Great Eastern does not accept Amex.

It is a fact that Amex is not widely accepted, be it in M'sia or overseas. Therefore, you still need to bring along MC and/or Visa card for backup. I only use Amex cc in petrol stations and hypermarkets. Besides, I also use Amex cc if my Alliance CCs have hit the monthly rebate limit.

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Added on September 9, 2009, 8:22 pmExcept Amex, you can use any MC and VISA cards to pay GE insurance premium.

You pay RM5 for Amex Gold cc statement?

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 9 2009, 08:22 PM

The statement option is clearly stated in the application form. RM5 will be charged monthly if you opt for paper statement instead of e-statement. I would suggest you to check with the CS, otherwise RM5 could be charged and shown in your next month statement.

For purchase involving extremely big amount, I guess you still need to inform Amex CS 1st although it is a charge card. If you regularly spend that kinda amount, you then needn't inform Amex prior to the purchase as Amex has already known your spending pattern. Anyway, I have never swiped a card for a 6-figure amount in a single receipt.

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Added on September 9, 2009, 9:49 pmFor purchase involving extremely big amount, I guess you still need to inform Amex CS 1st although it is a charge card. If you regularly spend that kinda amount, you then needn't inform Amex prior to the purchase as Amex has already known your spending pattern. Anyway, I have never swiped a card for a 6-figure amount in a single receipt. You paid in Rupiah huh? Just kidding

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 9 2009, 09:49 PM

Unfortunately you are not allowed to use credit or charge card to pay monthly installment of your home loan.

You can only pay booking fee via cc if you purchase a new property through developer (if the developer accepts payment of booking fee via cc). Some developers even allow you to pay the down payment (normally 10% of the purchase price) by cc.

You can buy a brand new property directly from developer then. I came across a project which allows customer paying a whopping RM60k of booking fee by cc. And of course, the total purchase price is huge.

You needn't provide all those P&C documents. You can only provide a copy of your 1) IC and 2) existing cc (must be Gold cc or above) which has been used for more than 12 months. If you don't have item no. 2, you then need to provide your latest 2 month's salary slip.

There is private jet charter service in Malaysia. The fee is HUGE. It costs >100k from KL to Middle East.


This cc gives good rebate for GE premium but small percentage of rebate for other transactions, and no reward points will be given.

It is FOC for 1st year. Request for AF waiver for second year onwards WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED. See the link below.

http://ocbc.com.my/personal-banking/Cards/FAQWebR1.pdf

I guess you don't really understand the tiered system.

Just use the higher rebate rates of Plat cc as an example (note that rebate rates for Gold cc is lower).

First RM1 - 6000 = 0.5%
Subsequent RM6001 - 20,000 = 1%
Thereafter RM20,001 and above = 3%

If you spend RM100k, your rebate will be:
First RM1 - 6000 = 0.5% ---> RM30.00
Subsequent RM6001 - 20,000 = 1% ---> RM140.00
Thereafter RM20,001 and above = 3% ---> RM2,400.00
TOTAL REBATE FOR RM100K SPENDING ---> RM2,570

The card is only good if you spend more than RM20k per month. Ask ourselves, how many customers spend this kinda amount monthly? With this, you'll know how evaluate this cc.

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The rebate is not RM3000 as what you think. See my above calculation using the tiered system.

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 11 2009, 09:07 AM

If you noticed my posts earlier, I had mentioned a few times, and the answer is NO for full payment.

For car purchase in Malaysia, I can't find any car dealers who allow you to pay the amount in FULL using cc. Most of them accept cc payment for booking fee of a few thousand RM only. Some may allow you to pay more than the booking fee, but they would definitely impose a surcharge.

As for property purchase, most of the big developers also accept cc for booking fee only (ranging from a few hundred to >100k probably, depending on the purchase price). Again, some even allow swiping cc for the down payment (normally 10% of the purchase price minus the booking fee paid). The good thing is that, most of the developers do not impose a surcharge on payment via cc.

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 11 2009, 09:55 AM

RM2,380 AF, in exchange for 100,000 MR points = RM500 cash, definitely not a good deal!

A wise decision. As you've already got Amex Plat cc, it should cover most of the benefits offered by the Plat charge card.

Did you mean that, if you were to pay the RM2380 AF for Amex Plat charge card, they would give you an Amex Plat credit card FREE FOR LIFE?

As far as I know, Amex can only give first year AF waiver for its Plat credit card.


Thank you for OVERRATING me.

I don't see myself a veteran in Amex, even though I first owned HLB Amex charge card 10 years ago. FYI, I only used HLB Amex charge card for 2-3 years, and I've just got my new Amex Gold cc last month. I am a more practical person, not matter how MBB staff approached me to sign up for Amex Plat cc when I submitted my application for Amex Gold cc. I value the features that directly benefit me.


I heard from my boss that he used his Amex Plat charge card to pay 100k for a private jet charter service.

Well, Amex Plat charge card (RM2380 AF) vs Amex Plat cc (RM800 AF), the former does offer more than the later. However, we need to evaluate and justify the whopping AF of RM2380 vs RM800 (can be waived in some cases).

For international airport lounge access, SCB VI also has this feature. However, AF of SCB VI is much lower @RM800. While Amex Plat charge card has no CL, SCB VI can give you a 6-figure CL easily. Perhaps Amex Plat charge card is very good for those who use private jet service multiple times a month, hence requiring unlimited CL for the infinite spending!

In terms of travel insurance, both Amex Plat charge and credit cards insure up to RM1mil. Meanwhile, SCB VI gives a coverage of up to RM3mil.

Talking about access to airport lounges worldwide, if you are on First or Business Class, you are guaranteed to enter the lounges WITHOUT showing Amex Plat charge card or SCB VI.


Centurion Black card has so much difference from Amex Plat. FYI, requirements for Amex Plat charge and credit cards in Malaysia are not high. You only need to have an annual income of RM100,000 and RM190,000 to be eligible for Amex Plat credit card and Amex Plat charge card respectively. What makes big difference is the Black card.


As I said, some car dealers do accept payment via cc, but it is not FULL payment. By paying the downpayment via cc, most car dealers will impose a surcharge. If you have the cash allocated for the downpayment, why let the car dealer impose a 3% surchage then?

This is interesting. This is the 1st time I hear about "free for life" AMEX PLAT CREDIT CARD.

However, are you sure that the PLAT CREDIT CARD will still be FOC if you discontinue to pay the 2nd year AF for the PLAT CHARGE CARD?

It's because Amex has by far the highest admin fee on overseas transaction as opposed to VISA/MC and vis-a-vis other banks.

I think Amex is trying to gain market share, as most banks now offers free Plat cc, even free VI and World MC. Following the introduction to the free Amex Gold cc, we can expect more free stuffs from Amex now. I guess next time people may easily get free Amex Plat cc without having to pay AF for Plat charge card! Btw, have you made your decision?


I appreciate your comparison. It is ready clueless on the different rates charged by the same banks within the same period. Banks would never reveal the details and breakdown of currency conversions. However, we can conclude that Amex has the highest admin fee compared to others. Therefore, it would be wiser to use other cards as most cards (especially Plat cc) also give 2x reward points for overseas transactions.

Although AF waiver can be considered by OCBC, I really don't like the way OCBC put this phrase in the T&Cs - "ALL ANNUAL FEE WAIVER REQUEST WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED". It sounds arrogant.

http://ocbc.com.my/personal-banking/Cards/FAQWebR1.pdf

Welcome to the club. While an Amex makes your purse thicker, you should always have a MASTER CARD and/or VISA as back-up. Or else, bring enough cash.


It is good to hear that more merchants are accepting Amex. I should share my experience about merchants that failed to perform transactions using Amex, shouldn't I?

Since I obtained Amex gold cc early this month, my Amex was so far rejected by both cashier counter and kiosk at 2 different Petronas stations, Dome Cafe in Bangsar Shopping Centre, Damai Service Hospital in KL and a property developer office in KL.

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 19 2009, 04:46 AM

For TM, if you wanna pay the bills via Amex, you need to apply for Express Autopay, according to the CS.

I submitted the Express Autopay form for TM, TNB and Digi by fax early this month. However, it has been more than 2 weeks now and the autopay has not not done yet. It is not efficient at all. All my bills are now accumulated for 2 months. My Digi bill for instance, the total outstanding amount has nearly exceeded the talk time limit because of international roaming, and I have to settle the bill manually using other cc, in order to have the service uninterupted.

If I walk in to Kedai TNB, TM Point and Digi Centre directly, the autopay instruction can be done instantly. If it is not due to the 5x MR points for Express Autopay, I should have already done the autopay instruction with the respective agencies directly.