VI gives double rewards points for local spending but no real cash back. the rewards require substantial spending - i remember they told me it's around 100k. have to double check.

plus:

airline lounge acccess
timeless points
free for life when you spend 20k the first year which is super easy to achieve
free sub card

minus:

no cash-back

i have not done the maths yet but it seems that for spending of around 5k the plat beats the VI unless you really want the lounge access. i only have use for it like 4,5 times a year and the wife maybe 6 times so we're still thinking of "upgrading".

sorry about the 20k it's apparently 30k spending requirement for the first 12 months to get a perpetual waiver of the fees. i got the details from alliance bank when they called me so i might have remembered wrongly.

the annual bonus is a spending discount of some sort and no cash-back. its a measly 500 RM for spending of 100k p.a.

what might be worth considering is having both the plat and the VI (once the annual fee is waived). for overseas spending 5x bonus points is absolutely worth it and you get lounge access for just 60 / 30 RM p.a. they might even offset the goverment tax with points so the access could be free.

one *could* even roll over spending above 5k to the VI since the airline miles conversion is pretty attactive (3000 RM spending gives you 1000 enrich miles). i am not good and remembering to swap cards when required though.

i shall check with my banker if they want to give both cards or will only entertain an upgrade.

from what CS told me you get a perpetual waiver if you spend 30k or more within the first 12 months. and yes, VI is free anyway for privelege banking customers. i guess i will give it a shot and see if it's worth my while to add another into the wallet. i am not a fan of too many cards.

they are not big on promos. it's mainly cash-back and lounge for VI.

but i just did a larger ikea purchase. turns out alliance offers IPP for ikea purchases of 6/12 mths for spening above 1k and apparently up to 36 (!) mths above 2k. that's a decent discount esp. if you consider the cash back and points you get on top. thumbs up for that

dunno - they used to have make-a-wish-for-redemption. dunno if still got. i only convert to miles, never bothered about anything else.

it's exactly like that. my cashback is also limited to 68.75 on the plat card.

why not go to the branch? ss2 is pretty helpfull. or in ikano.

hmmm.... they offered the card to me before but i declined - prefer the cashback. my CC limit is @ 50k though and they dont have income information from me since i got the plat card when i met their priority banking requirements FOC like 8 yrs ago. nobody asked me to pledge or provide anything, they offered a simple replacement. where is your branch? maybe you talk to personal banker?

maybe the hotline doesnt know. i found their hotline for "special" requests not that helpfull. i talk to my branch instead. even the "out of their SOP" requests can be done if you dont ask for something totally impossible. afterall a small bank has to care for their clients

out of curiosity: you want the card for the priority pass is it? other than that i dont see much value since the points are not worth much now with the devaluation and the MAS devaluation. if you are priority customers you can get the infinite free for life without any spending conditions as far as i know. worth asking for that too.

yes not too bad but you can fare better these days with maybank. sadly nothing else to redeem from them also. used to use the points to fly to frankfurt in bus-class. no no more, not sure what to do with my bonus points...

anyway for the priority pass its a good deal if they waive the annual fee. otherwise the spending requirement is just 30k but personally i rather get the points and cash back elsewhere than spend 30k just so i have priority pass - i dont have enough chances to utilise it.

alright - i hear you. little trick for a free infite card for you: move yourself (if you can) to priority banking status temporarily. that comes with a VI card. take it under PB then its free for life without conditions (ask gen-x, i think got it that way too). then you can clear the funds again and keep the card. alliance wont cancel the card and its free for life as per their t&c. then you also dont need to pledge anything and retain all your cash.

you have a fee waiver with an annual spend of 30k. i.e. you need to spend 30k every year not just once and get the card for free. thats a difference and relevant because the 2x bonuspts are not worth much to me. i rather spend the money with my MBB for 5x treats pts and better MAS miles conversion rate (4500 vs. 6000).

see here for the product disclosure: http://www.alliancebank.com.my/VisaInfinite

"Lifetime Annual Fee Waiver
Enjoy annual fee waiver on your principal Alliance Bank Visa Infinite Credit Card with a minimum spend of RM30,000 per annum."

its a bit clearer in the T&C:

"Annual fee waiver conditions:
• Infinite: Waived upon minimum spend of RM30,000 in a year."

for PB customers that qualify for the infinite card you get it free for life without (!) an annual spending condition. the card's conditions are however not tied to having PB status for the whole time. they will remove PB from you after some years (they did for me after 5 yrs) but you can keep their special credit card. i have done this before with them and my wife still has the card after many yrs of not beeing PB customer anymore. they never cancelled nor imposed any further conditions to the cc.

i believe i read genx mentioning that he also has the infite from alliance bank without spending conditions. not sure if gen-x is still PB member though. you would have to ask him.

yes will cancel mine too. any good cashback replacement? was thinking of one for petrol (avg 400 RM per mth) and one for general. usually we spend 5-7k on the cards per month. since maybank offers many installmentplans (0%) was thinking of adding a maybank in the mix. what will you guys switch to?

what do you think of this combination:

AEON Watami for cashback
+
Maybank Premier for pts if over the limit, 0% IPP plans, insurance, goverment transactions etc. and other Maybank goodies
+
OCBC Titanium MasterCard for Petrol

does this make sense? its a bit troublesome as i prefer less cards but might work. i would need supp cards for each of those (OCBC might be ok with just one to pump petrol though).

any buyer beware? how to pay AEON watami card? maybank alliancebank or jompay can be used?

must have been outdated info. thought its 5% CB? what card works well for petrol? will do my applications next week and make sure alliance bank knows why they loose my business. HLB Wise wont be too great cause I have to keep track of hitting the min. transactions. petrol itself would be one right?
I normally pump 4-500 RM petrol. if i break it in 50 RM blocks i am essentially there. add in TNB and digi bill on autobilling and i have it covered but that is not a retail transaction or is it? sorry never had to bother. just cashed in the CB from alliance + points.

This post has been edited by PJusa: Oct 16 2015, 06:29 PM

ok thanks will check this out.

thinking about asking them to give me the premier debit card though. the cashback is a flat 2% for 9000 spending. that would offset a lot . the VI seems worthless besides the PP entries. maybank applcation filed

you need to have their hybrid account. they have 3 tiers standard (0.5% cashback i think), platinium (higher) and premier. CS normal condition is to have 100k with them or be priority customer. nothing else. i used to be priority banking customer with them until i swapped funds because frankly priority banking had zero benefits besides dedicated parking at section 13 to me. i called them complained about the loss in cashback and they suggested based on the spending pattern can change to VI if I want to. But this also gives next to no benefits to me, esp. since only the principal card is entitled for PP entries. do the CS suggested i check with my branch to upgrade the debit card to premier which pays 2% flat for up to max. of 9000 RM. this almost always covers my monthly expenditure and if i want i can retain the CC FOC in case i need it. since my hybrid account normally has enough money and i only use CC for points and CB (now that MAS no longer flies to Germany) this seemed like the best idea after some brainstorming with them this morning. i dont know how flexible they will be but since we spend around 150k every year with their card and have been long term customers they might be willing to cut me some slack. of course i also informed them that i might just switch banks alltogether i they dont cook up a solution for me that i like - my loyalty to a specific bank is next to zero

This post has been edited by PJusa: Oct 19 2015, 11:10 AM

thanks for the suggestion. i am not sure about the effectiveness of the FD roll. i only roll 20-30k a month through the accounts. if i store the money in a FD vs. a hybrid account I gain say 3% p.a. interest (or downscaled to monthly interest of 0,25%). if i use the 2% flat cashback would that not outperform the FD? i might be missing an essential point here - am i?

I will absolutely look into the Maybank cards, I already submitted an inquiry to them. I have next to no exposure with Maybank (only a 15 yr old savings account that rolls around 1500 RM per month incoming and out). I was looking at the signature card mostly due to the PPL and the CB for groceries and petrol. will have to see if my spending pattern will be sufficient to maintain the card if i go heavily on the premier account. the CB i can easily max out but that only will be 21120 RM. so i would probably be 8000 short. the normal cashback is just a measly 0,25% so total effective CB is reduced to 1078,2 / 30000 = 3,6% but that is still pretty darn good.

i am currently trying to work out if the balance needed can be uitilised with other low-performing payments such as medical insurance premiums (through installment plan - hello AXA), government transactions etc. - might just work. i just hate having to juggle more than two cards again.

EDIT: quick note of thanks for the maybank suggestion. i send the application and just got a approval for the signature already. that was really fast .

This post has been edited by PJusa: Oct 19 2015, 05:07 PM

i am using maybank signature now. worthless cards like that. the lack of promotions and 0% IPP plans with alliance bank was only offeset by the cashback + acceptable amount of points for MAS miles. my wife and i are thinking about applying for MBB premier too as a miles replacement. will keep alliance plat as an emergency card maybe since its free with 12 swipes and since they gave me 3 yrs waiver just now when i complained about the lack of values of their card(s). but then i will cancel it.