The Best Credit Cards for Insurance Premiums and Utilties PLUS PTPTN Repayments Too

Another credit card tutorial by GenX @ http://www.GenXGenYGenZ.com

Updated August 2016 for OCBC GE and HLB VI

INTRODUCTION

Recently I just published an article to highlight that Maybank is revising their Treats Points program effective 15 April 2016, where transactions relating to Insurance, Education, Utilities and Petrol will only earn Maybank credit card holders just 1 Treats Point with every Ringgit spent or even ZERO TP. For government related transactions, all Maybank Credit Cards under the Treats Points program will NOT be rewarded any Treats Points, i.e. ZERO – Nil – Zip Treats Point.

This is really bad, because it means that we will no longer be earning 2X or 5X Treats Points when we pay for our utilities [Tenaga Nasional (electricity), Syabas (water), Gas Malaysia and Indah Water] and insurance premiums.

Now, Telekom (Unifi and Stremyx), Maxis, Celcom, DiGi, UMobile and Astro are NOT classified as utilities which means we still can earn 5X Treats Points with the Maybank 2 Cards AMEX (Gold, Platinum and Premier).

Another essential expense that most of us incur is our insurance premium. As of date, all Maybank Credit Cards will reward the cardholder up to 2X Treats Points for insurance premiums. But effective 15th April 2015 ALL Maybank Gold and Platinum Visa or MasterCard will also not earn the cardholder any Treats Points, i.e. ZERO. Only the Maybank Premier Visa (Visa Infinite), Premier MasterCard (World MasterCard) and Maybank 2 Cards American Express (Gold, Platinum and Premier) are still entitled to Treats Points but it is freaking miserable at 1 Treats Point for every Ringgit spent. And not many insurance company accept AMEX.

Click here to read my Announcement – Bad News, Revision To Maybank Treats Points Effective 15 April 2016.

And in the above mentioned announcement, I have shared with my readers that I was informed that AEON is no longer issuing their Watami Visa that earns the cardholder 3% cash back! What a bummer. Or else, it would be the perfect credit card for everyone who spends minimum RM1K a month on anything except for petrol.

Before I proceed any further, I would like to point out that the Maybank 2 Cards Gold, Platinum and Premier AMEX are still very good cards as they will still earn you UNLIMITED 5X Treats Points for all types of transactions except for Education, Insurance, Petrol, Utilities and Government.

For examples, we will still earn 5X TP with the Maybank 2 Cards Gold, Platinum or Premier AMEX from the following transactions:

Apple iPhone or MacBook at EpiCentre and can opt for 0% installment plans too.
Samsung Mobile Phones including the latest S7 or 65″ UHD 3D TV or other electrical goods at Best Denki, SenQ or Harvey Norman and can opt for 0% installment plans too.
Clubbing – not the sleazy ones
AEON, TESCO, GIANT, Cold Storage, Parkson, Metro Jaya, UNIQLO, etc.
Luxury handbags – Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Coach, Michael Kors, etc.
Rolex and all other luxury watches. Can opt for 0% installment plans too with the AMEX.
All luxury brands – if they don’t accept AMEX, then it can’t be labelled as a luxury brand.
Hotels – including budget hotels with Agoda and get up to 7% discount. Click here to read my article Agoda Maybank versus Expedia.com.my.
Airlines – Malaysia Airlines Berhad, AirAsia, United Airlines, etc
Baskin Robbins, Sushi Zanmai, Pasta Zanmai, Ippudo, Alexis, Amarin (and other Thai restaurants under the group), TGIF, Pizza Hut, Tai Thong Group of Restaurants, Chinoz, Dome, Ben’s, F&B outlets at all hotels 4 Stars and above, etc.
Servicing and paying for your BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo etc.
Mobile phone bills, Telekom (Unifi and Streamyx included) and Astro.
And Maybank Customer Service confirmed with me that my children’s Overseas Tuition Fees are still entitled to 5X Treats Points with my Maybank 2 Cards Premier Visa Infinite after 15th April 2016.

Once again, with every RM2.12 spent with the FREE FOR LIFE Maybank 2 Gold/Platinum Cards AMEX, you will earn 1 Enrich Mile or KrisFlyer. And did you know that the Maybank 2 Gold/Platinum Cards is the best credit card in Malaysia to earn you AirAsia Big Points? 1 AirAsia Big Point with every RM1.484 spent!!!

But of course the best credit card in the world is still the Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX Reserve where we can earn 1 Enrich Mile for every RM0.945 spent locally or overseas.

For Petrol and Groceries, there are numerous cards in the market to earn us between 5% to 10% cash back – click here to read my article The Best Credit Cards in Malaysia 2016 – Special Edition for Petrol and Airport Lounges.

So today, I shall try to assist all Malaysians to identufy credit cards may be suitable for their Insurance and Utilities transactions.

UTILITIES

Hong Leong Bank WISE Visa – No Annual Fee Waiver even if you beg like hell but it’s still worthwhile to have it.

If you are a reader of mine, you will know that Hong Leong Bank WISE Visa is fantastic for utility bills where you can earn up to 10% cash back. The only set back for the HLB Wise is that you must have minimum ten (10) swipes where each swipe shall not be less than RM50. However, if you are pumping RM350 worth of petrol every month and have a mobile phone bill of more than RM50, by adding your TNB and Syabas bills, you can easily meet the minimum RM50 x 10 swipes.

Click here to read my tutorial titled Hong Leong Bank Wise Cash Back Credit Card Review 2016 and start earning 10% cash back from your Petrol or Utilities or Groceries PLUS or Mobile bills.

I strongly recommend that you read my tutorial on the Hong Leong Bank Wise credit card and learn about how to utilize “sacrificial lambs” and you may earn yourself more than 5% cash back from any type of transactions (when combined with the 2 selected plus bonus category where you will earn 10% cash back) .

CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard – FREE FOR LIFE

You can earn 2% cash rebate when you use this card to pay for your TNB, SESCO and Gas Malaysia bills. Maximum cash back capped at RM50 per month.

Standard Chartered Bank Gold Cash Back MasterCard – Annual Fee RM185. Can combine your PTPTN payments too.

The SCB Gold Cash Back MC rewards you cash back based on tiers BUT you will earn nothing from Insurance Premiums and Petrol. AND to start earning 2% cash back, you must spend RM500.

For example, if you spend up to RM499 in a particular month with the SCB Gold CB MC, you will earn nothing!

UPDATE – I posted an example on RM800 and RM1500 spending but my iFriend Jerie Lim at Facebook commented that my previous calculations (which have been deleted here) is incorrect! Haha, I blur on the SCB cash back tier. You go figure it out yourself but this said card is pretty good for spending between RM800 to RM1500, I would think.

If you spend less than RM800 a month with the SCB Cash Back Gold MasterCard, you will only earn RM10 cash back = RM120 per year, after deducting the annual fee of RM185, it means you will need to pay SCB for using their credit card. Of course you can go beg for the annual fee waiver but I would think it is so much easier that you go with the FREE FOR LIFE CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum and earn flat 2% cash back from your TNB bills.

Maybank KrisFlyer Gold American Express – There is an annual fee but it can be waived with just RM1.5K spending a month.

This card can earn you up to 1 KrisFLyer Mile for every RM1 spent! Click here to read my review of the Maybank Singapore Airlines KrisFLyer Gold AMEX. Best of all, you will also earn up to 1 KrisFlyer mile for every Ringgit spent from your transactions related to government bodies, e.g. District Office Quit Rent and Local Council Assessment.

INSURANCE PLUS UTILITIES and IF APPLICABLE YOUR PTPTN REPAYMENTS TOO

OPTION 1 – Spending up to RM1K on Insurance and/or Utilities:

Hong Leong Bank Essential Visa (Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes per year) – You can earn 0.6% cash back or up to RM6 per month = RM72 per year.

Alliance Bank You:nique ((Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes per year) – You can earn 0.5% cash back or up to RM5 per month = RM60 per year.

IF you are a policy holder of GE or OAC Assurance, then get the OCBC Great Eastern MasterCard FREE FOR LIFE no condition whatsoever – You can earn 1% cash back for up to RM1K spending or RM10 per month = RM120 per year. UPDATE – EFFECTIVE 1st September 2016, the OCBC GE credit card CASH REBATE SHALL BE REVOKED.

OCBC MasterCard (Blue/Pink) FREE FOR LIFE no condition whatsoever – You can earn UNLIMITED 1% cash back from ONLINE transactions or up to RM10 per month = RM120 per year. Now, I am not sure, but IF you can pay your Utility bills and Insurance premiums ONLINE, IF YES – I would think that you should be entitled to 1% cash back, right?

OPTION 2 – Spending up to RM1.5K on Insurance and/or Utilities:

Hong Leong Bank Essential Visa (Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes per year) – You can earn 0.6% cash back or up to RM9 per month = RM108 per year.

Alliance Bank You:nique ((Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes per year) – You can earn 0.5% cash back for the first RM1K spent and 1.5% for the balance RM500. Based on RM1.5K spending, you will earn RM12.49 per month or RM149.82 per year (equivalent to 1.2485%).

OPTION 3 – Spending up to RM3K on Insurance and/or Utilities:

Alliance Bank You:nique ((Annual Fee waived with 12 swipes per year) – If you do spend exactly RM3K per month with the Alliance You:nique, you can earn up to RM49.928 per month or RM599.136 per year (1.66% cash back).

OPTION 4 – Spending more than RM3K on Insurance and/or Utilities:

If you really spend RM3K and you want cash back, go combine paying your utility and insurance bills using all the credit cards mentioned above, hahaha.

OPTION 5 – Earning Enrich Miles or Air Asia Big Points:

Alliance Bank Visa Infinite – 2X Timeless Bonus Points from local spending.

With the 2X TBP, you can earn 1 Enrich Mile with every RM3 spent or 1 AirAsia Big Point with every RM1.50 spent from your utilities bills and/or insurance premiums.

Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite

You can earn 1 Enrich Mile with every RM2.80 spent from your utilities bills and/or insurance premiums.

UPDATE August 2016 – someone messaged me via FB to inform that he called HLB Customer Service and was told he won’t be getting any Enrich Miles for Insurance and Education. However I would like to stress that as of August 2016, I can’t seem to find any statement at HLB website stating this said matter. As such you better check with HLB if you want to use thei Visa Infinite to pay for your insurance premiums.

CONCLUSION

The best credit card for utilities is with the Hong Leong Bank WISE Visa Cash Back card. Once again, click here to read my tutorial titled Hong Leong Bank Wise Cash Back Credit Card Review 2016 and see if you have any “sacrificial lamb” that you can “utilize” to earn yourself “10%” cash back from your petrol or groceries when combined with your utility bills plus mobile phone bills.

If the HLB WISE is not suitable for you, then I would think that the CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum credit card is pretty good for your TNB bills where you can earn a flat 2% cash back (monthly cash back capped at RM50).

For Insurance Premiums, there is no one card that is the best but you have to select the right card and combine your insurance premium with your other expenses (non Petrol or Groceries) and you have to decide if you want cash back or air miles.

Now, Public Bank’s Visa Signature also rewards the cardholder 6% cash back for online transactions, so if you can pay your utilities and insurance payments online (not via Public Bank website), you may be entitled to 6% cash back for utilities and insurance premiums. I would assume (which means I don’t know, so you have to go check it out yourself). However, please note that there is a cash back cap of RM50 per month.

Unfortunately, I have further bad news for you, credit card issuers will be downgrading their credit card features in the near future and it’s all Bank Negara Malaysia’s fault! Click here to read an article in The Star and you will see why the banks have no choice but to downgrade their credit card’s benefits, especially from local transactions but not overseas transactions.