January 2017 - Tommy Ooi Travel Guide

In 2016, we flew on Etihad Airways First Class Apartment & Malaysia Airlines Business Class paying less than Economy ticket. Stepping into 2017, we have accumulated 400,000 miles, which is sufficient to redeem 2 first class tickets and some business class flights. How to achieve it? By redeeming our flight ticket with credit card points. There are more than 50 different credit cards available in Malaysia however only few could boast as the best travel credit card. The rests are merely marketing gimmicks, in our opinion meant to trick consumers thinking they are good. Most of us own a credit card but doesn't know how to maximize the cards' benefits. We usually get Free Business Class Flights (pay tax & fuel surcharge only), Free Airport Lounge Access, Free Hotel Room Upgrade and even Free Airport Taxi back home. If luxury travel is your ideal goal, read on, cancel all your cash back, supermarket & movie ticket credit cards and apply these instead! You can also compare the difference between 2016 & 2017 - Top 10 Travel Credit Cards to Apply for Malaysians in 2016. Alternatively, we have also listed Top 5 Travel Credit Cards for Malaysians in 2017 (Earning RM5k & below!) Before proceeding, do Follow our Instagram, Sign Up our Email Newsletter and LIKE our Facebook to receive more travel tips & latest travel promotion. 1. Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX. The Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX successfully retained its crown as the best credit card in Malaysia for airline miles redemption earning holders 1 mile per RM0.95 for both local & overseas transactions. This is the card you should own if possible to rack up all the miles especially on domestic transactions which is the best feature I like most. Best for : Airline Miles Redemption Redemption Rate : Local & Overseas - RM0.95 for 1 Enrich, Asia Miles & KrisFlyer. Min Income to apply : RM120,000 p.a. Annual Fees : RM800. FREE for the first year. Subsequent years FREE if spend a min of RM80,000 per annum Advantage : Highest airline miles redemption rate on domestic spending. 50% Savings on F&B at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. 50% Dining privileges at all Starwood Hotels in Malaysia. Free Green fees access to over 79 Golf Clubs in 15 countries (17 clubs in Malaysia & 62 international club) Free Travel Insurance & Retail Protection. Disadvantage : High minimum income required to apply for this card. American Express is not widely acceptable compared with Visa & Mastercard. No airport lounge benefit. More info : Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX 2. Maybank 2 Gold & Platinum AMEX. The Maybank 2 Gold Card AMEX is the best card for most people who yet to qualify for the premium cards which generally need RM100,000 annual income. With only RM30,000 min income required, anyone with RM2,500 monthly salary should apply this card to rake in airline miles. Best of all, this card has no annual fees. Unlike the Premier card, there are different rates when redeeming with Asia Miles at RM1.49 while KrisFlyer at RM1.70 and RM2.12 for Enrich. Both overseas & local transaction earns you the same points and you can max out your conversion especially on Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles. Best for : Airline Miles Redemption Redemption Rate : Local & Overseas RM1.49 for 1 Asia Miles. RM1.70 for 1 KrisFlyer. RM2.12 for 1 Enrich. Min Income to apply : RM30,000 p.a. Annual Fees : Lifetime Free Waiver Advantage : High airline miles redemption rate. Free annual fees. Low minimum income to apply. Disadvantage : Normal card without benefit. American Express is less acceptable in Malaysia. More info : Maybank 2 Gold Card AMEX 3. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express® Gold. The Singapore Airline KrisFlyer AMEX Gold card is a medium entry card with a RM4,000 monthly salary to qualify. This card allows holders to earn up to RM1 per 1 KrisFlyer mile making it one of the highest miles redemption card in the market. Also it allows holders 5X free access to Plaza Premium Lounge in Malaysia. This benefit used to be unlimited Plaza Premium Lounge access but was downgraded in 2016. The downside, this card is limited to earn Singapore Airline KrisFlyer miles only and the miles are automatically transferred to your KrisFlyer account hence reducing your miles lifespan from 6 years to 3 years only. (Usual credit cards points are valid for 3 years and airline points valid another 3 years which makes it 6 years). So make sure you can earn enough points to redeem a worthy air ticket within 3 years when using this card. Best for : Singapore Airline KrisFlyer miles redemption Redemption Rate : Local & Overseas - RM2 for 1 KrisFlyer. Double up your miles with minimum spend of RM60,000 within twelve (12) months Card anniversary year making it RM1 per 1 KrisFlyer mile. Min Income to apply : RM48,000 p.a. Annual Fees : RM250. 1st year fee-waiver. Advantage : Double up miles earned with RM60,000 spending making it one of the highest redemption. 5X Free Plaza Premium Lounge Access in Malaysia per year. Complimentary Travel Insurance Coverage. Disadvantage : Miles redemption only limited to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. American Express less acceptable in Malaysia. More info : Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer American Express® Gold 4. RHB Premier Visa Infinite. The RHB Premier Visa Infinite offers the highest point earning for overseas spending of all credit cards listed in this article at only RM0.75 per 1 Enrich Mile. Card holders are given 10 complimentary access (below 100k spend a year) or unlimited access (above 100k spend a year) to Plaza Premium Lounges in Malaysia and 5 other locations – Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Taipei. Since it is a Visa Infinite card, holders can take advantage on Free Hilton HHonors Gold status with 2 stays or 4 nights stay. Hilton HHonors Gold status are eligible for Free Room Upgrades, Executive Lounge Access and even 4pm Late Checkout which is very worth it. This status usually need 20 stays to attain. Best for : Overseas Spending Airline Miles Redemption Redemption Rate : Overseas RM0.75 for 1 Enrich Mile. RM1.50 for 1 KrisFlyer. Local RM2.00 for 1 Enrich Mile on local hotels, airlines, duty-free, dining and online spend. RM4.00 for 1 Krisflyer for local hotels, airlines, duty-free, dining and online spend. RM6.00 for 1 Enrich Mile on other local spending. RM12.00 for 1 KrisFlyer on other local spending. Min Income to apply : Invitation. Call RHB Premier Line to apply. Annual Fees : Free For Life Advantage : Highest overseas spending Enrich miles redemption. Complimentary Green Fees at 8 Golf Club in Malaysia. Complimentary RM2 million Travel Insurance Coverage. No annual fees. Free for life. 10X to unlimited access to Plaza Premium Lounge. Disadvantage : High income to apply. Very low local spending airline miles redemption. More info : RHB Premier Visa Infinite 5. Alliance Visa Infinite. The Alliance Visa Infinite isnt the best miles redemption card in the market but more of an all rounder between miles redemption and privileges. This card is the premium card from Alliance bank with RM150,000 income to apply. Earning miles wise it is quite high for overseas spending at RM1.20 for 1 Enrich while normal earning for local spending at RM3 for 1 Enrich. This card comes with unlimited access to Plaza Premium Lounge in KLIA and 6X to unlimited access to worldwide lounge with Priority Pass. To achieve unlimited access you will need to spend RM300,000 in the current year. Since it is a Visa Infinite card, holders can take advantage on Free Hilton HHonors Gold status with 2 stays or 4 nights stay. Hilton HHonors Gold status are eligible for Free Room Upgrades, Executive Lounge Access and even 4pm Late Checkout which is very worth it. This status usually need 20 stays to attain. Best for : Worldwide Lounge Access Redemption Rate : Overseas - RM1.20 for 1 Enrich Mile. Local - RM3.00 for 1 Enrich Mile. Min Income to apply : RM150,000 p.a Annual Fees : RM848. Annual fee waiver with a minimum spend of RM30,000 per annum. Advantage : Complimentary 6X to unlimited (depend on annual spending) access to 850 VIP lounges in more than 100 countries and 300 cities worldwide with Priority Pass. Complimentary unlimited access to KLIA Plaza Premium Lounge. Free Hilton HHonors Gold Status with 2 stays or 4 nights. Free Travel Insurance Coverage. Disadvantage : Only limited to earn Malaysia Airlines Enrich Miles. High minimum income needed to apply. More info : Alliance Visa Infinite 6. Maybank Visa Infinite. The Maybank Visa Infinite offers one of the highest flight points earning on overseas spending with RM0.95 for 1 Enrich, Asia Miles & KrisFlyer while local spending net RM2.40 for 1 airline Mile. Since it is a Visa Infinite card, holders can take advantage on Free Hilton HHonors Gold status with 2 stays or 4 nights stay. Hilton HHonors Gold status are eligible for Free Room Upgrades, Executive Lounge Access and even 4pm Late Checkout which is very worth it. This status usually need 20 stays to attain. Best for : Hotel Privileges and high overseas flight miles earning Redemption Rate : Overseas - RM0.95 for 1 Enrich Mile, Asia Miles, KrisFlyer. Local - RM2.40 for 1 Enrich Mile, Asia Miles, KrisFlyer. Min Income to apply : RM120,000 p.a. Annual Fees : RM 800. Subsequent years FREE if spend a min of RM80,000 per annum Advantage : Free Hilton HHonors Gold status with 2 stays or 4 nights stay. 5X Free Access per year to Plaza Premium Lounge in Malaysia & Worldwide. Up to 50% off dining privilege in SPG Starwood Hotels. Free Green fees access to over 79 Golf Clubs in 15 countries (17 clubs in Malaysia & 62 international club) Free RM2 million Travel Insurance Coverage. Disadvantage : High annual income required to apply. More info : Maybank Visa Infinite 7. HSBC Premier Travel World Master. HSBC Premier Travel World Master offers the 2nd highest airline miles earning on overseas spending at only RM0.91 for 1 airline mile. Although the minimum annual income of RM36k per year is fairly simple to achieve, yet...

Tommy Ooi Travel Guide

Traveling Made Simple

Month: January 2017

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Top 5 Travel Credit Cards for Malaysians in 2017 (Earning RM5k & below!)

2017 Top 10 Travel Credit Cards to Apply for Malaysians (No, Citibank isnt one of it)