This article is for my long time die hard followers.

Introduction

Many people who have yet to read this blog will foolishly think that by holding an International Bank’s credit card, they will have recognition and the card will be better in terms of acceptance; but the fact is merchants do not care what credit cards we hold al long as the transaction can be approved and that includes any Debit Card or Prepaid Cards.

Worst are people who stupidly hold a Premier Credit Card or Platinum Credit Card to show off but in actual fact nobody cares also except they shiok sendiri – I know because I have 3 Metal Credit Cards plus 3 Premier/Privilege Banking credit cards to shiok sendiri hahaha.

If you are a long time die hard follower of mine, you will know that for years I have been telling everyone that – one must select the right credit cards to hold based on their spending pattern AND Entry Level Credit Cards can be more superior than Premier Credit Cards.

And many Entry Level Credit Cards are FREE FOR LIFE – FREE Is The Best!

The reason why I am drafting this article is because this morning my uncle told me that he still using the useless Maybank 2 Cards Premier and wants to apply for the equally useless Maybank World Elite MasterCard! And he told me that he has been using his CIMB Travel World Elite for overseas spending; so I had to once again remind him that his CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard is useless too as he will be earning less air miles compared to his UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite for Overseas spending.

In respect to the above paragraph, when I mentioned “useless”, what I mean is earning FREE Air Miles from our transactions either from local or overseas spending. However some people may find the Maybank World Elite MasterCard or CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard to be good for entering Plaza Premium First or for Golfing (which my uncle does not need this benefits as he gets to enter Plaza Premium First and airport lounges all over the world with his Priority Pass issued with his AMEX Platinum Charge Card and he only plays at 2 golf clubs which he gets to play for FREE without needing any card!).

If you noted from the image of this article, the Premier Cards shown were Maybank World Elite MasteCard, Maybank Mercedes Benz Visa Infinite, CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard, OCBC Premier Voyage, HSBC Premier World MasterCard and Public Bank Visa Infinite. The reason why I chose these said cards is because they are really freaking useless as far as earning Air Miles are concerned from Local Spending. I understand, not everyone wants to fly First Class or Business Class for FREE…….. but heck I am sure their parent or child or spouse would not mind a FREE First Class or Business Class ticket, hahaha.

I will first touch on Premier Credit Cards and then Entry Level Credit Cards where annual income required is RM40K p.a. or less.

Maybank World Elite MasterCard

From the above image, you can observe that one needs annual income of RM190K to be eligible for the Maybank World Elite MasterCard. So, I would call this a Super Premier Credit Card since the annual income requirement is close to RM200K per year.

The good news is – (1) the first year annual fee is waived and (2) you get 16X FREE access to Plaza Premium First or Plaza Premium Lounge or Travel Club. The bad news is not every single airport on earth you will get to enter a lounge for FREE! What’s the point of holding a Super Premier Card when you can’t enter an airport lounge anywhere on earth for FREE?

Actually, previously I already did a quick review on the Maybank World Elite MasterCard back in October 2024, click here to read the Quick Review.

After reading the above, I guess you can go apply for the Maybank World Elite MasterCard to add to your metal credit card collection and terminate it after the first year, of course you should not be spending a sen with the card too unless you want the hassle to redeem the Treats Points before you terminate the card, hahaha.

And if anyone tells you the 16X FREE Access to Plaza Premium First, Plaza Premium Lounge and Travel Club is good, I guess we can agree for the first year only because one would be a fool spending 80K with the card to have the subsequent annual fee waived and earning less air miles!!!

However, the Maybank World Elite MasterCard does offer Complimentary Green Fees at over 100 golf clubs around the world.

Maybank Mercedes Benz Visa Infinite

Back in June 2024 I also did a Quick Review of the Maybank Mercedes Benz Visa Infinite showing you how useless the card is! The only reason why anyone is smart enough to hold the Maybank MB VI are – (1) they own a Mercedes Benz and can save some money on spare parts or (2) he/she wants a metal card to shiok sendiri for 2 years, hahaha.

Click here to read my review of the Maybank Mercedes Benz Visa Infinite.

And the Maybank MB VI also offers Complimentary Green Fees at golf clubs around the world.

Conclusion for the Maybank Premier Cards – initially apply for the Maybank World Elite MasterCard to enjoy first year annual fee waiver and before you terminate he card before the anniversary date make sure you apply for the the Maybank MB VI which offers 2 years annual fee waiver OR vice-versa. What this means is you will get total 3 years FREE Lounge Access and FREE Green Fees at Golf Clubs, hahaha. But do not spend a sen with these said cards (unless you need to get MB spare parts) as you will be earning less air miles compared to other credit cards!!!

CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard

Firstly, if you observe the image above, the minimum annual income for the CIMB Travel World Elite is RM250K, which under my definition it would fall under the Super Premier Credit Card category.

Secondly, you need to pay annual fee of RM1215 for the first year! However, the subsequent annual fees are waived in full on condition you spend RM240K prior to the card anniversary.

Well, back in July last year I published an article on the CIMB TWE for those who have access to the password and I mentioned that when the CIMB TWE was first launched, it was a fantastic credit card as we earned 10X Bonus Points for Local Transactions too; but this is now history.

Furthermore, CIMB has inflated their air miles redemption since the TWE was launched. In Page 2 of my article titled Must Have FREE FOR LIFE CIMB Credit Cards (click here to read it), I showed the latest air miles redemption rates for CIMB Credit Cards.

Basically, the air miles redemption rates are as follows:

• 62,500 CIMB Bonus Points to redeem for 5K Enrich Points.

• 75K CIMB Bonus Points to redeem for 5K KrisFlyer Miles or Asia Miles or Emirates Skywards and etc.

What the above means is that one will earn 1 Enrich Point for every RM6.25 spend locally!!! Wait, it gets worst, in my article Must Have FREE FOR LIFE CIMB Credit Cards (click here to read it), I also warned you on the TnC for all CIMB Reward credit cards and one would be a fool using a CIMB Reward Credit Card to pay for Insurance via auto-Debit and Pump Petrol!

As for the 10X Bonus Points for Overseas Spending and/or Airlines, what this means is one will earn 1 Enrich Mile for every RM1.25 spend and 1 Kris Flyer Mile/Emirates Skywards for RM1.50 spend.

For those who do not have UOB Privilege Banking Credit Card(s), we earn more mile per RM1 spent overseas compared to the CIMB Travel World Elite. No point I elaborate further as not everyone reading this article has UOB Privilege Banking status BUT if you have, you better go read up on the benefits of UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite (Metal and Non-Metal).

As for the 10X Bonus Points for Airlines, for flights departing from Malaysia where we pay for the tickets in Ringgit Malaysia, then this may be very good. However, please note that it is stated in CIMB TnC that “Airlines” refers to retail spending transaction(s) made under merchant category code (MCC) 3000 to 3350 and 4511″. I get a headache when the TnC states MCC Codes, how the hell I know a merchant’s MCC Code!!!

However I did not see any FREE Green Fees for Golf Clubs with the CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard BUT I noted it mentioned that – No additional 1% bank admin fee on currency exchange and save on your overseas spend. Not applicable to Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).

If you are a long time die hard follower, you will know that UOB and Maybank VI do impose kind of higher overseas fees compared to a MasterCard!!! Too bad I have terminated my CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard else I can do a comparison on overseas transactions. Maybe I should ask my uncle to use both his CIMB Travel World Elite and UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite on the same day overseas to compare the FX rates.

Conclusion on CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard – yes I understand most people want convenience and the CIMB Travel World Elite is a pretty good card for overseas spending (not the best) especially if one is into Enrich Points. As for the 10X Bonus Points for Airlines, yes the CIMB Travel World Elite MasterCard looks like a good option if and only if we are purchasing for tickets departing from Malaysia where then we should be paying in Ringgit Malaysia by default.

Click here to Page 2 for the next 3 Premier Credit Cards Reviewed