Perhaps he can just add it on top of his current MBB Classic.

This post has been edited by David83: Jan 27 2008, 08:38 AM

Easy credit, easy spending

KUALA LUMPUR: The credit card war among banks has created easy access to credit and as a result more and more people are being trapped in a "credit web".

A Finance Ministry official says the number of those who only manage to pay the minimum 5% of their outstanding balance has increased significantly beyond last year's statistics of 40% of the 8.8 million credit card holders.

Despite the Government's reminders to be more selective in issuing credit cards, banks have instead become more aggressive in signing up more clients.

And they are coming out with "innovative" ways of getting new clients. Among these are free gifts to those who sign up; "mandatory" credit cards for purchasers of certain car models; and a cheque for a sum of money in one's name. In other instances, gold cardholders are given a status boost with platinum cards and higher credit limits.

The reason is simple - credit cards offer the most lucrative form of business to banks, with an interest fixed at 18% per annum.

And it's simple arithmetic - the less one pays of the outstanding credit balance, the more money a bank makes.

Many credit card holders face credit that has snowballed to an uncontrollable amount, resulting in their not being able to service the debt at all.

The Treasury intervened last year when it was revealed that credit card defaulters accounted for RM700mil of the RM18.6bil in non-performing loans.

"Many credit card holder pay only the minimum 5% of their monthly balances. This means they have to pay a 1.5 % monthly interest on the remaining balance and this can cause the outstanding figure to balloon," said a senior Treasury official.

Last year, Bank Negara deputy governor Datuk Mohd Razif Abdul Kadir asked banks to study spending trends that showed early signs of financial mismanagement to put the lid on spiralling bad debts.

He proposed that such cardholders be referred to the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency for counselling.

So why have banks not acted to stem the credit tide? The answer is becoming clearer as credit card debts continue to mount.

The Treasury official, who was asked the question, had this to say:

"There are already complaints of too many regulations in the banking industry. We must remember that this is a free market.

"It is also the cardholder's responsibility to handle his finances properly. Banks can give you 100 credit cards for all they want. Ultimately it is the credit cardholder who must be disciplined and responsible with his expenditure."

Drawing an analogy on the dangers of smoking, the official said: "Cigarettes are on sale everywhere. Does that mean that everybody will become a smoker? Does it mean that the sale of cigarettes be banned?"

URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...=nation&focus=1

My outstanding is double yours. Still waiting if the balance transfer is successful. If not, need to settle in full by 7 February.

One-time fee or something like annual fee?

Can I get waiver for that? Kidding ...

RM 50 + annual fee ... OMG!

I also haven't receive my PIN yet. WTH! They said already sent out.

No chance to try Paypass at KFC yet. I still got some KFC vouchers.

You work with CIMB or DA? How you know it?

They said my PIN has been generated but yet I still haven't receive it.

So any idea why they terminate Flexi Plan, Flexi Plan Plus and Balance Transfer?

I feel a little frusted as I would like to get an explaination on how Maybank derived the figures as advertised at the bank of their printed statement. Refer to the attachment below:

[attachmentid=389085]

What I would like to know, let's take RM 500 outstanding amount for retail purchase as an example.

From the first table, it's said that you'll be only charged for RM 2.22 after make a minimum payment for a repayment period of 1 month. Using the usual 1.5% p.m. or 18% p.a. rate, for a RM 500 outstanding amount, it should give your RM 7.50. I have asked the bank staff and the CSE at the card centre. None of them could explain. Does Maybank is trying to cheat the card holders by advertising a misleading figures?

Anybody could enlighten me? Appreciate your knowledge. Thank you.

This post has been edited by David83: Jan 28 2008, 06:31 PM

They were still insisting that the financial charge will be based on 1.5% p.m. or 18% p.a. rate. I asked them to refer to the table 1. They were so puzzled and couldn't explain further.

I think you need to have at least one month payslip instead of the usual 3 months.

Yes there's. I have checked on my CIMB DA MC and HSBC MC.

The new Petronas Maybankard Visa! The fastest way to earn FREE petrol!

http://www.maybank2u.com.my/consumer/onlin...nas/about.shtml

It's a great deal if you're a heavy Petronas user. 5x Treat Points for fuel refill purchase at Petronas and it's Free For Life card with no condition. It equips with Visa Wave too.

CIMB has a quite similar offering with Petronas:

CIMB PETRONAS MasterCard

http://www.cimbbank.com.my/index.php?ch=su...7&tpt=cimb_bank

I thought it stated free for life without any condition. Did I misread? I confirmed it with CSE too.

I'm going to apply one too. Too bad that they don't have an online application for this card.

There's no card conversion. You need to reapply.

Definitely Maybank Petronas card is more attractive.

This 5x Treat Points is only available for any purchases made at Petronas with this Petronas card. The promotion starts from 1st February to 31st July 2008.