Scenario Where You May Need More Than Your Credit Limit

There will be many instances where you need to use your favorite credit card (that earns you air miles) to pay for transactions above your credit limit. Some of the examples are:

1. Buying a luxury item such as a Rolex watch or a Chanel Handbag.

Before I forget, please note that Maybank 0% Ezy Pay Installment Plan may only earn you 1X Treats Point. So read your credit card’s TnC. For example, if you are buying a luxury item that cost RM50K and you utilize Maybank Ezy Pay, then you will only earn 5K Air Miles with the Maybank 2 Cards Premier. Tip – read Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer AMEX Platinum TnC.

2. Buying a car. Many years ago I had an article on using credit card to pay (for deposit or in full) for a car where I showed some of you I used my AMEX Reserve to earn more than 200K KrisFlyer Miles (5 years ago, we earn 1 Air Mile for every RM1 spent with the AMEX Resever versus today the AMEX Reserve is useless for me as I only maximum earn 1 Air Mile for every RM5 spent locally, so much so my Maybank 2 Cards Premier are in my drawer).

In addition to my BMW where I paid in full with AMEX, many of my followers also managed to use their AMEX at Perodua and some Proton dealers. On the other hand, for Toyota and Honda, my followers paid in full with their Visa. You just need to do some homework by calling several dealers and see who offers you the best deal for paying with a credit card. If you have the right credit card and you know how to calculate both (1) how much you need to spend to earn 1 air mile and (2) 1 Air Mile is worth how much, you will surely be rewarded handsomely, r.g. with a First Class experience with Singapore Airlines.

If anyone tells you that he/she needs to get a loan for a car instead of paying in full as he/she is worried that LHDN will come after them, then you know that person has been evading paying income taxes and/or their source of funds are toxic, hahahaha. anyway with eInvoice, those whose funds are toxic will be caught sooner or later. This paragraph is to educate you never try to evad e paying income tax or cheat (or being ignorant of the law is not an excuse) the government as you will be caught and punished.

3. Private Hospital Deposit and Bills. If you do not have a Insurance Medical Card, then you need to pay deposit and sometime upfront for a surgery at a Private Hospital where the amount may be higher than your credit card limit.

Once again, as mentioned in my Prelude To The Best Top Credit Cards in Malaysia 2025, you must have the money standby in your bank account to settle in full any amount due (to be be due) to your credit card bills and not imposed any interest. If you have interest being imposed on your credit card Outstanding Balance it means you are spending beyond your means and will have financial stress.

4. Paying for Air Fares or Tickets. If one is paying for several people for an airline (or even cruise) tickets, the total amount may exceed that person’s credit limit.

5. Paying for a holiday with a Tour Agency. The tour agency that I go on tour with accepts Visa or MasterCard only and I can pay online for any amount without being imposed any fees. Nowadays overseas tours can easily cost more than RM15K and if you and your spouse are booking the tour, the total amount may be more than your credit card’s credit limit. Tip – I purposely mentioned ONLINE as many credit cards earn us more in returns versus paying over the counter.

6. Paying a Child’s Expenses, e.g. Tuition Fee. Most local education institutions today do not accept credit card as a form of payment but some overseas universities do but may impose a surcharge. But if you can use a credit card to pay for your child’s tuition and not imposed ridiculous surcharge then you may need more than your credit limit.

7. Paying for a Wedding Dinner. Many restaurants do accept credit cards and some even AMEX (Imperial and Oriental groups plus most 5 Stars hotels). So it will be stupid to pay with cash if we can pay with a credit card. Having said this, if your parent(s) are paying for the dinner and they want to pay with cash, do not argue and insist you want to pay with your credit card but be grateful and thank your parents for the love they have for you. Never make your parents angry and let them do whatever that makes them happy as you also do not like to be told by others what you can or cannot do.

8. Paying for a Funeral. Funerals today are costly and using a credit card to pay for the expenses (including burial plot – but remember what I warned you about 0% Installment Plans) we can benefit from it BUT read your credit card’s TnC because some credit cards will earn you nothing or very little points for transactions related to funeral.

9. Paying for a Home. Today more and more developers are accepting credit card as a form of payment towards down payment or progressive payments. So instead of paying with cash, we should use our credit card IF they are not willing to give you discount for paying with cash. Please note if the developer imposes a surcharge for using credit card, once again like I mentioned in item 2 above, you must be able to determine both (1) how much you need to spend to earn 1 air mile and (2) 1 Air Mile is worth how much.

Click/tap on Page 3 to learn the different methods to make payments using the same credit card for amount higher than your Credit Limit.