OCBC World MasterCard

I received a letter from OCBC a few days back, explaining on the reasons why they are making changes on the OCBC Titanium Card. I was quite surprised to receive this letter from OCBC as there was no paper notification on the changes previously.

I'm quite agree with what was mentioned in the opening. Credit Cards offered in Malaysia have several common characteristics:

1. Big rebate % but only limited to 2 - 3 specific categories e.g. Petrol, Groceries and Utilities. On other spend, the rebates and rewards are typically much lower than 1%.
2. Rebates earned are usually capped at RM 30 - RM 50 per month.
3. Rebates are applicable only at specific merchants or only on specific days.
4. Rebates are only awarded upon a minimum spend or number of swipes.

According to OCBC, these are the reasons why they offer the 1% rebate with absolutely no cap on OCBC Titanium Card. Based on Mastercard's Processed Data for the past 12 months, OCBC analyzed and concluded that Malaysians charge 75% on everything else while only 25% on Petrol, Utilities, Groceries and Restaurants.

In the end of the letter, OCBC also offers current Titanium Cardholders an option to upgrade to OCBC World MasterCard. First year annual fee will be waived and RM 50 rebate will be given if you choose to upgrade. The promotion is valid until 31st January 2014.

The main features of OCBC World MasterCard are as below:

1. 1.2% rebate on all retail spend with no cap, no minimum swipes and spend.
2. Free personal accident insurance coverage (up to RM 2 million) when you charge your full airfare to your World MasterCard.
3. 2X free access per calendar year to the KLIA Plaza Premium Lounge.

I would recommend current Titanium Cardholders to upgrade and enjoy 1.2% rebate. Cardholders should then consider whether to continue holding the card or not before reaching one year. This is because the annual fee for subsequent year is RM 388 per annum, which is very high.

OCBC Titanium Card Features Revision

OCBC had recently made an important announcement to revise its Credit Card features. The revision will be effective beginning from 29th November 2013.  There will be no more 5% rebate on dining, groceries, utility bills and petrol for OCBC Titanium Card.

Instead, OCBC Titanium Card holders can get 1% rebate on total retail spending with no limit. Besides, OCBC Titanium Card will be free for life and thus no more minimum 12 swipes per year requirement for annual fee waiver.

This is really a bad news to all OCBC Titanium Card holders especially those who just got approved. While continue getting 5% rebate until 28th November 2013, many of us will wonder which cards could be the replacement for OCBC Titanium Card?

My suggestion is to get Maybankard Dual, UOB One Card or Hong Leong Wise Credit Card depend on your spending pattern. Of course, we do hope that there will be another new card to be launched by other banks with similar features like the current OCBC Titanium Card.

OCBC Titanium Card

As posted earlier, Maybankard 2 AMEX offers highest cash rebates during weekends. You might want to ask what about spending on weekdays? Which card could give the highest rebates? The answer is OCBC Titanium Card. It is another card that you should keep in your wallet to complement Maybankard 2.

 

Update 13/3/13: OCBC Titanium has changed to a new look recently. New features on travel are introduced as well!

 

 

The Features

1.  Zero annual fees with 12x swipes per year.
2. Annual Usage Bonus to offset GST with spending of RM10,000 per year.
3. 5% rebate on dining (all shops with merchant category code of dining).
4. 5% rebate on groceries (all hypermarkets such as Tesco, Carrefour, Giant).
5. 5% rebate on utility bills (TNB, Telekom, Maxis, Digi, Celcom, Indah Water).
6. 5% rebate on petrol (all petrol stations).
7. 1% rebate on everything else (e.g. air tickets, spending on deparmental stores).
8. 33% cash back on interest paid.
9. Complimentary access to KLIA Plaza Premium Lounge. (NEW!)
10. Complimentary travel inconvenience benefit (NEW!)
11. 24-hour concierge (NEW!)

Minimum Requirement

Malaysians with a minimum annual income of RM36,000


Update 25/3/13:

Apply online now to enjoy RM 50 rebate with 3 times swipe in 45 days and enjoy another RM 30 rebate with 1 online bill payment. The RM 30 online bill payment promotion is valid until 30th June 2013, by invitation only and on a first come first served basis. OCBC Bank allocates a maximum of RM 150000 only to be given away as rebates in the campaign.

New customers who receive SMS from OCBC to invite customers to register for online banking and make 1 bill payment with OCBC online banking will be eligible for the rebate, subject to the availability of the rebate fund. Rebate will be credited within 8 to 10 weeks from the end of the campaign period. Click here to apply OCBC Titanium Card online!