RM2.5K per month = gross RM30K/year. Yah. you meet the minimum income requirement for the MBB 2 Cards.

If you go to the cinemas with a partner every Friday of the year and use the Citibank Clear CArd to purchase ticket costing RM10 (it will be more), that's savings of RM520

and then on every Saturday until end of this year, you go to TGV, still can save around RM200

If you go cinema alone every Friday, buy the Free 1 for 1 ticket and sell it to to someone in the line for 50%, you still save RM260

Anyway, not sure about the Clear Card for Fridays, you got to go read the T&C, but on Saturdays at TGV until end of this year, you are entitled to buy up to 2 for 2 free tickets

Annual fee I guess first year free and you can ask for waiver for subsequent years. As for GST, you will start saving money once you utilize the Free 1 for 1 movie ticket more than 5 times (or maybe even after 2 times).

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 17 2012, 11:33 AM

For spending RM1K or less, yes, OCBC TMC definitely a good combination with the Maybankard 2 Cards

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 18 2012, 12:48 PM

Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX is excellent for Petrol if you can pump on Saturdays and Sundays where you can earn 5XTP and 5% cash back; but that is subjected that your petrol station you pump with accept AMEX.

As for 0% installment, Maybank Visa and MasterCard are accepted by many merchants. And until end of October you can get 5X TP with the Maybankard Visa or MC, click here to my article on 5X TP with Maybankard Ezy Pay. From there click on the link to see participating merchants.

But since you don't have a credit card, let me warn you that 0% installment plan may not be a good option if you got no discipline. Click here to read my article 0% Installment Plan - It Is A Trap. And if you free, check out my articles on credit card for beginners by clicking here to the prelude.

For cinema, if you go very often, please read last 20 posts where it was discuss in detail.

If your petrol station do not accept AMEX, e.g. Petronas, Click here to my article MACH by Hong Leong Bank where I have a table comparing various cash back credit cards and you can use it as a guide based on your expenses to determine which credit card is good for you.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 18 2012, 04:17 PM

your requirements are similar to rezarazu's, please see my reply above.

However, Maybankard 2 Cards annual fee requirement is RM30K/year. So your other options are UOB One Card one or any other entry level cards for now and build up your credit history. Later when you income meets the requirement of OCBC Titanium MasterCard, go apply for it.

Click here to read more about Entry Level Credit Cards. From this article, you will also find a link to my article on UOB One Card.

And why you want a HSBC card? Anyway,click here to read my article on HSBC Amanah Platinum Cash Back Card - Is It Really 8%? I don't think you will benefit much from HSBC card.

Click here to my article MACH by Hong Leong Bank where I have a table comparing various cash back credit cards and you can use it as a guide based on your expenses to determine which credit card is good for you.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 19 2012, 03:53 PM

OCBC Titanium MasterCard - 5% cash back for Telco Bills and Groceries everyday. Go ask here at OCBC Thread, I think can pay our Telco Bill with OCBC TMC via online.

As for if you can pay OCBC TMC bill with M2U, I don't know, you can refer to this thread or go ask here.

However, if you can do your Groceries and Shopping on Saturdays and Sundays where the AMEX card is accepted, then consider Maybankard 2 Cards (MBB 2 Thread). The MBB 2 Visa or MasterCard overseas conversion rate is amongst the lowest, see table by jchong. Once again, I don't know about paying online for Telco bills since mine all auto debit. Go ask at MBB 2 Thread.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 19 2012, 10:54 PM

Firstly, for self-employed different banks have different evaluation/documentation requirements. For instance MBB wants your 6 months bank's statement and another member mentioned MBB does not take Borang B into consideration

Secondly, in view that your income is less than RM36K/year, you are only allowed to hold credit cards from 2 different issuers and not more. Here it is tricky, if you don't cancel one of your existing credit card, you may not be approved for a new card from a different bank. If you cancel one of the card, and then apply for another card that you want, will the application be approved?

Noted you got OCBC TMC and your spending RM1K, therefore I shall assume your petrol and groceries are taken care off with this card.

As for 0% installment plan, Maybank Visa and MasterCard are accepted by many merchants. And until end of October you can get 5X TP with the Maybankard Visa or MC, click here to my article on 5X TP with Maybankard Ezy Pay. From there click on the link to see participating merchants. Click here to Maybankard 2 Cards Thread to learn more on the card. But like I said, another member reported they don't accept Borang B (that is if you submit it in the first place).

As for you wanting Citibank Platinum, I don't know if you meant Citibank Platinum Credit Card or Citibank Cash Back Platinum Credit Card where the annual income requirements are RM60K/year and RM40K/year respectively.

Citibank Credit Card are accepted at several merchants for 0% installment plans. My advise is that you go check out your favorite merchant or the furniture shop you intend to purchase your furniture to check what credit cards they accept for 0% installment plan. Now, I got advise for you, when you want to buy the furniture, also ask if get further discount if you pay with 1 swipe. instead of installment plan.

As Titan_Gunners mentioned, you should not have any issues using your existing cards overseas but it is advisable to inform CS when you go overseas so that it is recorded in their system.

As for cinemas (why suddenly so many people into cinemas?) this is what I posted previously

Current 1 for 1 Free Movie Ticket offers for cinemas

Citibank Clear Card - Free 1 for 1 Movie ticket at TGV, GSC and Cathay every Friday.

Citibank Credit Card Promotion Free 1 for 1 Ticket and discounted ticket at TGV until end of the year (applicable to most but not all Citi CC).

Free 1 for 1 Ticket at GSC with MasterCard Debit Cards everyday until end of September or when allocation fully taken up.

Free 1 for 1 Movie Ticket at GSC with RHB Credit or Debit Cards every Friday until end of the year.

Cash Back for movie tickets with credit cards

UOB One Card 5% cash back at GSC.

Mach by Hong Leong Bank 10% cash back for all cinemas with MCC Code 7832

Discount at GSC - HLB GSC Credit Card


Agree with Titan_Gunners, for your case go apply both Maybankard 2 Cards and OCBC Titanium MasterCard and see which one approve your application, if both great..

Click here to read my article on Maybankard 2 Cards and OCBC Titanium MasterCard. Once you get these two cards, you got to plan which card to use to maximize the returns. And since you are new to credit cards, I suggest when you are free, click here to read my articles on Credit Cards for Beginers starting with the prelude.

As for best rebate, click >>> MACH by Hong Leong Bank where I have a table comparing various cash back credit cards and you can use it as a guide based on your expenses to determine which credit card is good for you.

For movies, see my reply above.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 20 2012, 10:18 AM

Yah that two cards should be okay with RM5K spending and if the BHP station where your parents pump petrol accept AMEX.

If they have high insurance premium, then look into Alliance Bank Platinum credit card too. Or can also consider Alliance Premier Debit Card where it earns the cardholder 2% cash back for any transaction.

But you also have to consider how your parents make payment and will it be a hassle for them. Furthermore are they willing to go thru the trouble to fill up the application forms and MBB got to declare liabilities also nowadays.

I can tell you this, my dad and brother in law are happy with the MBB 2 AMEX as they get to see their TP increase very fast but they had other Maybank credit cards and as such all they needed to do was go to Maybankard Cetnre at 1U to get the MBB 2 Cards by just signing on a form without going through the hassle of submitting documents.

If you can get a detail breakdown of your parent expenses, click here to read my article Earn Pocket Money with Credit Cards (if you have not). Or you can refer to my article on MACH by HLB where I have a table.

Anyway, before you go do homework for your parent, ask them if they are willing to go apply for a new card instead of wasting your time. Older people like me can be stubborn

Yes the Maybankard 2 AMEX cash back cap is RM50/month BUT the 5X Treats Points is unlimited. The MBB 2 AMEX earns you unlimited Treats Points Everyday for any type of transaction and on top of this it earns you cash back on Saturday and Sunday which is capped. Any by the way, if the OCBC TMC capped is reached and you need to do a transaction at a merchant where they do not accept AMEX, that is when you have the opportunity to your the MBB 2 Visa or MasterCard

If you based on cash voucher redemption, the 5X TP works out to be approximately 2.5% guaranteed returns which is better than any credit card out there.

As for MbF card, I guess if you like to gamble or into lottery, what you mentioned above is good, that is if you win it Anyway, MbF card may be taken over by AmBank soon.

For your case, you can try Free For Life no conditions Maybankard 2 Cards where you get a AMEX and Visa or MasterCard.

Since your expenses is most likely less than RM300/month, the best thing about this Maybankard 2 Cards is that if you can charge your expenses to the AMEX card on weekends, then you can actually earn something out from it. You see, even though you have two cards, you are only charge GST for the Visa of MC because for the AMEX Card the GST is absorbed by Maybank.

The MBB 2 AMEX earns you 5X TP everyday and 5% on Saturday and Sunday. Even if you only spend RM200 a month, that's RM2400 per year. You would earn 12,000 Treats Points and RM120 cash back in 1 year. You can then use 10,000 Treats Points to offset the RM50 GST and still have balance 2000 Treats Points. And MBB TP are evergreen and thus carry forward the TP to following years.

And where the AMEX is not welcome, say for your Professional Exam Fee, you can use the Visa or MasterCard.

If your MBB 2 Card application is rejected, then look into UOB One Card where at least you will earn something meaningful from your petrol expenses which can offset the RM50 GST. Only thing is that they have a stupid requirement that you need to swipe 60 times for annual fee waiver. But at least the first year annual fee is waived and you only need to worry about annual fee for following years and by that time you should be able to qualify for better cards.

Well, I am sure that the Rakyat of Malaysia welcome your generosity in donating RM50 GST every year

Actually Astro is not tedious at all, just call them up. As for Insurance, call your agent to bring the form to you, sign it on the spot and get him to submit it. Alternatively, if you can't go to the Insurance Office, call them up and see if they can fax the form to you or maybe it can even be done over the phone.

I agree with Human Nature on getting both the OCBC and MBB2 Cards for your case.

However I also noted you mentioned you spend up to RM3K and your wife has her own card. Now if your wife has income or pays income tax, then she should also consider getting her own Principal Maybankard 2 Cards or OCBC Titanium MasterCard. This is because with you having the OCBC TMC and MBB2 Card, with RM3K spending you only get back RM100 cash back; but add another principal card from your wife, you can get up to RM150/month cash back.

Say for example, you and your wife's total expenses for Petrol, Groceries, TNB, Telco, Astro, Syabas and eating out is more than RM1K. Then it would be beneficial for your wife to get her own Principal OCBC TMC card too because OCBC Cash Back is capped at RM50/month. You get nothing once you hit the monthly cap.

On the other hand, if your wife shops a lot at places that accept AMEX (like AEON, MJ, Parkson, Mid Valley or 1U), then the Maybankard 2 Cards may be more appropriate as she can earn approximately 2.5% which is better than OCBC TMC 1% cash back. Better still if she spends money on Saturday and Sunday where the MBB AMEX earns her extra 5% cash back.

Click here to read my Maybankard 2 Cards Review where I did a comparison versus OCBC Titanium MasterCard. Spend RM1K/month with the MBB 2 AMEX and in a year, in additional to earning up to RM600 cash back you will have 60,000 Treats Points to redeem RM300 Parkson cash vouchers.

And to show you how good the Maybankard 2 AMEX is with 5X TP, click here to read my article FREE Money from Maybankard and Bonus Link for my wife's SK-II

As for medical bills and car servicing, if they accept AMEX best. But if they don't and you hit the monthly cash back cap with OCBC TMC, then you can either use your HSBC credit card or the Maybankard 2 Cards Visa or MC.

One more thing, I thought HSBC upgrading their cardholders' gold card to platinum. Anyway, if you are happy with HSBC, do consider upgrading to their Visa Signature as you do qualify for it. Click here to read my article on HSBC Premier World MasterCard and Visa Signature Benefits.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 24 2012, 09:23 AM

Except for CIMB Petronas, their other credit cards earn you nothing for petrol.

For you case, if petrol consist a major part of your expenses, you can consider UOB One Card where you will earn 5% cash back for all petrol stations everyday.

If you go to the movies like everyweek, go check out Citibank Clear card and read my reply above post#1581.

If your income is close to RM30K, go apply for Maybankard 2 Cards if your petrol station accept AMEX. Click here to read my review of the Maybankard 2 Cards. For Installment plans, Maybank credit cards are accepted by many merchants. And if you can plan your transactions on Saturday or Sunday, the MBB 2 AMEX earns you 5% cash back on top or 5X Treats Points everyday. Click here to see places that accept AMEX.

In respect to your requirement for Airmile, I guess you read post#1 half way only. There is an example showing how much you need to spend before you can even get a ticket to Singapore. For RM1K spending per month, it would take years before you can even get a fee ticket to Singapore. Better you use the points and redeem for cash vouchers.

Anyway, for your case, apply for the Maybankard 2 Cards where you can earn 5X evergreen Treats Points and earn 5% cash back every Saturday and Sunday for any type of transaction with the MBB 2 AMEX. And the Maybankard 2 Visa or MasterCard has one of the lowest overseas conversion rate. Once again, click here to read my review of the Maybankard 2 Cards. For Installment plans, Maybank credit cards are accepted by many merchants.

Standard Chartered Bank - now they offering cash to new applicants. Click here to SCB Thread and read the last 20 pages or so. Their SCB Business credit card earns the cardholder 0.5% cash back + Choice points. Effectively you will earn less than 1% when you take into consideration of the Choice points required to redeem for cash vouchers.

As for Citibank, they do have a cash back card call Citibank Cash Back Platinum where they just reduced the eligibility income requirement to RM40K/year. But for your case, it won't benefit you much since you don't need a card for petrol or groceries. For online and retail shopping you only earn 0.3% cash back with the Citi CB Plat..

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 24 2012, 05:28 PM

Bro. Maybankard 2 Cards are Free For Life and only a single GST of RM50 for two cards which can be easily offset when you spend RM2K per year with the MBB 2 AMEX as you will earn 10K Treats Points to offset the GST. You can consider this card to be FREE.

As for OCBC Titanium MasterCard annual fee is waived with 12 swipes per year and if you spend RM10K with it within a year, OCBC will credit into your account RM50 at the anniversary date, as such it is like there's no GST being charged. So this card is also FREE.

So, coming back to your question, if you really going for a single card, which card to get? Well, based on your requirements and spending amount, I strongly recommend you get both MBB 2 Card and OCBC Titanium MasterCard as both cards can benefit you for your essential expenses because these cards combined can really earn (save) you money. Unless you mentioned earlier you do not want MBB card, if I were to recommend you only a single card, it is just not the "right thing" to do.

As for your comment to avoid out of control spending, even if you got 1 credit card, if you got no discipline, it makes no difference. But from the way you post above, it shows you have planning and have been controlling you expenditure, as such, you should be thinking like most of us here ( in this section) on how to maximize returns from our expenses. Well, some at the SCB thread go one step further and go apply credit cards to get FREE money!!!

I have cancel my MBB cards before and got no major issue, just have to terminate early before the anniversary date and follow up with CS to confirm the card is cancelled after 2 -4 weeks time (this applies to all cards). But I can assure you that the MBB 2 Cards is going to serve you very well for many years to come.

Click here to my Mach by HLB credit card review where I have a table showing the cash back earned from various cards.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 24 2012, 09:49 PM

Annual Fee is imposed by card issuer where as Government Service Tax is imposed by our government.

Yes service tax is based in number of cards. For Principal Credit Card it is RM50. For Supp Card it's RM25.

However for MBB 2 Cards, it is a bit unique because it comes with AMEX and Visa or MasterCard.
Principal Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX and Visa/MasterCard - Total GST RM100 for 2 cards but Maybank credit RM50 into the AMEX account and therefore total GST effectively becomes RM50 for 2 cards.

Supp cards Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX and Visa/MasterCard - RM25 x 2, therefore total GST RM50.

For OCBC TMC - Principal RM50 and each supp card RM25.

How come you don't know about GST when you got HSBC card? For further questions on specific card please refer the relevant thread or at Ask General Question Thread.

Bro, car problem and no money in hand (in the bank too) is not emergency la. Tangguh. Take public transport and when save enough go repair car. Anyway, the car repair won't be much if you driving a Jap car; and, if you foresee this may be a problem then you should start saving now. Like our leaders always say, adjust our lifestyle

On the other hand, if you mean when balik kampung and suddenly car breakdown on the highway and need to be repaired, then that's an emergency. I am assuming you meant this situation because your monthly expenses is less than half your salary and as such you should have lots of money stash somewhere

As for washing machine for your mum, yah, that's an emergency. We cannot let our mother to "suffer".

So for your case any credit card also can since your requirements is just for making payments. For convenience sake, apply with the bank you have savings account or where your salary is credited. Actually any Visa or MasterCard Debit Card also will serve the same purpose for making payments.

Click here to my article on Entry Level Credit Cards to see what cards you are eligible.

And since you are new to credit cards, I recommend you read my series of articles for Credit Card Newbies by clicking here to the prelude

If your salary is close to RM30K, pump petrol at places that accept AMEX (go check), do shopping at (JJ, Tesco, Giant and Mydin) on Saturday and Sunday. then go apply Maybankard 2 Cards and your mum's washing machine will be almost free in a year's time with your essential expenses. In my links above, you will see many links to my review of the Maybankard 2 Cards.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 26 2012, 09:36 PM

Your Maybankard 2 Cards should be fine and the other cards as back up. But if you want enter airport lounge, then different story

Bro, what you mentioned above is true. Hope your colleagues don't have PPM cards too.

Anyway, if you take taxi from KLIA, the Citi PremierMiles can be of some use until 28 November this year.

Bro, for convenience sake, get a credit card that allows you to make payment easily. But, you have to decide for yourself which card is best based on where you spend your money and what you need the card for.

You want short version in point form go the bank website where they only highlight the pros but not the cons (you got to read the Terms and Conditions to understand fully what the card is all about) My articles are freaking long because I am long winded, hahaha, that's why I need a blog and those that read it in full will get the message intended. For promotions, usually I post at My Credit Cards @ Wordpress where no lengthy explanation is necessary.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Jul 26 2012, 10:03 PM