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Top Credit Cards in Malaysia

Looking for a credit card? A simple shortlist of the best credit cards in Malaysia by categories for cashback, air miles, balance transfer, insurance, and airport lounge access.

Updated: Oct 31, 2018

Best Cashback Credit Cards

Maybankard 2 Gold/Platinum Credit Card

Pros

  • 2 cards AmEx & a Visa/MasterCard (at a single Government Tax of RM50).
  • AmEx 5% cashback on along categories including petrol on weekends.
  • AmEx 5x Treats Points (~1.25% spending) on Petrol (Up to RM500 per calendar month)
  • AmEx 5x Treats Points (~1.25% spending) which you can change for vouchers etc  (no max limit)
  • AmEx 2x Treats Points (~0.5% spending) for Government Bodies, Education Institutions & Insurance Providers

Cons

  • AmEx not accepted at all retailers
  • Visa/MasterCard gives you only 1x Treats Points (~0.2% spending)
  • Cashback capped at RM50 per month

Details

HSBC Amanah MPower Visa Platinum Credit Card-i

Pros

  • 8% cashback on Groceries & Petrol min spending above RM2,000 (else 2% cashback)
  • 0.2% cashback unlimited on other spending

Cons

  • Cashback capped at RM50 per month
  • Annual fee

Details

Public Bank Visa Signature Credit Card

Pros

  • 6% Cash Back on Grocery, Dining and Online Transaction
  • 1 VIP Point for every RM1 spend on other retail transactions
  • 2x complimentary access to any Malaysia Plaza Premium Lounge (25% off for subsequent)
  • Free Automatic Travel Insurance

Cons

  • Cashback capped at RM50 per month (separate limits for primary and supplementary card)
  • Comparatively higher minimum annual income required to apply

Details

Public Bank Quantum Visa/MasterCard

Pros

  • 5% cashback on dining and online transactions
  • 2x VIP Points for overseas retail spending
  • 1x VIP Points for local retail spending
  • 0% 12 months IPP with min purchase RM1,200
  • e-Commerce Purchase Protection up to USD200 for incomplete/wrong/undelivered/damaged purchases (Mastercard only)

Cons

  • Cashback capped at RM30 per month (RM360 per year)
  • VIP points expire after 3 years

Details

CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard

Pros

  • 5% cashback on online spending (except airlines, insurance)
  • 2% cash rebate on groceries and petrol
  • 2% cash rebate on mobile & utility bill payments (via standing instructions)
  • 0.2% unlimited Cash Rebate on other retail spend
  • 10% cash rebate on monthly interest paid (on outstanding balance charges)

Cons

  • Cashback capped at RM30 per month (RM360 per year) for online spending

Details

OCBC World MasterCard

Pros

  • 1.2% cashback on first RM1,000 monthly spending
  • 0.6% cashback on subsequent spending
  • Unlimited cashback limit at 0.6%
  • Complimentary travel insurance when you purchase airline tickets
  • 2X free access per calendar year to the KLIA Plaza Premium Lounge
  • No annual fee for the first 3 years

Cons

  • RM411 per annum annual fee (after first 3 years)

Details

Hong Leong WISE Credit Card

Pros

  • 10% cashback (capped at RM100 per month) on 3 selected categories (mobile + 2 others)

Cons

  • Need to select 2 out of 9 remaining categories (Pharmacies, Groceries, Petrol, Dining, Departmental, Book Stores, Utilities, Entertainment, Travel)
  • Min monthly spending RM2000 (effective Oct 1, 2016) dropping effective maximum cashback to <5% (Previously 10 transactions above RM50)
  • Annual fee of RM300 (or requesting HLB to waive)

Details

UOB One Credit Card

Pros

  • 1% weekday / 5% weekend cashback on Petrol up to RM300 spending (Platinum RM500)
  • 2% weekday / 8% weekend movies @ GSC
  • 1% weekday / 2% weekend cashback on Groceries (Tesco, Aeon Big, Giant, Cold Storage, Jaya Grocer) up to RM1k spending (Platinum RM1.5k)
  • 1% weekday / 2% weekend cashback on Telcos (Maxis, Digi, Celcom) up to RM200 spending (Platinum RM300)

Cons

  • Only 0.2% cashback on other merchants
  • Government transactions & utilities bills excluded from cashback
  • Lower cashback cap for classic card VS platinum card
  • Smart Cash rebates removed effective July 1, 2017

Details

  • Annual fee waiver (Classic): Swipe min 60 times
  • Annual fee waiver (Platinum): Swipe minimum 1x per month AND spend RM36,000/RM60,000
  • Minimum annual income: RM24,000 (RM60,000 for Platinum)
  • More info on UOB ONE Card

Standard Chartered JustOne Platinum MasterCard

Pros

  • Cashback on auto bill payments (insurance, telco and utilities), online purchases, and petrol
    • Below RM1,000: 0.2% (max effective cashback: 0.2%)
    • RM1,000 – RM1,499: 5% (max effective cashback: 1.2%)
    • RM1,500 – RM2,499: 10% (max effective cashback: 1.8%)
    • RM2500 and above: 15% (max effective cashback: 3.4%)

Cons

  • Cashback capped monthly
    • Below RM1,500: RM12
    • RM1,500 – RM2,499: RM28
    • RM2500 and above: RM85
  • Only 0.2% cashback on all other spending
  • Tiered cashback whereby to maximize cashback you need to spend on qualified transactions RM2,500 monthly
  • Annual fee waiver only on spending RM20,000 annually

Details

 

OCBC Cashflo MasterCard

Pros

  • 0.5% unlimited cashback
  • Auto-IPP on all purchases
    • Retail transactions RM500-RM1,000: 3 months IPP
    • Retail transactions above RM1,000: 6 months IPP
    • Great Eastern (Life & General) Insurance premium RM2,2000 above: 12 months

Cons

  • Cashback only at 0.5%
  • Useful only if you need the auto IPP services
  • Annual fee waiver only for first 3 years

Details

 

Best Credit Cards for Other Benefits

Air Miles: Maybank 2 Cards Premier Reserve Credit Card

maybank2cards-reserve-amex

Pros

  • Highest spending to AirMiles conversion rate 4,500 points for 1000 Enrich / KrisFlyer miles (4,770 for most other Maybank cards)
  • Overseas spending at 5x Treats Points
  • Local spending up to 5x Treats Points
  • Plaza Premium Lounges access 5x a year
  • Golfing privileges including international complimentary green fees.
  • Accidental death & disability coverage & travel inconvenience
  • (Read above Maybank 2 Cards for more info)

Cons

  • (Read above Maybank 2 Cards for more info)

Details

Insurance Coverage: OCBC GE (Great Eastern) MasterCard Credit Card

Note: Previous 1% cashback has been replaced w.e.f. Sep 1, 2016

Pros

  • RM100,000 life insurance & total permanent disability benefit
  • For Great Eastern Card, 0% interest Auto-IPP (installment payment plan) for Great Eastern insurance premiums of RM2,200 & above
  • Live Great Privileges (Participating merchants discount/benefits program)

Cons

  • 2nd year onwards requires RM10k spending (can be achieved somewhat easily if you’re paying for your insurance policies with the card)
  • For primary cardholder only

Details

Travel & Plaza Premium Lounge: Citi PremierMiles Visa

Pros

  • Unlimited access to selected international Plaza Premium Airport Lounges in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and England with international flight
  • Conversion rate 1500 PremierMiles to 1000 Air Miles
  • 1x PremierMile for every RM1 local spending
  • 2x PremierMiles for every RM3 spending in foreign currency
  • Travel insurance
  • Limo transfer service from KLIA with 3x overseas spending per trip
  • 10k bonus PremierMiles on paying annual fee

Cons

  • Annual fee charges
  • Higher min annual income requirement

Details

Plaza Premium Lounge: AEON BiG Visa Gold Credit Card

aeon_big_gold

Pros

  • 6x entry to Malaysian Plaza Premium Lounges (Gold only; Not applicable for Classic) + 20% discount for guests
  • 2% cashback for online (excluding Insurance, Utility & Mobile Bill Payments) & overseas purchases (capped at RM25)
  • 5% cashback petrol every Sunday
  • AEON BiG Members Day 5% cashback (every 28th)
  • AEON BiG Visa payWave 5% cashback
  • 0% balance transfer for 6 months

Cons

  • Cashback is capped at monthly total cash rebate pool
    • Online & Overseas: RM15k
    • AEON BiG Members Day: RM50k
    • AEON BiG Visa payWave: RM15k

Details

Balance Carrying/Cash Advance: Citi Simplicity +

Pros

  • 10% cash back on finance charges
  • No over limit fees
  • No late payment charge
  • No annual fee
  • Awesome card name 😉

Cons

  • Cashback is only for finance charges thus no cashback if you pay off your credit card in full every month (which we would generally advise you to)

Details

 

More Info

 

Apply for a Credit Card



 

FAQ

Q: How long will it take to receive my credit card?
A: Usually within 2 weeks from successful application.

Q: Will I receive any free gifts/rewards for applying for a credit card?
A: Yes, you will receive any free gifts/rewards that are applicable for applying.

 

Share and discuss

Any great Credit Cards to recommend? Any changes to any of the credit cards listed above for us to update?

One thought on “Top Credit Cards in Malaysia”

  • Mohammad Abdur Khan
    February 27, 2018 at 3:02 pm
    Permalink

    There are lot of credit cards in Malaysia. People will get confuse which card they can opt for. The above article clearly says the best ones from various categories like cashback, travel, no annual fee & more which is very easy to select the card from those based on our needs and this post clearly says the pros and cons of each cards which is again a easy way to know about the cards benefits. Thanks for sharing this article.

    You are most welcome Mohammad Abdur Khan. Thanks for sharing your feedback!

    Reply

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