the rm200 is not annual fee. there is no annual fee for rewards card.

the rm200 is rm100 for each of the 2 categories u enrolled to get multiplier points.
the idea is u can get lots of points from the spending in the 2 categories, more than offset the rm200 p.a.

if u have not spent enough in the right categories, tough...

may be possibe u cancel the categories now and get full or partial rebate.

as there is no annual fee, you pay nothing if u dun sign up for any category.
except annual gomen fee - must pay or redeem with points - this, they will surely not waive.

zero category rewards card is ok to have as a companion to the cashback card.
spending that can get cashback, use the cashback card.
all others, use rewards card to collect points.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: May 16 2014, 08:48 PM

nice one!

actually, that's what they deserve... treat old customer not as well as new ones.

i hv one card coming up for anniversary. if they dun waive, bye bye it is.

i will do the same.

rm100 af+rm50 gomen fee = rm150 pa. add sub card = rm300 pa

users mostly get cashback values of rm20-25 pm, i.e. <300 pa.
it does not sense anymore to hold these cards w/o redemption points if they refuse to waive or rebate anything.
i hope they are not making a joke out of these cashback cards.

they hv been good in previous years. my anniversary coming up, will see what happens.
there are many cards out there w/o af, gf rebate, points and other goodies.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: May 24 2014, 10:25 AM

this message is not entirely incorrect.

the website now does not work with internet explorer. after keying in the sms otp, it will bounce u out with a message to that effect, recommendation to use firefox or chrome.

i just experienced that, switched to chrome, all ok.

think u r the 3rd or 4th one here saying citibank refuse to waive af in recent weeks for on-going cashback cards.

like many hv said, it makes no sense for a typical cardholder to pay rm195+50 = rm245 a year only get rm200 cash rebate in total. unless you pump petrol and shop at giant/tesco everyday.

seems to me they are consciously reducing/replacing cashback cards with other cards. probably offer the rewards card that do not carry af, but no cashback, only points.

my anniv coming up soon, expecting that treatment this time, ready to drop the card.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jun 9 2014, 09:36 AM

that is surely something i dun understand at all. all marketing gurus, books n seminars tell u it cost 5 times more to get a new customer than to keep an existing. yet they keep pissing off the loyal ones. so, either old school marketing is obsolete or they have found new researched evidence that it is cheaper to dump loyal ones and go spend to get new ones!

non cashback cards are less of an issue. in fact, many of the non-cashback cards now have zero af, like rewards card.

cashback or non-cashback, they have been good to me in the last 10 years for af n the other charge. now, i am not optimistic they will do the same this time around.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jun 9 2014, 11:07 AM

ya, for a second time, i suggest u record that down, the part about gst.

about cashback platinum....

i called proactively to ask for waiver on upcoming annual fee.

not expecting to get it this time, but i did.

was given waiver for both principal and supp card.

no frills, no conditions.

gomen fee, denied.



so... citibank is not that heartless after all, at least for this round. will continue to use the cb. been using their cards for >10 yrs.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jul 14 2014, 11:35 AM

almost 2 yrs, entering 3rd yr.

also using visa gold for >10yrs, changed to visa rewards last yr.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jul 14 2014, 01:08 PM

principal card af = rm195
supp card af = rm100

cashback depends on individual spending patterns. i spend and get cashback about rm300 p.a.
so, it does not make sense to keep the cards if they don't waive the rm295 af.
if no waiver, better spend with non-cashback no-af cards that collect points, e.g. rewards card.
with the waiver, i save rm300 a year, more than enough to pay for the rm50+25 gf (gst) for 2 cards.
that's acceptable.

i hold both cashback and rewards cards.
cashback card used only for transactions that give cashback - petrol, groceries, maxis.
everything else incl insurance, tnb, dinners, household, i use the rewards card, collect points. or another bank's cc.

as consumers, we do what we can to maximise the benefits, naturally.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jul 14 2014, 03:31 PM

if yr cashback amounts to only rm100 pa, it means either u dun spend much on cashback items or u dun spend much in total.

cashback cards r only good for those who spend a lot in the highest cashback categories, i.e. petrol and groceries.

in yr case, u r better off changing it to the visa rewards card which carries no af but get points. for rewards card, if u choose no category for bonus points, there is no af at all. i wud think the pts u collect shud be able to cover the rm50 gf (gst). call them and request to change, i think shud be easier since they hv all yr data already.

in the past <1998 crisis, cc charging af is unheard of. and there was no gst. banks were chasing people to use cards, all free. now, it's opposite - people chasing banks to get cards at a significant annual cost and chasing banks to waive fees every year, etc. this scenario is consistent with heavy household debt economy v r in!

the bank reserves their right not to give reason(s).

keep in mind it is not just about annual income. they consider stability and consistency of income (e.g. salary vs commission), no. working years, past payment record (no record isn't a good record) and relevancy of the card (why aa platinum and not clear card or rewards card).

best thing to do is apply another bank and hopefully be successful diff banks weigh things differently.

they r trying to help u get the cashback and not waste it, then change to another card w/o paying the af, at least for this time.

i believe they checked yr history and data, see u as a good customer to keep. others they may not offer the same - no offence to anyone.

all banks r under pressure to incr margins and profits and not risk too much potential bad loans or too low spending; they will trim and prune as they deem fit.

we consumers, we do the same - we trim and prune the banks too if the offers are crap.

supply and demand, the game continues - all good and healthy.

u may not believe me, but i am quite sure u got the waivers (like i did and still do) becos they analyzed yr profile, spending and payment patterns to conclude u r a good customer to keep. for now, may change next time...

so, well done to u (n me).

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 1 2014, 06:07 PM

looks like a good no. of people got af waivers lately.

unlike some months ago many reported rejection.

probably they relaxed a bit more seeing so many dropping the cards!



gst rebate.... i think very tough now, except for premium/priority member cards, same with other banks...

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 8 2014, 10:49 AM

good for u (and me too).

but if u read back this thread going back a few months, a dozen or so people have said can't get af waiver, dropped card.

of course, we know the obvious reasons. not sure if there are other not-so-obvious reasons...

yep, i got the af waiver last month for both principal and supp cards.
these cashback cards for good for petrol and groceries - as long as u get af waiver.
i also hold the rewards card which carries no af; i use for anything that does not get cashback, just get points.

i wud do the same. as said by many incl me repeatedly, it is pointless to carry the cashback card w/o af waiver.
a typical spender won't get enough cashback to cover the af, a total waste of time.

how they waive af or don't has never been made clear, they always say it depends on promotion period or not but i doubt it's that simple.
i am quite sure they grant af waivers to customers who over time have shown on their records to consistently spend enough and pay on time everytime, among other things.

rewind 2 yrs, there r many "normal" credit cards out there that give these 3:
... cashback
... af waiver
... gst rebate

i used to get all of them with citibank, not anymore. now, maybe due to national debt situation, bnm new rules, banks come under pressure.... i think most banks dun give all of 3 now. u get 2 of 3 benefits. even if they give all 3, it may be yr1, not subsequent yrs.

of course, there r others that give other benefits:
.. points for gift or cash redemption
.. airport lounge access
.. etc.

i hv another bank card that carries no af, no gst, collect points only. but no cashback. this type of card is good for certain spending but not for petrol and groceries.

can't have it all i guess. possible there r cards that give it all - nice cash rebates, af waiver, gst waiver, lounge access, redemption points, etc. - that may be for triple diamond spenders rm1 million a month. and we know there must be a lot around since this is a rich country with so many rich bigshots n their spouses spending like no tmrw...

last couple of pages say a lot of cardmembers can't get af waived these days. like i suspected, they now adopt of case-by-case attitude for af waiver, and pretty much no gst rebate at all.

for easy reference, the charges table, before gst:
https://www.citibank.com.my/english/common/...rges-credit.htm

for 2 cashback cards, i spend <2k a month. mainly for petrol and groceries.
i believe they gave me af waiver not becos of spending but becos i pay up every month on time.
plus, i spend more on non-cash rebate with the rewards card for insurance and utilities.
for cash rebate cards, if they refuse af waiver, bye bye it is as it does not make $ sense to keep.
rewards card, ok, no af, just pay gst using points.

yes, think i got invited. but i din bother as none of my cards will spend 3k a month for 3 months, i know.