An article by http://www.GenXGenYGenZ.com
INTRODUCTION
Please note this article was published in 2015 and Enrich has since inflated their redemption program, i.e. we need more Enrich Miles in 2018 compared to 2015 to redeem a Business Class ticket.
Previously, in my Comprehensive Tutorial on The Best Credit Cards to Earn FREE Frequent Flyer Miles, I showed you the quickest way to get a “FREE” Business Class ticket to Europe from your credit cards transactions. And within 2 years of owning the right credit cards, you can fly to Europe for “FREE” with just RM1,668 spending a month! And in this said tutorial, I have also proven to you that it may not be worthwhile to redeem for a Economy Class ticket because you will get better returns by redeeming cash vouchers (example AEON Cash Vouchers).
In the above mentioned comprehensive tutorial, I also taught you that by using 127,500 Enrich Miles earned from the wonderful Maybank 2 Cards Premier (AMEX Reserve and Visa Infinite), one can save RM12,780 for a return Business Class ticket KL/London. And in order to earn 127,500 Enrich Miles, one has to spend RM121,635 with the AMEX Reserve (locally or overseas) OR Visa Infinite (overseas only). Therefore, the savings of RM12,780 is like getting an equivalent “cash back” of 10.50% One still has to pay RM2,374.90 in taxes for the “FREE” return Business Class ticket KL/London BUT it is still much cheaper than buying a return Economy Class ticket priced at RM4,287 (inclusive of taxes)!
Now, some of you may say that – I am not going to redeem my Treats Points for Enrich Miles but instead go for FREE cash vouchers and go buy an Economy Class ticket KL to London. Well, I am going to show you that this may NOT be a smart move, i.e. buying a return Economy Class ticket outright KL to London instead of using your Treats Points to redeem a return Business Class ticket KL to London.
In my previous example in my Comprehensive Tutorial on The Best Credit Cards to Earn FREE Frequent Flyer Miles:
a. Economy Class Ticket KL to London will cost RM4,287 inclusive of taxes.
b. By spending RM121,635 with the AMEX Reserve and converting the Treats Points earned to 127,500 Enrich Miles to redeem for a return Business Class ticket KL/London, one only needs to pay RM2,374.90 in taxes.
c. Total savings between buying Economy Class ticket (RM4,287) – Taxes for FREE Business Class ticket (RM2,374.90) = RM1,912.10.
d. So you are actually saving money by redeeming for the return Business Class ticket KL/London. And the cash back equivalent is 1.57% (RM1,912.10/RM121,635) which is better than redeeming cash vouchers earning you 1.25% (400TP = RM1 effective 1st May 2015 with the AMEX Reserve 5X TP).
Now, for some reason, not everyone wants to fly Business Class for FREE. And you have been shown examples previously that it may not be worthwhile to convert Treats Points earned from our Maybank credit cards to Enrich Miles in order to redeem a “FREE” Economy Class ticket; because, you may end up earning less in returns compared to redeeming cash vouchers where you will get 1.25% (400TP = RM1) cash back equivalent (for 5X TP).
And if it is not worthwhile for us to convert our Maybank Credit Cards’ Treats Points to Enrich Miles to redeem an Economy Class ticket, what is there to say about other credit cards from different issuers which give us much less in returns every time we use their cards to pay for essential stuff/expenses.
So if you do not want to fly business class, the other options you have to utilize your Treats Points are to redeem for selected stuff from the reward catalogue (e.g. smartphone, Coffee Maker, etc) or cash vouchers. Now, if you are using your credit card reward points to offset your credit card’s annual fee, you must be new to my blog…. Go lah beg for annual fee waiver or get a card that is FREE FOR LIFE (for example Maybankard 2 Cards which was Ranked No.2 in my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card in Malaysia!
But what if you are like me? I am not into redeeming goods because I am contented with what I have in my home (more like no more place to store new stuff) – flat screen tvs, refrigerators, air-conditioners, a microwave, two ovens, 2 Nescafe Dolce Coffee Makers (don’t even know where they are), a Philips Air Fryer, 2 bread makers, my wife’s tons of cooking utensils/cookware/dinnerware (AMC, Corelle, CorningWare, Pyrex and other unheard of brands from Cosway and direct selling agents), 8 units of PCs/notebooks in working condition, more than 10 tablets (iPads and Androids), tons of mobile phones, gaming consoles (XBox, Wii and PS), over flowing wardrobes with the girls’ shoes and clothes, tons of children’s toys in the storeroom, more than 5 guitars, etc, etc, etc.
As for redeeming a quartz watch, don’t waste your time as the watch won’t last forever. We only need one or two automatic watches (no need batteries for life; thus saving you the hassle of going to get a new battery every year or so). All you need is a Rolex plus a day to day entry level automatic watch (e.g. from Tissot or Oris). With a Rolex, we can get good money for it anywhere on earth, and it will still be ticking after we die.
As for redeeming cash vouchers for dining, clothing, electronic/electrical equipment and supermarkets or departmental stores, you should use your credit cards instead of cash vouchers to earn more Reward Points, hahaha.
So the question is – what is there to redeem if we are not into Business Class tickets or non-essential stuff for our daily survival or cash vouchers (which have expiry dates)? But we love money and would like to preserve our wealth for our future generations 🙂
In order to answer the question above so that is makes sense to you, I have decided to tell you a story. And the story is pretty long, as expected since the author has a reputation for producing freaking long winded articles, so much so it can be classified as a Fiction Novel and I think it would be a best seller soon.
Without further ado, I present to you my latest Fiction Novel (eBook) produced from my sick imagination:
THE ART OF DECEIVING AND SURVIVAL
Prologue:
It is the year 2015, where the government of Malaysia introduced 6% GST. As a result, the Rakyat has little choice but to once again adjust their lifestyle so that they spend within their means. Young people (GenY) who have been spoon fed and pampered all their life by their parents find it hard to stay afloat with their salaries which have not been adjusted accordingly with inflation for the last 2 decades, particularly those who just entered the work force. Many GenYs are in debt as they think 0% Instalment Plans are FREE Money and not treated as liabilities. As such, many young people still depend on their parents for survival when it comes to purchasing big ticket items (i.e. down payment for car and house) where they cannot go with the option of 0% instalment plans with their credit cards.
As for retirees who have ownership of their own homes, and in particular a double storey terrace house, in any of the cities in Malaysia, can most likely be classified as being among the wealthiest 10% of human beings on planet earth. However, many of them are still finding it very difficult to cope with the high cost of living (now even worst off with 6% GST) and their savings are slowly being depleted (e.g. money in FD). Most old people are not willing to enter old folks homes but instead prefer that their loving child/children take care of them in their own homes where they intend to die.
With the above in mind, let’s move on to Chapter I…….
