30% off RM173 which was an insane price to begin with

Much more palatable at RM121, is there a limit? Am thinking of taking the office group there

At first glance this looked interesting, but then:

1. applies only for NEW cardholders, existing cardholders don't qualify
2. rate of return is roughly 1-1.5% although admittedly on top of whatever TP you earn. Spend RM200k and get a free RM3k ticket?

For me this is just meh.

Is this one single swipe for ~RM40k or multiple swipes for RM40k?

Either way, most Malaysian credit cards charge between 1-2% foreign transaction fees. On a RM40k amount, this is up to RM800 or even more. If you're charging it over time then you'll have to take into account the daily variations of forex as well. This is offset by quite a bit with the Premiere cards because you get the FFP, 40k is enough for a one way trip to North America on Cathay or Singapore Airlines.

I personally don't use my Malaysian cards for overseas transactions unless someone else is paying the bill

I have a US based card so it's different for me. In my experience, money changers have the best forex rates and are negotiable but carrying >US$10k is risky obviously. ATM withdrawals and TT through banks are ok and some banks are negotiable as well eg. Stanchart although I was transferring > RM100k at the time. This doesn't take into account the possible fees though but RM10 TT fee in Malaysia + US$20 TT fee in the US is minimal.

In short I think you don't have much choice, swallow the RM800 fees on the credit card and see if you can use the extra 40k miles Alternatively you can do a TT but depends on whether or not you have an account in the US.

It's definitely the best conversion rate in the world right now, I've stopped putting my daily spend on my US based cards and focusing purely on my Premiere cards.

mid Dec to mid Jan is the peak travel season. From my experience last few years, most award tickets will dry up by mid December unless you book 330 days in advance. I don't believe Qatar releases last minute inventory, depending on where you fly Cathay or British Airways might be options. I was booking using AAdvantage miles but the award inventory should be the same for AM.

I'm aiming for NZ this year end, unfortunately Air NZ doesn't release award space very early plus not so many business class seats too, so it looks like a bit of a gamble for me

I've redeemed QF domestic (SYD-MEL return) in Y, very easy to get with Avios. I've poked around a bit for SYD-AKL and MEL-AKL but there are far fewer international options compared to domestic.

For my NZ redemption I'm using up my Mileageplus miles (*A) which has far better rates than Oneworld, 35k miles return KUL-AKL via SIN/BKK in Y, 60k miles return in J if there's availability.

I can't recall but it was definitely less than a week. I experimented over the last few months transferring to Asia Miles and Krisflyer, both between 4-7 days.

bearbear already listed out the benefits which I agree with 100%.

In terms of strategy, you could technically apply for the Premiere card and use it only for 1 year to avoid the RM800 annual fee. Prior to cancelling you can transfer everything to KF and still save on RM800 annual fee.

Last time I asked they calculated my spend by month as well. In the end I did it myself and am keeping track myself. Once I reach the 80k limit I stop keeping track

I completely agree here, same thing with Citibank to air miles (Avios in my case) too. Some of the US banks can have systems that transfer instantly. It's not a technical issue obviously...

RTW ticket sounds like fun, I did a trip two years ago with the family, nowhere close to 35k miles (KUL-IST-IAH-MCO-JFK-VIE-KUL) but 5 weeks of traveling and really enjoyed it. Planning for the next trip now, I have enough miles, just not enough cash


This post has been edited by tishaban: Aug 17 2015, 09:21 PM

You can change Asia Miles award dates although there's a fee. I think you know that CX opens up first (and to a lesser extent biz) seats closer to departure date so for 2 x $25 you can get the seats that you want much easier I think. I've been keeping track of CX from KUL to the US over the past few months and there's almost always a lot more seats within 1-2 days of the flight.

Of course if you're flexible then no reason to spend the $50

I've not upgraded on Asia Miles before, what I know is ticket reissue will cost $100 so I'm guessing an upgrade may be considered a reissue.

However you have two options. First is to waitlist although this works on CX only. When it opens you will be charged your miles. Not very convenient for planning though because you never know if the biz flights will open up although with 2 people you'll likely get it.

Second option is to book in biz whatever dates you want then move the ticket dates to your preferred dates when new biz seats open up. A bit better because you get biz seats no matter what, just that the dates are not so convenient and it'll cost you $25.

Yes I did this, google up the details. It's a Visa program, not a Maybank program and I called Visa to get it done. Takes several weeks though.

I suggest you check the award availability yourself using either JAL or British Airways website first. Once you have availability, call Asia Miles and tell them to book the itinerary exactly as you have already. This way you know exactly what's available and what you want.

Least fuel surcharge (YQ) would point towards CX, AA. Avoid BA

- KUL-FRA on CX (YQ RM150?) or QR (YQ RM900)
- FRA-JFK on AA
- JFK-LAX on AA although you probably can't get a direct flight
- LAX-NRT on JL (YQ ~US$90) or AA
- NRT-KUL on JL (YQ ~5000 yen) or MH

You can find estimates of fuel surcharge from ITA Matrix, listed under YQ or YR in the price.

Typically if you earn status via normal methods you will have the status throughout the upcoming year. Meaning that if you get enough stays in February 2015 or in December 2015, your status will be valid until end of 2016. This will give you enough time to re-earn the status in 2016 for the upcoming year (2017).

I don't know how it works with VI and Hilton, but for Amex Platinum and SPG I kept my status long after I cancelled my card. We'll have to find out when the end of year comes

I had several mortgages, one car loan and other accounts at Maybank, they still ask for proof of salary etc. but otherwise it was smooth. Did it at one of the larger MBB branches.

It's 80k per year minimum.

Nothing wrong with applying, then cancelling before your first anniversary if you didn't meet the 80k requirement and don't want to pay RM800. Why waste an opportunity to gain a significant amount of air miles if that's your objective for getting this card.

I find that KUL-LHR on MH tend to have higher YQ/surcharges on award tickets compared to KUL-HKG-LHR on CX, have been trying to get some tickets to scandinavia via London in the next few months.

How long is it between your China and Spain trips?

The trip looks awesome herc, have fun!

My understanding of the terminology is the following:

stopover = more than 24 hours at one location
layover/transit/transfers = less than 24 hours at one location for an international itinerary
open jaw = stopover where you're changing airports within the same zone


In your case, I would make KL your origin, Lima your destination. Your stopovers can be HKG, LAX, AKL, SYD where you can have more than 24 hours at these locations. Your open jaws are obviously at Lima/Santiago and Sydney/Melbourne but you need to verify that they're in the same zone within Asia Miles. In fact if you can get a LAN flight between Lima and Santiago you don't need to park an open jaw there since you'd still be under the 5 stopover limit.

You can clear immigration on a layover/transit/transfer although you cannot check your luggage out. I've had 18-24 hour layovers in Hong Kong and Vienna.

Again this is my interpretation of your itinerary, you can probably get an experienced phone rep to book this for you but they'd have to be a bit more aware of the rules.


This post has been edited by tishaban: Sep 17 2015, 09:50 AM