Bank or Considering CC from banks: List the Banks or List the card(s).

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

7. Fixed expenses per month with the card: Example RM1.25K - RM300 petrol, RM200 groceries, RM150 Dining, RM100 Telco, RM50 movies, RM200 Insurance and others RM250.

8. Non-fixed expenses but recurring in RM: Example, up to RM5K for frequent overseas trips, RM3K for new gadget every 6 months, RM200 pay pal every 2 months, RM10K school/college tuition fee every half year and etc.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 13 2012, 05:11 PM

1. Annual Income: RM60K-RM100K

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: A Must or with minimum swipe.

3. Card required for: Petrol (Esso), Groceries (AEON, Tesco/Giant/Carrefour), Utilities bill (TNB, water, mobile, Internet), Cash Back.

4. Existing credit cards if any: Maybankard 2 Cards & OCBC Titanium.

5. Preferred Bank or Considering CC from banks: No.

6. Others: I want a backup card for my existing cards if both cards reach the monthly rebate cap; and I also plan to increase my utilities bill in the future, which will easily surpass the OCBC Titanium rebate cap limit.

7. Fixed expenses per month (current expenses): RM300 - RM400 petrol, RM500 - RM900 groceries, RM100 Dining, RM250 - RM300 Utilities bill (Potential up to RM600 in the future).

8. Non-fixed expenses but recurring in RM: Up to RM2K for non-fixed expenses at least every 6 months or less, such as quit rent, assessment, Indah water (OCBC Titanium), car maintenance, medical, new gadget/home appliance, clothing & etc (Maybankard 2 cards).

This post has been edited by sleecc: Aug 14 2012, 10:56 PM

From your fixed expenses and requirement, all can earn 5% cash back, so look into UOB One Card or Citibank Platinum Cash Back for Petrol up to RM600 because the cash back is capped at RM30. With these cards, you will still earn 5% for all you fixed expenses.

As for the recurring expenses of RM4K/year, not much. And like you mentioned, you are using MBB 2 Cards now which earns you 5X TP or 2.5% which is better that other cards in the market. Say you get another card that earns you 1%, with RM4K/year, you only earn RM40 which is less than GST RM50. Where AMEX is not welcome, just use your MBB 2 Visa or MC and earn 0.5% or RM20 (which GST has been paid).

1. Annual Income: RM36K to RM48K

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: Must

3. Card required for: mostly for petrol when during weekday, cinema and F&B

4. Existing credit cards if any: MayBank2card

5. Preferred Bank or Considering CC from banks: nothing in mind currently

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

7. Fixed expenses per month with the card: RM350 for insurans, RM90 for streamyx, RM200 for petrol

8. Non-fixed expenses but recurring in RM: -

i have a maybank2card right now but the 5% rebate only limited to weekend. want to find another card that can grant the rebate at weekday and for entertainment purpose (like GSC buy 1 free 1)

OCBC Titanium MasterCard 5% for Petrol and Streamyx. 1% for insurance.

For movies, click here to read my article The Best Credit Cards for Movie Tickets.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 18 2012, 05:10 AM

1. Annual Income: RM48 to RM60K

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: A Must.

3. Card required for: List all your needs. Petrol, Installment Plans, Shopping

4. Existing credit cards if any: Standard Chartered.

5. Preferred Bank or Considering CC from banks: -

6. Others: Please be specific. - Prefer reward points to exchange gifts

7. Fixed expenses per month with the card: 500 insurance, 500 bills

8. Non-fixed expenses but recurring in RM: 3K a year for amazon, ebay.

1. Annual Income: RM36K to RM48K

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: A Must.

3. Card required for: PUBS! Petrol, Cash Back/Rebate Only, Groceries

4. Existing credit cards if any: Citibank Shell Gold, Citi Clear and Ambank RealRewards

5. Preferred Bank or Considering CC from banks:
Applying right now for Citibank Cashback Plat, OCBC Titanium and UOB 1 Card Plat while getting rid of Citibank Shell Gold and Ambank RealRewards

6. Others: Please be specific. Example: Low interest during certain months when I do exceed and have outstandings.

7. Fixed expenses per month with the card:
Telco Bill - RM150
Petrol - RM300
Coway Water - RM100

8. Non-fixed expenses but recurring in RM: Lots of pubs/clubs. Dining. Movies.

Bro, how come your needs and your expenses different? You stated Petrol as a requirement but you spend RM0 on it?

As for your bills, that's too general. What bill? School bill, country club bill, TNB and etc?

And since you want reward points only, I guess you can consider Maybankard 2 Cards where you get more in returns with MBB Treats Points compared to you StanChart. The Maybankard 2 AMEX earns you 5X TP for any transaction and the Visa/MasterCard earns you 1X TP for Petrol too (unlike SCB Cards).

For comparison of points for redeeming cash voucher between Standard Chartered Bank versus Maybank credit cards, click here to see example in my article on Standard Chartered Business Gold & Platinum credit cards.

Maybank credit cards are accepted at many places for 0% Installment Plans. Click here to my artilce on Maybank 5X Treats Points with 0% Ezy Pay and in this article there is a link to participating merchants.

However, if you need a card for Petrol, Telephone Bills, Utility Bills and Groceries and don't mind cash back, you should seriously consider OCBC Titanium MasterCard where it earns you 5% cash back which is way better than reward points and for other transactions 1% cash back.

Once again, considering the fact your income is above RM48K, you can qualify for many cash back credit cards out there where the cash back is way better than points. Click here to my article on MACH by Hong Leong Bank where I have a table comparing cash back for different credit cards. Use it as a guide for your own expenses and see how much you can earn.



First card to get is OCBC Titanium MasterCard where you get 5% cash back for petrol, groceries and dining. It will earn you 5% cash back for Telco bill, Petrol, Groceries (and other utility bills) and 1% cash back for other transactions. So with above Fixed Expenses, you will be earning RM23.5 guaranteed (not including 5% cash rebate for Grocery which you stated as requirement and Dining under recurring expenses). The only thing is that the cash back is capped at RM50 per month.

As for Pubs - check if the pubs you frequent accept AMEX, if yes, get the Maybankard 2 Cards and earn yourself 5X TP and if you go drinking on Friday night and if pay your bill after 12am (Saturday already) and Saturday night, you can get additional 5% cash back

Click here to read more about Maybankard 2 Cards.

If the pubs you frequent DO NOT accept AMEX:

Like I mentioned earlier, the OCBC TMC earns you 1% cash back, if you have not hit the RM50/month maximum cash back, charge your drinking bill to this card. However this may be a hassle to keep track. So you got two options:

Option1 - charge it to your existing credit cards.

Option2 if your drinking bill is more than RM1K - check out MACH by Hong Leong Bank where you can get 1% cash back. If less than RM1K, don't waste your time as you will earn less than RM100/year in cash back after deducting GST.

As for movies, you have Citibank Clear Card which gets you Free 1 for 1 movie ticket on Friday and Saturday
However, if you are into 3D or IMAX, the MACH by HLB is good, click here to read my article The Best Credit Cards for Movie Tickets.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 18 2012, 05:10 AM

Many thanks for the rich information!
Will consider the Maybank card.
Any opinion for HSBC cards to fit into my needs?

- Thanks again!

This post has been edited by wildhawk: Aug 16 2012, 09:58 AM

You're welcome Bro.

As for credit card fitting to your needs, well, your existing Standard Chartered Bank can do the job, the question should be, what card reward you most based on your spending pattern, That why I need breakdown of your expenses as accurate as possible.

As for HSBC credit cards, please read my article on HSBC Amanah MPower Platinum Cash Back Credit Card so that you won't be conned when an agent promises you that it will earn you 8% cash back without any minimum spending. And if he does, get a copy of what he said, get his name card, take a photo of him with your phone camera and photostat your application and also double check with his superior.

As for HSBC points, generally HSBC requires more points to redeem for the same cash voucher versus Maybank credit cards. Click here to read my article on HSBC Premier World MasterCard and Visa Signature where I have shown that Maybankard 2 Gold Card beat the heck out of HSBC Premier Cards for Enrich Miles conversion even tho HSBC claims to have the lowest Enrich conversion rate in Malaysia.

The reason why I would think anyone wants a HSBC card over Maybankard 2 Cards are as follows:

1. They hate Maybank.

2. HSBC credit cards only are accepted at a particular merchant for installment plan.

3. They frequent a merchants that offer discount to HSBC credit card only.

4. They shop frequently at Mid Valley or Gardens specialty outlets that does not accept AMEX. This is where the HSBC Visa Signature and WMC has advantage over the Maybankard 2 AMEX.

5. They have yet to read my credit cards articles so they don't know that there are better cards out there, hahahaha.

6. They love gaming and are into non guaranteed contests. HSBC always have continuous contests to entice you to spend and spend and spend more with their cards. And if you win, the return may be better than Maybankard 2 Cards Click here to see T&C for HSBC Dining Cash Back for August and September 2012 Promotion.

7. Or they are card collectors like me and happily paying the GST

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 16 2012, 04:36 PM

1. Annual Income: 50k

2. Free Lifetime Annual Fee: Must. if with conditions (eg swipe 12 times/year) also can

3. Card required for: online purchases

4. Existing credit cards if any: AMEX Gold, Citi CB, and 3 more cards that im cancelling soon (HSBC Mpower, HSBC Gold, UOB One Card)

5. Looking at CC from: any bank. preferable from existing bank so that i dont need to submit income info again (HSBC, MBB [AMEX], Citi)

6. Others: most important can provide CL of 1-2k and no combined limit with other card. preferable rewards on online and oversea transaction.

This post has been edited by Frostlord: Aug 16 2012, 05:24 PM

Hey Gen-X, I must thank you for your blog. Absolutely useful for newbies like me, I have learnt a lot from the links you posted here from time to time.

I read about the best CC for movie tickets and I have made my choice for MACH. After all, I don't go for movies only on Fridays or Saturdays, so Citibank Clear is not that a good choice. More often during weekdays and Sundays, so I thought the 10% of discount is good enough ya?

p/s: I just noticed my boss is using Citibank Platinum Cash Back card today and after going through your blog only noticed that card is not that good. So, I have recommended her on M2UCard and OCBC Ti. Of course, I have sent her few useful links from your blog to show to her which are the better cards. With her income, she can even qualify for a VISA Infinite, so I'll look into this and explain more to her. I just can't bear by looking at her Citibank and HSBC cards which are not that useful...

Bro, go get a Debit Card Don't have to worry about credit limit

fruitie, thank you so much for taking the trouble to let me know you find my articles useful

Yah, I do think the MACH credit card is excellent for movies, especially 3D and IMAX where most FREE 1 for 1 movie tickets are only for normal ticket. Having said this, if you only watch normal ticket shows at TGV only, Citibank credit cards are good because the ticket only cost RM10 (for August RM8), that's more than 10% discount.

You are now an expert too, can recommend credit cards to others Yes, MBB2 and OCBC TMC are must have cards because they reward us the most. When your boss see her Treats Points accumulating exponentially, and getting 5% cash back from OCBC TMC, you'll be promoted by jumping 2 levels

And you are now a certified credit card enthusiast where we spread our passion on credit cards to others and can't bear looking at them earning less from their useless credit cards, hahaha.

Basically, for local spending charge Fixed Expenses up to RM1K to the OCBC and rest to Maybankard 2 AMEX which earn us 5XTP (plus RM50 max cash back on Saturdays and Sundays), if AMEX not accepted, use Maybankard Visa Infinite to earn 2X TP which is like 1% cash back when redeeming for cash voucher. And for overseas Maybank Visa Infinite for 5X TP too but more importantly, with the 5X TP is like 2.5% returns when redeeming cash vouchers and less the overseas admin cost of 1.25%, we still earn 1.25%

However, boss being bosses, they have their unique way of thinking out of the box and may not concur with me, hahaha. Also the hassle of making payments to consider.

Recommend she reads my article FREE Money from Maybankard and Bonuslink for My Wife's SK-II. and Benefits of Credit Cards and How To Earn Pocket Money where I have a comparison of points required for redeeming cash vouchers between HSBC vs. Citibank vs Maybank. My bad, where she got time to read, you'll have to summarize them in a report for her haha.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 17 2012, 01:54 AM

@Gen-x, i think Frostload's boss being not stingy, will opt for online wiring for the cc payments; skipping the hassle of travelling and queuing for cash deposits. my bad, too as most of the bosses are stingy in nature.

You are welcome. Nope, I go for GSC most of the time.

Oh no, she is very into convenience. She pays everything through her M2U, so she is not being stingy over that point.

At this moment, she is more interested in the cash rebates card. As she travels from Shah Alam to KL for work everyday, so the petrol expenses are pretty high.
I showed the comparison table you made to compare OCBC Ti, MBB2Card, UOB One Card and her Citibank Cash Back Platinum only she noticed how puny the return is.

what i want actually is a normal card for online shopping usage. preferable if the card have benefits on online/oversea shopping but if dont have also ok

the hardest thing is to get CL of rm1000-rm2000. i want 2k max CL for security reason only. just in case the card got compromised

all my current cc bank reject my application to decrease the limit

i dont want debit card because it will link directly to my saving account

Not necessary need to be linked link to savings account - i.e. PBB Debit Cards (exclude PBB D2D which needs to be linked to SA) and HLB Junior Debit Card which can be treated as Prepaid Card.

Like I mentioned in General Thread, minimum CL of most Credit Card starts at RM3 to RM4K.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Aug 17 2012, 12:56 PM

i see i see

thanks

will go to PBB and check out their DC later

Hi Gen-X, thanks for your detail response. I have spent some time to read your blog and did some research. However, both UOB One Card & Citibank Cash Back Platinum are not attractive to me at all, besides petrol all other category only give 2% cash back at most, which I would say is inferior to Maybankard 2 Card 5x treat points. In addition, both cards with annual member fee, and UOB waiving condition needs RM36,000 annual spending, which is impossible for me to reach, unless UOB only give me their classic instead of platinum card, where 60 swipes per year seems feasible. Further more, my major concern is not petrol, but utilities bill and grocery, which contributes the most portion in my fixed expenses, and potentially high in non-fixed expenses (eg. Assessment). If I were to apply either of this cards, I believe it only cause me more problem, such as number of swipe and unnecessary GST if I do not utilize the card.

For now, I think it is better for me to stick with my existing cards (MBB 2 Cards & OCBC Titanium), because:
1.) Petrol expenses is not my major concern, although it gives me additional bonus (ie. UOB + BHP eCard).
2.) 5x treat points is more attractive than 2% cash rebate.
3.) Additional annual fee and GST is a distraction if the card is not fully utilized.
4.) I only go to the place that accept AMEX by referring to our "Places to use your AMEX", so AMEX is not a problem for me., unless the price from other places that don't accept AMEX is so low, even after 5% rebate + 5x treat points are still higher.

I can still use some strategy, such as whenever the months that I cannot reach the rebate cap, I can still use the remaining amount to top up such as Carrefour gift card or buy AEON voucher, which has no expiry date. In this case, it will provide me enough spending power in the future whenever the months that I need to spend extra on other non-fixed expenses.

This post has been edited by sleecc: Aug 19 2012, 09:56 PM