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.


For Recommendation - please post according to format in Post#2 below.


Actions required after you get your first credit card.

1. Read the Terms and Conditions of your credit card.

2. CLICK HERE and read this thread so that you won't be conned.

3. Call Customer Service (number behind your card) and request that your credit card sms alert default value to be set to RM1. Click here to the relevant thread.

4. Click here to read my article Credit Card Fraud Calls and Banks Default Value for SMS Alert in order to reinforce into your head so that you won't be conned.


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 RM15/month, i.e. up to RM300 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


OTHER RELATED LINKS

If you are looking for Premier Credit Cards with good Enrich redemption and other goodies - click here to Maybank 2 Cards Premier Thread.

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 only interested in cash back cards, click here to my Cash Back Credit Card Page at my blog where I have listed cards offering cash back and also a table comparing them.

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 local and overseas transactions, click here to my article titled The Best Top 10 Credit Cards in Malaysia - Ultimate Showdown 2015.

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: Apr 11 2015, 11:10 AM

Please fill items below and then only post so that we are able to recommend you a credit card based on your needs and qualifications

1. Annual Income: RM24K to RM30K or RM30K to RM36K or RM36K to RM60K or RM60K to RM100K or RM100K to RM150K or RM180K 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.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 1 2013, 08:38 PM

Looking for Cash Back Credit Cards between RM1K/month spending and up to RM7K/month spending, click here and read my article The Best Cash Back Credit Cards.



If you are looking for a credit card to earn Enrich Miles, click here to my Comprehensive Tutorial on The Best Credit Cards To Earn Frequent Flyer Miles. In this tutorial, you will be taught what cards to get, quickest way to redeem a FREE Business Class ticket, it may not be worth while to redeem for a Economy Class ticket and much more.



This post has been edited by Gen-X: Apr 11 2015, 11:00 AM

Wah, you want both cash back AND reward points

If your annual income requirement is RM30K, go get the Maybankard 2 Cards and earn yourself both cash back and Treats Points for Petrol. Not many insurance company accept AMEX (some reported AIA now does) but you can still use the Visa or MasterCard and earn Treats Points. Click here to Maybankard 2 Cards thread or clcik here to read my review of the Maybankard 2 Cards.

If your income is no where near RM30K/year, there is still a card that earns you 5% Cash Back for petrol - it is the UOB One Card. Click here to UOB credit card thread, and or click here to my Credit Card Cash Back Page at my blog to see comparison.

Now, if you pump petrol at least 10 times a month and each time it cost more than RM50, click here to HLB Wise Credit Card thread and see how you can earn 10% cash back.

Bro,

for cash rebate and reward points

1) Maybankard 2 Cards

a) It is FREE For Life

b) The Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX earns you 5% cash back (on Saturday and Sunday) PLUS 5X Treat Points everyday.

c) good if you can wait until Saturday and Sunday to perform transactions with your card.

d) cash back is capped at RM50/month, i.e. you earn 5% cash back up to RM1K spending on weekends in a month and after that still earn the 5X TP

Click here to Maybankard 2 Cards Thread or click here to my Maybankard 2 Cards review.

2) OCBC Titanium MasterCard

a) Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes.

b) You earn 5% cash back everyday for Petrol, Dining, Groceries, Telco and Utilities.

c) cash back also capped at RM50/month, i.e. after spending RM1K on the 5% cash back categories, you won't get a sen more in cash back.

Click here to OCBC Titanium MasterCard thread to see where you can earn 5% cash back.

Noted one of your requirement is Movie and I guess that is why you looking at the Citi Clear Card. If you do go to movie on Fridays with a partner where you get 1 for 1 free ticket at GSC, TGV and Cathay, this card is excellent. If you only go like once a month to the movie on Friday, then you should go and calculate how much you can save and then deduct the annual fee of RM90 and RM50GST to come out with the effective savings. If you don't go to the movie on Fridays, you still get discounted ticket at TGV but you got to go many times just to break even with the annual fee. Now if you go with your partner to Coffee Bean Mon-Fri, this card is good too, but then again, you got to drink lots of coffee to break even the annual fee once again, hahahaha. First year annual fee is waived and you can always decide on the 11th month if the Citi Clear Card benefited you, if no cancel it before the 12th month (before card anniversary) to avoid paying GST.

Since your annual income is RM36K, you can only apply with 2 card issuers in accordance to BNM guidelines.

So, my recommendation is,

1) OCBC TMC and MBB 2 Cards if you want cash back only.

2) OCBC TMC or MBB 2 Cards if you want cash back + Citibank Clar Card for FREE 1 for 1 movie ticket.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 16 2013, 10:43 AM

For Petrol and Auto Debit, click here to learn more about OCBC Titanium MasterCard and click here to learn more about the Maybankard 2 Cards.

As for you wanting interest free period for new card - check out Alliance Bank Platinum credit card where it offers 0% for 1st 3 months and Mach by Hong Leong Bank too.

Just a word of caution to those thinking of signing up for a new card offering 0% for the first few months. It can be a very dangerous tool if one does not have money in the bank to pay off his/her transactions. After the promotional period, if one is unable to settle the Outstanding Balance in full, he/she will be imposed 18% interest rate. Also this kind of promos is designed to entice one to spend beyond his/her means.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 17 2013, 04:19 PM

Firstly, you are required to post in accordance to the format, having said that, I guess you can't, hahaha

Wah, this is like a riddle,

You want credit card for your parents but

1. Cannot give them supp from your account because they won't permit you to apply using their names.
2. Cannot give them your card - this is a foregone conclusion.

Plus another condition 3. No Debit Card.

So option is - give them supp card and register under a nickname, e.g. Roberto Yu for your dad and Kardashian Yu for mummy

The way I see it, your dad and mum do not want the hassle of holding any credit cards for security reasons. And it is hard to impose your wish onto them. So let it be and give them CASH.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 22 2013, 10:21 AM

For overseas usage online or in person, you can consider Maybankard Visa Infinite, Allaince Bank Visa Infinite and UOB Visa Infinite where all these 3 cards earn you 5X reward point. However, the Maybank Visa Infinite has the best Enrich Miles conversion rate.

Click here to read my review of the Maybankard Visa Infinite. Please note that Maybank has revised the Treats Point for redeeming stuff last August and now we need 12.500 Treats Points to redeem RM50 cash voucher.

Click here to my article My Son Is Going To The USA Again on Business Class. In this article I compare the above said 3 cards for Enrich Miles.

Click here to read my article The Best Credit Card for FREE Entries to Aiirport Lounge. In this article once again I compared the 3 cards mentioned above.

As for Annual Fee, first year all FREE, 2nd year onwards see below:

Maybank VI annual fee waived with RM50K spending.
Alliance Bank VI annual fee waived with RM30K spending.
Alliance Bank Privilege Banking Visa Infinite - FREE FOR LIFE
UOB Visa Infinite annual fee waived with RM50K spending, not an card feature but that's what you will be informed.

As for HSBC Visa Signature, they do offer 5X and 10X points for selected overseas spending and IT IS NOT a card feature but limited time promotion. Click here to read my article on HSBC Premier World MAsterCard and Visa Signature to get an idea and then go check out latest promo.

As for Citibank, their cards reward points not as good as the Visa Infinite mentioned above BUT click here to my Wordpress blog to read my post on 60,000 FREE Enrich Miles with Citibank PremierMiles American Express.

Now, as for airfares, I shall assume it is a local spending So for economy class, most airlines accept AMEX, therefore go get the Maybankard 2 Cards American Express and earn yourself 5X TP. Click here to Maybankard 2 Cards Thread to learn more. For Business class or First Class, go look for cards that give you buy 1 free 1

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 23 2013, 03:29 AM

Bro, like I said, for local usage get Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX, you get 5X points everyday plus 5% cash back on weekends, better than MBB MU.

And if you are going to apply for MBB VI or MBB MU, since you there might as while apply for the FREE FOR LIFE Maybankard 2 Cards. Oh, fastest way to get a Maybankard 2 AMEX is you go to Maybankard Centre at 1U New Wing 1st floor or Gardens near Robinsons. Kill two birds with one stone and only need to bring along 1 set of your documents. Go to MBB Thread and you will see Maybankard Centre 1U Contact number. But members have reported that it is under renovation and I cannot remember when it is scheduled to be reopen. So maybe go dig out Maybankard Centre Gardens number and ask them what doc to bring along.

Bro, usually it is gross, i.e. amount stated in your income tax submission form, e.g. BE Form.

Since you do not plan to use a credit card except for petrol, minor shopping and phone bill (which is actually good so that you don't over spend), I guess better go with a card that is FREE FOR LIFE so you do not need to worry about the annual fee like forever.

So the card you should go and apply is the Maybankard 2 Cards where the AMEX earns you 5% cash back on weekends PLUS 5X Reward Points everyday. And if the merchant do not accept AMEX, you have the Visa or MasterCard on standby to taste some actions.

BHP should accept AMEX but I recommend you go check your station. The MBB 2 AMEX is really good for your weekend pumping because you earn 5% cash back.

Click on the thread below to learn more about the Maybankard 2 Cards. Fastest method to get the MBB 2 Card is go to Maybankard Centre at 1U or Garden (not Maybank Branch). OR you can also email to them, refer link below again.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2989298

And once you get the MBB 2 Cards, go to MBB Branch and register for Maybank2U and you can even use your new MBB 2 AMEX to pay your phone bills (mobile, telekom, unifi), your house local council assessment plus many other payments.

And NO, you cannot use credit card to pay loans.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Oct 25 2013, 12:58 PM

Groceries, well, once again go get Maybankard 2 Cards where the AMEX can be use at Giant, Tesco, Aeon, Cold Storage but not Speed 99 or Econsave. And if you do your groceries shopping on Saturday and Sunday you get 5% cash back with the MBB 2 AMEX. And if you at restaurants that do not accept AMEX, just use the Visa/MasterCard.

And for online shopping, if you pay with Pay Pal, you can also use the AMEX to "deposit" money in your Pay Pal account and earn 5% cash back too - but this is tricky as the timing important. Go to link below to learn more about the Maybankard 2 Cards Page#1 for more info.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2989298

And for those of you who do get the Maybankard 2 Cards, please make sure you go read the links I provided in Post#1 in this thread on Fraud ans Suspicious Calls. Also I highlighted matter relating to Fraud in the Maybankard 2 Cards Thread post#10.

Get the Maybankard 2 Cards - the AMEX earns you 5% Cash Back on Weekends and 5X Treats Points Everyday. It is FREE FOR LIFE

If you spend substantial sum overseas and want to get FREE Business Class ticket, then get the Maybankard Visa Infinite and earns yourself 5X Treats Points Overseas. And for places that do not accept AMEX, the Maybankard VI earns you 2X Treats Points. However, please note that the annual fee is only waived with RM50K spending a year.

Click here to read my article in regards to 5X Reward Points with Visa Infinite for overseas spending. In this article I compared Alliance Bank Visa Infinite versus Maybank Visa Infinite and UOB Bank Visa Infinite.

If you want Enrich Miles, the best credit card is Maybankard Visa Infinite where you earn 1 Enrich Mile for every RM0.90 spent overseas.

For example, until 8 Dec 2013, Enrich is having 50% discount. One only needs 27500 Enrich Mile to redeem for a Business Class ticket to London. So with Maybank conversion rate of 4500 Treats Points = 1000 Enrich Miles, you need 123,750 Treats Points. But with 5X Treats Points for overseas spending, you only need to spend RM24,750.

The cheapest raw fare (i.e. exclude tax and surcharges) to London on 28 March 2014 with MAS (based on today's promo price) is RM7,321. Therefore you are like getting 29.57% (7321/24750) cash back!!!

If you not into Enrich Miles, well, you need the same redemption Treats Points for both MBB2 AMEX and MBB VI to redeem for RM50 cash voucher.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Dec 6 2013, 05:37 PM

If for petrol, utilities and mobile, we can use MBB 2 AMEX maybe except for water. The 5X TP is way better than then OCBC 1%.

For petrol, the UOB One Card is good as you earn 5% cash back. However, it is only good for up to RM300 worth of petrol per month. So if you pump more than RM300 but less than RM600, then maybe the no auto annual fee waiver Citibank Cash Back is good if you can get the second, third and fourth years annual fee waived.

AS for the wise card for Petrol only, good if you can like pump RM50 10 times in a month.

You may want to consider reading my articles below where I touched on HLB WISE.

New Credit Cards in 2013

Effective Cash Bacjk Rate From Credit Cards. Is this article I will show you why you should not get the HLB WISE Platinum.

Since you have OCBC TMC, I believe you shuold be able to qualify for Maybankard 2 Cards where the annual income requirement is less.

With the MBB 2 AMEX you can earn 5X TP for your air tickets purchase plus 5% cash back on weekends.

MBB2 AMEX is also accepted by TNB, DiGi and Maxis.


To ALL:

Please use the format in Post#2 when posting

Over the counter I not sure but my Maxis, Digi and Celcom bills are autodebit with MBB 2 AMEX.

Bro, noted you applying for Citibank Reward and Platinum. recommend that you instead apply for Citibank Cash Back Platinum where you can earn 5% cash back for Petrol. But the cash back is capped at RM30/month for petrol AND the cash back is only credited based on RM50 basis (i.e. under RM50 nothing will be credited). Now, Citibank first year is FREE, but second and subsequent years you need to go beg for annual fee waiver. I suggest that by the 11th month you stop using the card and see if they waive your annual fee when anniversary comes.

As for buying air tickets, Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX is accepted by Air Asia and MAS where you can earn 5X Treats Points everyday and 5% cash back on weekends. For other airlines, go check their website.

As for overseas transactions, if you spend like really a lot, get those that offer more than 1X reward points or 1% cash back. Once your annual income reaches near to RM150K, go apply the Alliance Bank Visa Infinite. In the meantime, if you do fly overseas alot, check out Citibank PremierMiles AMEX and apply before 31 December and you can earn 60,000 Enrich Miles - enough to get you a return flight to Europe on Business Class when Enrich Miles is having a sale!

I suggest you read my following articles:

My review of the Citibank Cash Back Platinum credit card.

New Credit Cards 2013 - where I did a brief review of the Citibank PremierMiles AMEX.

I still highly recommend the Maybankard 2 Cards, not only for purchasing Air Tickets but earning Enrich Points too. Click the link to read my articles below:

My son Is Going To The USA Again On Business Class. In this article I showed that the Maybankard 2 AMEX is better than many premium credit cards for redeeming Enrich Miles.

Enrich Miles Sales is Fantastic for Maybank credit cards. In this article I showed that one can get up to 19% equivalent cash back with Maybankard 2 AMEX.

And when you annual income goes above RM100K AND you do spend substantial sum on overseas transactions, check out my artilce Alliance Bank Visa Infinite versus Maybank VI versus UOB VI. Maybe next year the annual income may be reduced to less than RM100K for Alliance and UOB Bank Visa Infinites

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Dec 13 2013, 09:36 AM

Bro, even one having OCBC Premier Banking Status, they still will charge him/her the annual fee (half if not mistaken)! Don't understand why OCBC did not include a minimum spending auto annual fee waiver like other Premier credit cards.

As for your question, you got to wait at least a year before anyone can answer you

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Dec 13 2013, 06:06 PM

For petrol, you may want to consider UOB One Card and earn 5% cash back. If you like pump above RM500 per month and pump minimum RM50 each time; then check out HLB WISE. Go to the relevant thread for more info. But note, these cards do not have auto annual fee waiver.

AS for phone bills, TNB and Astro, your MBB2 AMEX with 5X TP or equivalent to 2% cash back when redeeming for vouchers is considered pretty good. So no need go waste time getting another card and pay RM50 GST for these types of transactions. For water I guess can use your MBB 2 VISA or MC.

And for credit cards where the annual income requirement is less than RM36K, I won't say than the OCBC Titanium MasterCard is useless. Because there are not many (maybe none) other Visa and or MasterCard credit cards in Entry Level Category that offers FREE FOR LIFE annual fees without any condition whatsoever and earning you unlimited 1% cash back for all types of transactions.

The UOB One card and Citibank Cash Back Platinum may earn you 5% cash back and 2% for Pharmacy, Groceries and Phone Bills, but for other transactions it only earns you miserable 0.3% cash back. And these card does not offer auto annual fee waiver, i.e. you got to call them and beg for it.

To ALL: if you are looking for and entry level credit card for STAND BY, the OCBC Titanium MasterCard is really good, no need to swipe or spend a sen to get annual fee waived. BUT, you need to donate RM50 to the government for the stand by convenience. Actually, in my opinion, if one spends less than RM1K/month, the MBB 2 AMEX combination with Visa and OCBC Titanium MasterCard is really good because you get to enjoy promos by AMEX, VISA and MasterCard.

Click here to read my article - OCBC Titanium MasterCard - Revamped Once Again

Bro,

firstly, the UOB 5% cash back is not you must pump RM300 to be eligible for the cash back. It is the other way around where you will earn cash back for pumping petrol up to RM300 only. I.e. Maximum cash back for petrol with the UOB One Card Clasic is RM15 a month. So with you pumping RM270, this card is good for you BUT it does not offer auto annual fee waiver and therefore after the first year, you got to call them and beg for it.

The card that earn you most for your case is what bearbear mentioned, i.e. Maybankard 2 Cards AMEX where you will earn 5% cash back on weekends PLUS 5X TP in addition to your bonuslink points. That is if you can wait till Saturday or Sunday, if cannot, then UOB the option to go with. The 5X TP really good for you case too, because with RM270/month petrol, you also earn 16,200 Treats Points a year where you can redeem using 12.500TP to offset the RM50 GST making the Maybankard 2 Cards truly FREE

And with RM270 petrol a month, that leaves you RM730 to spent with the MBB 2 AMEX to earn 5% cash back on weekends for any type of transactions. AMEX is accepted at AEON, GIANT, TESCO, Harvey Norman, Machines, DELL and many other places.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Dec 17 2013, 05:38 PM

Looking for Cash Back Credit Cards for spending between RM1K/month and up to RM7K/month spending, click here and read my article The Best Cash Back Credit Cards - How To Earn Money From The Right Credit Cards.