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: Sep 25, 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
- Annual fee: Lifetime fee waiver
- Minimum annual income: RM30,000 (RM60,000 for Platinum)
- Platinum gives you extra travel insurance coverage & retail protection
- More info on Maybank 2 Card (Gold)
- More info on Maybank 2 Card (Platinum)
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
- Annual fee: RM255
- Minimum annual income: RM36,000
- More info on HSBC Amanah MPower Visa Platinum Credit Card-i
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
- Annual fee: First year waiver and subsequent years min 12x swipes (else RM411)
- Minimum annual income: RM100,000
- More info on PB Visa Signature
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
- Annual fee: Lifetime fee waiver
- Minimum annual income: RM36,000
- More info on Public Bank Quantum Visa/MasterCard
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
- Annual fee: Lifetime fee waiver
- Minimum annual income: RM24,000
- More info on CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard
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
- Minimum annual income: RM100,000
- More info on OCBC World MasterCard
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
- Annual fee: RM300
- Minimum annual income: RM60,000
- More info on Hong Leong WISE Credit Card
UOB One Credit Card
Pros
- 1% weekday / 5% weekend cashback on Petrol up to RM300 spending (Platinum RM500)
- Promotional 3% Wednesday cashback on Petrol (until Sep 30, 2017)
- 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
OCBC CashFlow
Pros
- 1% weekday / 5% weekend cashback on Petrol up to RM300 spending (Platinum RM500)
- Promotional 3% Wednesday cashback on Petrol (until Sep 30, 2017)
- 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
Best Credit Cards for Other Benefits
Air Miles: Maybank 2 Cards Premier Reserve Credit Card
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
- Annual Fee: RM800 (from 2nd year)
- Annual Fee Waiver: RM80,000 spending
- Min Annual Income: RM180,000
- More info on Maybank 2 Cards Premier
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
- Annual fee: Lifetime fee waiver
- Minimum annual income: RM24,000
- More info on OCBC Great Eastern MasterCard
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
- Annual fee: RM636 (or 30k PremierMiles)
- Minimum annual income: RM100,000
- More info on Citi PremierMiles Visa Credit Card
Plaza Premium Lounge: AEON BiG Visa Gold Credit Card
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
- Annual fee: RM95 (waived with 12 transactions per year)
- Minimum annual income: RM36,000
- More info on AEON BiG Visa Gold Card
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
- Finance charges: 15-18%
- Cash advance: 5.3% (18% interest)
- Balance transfer: 8.99% (promotional rate 2.99% until Jun 30, 2017)
- More info on Citibank Simplicity + Card
More Info
Share and discuss
Any great Credit Cards to recommend? Any changes to any of the credit cards listed above for us to update?
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.