Virtual Card versus Virtual One-Time Use Card
Nowadays more and more card issuers are issuing Virtual Cards but you must differentiate between – (1) Virtual Card and One Time Use Virtual Card and (2) Virtual Credit Card versus Virtual Debit/Prepaid Card.
In respect to the above, Virtual Cards are like Big Pay, TnG eWallet, and GX Bank where you do need a physical card but use the virtual cards for online transactions. And these said cards are Debit/Prepaid Cards which means it is not a one time use card; therefore you are still subjected to fraudulent transactions where someone may use your Virtual Card Account! So as far as security is concerned, Virtual Card is no difference from a physical card unless you can FREEZE the virtual card when you are not transacting with it (example Big Pay but the best is TnG eWallet which has many options on types of transaction).
Having said the above, nowadays some banks’ App can also freeze their credit cards on demand.
Another very important thing about Virtual Debi/Prepaid Card is that once a transaction has been done, the amount will be immediately debited from your account! Therefore if your virtual card was use for a fraudulent transaction, you will have some headaches.
I have reiterated over and over again, never use a Debit Card, actually do not even activate you Savings Account Debit Card if you know what is good for you (maybe only activate one Saving Account Debit Card for emergency withdrawal from ATM). Therefore I do not understand why the heck anyone wants a GX Bank or Wise Virtual Debit/Prepaid Card if they have a Credit Card? Actually I do, it is because of greed where they think they can save a few Ringgit that will make no difference to their lives in the long run.
On the other hand, if a fraudulent transaction was to occur with your credit card, no money is deducted from your Savings Account and you will have adequate time to dispute the amount/transaction.
Having said the above, I have also warned that Credit Limit is a liability. If you do not need a high credit limit (especially for Cash Back credit cards), reduce it. For example, why the heck you need RM30K Credit Limit for your Maybank Ikhwan Platinum-i where the most you need is RM3K (so that you have credit limit available before you settle in full prior to the Due Date). Another example is people having high credit limit for useless credit cards that earns them close to nothing (e.g. HSBC, OCBC and since December 2023 even the Maybank AMEX Reserve for Local Spending).
The Best Virtual One-Time Use Credit Card in Malaysia
The best Virtual Credit Card in Malaysia is the Alliance Virtual Credit Card.
As far as standard feature card benefits are concerned, the Alliance Virtual Credit Card has the exact same benefits as the Alliance Platinum Visa. Click here to learn more about Alliance Bank Credit Card.
The actual real benefit of the Alliance Virtual Credit Card are:
- It is a Credit Card and therefore you have ample time to dispute fraudulent transactions and no money will be deducted from your Savings Account immediately.
- You can use the Alliance Virtual Credit Card to earn 8X Timeless Bonus Points to top up eWallets PLUS for Online Transactions.
- You can convert the Alliance Timeless Bonus Points earned with the Alliance Virtual Card to Enrich Points.
- And most important of all is you can create many Virtual Credit Cards with different concitions/criteria!!!
In respect to item 4 above, you can create more than 1 Virtual Credit Card at your Alliance App and set the (1) Limit, (2) for One-Time Use, (3) Expiry Date for multiple uses and (4) you can delete the virtual card.
Below paragraph is copied from Google AI:
A virtual one-time use card is a digital card that can be used for a single online transaction and is then automatically deactivated. This feature provides increased security by preventing the card details from being exposed for recurring payments or other potential fraud. Source: Google.
I tell you, Alliance Virtual Credit Card is the best in Malaysia for security purposes!
However, you may not want a One-Time Use only if there is a verification involved especially if you are ADDING CARD to an account. In this instance, the Expiry Date of the card is freaking useful. You can set the expiry for next month or few years down the line and if you do not need the card DELETE IT!
Where To Use The Alliance Bank Virtual Credit Card?
Like I mentioned above, you can set the Expiry Date and set the Amount for many Virtual Credit Cards at the Alliance App. This is super handy for:
- When signing up for FREE Trials where they ask for your credit card. And if you forget to unsubscribe before the trial ends, you will be imposed the subscription fee! So by using an Alliance Bank Virtual Credit Card, you can set the Expiry Date or Delete the card upon successfully subscribing to the Free Trial.
- Automatic Renewals, e.g. Antivirus. For my case, I use both McAfee and Norton but they will charge my credit card months before the subscriptions expire. Moreover, usually I can get the same product cheaper at Lazada or Shopee than purchasing the Antivirus from Norton or McAfee directly. (Please note that there are many antivirus sellers who will give you codes but you will not be Admin and therefore you have no control…. so never purchase from sellers who give you activation codes directly. Best always purchase from Official Stores).
- Set the card to Expire this month or next month and no worries if you forgotten about the card as it will be useless soon.
- Our credit card data are recorded at the Merchant site for years and you all know that it is very common that websites are hacked and info stolen. One Bro told me he googled and found his name and Maybank credit card 16 numbers…. and he immediately called Maybank to terminate the card! So by using the Alliance Virtual Card, we have full control of the card where we can even set it to One-Time Use or set the amount to control the damage.
- I would reckon that – if you are purchasing a one off item from a specific merchant, the one-time use virtual card is the best option as far as security is concerned.
Where you would not use the Alliance Virtual Credit Card?
Well, like I mentioned the Alliance Timeless Bonus Points can be converted to Enrich Points. However, My Air Miles Disciples and I know that Enrich Points are kind of useless and most of my readers know tha Malaysia Airlines is only good for certain destinations or if you want to fly direct to a certain destination.
For example, with Enrich Points we may be able to redeem Business Class Saver for one-way and/or return but both must depart from KLIA. It is very unlikely that one can get Business Saver departing from LHR or MEL or SYD.
Singapore Airlines on the other hand, we can get the exact same KrisFlyer Miles to redeem one way Business Class departing from KUL or LRH or MEL and even North America.
So for big amount, say more than RM200, and where AMEX is welcomed, the Maybank KrisFlyer AMEX Platinum would make more sense than using the Alliance Virtual Card simply because we earn 1 KrisFlyer Mile for every RM2 spent for online transactions which is way better than Enrich Points!
However if you have Super Premier credit cards where your annual income is about RM200K or more, you will definitely earn more air miles compared to the Maybank Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer AMEX Platinum or Alliance Bank creditcards.
Previously I did publish an article on KrisFlyer versus Enrich in 2024 – click here to read it. However, since this said article was published in 2024, there have been some changes. So I guess I will produce a new article soon on KrisFlyer versus Enrich versus Asia Miles. So check http://www.GenXGenYGenZ.com daily and you are sure to benefit from ALL my articles sooner or later; but if you DO NOT read ALL my articles maybe you will regret later in your life on what I have already warned you.
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