Need some Debit Card sifus to shed some light here:

Please refer to http://www.alliancebank.com.my/DebitCards - I came across this page recently and I'm pretty surprised by the three cards Alliance Bank offers: Alliance Hybrid Standard Debit Card (Standard), Alliance Hybrid Platinum Debit Card (Platinum) and Alliance Hybrid Premium Debit Card (Premium). Not only that it has a cashback percentage MUCH higher than what is offered by other banks (1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% respectively), all three cards seem to be exactly identical except in terms of cashback percentage / limit.

(Refer to http://www.alliancebank.com.my/ABMB/media/...reement_ENG.pdf Section 15 for more info about the Cashback programme.

1. Why would Alliance Bank offer such high cashback for their debit card usage, such that it almost rivals the cashback for credit cards in other banks? The cashback offered by these three cards is two to four times higher than what is offered by other banks. Does it come with a catch? (I'm worried if there's any, I haven't spotted any yet)

2. With the existence of the Premium card, doesn't it make the Standard and Platinum cards obsolete? I mean, if all other aspects are identical, why would anyone want to use cards with lower cashback?

HeHeHunter, did they bug you with lots of "why"s? When I opened this account, there were lots of "why"s fired at me ("WHY you want to open this account", "WHY do you open an account at this bank" & etc.) - if they did, what did you tell them to make them allow your account type to be changed? I'd be pissed to no end if they start spamming me with lots of "why", "why", "why" again. Also, does the normal Savings Account / AirAsia Savers Account cannot use ATM cards? Why do you need to change your account type when you cancel your debit card?
iXora.ix, did you manage to successfully change your account to basic savings account? Were there any charges incurred?

I tried changing CIMB AirAsia Savers Account to Basic Savings Account 1, which is the one with charges for every transactions per month above threshold (6 OTC transactions and 8 ATM transactions). As I almost never use this bank for any transactions, I am attempting to dodge this RM 15 CIMB PMPC Annual Fee. I was informed that the RM 15 CIMB PMPC Annual Fee applies to the Mastercard debit card that I currently hold (and barely used), not the AirAsia Savers account.

Note that the CIMB AirAsia Savers Account is a statement-only account with no passbook.

1. Does this mean that I can opt to cancel my Mastercard debit card without changing my CIMB AirAsia Savers Account to Basic Savings Account 1?

2. I tried to change my CIMB Mastercard debit card to a normal ATM card, but they refused my request, quoting "Nobody uses ATM card anymore". Do they have the right to refuse my request? Do I have a right to request for the cancellation of the card?
I remembered something about my rights to stop using the card anytime, cut the card in half and return it to bank if I cease to agree to the conditions stipulated in the agreement, but I can't check the agreement since CIMB refused to provide me with a copy of the agreement I signed (unlike Public Bank). Can anyone please check?

3. Does the CIMB ATM card come with an annual charge?

I currently hold 7 different debit cards, but I've never tried HongLeong debit card. If you'd like to compare BSN and Public Bank debit cards, I'd say it would depend a lot on your spending patterns. Do you spend heavily on online transactions / e-commerce and payWave transactions, or do you usually spend more on petrol and groceries (things like cabbage, chicken liver and soy sauce)? BSN offers 0.5% cashback on all retail purchases, and frequently has special promotions for online transactions, where all online transactions (e-commerce) and payWave transactions will be given an additional 5% cashback. Public Bank rarely, if not never, has any noteworthy promotions going on, but it offers a slightly higher cashback for petrol and grocery spendings, at 0.8%, capped at RM 30 monthly. In short:
Online purchases? BSN.
payWave transactions? BSN.
Petrol? Public Bank.
Groceries? Public Bank.
Clothings and accessories? BSN.
Electronic equipment? BSN.
IT gadgets? BSN.
Bills? Any. To the best of my knowledge, no banks offer cashback for bill payment.

Thanks for the tips given, HeeHunter and iXora.ix - I'll see if I can successfully change my account to Basic Savings Account.BSN Debit Card is pretty good for online transactions. I always use it for gaming purchases, as well as booking for air tickets and hotel rooms. A 5% cashback might not be available all the time, though: You have to pay attention to the promotions going on. The last two promotion period was from Mar 2014 to Jun 2014, and from Jul 2014 to Sep 2014. Please also do note that the 5% special cashback is capped at RM30 per promotion period.

With the termination of cashback feature offered by Alliance Bank debit cards, I need suggestions or recommendations on debit cards which offer high cashbacks.

Any bank offering good debit card deals?

EDIT: It seems that Public Bank Day2Day Debit Card is also not offering cashbacks anymore. I have no idea when the cashback stopped.

This post has been edited by Archmage Warlic: Dec 1 2015, 01:20 PM

Can anyone please recommend a debit card with cashback?

Any debit cards with good rewards to recommend?

I missed the time when debit cards offered cashback for spending. Now the cashback is gone for local spending, and even the rewards are getting increasingly crappy.

The last debit card I used was issued by AffinBank. Last year, I managed to redeem a RM50 voucher with only 13k points. Now the cost for the same voucher has skyrocketed to over 30k points, which is almost triple the original amount.

Wondering if any other banks offer better rewards for debit card usage.

I already have a Public Bank MasterCard debit card - I just almost never use it.
Thanks for the heads up, I guess it doesn't hurt to try using the card again.

I wonder how I can get info on promotions like this early - do you always watch the promotions from the banks closely?