There's a Maybank Treat event coming up in Aug (correct me if I'm wrong) @ MidValley. You can get your MBB card application done there.

Not necessarily. How fast it'll appear in your online account depends on how fast the merchant submits their claim to the bank. Some merchants do this on the same day or the next day and some takes many days before they make their claims.

Yes ... but do remember this number (CVV) functions as a verification tool. Don't be so easy to give to people who you don't know and always be certain of the website you are visiting to be genuine whenever it asks you for this number.

Not even the bank staff is suppose to ask you, so you can get suspicious if anyone claiming from the bank, etc is asking you for the CVV no.

A few stuff about AffinBank credit card based on a few observation since my friend had it since the last couple of months.

- When you execute the BT, they'll assign you a separate account and this account share your credit limit. If you make any retail purchases then you'd have to pay to 2 different accounts when your bill is due. (This is a better system than most banks which mixes the BT and retail purchases and you'll have the problem of payment prioritisation.)
- The CS works only during office hours, you can't get hold of them after office hours. Probably those who travel overseas often would feel uncomfortable about this problem as if you happen to run into trouble with your card overseas + you are in a different time zone - you can't call your bank to help you. However should you lose your credit card then you have a dedicated round the clock number to call in to block your card.
- You can't execute payment for the credit card via GIRO transfer. The AffinBank GIRO transfer works only for their savings/current account. AffinBank does not have online banking facilities thus you would have to physically pay for your credit card @ the bank. The bank does have cheque deposit facilities and CDM but certainly no internet banking.

Probably the last item is the killer - you have no choice to make the trip to the bank to pay your credit card bills. With petrol prices up, online banking is an immediate popular choice for convenience.

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 9 2008, 12:48 AM

@Everyone

Citibank is the only bank that allows their CC to pay for bills online. For other banks

MBB - selected payees only but the main ones (TNB, Syabas, Astro) are not supported. TM is supported but using MBB card only, you can use non-MBB card to pay via PayBills Malaysis
HSBC, CIMB - via bank account only
UOB - via payonline.com.my Celcom, Maxis, TM (all cards accepted) Note : site is not working @ time of writing.

I'm still not going to support Citibank for the moment time being. So will pay bils using various alternative online methods - just a bit more effort only.

Citibank have many card products. Choose the one that suits you most. AirAsia card ? Do you like to travel often then probably this is the card for you ... instead of normal Citibank Reward points, you'll get AA points which can be redeemed for AirAsia vouchers.

There's a minimum amount that you need to retain (I think it's above RM5K or is it RM10K) per month before it attracts the RM5 per month. BTW guys, this is the CC thread - please keep it clean.

Back to the topic of CS again.

In recent experience in canceling my Citibank card, the CS was rather persuasive when I said that I wanted to cancel my card. Asked me why I wanted to do so and I gave my reasons. The person made an "attempt" to get me back but I guess either the persuasion was not strong or the person was not willing to go all out to get me back as a customer. In short, the game was over quite quickly with very little effort.

On the other hand, i have always been a strong critique of Maybank coz I never had a memorable experience with them only many mishaps. Surprisingly when I attempted to cancel my card (more like cancel and migrate all the balances to the Petronas card), the person was extremely helpful and went all out to help me. I can see my TreatPoints is already on my Petronas card but I haven't called to confirm whether my old card is still active or not.

HSBC was always a winner - professional, hassle free and friendly. That's what I call their service right now.

It's free for life without conditions. Period. Who told you that you need to have a banking account with them ?

BTW ... KLCC now got Citibank redemption counter and they told me it's going to be there for the next 3 weeks. New Citibank card applicants can get a free Philips 2GB Mp3 player upon card application approval.

The caveat
- If you are using another cc as reference, make sure the card is at least 18 months old.
- Otherwise, you need 3 month payslip as reference.

I checked it out already. And the Card sales rep doesn't look particularly keen to sell their cards. A slight turnoff if you ask me.

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 11 2008, 08:50 PM

Man ! I'm envious of you. Like I mentioned before, the card sales person looks like not keen to sign people up - I also lost interest lor. I think some banks would also accept cc reference of only 6 months. (My current card is less than 1 year) Never mind ..... maybe I'll get lucky like you later

---

Added on June 11, 2008, 10:40 pmActually all cards don't give points for petrol payment. This is part of the settlement that the BNM, Petrol Stations Owners Associations and the banks when the petrol prices went up to RM1.92 back then. The association were threatening to stop credit card payments coz they were not making money anymore when petrol prices went up.

The exception would be cards which gives out cash rebates (for petrol purchases) and MBB Petronas cards which give out 5x points for Petronas petrol and Kedai Mesra purchases for a limited time. (It's not forever ... read the T&C)

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 11 2008, 10:54 PM

@tinkerbel
No lah .... but the sales pitch was ultra weak. (If you use the typical supermarket / PCFairs/MATTA Fair salesperson aggressiveness as the benchmark) I was there twice, the first time I was dumbfounded when the person offered me her namecard (instead of asking me to sign up) and ask me to come back later. (No, she was not busy with other customers either) The second time - I had to say "Yes" a few times then only the salesperson walked me over to the table. (Even ask me to start writing down the details myself)

"Oddity" was the word for the overall experience and then the person did not want my application as my card was < 1 year old. (I was expecting this before I even sat down) and ask me to bring all my documents. A real seasoned salesperson would ask this question first before going further. It's the experience that annoyed me ....

I was interested at first ... (that's why I went there a few times) but then ... the experience totally turn me off. Well, just have to wait for another chance .... maybe this time the criteria would be I'll only apply if the Citibank salesperson is a hottie and I got chance ?

Can or not ? (I need a light hearted moment )

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 11 2008, 11:47 PM

I read this in the papers. I'm aware of other info as well from my petrol stations owner friends but it's unverified thus I did not note it down.

See these news

News 1

and this one

News 2

Which eventually led to banks not providing points to Petrol purchases. One example

Read T&C - Item 4 REWARD POINTS EARNED IN THE PROGRAMME

Unless I miss out something ... I'm quite sure that petrol purchases (under normal circumstances) does not attract points. Of course certain banks does not follow this rule and creates a promotion around it. (e.g MBB Petronas co-brand card)

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 12 2008, 12:25 AM

My best bet would be around 1 month, normally from my previous redemptions - gifts arrive within 2-3 weeks. I heard about the top up too but the person did not mention how this is done.

By right (if I remember this correctly) VISA and Mastercard International forbids merchants from doing so. Any attempts from the merchant to overcharge will result in the transaction being disputed in the customers favor. This means that the merchant can't claim from the bank RM101 but you agreed (and signed) to pay for RM100 only.

However the banks are aware that merchants don't want to bear the additional credit card fees and pass this on to consumers by adding the extra to the total bill. If you notice merchants are careful not to "itemize" this extra for fear it may be used as evidence against them - normally they'll write this amount in one lump sum. This practice is strictly on the basis of consensus between the seller and the buyer - the banks will say no to this if there's proof.

You can say no but the merchant then refuses to sell item to you, that's all. It all depends whether you allow the merchant to pass the costs to you or not.

Did anyone notice this new card from UOB?

UOB Preferred Platinum

Looks like UOB rebrand their Platinum card into the "Preferred Platinum"


@tinkerbel
Just intro your RM to me lor.

This post has been edited by hye: Jun 12 2008, 09:39 PM

@tinkerbel
If you read the FAQ, all UOB's Platinum card members will be migrated over to this card when their card is due to expire.

Maybe yes and maybe no. But this change is in effect for both UOB's in Malaysia and Singapore. So, if there was 'ONE Platinum' crisis, it could have came from both side of the country then. But I agree with ya that 'ONE Platinum' dilutes the effectiveness of their Platinum products to a certain extent.

I've captured a few salient points from the new product

- Card is free for 2 years after which they will charge you RM388 per year. Supp card is chargeable @ RM30 per year. (They don't call it annual fee but admin fees)
- Auto annual fee waiver is subject to 12 transactions and a min of RM3K p.a use.
- You no longer require to hold 2 cards (What a relief! I felt the old ruling was ridiculous and non-competitive)
- They practice a flexible credit limit which will be in effect after 6 months of use. (Please refer to the UOB's website for details)
- You need to be having income of at least RM96k p.a (RM120k p.a for foreigners) to qualify for the card.

@tinkerbel
Yeah ... I know. It used to be just RM10 (Very cheap) right ? The tie-ins are also unattractive as compared to the local banks where you can pay an extensive amount of bills online vs UOB's limited choices via PayOnline.com.my.

I seriously think UOB should make the card more attractive by putting less conditions to its card.Otherwise they'll lose out to MBB and CIMB/DA who offer real no annual fees for life cards.

You can't check online for your DA cc status. Call them up @ 03-6204 7878.
Shell V-power is now RM3.15 per litre.