5 Credit Card Travel Benefits You Get For Free

This is a guest post by Mike. He ranks and reviews travel credit cards on CreditCardForum, which is a site he started 4 years ago.

Rewards are not the only benefits you get with credit cards. Many of them include free travel perks, too. What follows are 5 of my favorite – and no matter where you live in the world – there is a good chance you will find cards in your country which offer these benefits.
 
1. Flight Delay Insurance

There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an airport, right? Well, if you paid for your flight using a credit card with flight delay insurance, then the experience might not be so bad. Why? Because the card issuer will pay for dining, refreshments, and even hotel accommodations if your flight is delayed long enough.

For example, on the no annual fee Maybankard 2 Platinum card, here’s how it works:

As you see, the benefits can start after your flight has been delayed by at least 4 hours. In the United States (where I live) this benefit is not as generous – usually, the minimum delay must be 6 or 12 hours.

2. Lost Luggage

If you paid for the flight using your credit card and your checked luggage is lost, then you might be able to get reimbursed for it. However, the way this policy works can vary greatly. Some (like the card mentioned above) will only pay for “emergency purchases of clothing and requisites” which are made within 4 days of the incident.

In the U.S. it’s usually structured a bit differently. For example, the benefit on the ThankYou Premier card from Citi will reimburse you for the lost items. When and how you spend that money is totally at your discretion.

3. Travel Accident Insurance

This benefit sounds generous when you first read about it because it typically offers up to $1,000,000 (or RM) in coverage. However, there are a lot of rules and exclusions with it.

First of all, it only covers you during eligible Common Carrier travel. If you’re not familiar with that term, you can read about it here.
 
So if your plane crashes and you die or lose an arm, leg, etc. then they might pay out the money (either to you or your beneficiary). But any travel accidents that are not related to your Common Carrier travel will not be covered. For example, if during the trip you fall down a flight of stairs at your hotel, that is not eligible.
 
Many regular and travel credit cards include this benefit. The chances that you will ever use it are quite slim, but in the event of a plane or train crash, it is assuring to know that you (or your family) may be compensated.

4. Airport Lounge Access

The private VIP airport lounges are a great place to relax while you are waiting for your flight. They offer comfortable seating, TV, internet, food, and even drinks.

Normally to get access to these airport lounges, you have to be flying first-class with an affiliated airline or be willing to pay for admission. However, some of the premium credit cards on the market provide access for free.

The most well-known cards that include this benefit are the American Express Platinum. I wrote a review here for the U.S. version and the Malaysian version operates in a very similar manner; free access to the Plaza Premium Lounge at LCCT, KLIA, and Senai Johor Airport. You can read about this benefit on the American Express Platinum website.

5. Travel Discount Programs

Many travel rewards credit cards will give you discounts at affiliated airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies.

For example, the Citibank Premier Miles Card (MY) will give you a 10% discount off the best available rate at any Fairmont Hotel/Resort in the world. If you are a golfer, you can get a discount on green fees; 50% off at 3 golf clubs in Malaysia, 30% offer at over 300 clubs worldwide. 

Meanwhile over in the US, the Citi ThankYou Premier card (which I mentioned in benefit #2) will give you a free companion airfare once per year and a 15% discount on all other airfare.

Conclusion?

Next time you are planning a vacation, check with your credit card company to see what kinds of benefits they provide. Since the above perks (and others) do not cost you anything extra, you might as well take advantage of them if you already have their card.

Why You Should Keep Your Credit Cards

Are you thinking of cancelling your credit cards for good? Before you do, consider the following:

1. Creditworthiness: The way you use your credit cards can be proof of your creditworthiness. When you pay promptly every month for the full amount that you have incurred, it is an indication that you are a responsible person who can be trusted to grant credit. The history of your credit card transactions will be a good reference when you apply for a car loan. You will be considered favorably and most likely your loan application will be approved without the need to get a guarantor. 

The most important thing for a young man is to establish credit - a reputation and character. ~John D. Rockefeller

2. Convenient: It is more convenient to use a credit card rather than cash because it is not safe to carry a large sum of money in your pocket. Moreover, every purchase by credit card is documented and you can dispute the transaction if you think it is not in order.

3. Great rewards: Recently, I have got a Timex watch from the bank. I have just redeemed the points accumulated over a period of time for every dollar charged to my card. When you pay cash you cannot get a free watch or any other valuable items.

4. Track your expenses: You can’t ask for a bill every time you buy something. However, there is always a slip when you charge it to your card. Your spending on your cards is an effective way to track and control your expenses.

5. Online transactions: You can’t get things done without a credit card. The other day I have just discovered that I have to pay by credit card online in order to process my son’s application for a student pass in Singapore. Not only that, you can’t do online purchases without a credit card.   

6. For needs only: There is one catch here to keep your credit cards. You have to be self-disciplined to spend on your needs only. For every dollar that you have charged, it is to be backed up by the same amount of cash in your bank and ready to pay at the end of the month. The other thing is to keep only two cards, One Visa and one MasterCard. When a transaction for one card is out of order, you still can use the other one. 

Self-respect is the root of discipline:  The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.  ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

7. No incentive when you pay by cash: You can’t pay less when you pay by cash. Credit card issuers offer savings in the form of rebates when you shop at certain grocery outlets and petrol stations.

The most important thing is not to incur credit card debt by getting what you want. Take advantage of your credit cards and use them wisely.

Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward. ~ Napoleon Hill 

10 Advantages of Credit Cards

Do you know that your credit cards are wonderful tools to save money, track your spending and you can enjoy many benefits? Here are the advantages:

1. Track your spending: Every month when you receive your statements, you should look at them as tools to track your spending because every single item that you have charged to the cards is listed. Study your spending pattern, trim unnecessary expenses, and allocate a budget for the future.

2. Interest-free credit: Everything that you have charged to your cards in the current month is on credit and you only need to pay for them in the following month. Practically you are given credit or incur debt without paying interest for one month. Buy now and pay later is the name of the game  

3. Safer than cash: You don’t have to carry a large sum of money, which is risky, to go for shopping. Just carry your credit cards with you. If you are robbed, just report the loss of your cards promptly to avoid personal liability.

4. Discount and redemption points: The wonderful benefits of paying by cards instead of cash are that you can either pay less (cashback card) or you can accumulate points for every dollar that you charge to your cards to redeem for goods of your choice (rewards card). 

5. Establish your creditworthiness: Using your credit cards and pay your monthly bills promptly is an effective way to establish your creditworthiness. When you use and keep a card long enough, say one year, you can easily apply and obtain more cards from other financial institutions.

6. Zero-interest installment plan: You can’t purchase a big-ticket item with cash and arrange to pay by installment without paying interest. You can only do it with your credit cards and spread the installment payments up to 36 months.

7. Online purchases: It is only possible by using your credit cards to do purchases as well as hotel bookings and car rental.

8. Emergency fund: When you run short of cash and you need the money urgently, use one of your credit cards to get a cash advance quickly and easily.

9. Travel coverage: When you charge the full fare of your airline tickets to your credit card, you get free travel insurance, lost baggage, and baggage delay insurance, and also reimbursement to cover immediate necessities for flight delay and missed connection. 

10. Extended Warranty: When you make a purchase with a credit card that offers a free extended warranty, you are covered with one additional year of warranty when the manufacturer’s warranty expires.

Credit cards are your good companion provided that you use them wisely. Pay the amount due promptly, fully, and spend within your means.

Credit Cards to Monitor Your Spending in 7 Steps

Credit Cards

Your credit cards are wonderful tools to track, monitor, and control your spending.
Here is how you can do it:

1. You only need to use two credit cards, say, Visa and MasterCard

2. Use one of them, say Visa, for standing orders with the card issuer to charge telephone bills, electricity and insurance premiums

3. Use another card, MasterCard, for charging the following expenses when you go shopping:

• groceries
• clothing
• other household items
• children’s expenses such as books and stationery
• entertainment
• other expenses incurred irregularly such as medical or dental expenses
• holiday
• petrol

4. Review the charges for the first card (Visa) by looking closely at the monthly statements to see major changes especially your utility bills. Look for power wastage and reduce consumption. Cut down unnecessary telephone calls and then allocate a budget for this card. You should also use this card for the purchase of big-ticket items by taking advantage of the zero-interest installment plan. The amount to spend on this card is quite fixed.

5. Look at the monthly statements of MasterCard to study the spending pattern in the total amount from month to month. It gives you an overview of your monthly expenditures in these areas. After that you check the amount you spent for each item, namely, groceries, clothing, other household items, children’s expenses, and others, Identify areas where you can trim expenses and allocate an amount for this card and spend as budgeted.

6. By checking the statements of the two cards you can monitor and control your monthly spending. You will be able to spot excesses in your spending against your budget and be alerted to act accordingly.

7. The last thing is to look into your cash expenses. You should also allocate an amount as your pocket money to cover other expenses that you cannot pay by credit cards. Such expenses should include tuition fees for the children and their monthly allowances.


Using your credit cards to track, monitor, and control your expenses is a breeze.

Simplify Your Life with Credit Cards - 5 Delightful Tips

Credit Cards

A credit card is a convenient device that saves you the trouble of counting your change.

EVAN ESAR, 20,000 Quips & Quotes

There are too many things to do every day. More than one-third of your time is tied up in the office. There is not much time left to attend to your personal things. However, you can simplify your life by taking advantage of your credit cards. Here are the top tips:


1. Carry no more than two credit cards: When one card cannot be accepted you still have another one on standby. However, too many cards mean checking too many statements and issuing too many cheques and too much monitoring to do. There is also a temptation to overspend. In the worst scenario, when your purse is missing you will have too many reports to make for your lost cards.

2. Use one card for your recurring payments: Arrange with your card issuer to pay for all your utility bills and insurance premiums and zero-interest installment payments in one card. When you automate your payments you don’t have to issue so many cheques and go to so many places to make payments. You issue just one cheque to meet all your monthly commitments. You save valuable time

3. Use the other card for other expenses: Use another card to pump petrol, shop for grocery, purchase books and stationery and charge for other expenses

4. Personal money management: From the two statements of the two cards you will get to know your monthly expenses. The records help you to manage and budget your earnings and expenditures. To settle all your expenses and commitments, you issue only two cheques from a current account (life is easier with only one account to keep track) with the allocated fund to meet charges for the two cards.

5. Filing: Keep a file or a folder to hold all your charge slips, electricity, and telephone bills, and the monthly credit card statements together with your bank statements. Keeping all the documents in one place will be easier for you to check and verify all your charges and balance your bank account.


Besides simplifying your life, each time you charge your card, you either pay less( cashback card) or you accumulate points to redeem for valuable items (rewards card).

Spending less time but managing your finance more efficiently and effectively means more quality time to spend with your children and more time to pursue your personal interests.

Have a simple and happy life!

Pay by Credit Cards to Reduce Your Expenses

Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship

                                                          (Benjamin Franklin)


I have a few credit cards and I take advantage of the cards to reduce my spending:


• EON Bank Visa: I have made arrangements with the bonk to charge all my insurance premium, monthly telephone bill, and mobile phone and electricity bills to this account. It is very inconvenient to pay so many bills all by yourself. The advantage of charging them to my credit card is that I get one point for each ringgit charged. With the accumulated points I can redeem for useful household items such as cookers, Thermos flasks, ovens, and wallets. You have to pay for these items normally. EON bank credit cards are not free for life. You have to charge 12 times on your classic card or 24 times on your gold card in a year in order to waive the annual fee. With the standing orders, I don't have to worry about the annual fee. I will keep this card.

• EON Bank MasterCard: I use the card to purchase big-ticket items like a mobile phone at 0% interest in installments up to 24 months with no extra charges for the purchase and it does not hurt my monthly budget. The monthly installments and other purchases will offset the annual fee. I will give up this card upon full payment of the monthly installments.


• Citibank Giant Visa: Every time I shop at Giant I get 2% rebate. I also get up to 1% rebate at other outlets. This card is only free for the first year. You don't get an instant discount. The rebate is in the form of Giant vouchers in the denomination of RM20/= each. I will surrender this card by end of the year to avoid the annual fee.

• CIMB Bank Petronas MasterCard: I get 2% discount every time I fill up at Petronas petrol station. On top of that, I get a 0.5% discount on all other purchases. This card is free for life and the discount is given at the end of the month. You only need to pay for the discounted amount. I will keep this card.


By year-end I will maintain only two cards; EON Visa for the insurance premium and utility bills and CIMB Petronas MasterCard for petrol and other essential expenses.

In order to really enjoy the reduction in your spending, you need to set aside an amount every month so as to make payment promptly to avoid late charges and finance charges. The other point is that you must be disciplined enough not to use the cards to spend on other non-essential items. Buy the things you need and not the things that you want.

The best credit card to keep is the CIMB Bank Petronas MasterCard. It is free for life and there are no conditions attached to it. You get an instant cash rebate and you pay only the net amount monthly.

Citibank-Giant credit card. for Extra Happiness

Citibank-Giant credit card

The credit card war among the banks has developed into a dog-eat-dog situation. The banks are all out to grab a piece of the lucrative card business. Citibank is without exception.

Recently I applied for their  The good thing about this card is that you get a 2% rebate on all your purchases at Giant. Not only that, from time to time Giant offers many items for further discount to cardholders on top of the 2% discount.
In addition, you will get an RM50/= voucher when you apply online or by SMS. Furthermore, for non-Giant products and services (except for fuel and petrol) you also get a 0.5% rebate. However, the rebates are in the form of vouchers in the denomination of RM20/= and you will get them only after six months from the successful credit card approval date. The rebate is subject to a maximum of RM600/- per year.

This card is not free for life. When you receive the card please read the fine print. You have to use your new Citibank-Giant credit card at least 3 times within 45 days in order to enjoy your first-year annual fee waiver offer.

The other day I got a good deal at Giant, I bought some moon cakes at a 25% discount and I received 1 moon cake free for every 4 that I purchased. And because I used the Citibank -Giant credit card to pay I got another 10% discount on top of the normal 2% rebate. It was real happiness for me.

This card is worthwhile to acquire, at least for the first year, to purchase essential items and stretch your ringgit further.

CIMB PETRONAS MasterCard Brings Happiness

I have mentioned in my previous article, CIMB-PETRONAS MasterCard for Fuel Savings, the advantages of using the CIMB PETRONAS MasterCard. Now the card is bringing more cheers to us. During their promotion from September 18, 2008, to November 17, 2008, you will get a 3% rebate instead of the normal 2%. On top of that, you stand a chance to win 888 monthly prizes including 1 monthly grand prize of free petrol for 3 years.

From my personal experience of using the card, the discount is given in the monthly statement and you only pay the discounted amount. When you make other purchases you do get a 0.5 % discount and it is also reflected in the bill. So your monthly payment is the net amount after discount

Unlike other cards that give you a discount that sucks. You do get rebates but you still pay the full amount. You have to meet their terms and conditions in order to redeem the discount.

CIMB PETRONAS MasterCard is different…truly different (Senheng's tag line). With the recent reduction in petrol prices and the Mesra points that I can earn from pumping petrol, it is really triple happiness.

Credit Cards - 6 Ways to Use and Save

To me, credit cards are useful financial tools to employ for maximum savings. This is how I do it:

1. I keep only those cards that are free for life. For each free card, I keep I can save RM200 to RM300 on annual fees.

2, I use one of my cards for the payments of monthly insurance premiums and utility bills such as electricity and telephone. For the monthly amount charged to the card, I can collect valuable points. I redeem the point for useful household appliances like cooker, Thermos flask, oven, and vouchers to shop at Popular, my favourite book store.

3. I use my CIMB Petronas card to pump petrol and receive the 2% cash discount.

4, I use another card for all other purchases to get cash rebates.

5. Recently I used one of my cards to buy a PC in installments with zero percent interest. I spread the installments over 12 months. My cash flow is not affected. I don’t incur interest and on top of that, I collect valuable points.

6. This is very important. I use the cards only to take advantage of savings. I’ll not buy anything unnecessary with my cards. I pay my credit card bills promptly and fully. Otherwise, the interest charged will be more than my savings.

CIMB-PETRONAS MasterCard for Fuel Savings

Now that the petrol cost has gone up to RM2.70 from RM1.92 per litre, you should acquire the Cimb-Petronas Mastercard. It gives you instant rebates of 2% in your statement for all your petrol charges at Petronas stations. This will allow you to stretch your ringgit further. The other thing is that Petronas stations are quite easy to locate in Malaysia.

In addition, you also get cash rebates for 0.5% for other purchases. It is better than accumulating points to redeem for something you don’t need or getting your points forfeited after a while. Again this card is also free for life.

I use my cards to take advantage of savings and not to build up debts. I pay every

credit card statement promptly and fully every month. So use your cards to reduce expenses and not to incur interest.

Petrol Price History RON 95:

12/05/2009   RM 1.75
  1/09/2009   RM 1.80
16/07/2010   RM 1.85
  1/12/2010   RM 1.90
  3/09/2013   RM 2.10
  2/10/2014   RM 2.30
  1/12/2014   RM 2.26
  1/01/2015   RM 1.91
  1/02/2015   RM 1.70
  1/03/2015   RM 1.95
  1/06/2015   RM 2.05
  1/07/2015   RM 2.15
  1/08/2015   RM 2.05

Go to http://blog.galvintan.com/malaysian-fuel-price-history/ to see prices before 12/5/2009

Shop at Carrefour with UOB card

Carrefour

Carrefour opened its door in Kuantan recently. I was among the first customers who patronized the outlet when it opened. When I was there I was approached by a UOB representative to apply for their card. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that the card had a host of benefits for cardholders while shopping at Carrefour. Here’s how you can stretch your ringgit further at Carrefour with your UOB card:

*Buy their offer items at much lower than normal prices from time to time as advertised in newspapers and flyers.
*Buy their house brand goods at lower prices than other brands.
*Pay at the counter with your UOB card to get 4% cash rebates.
*At the same time swipe your Mesra card to accumulate points for redemption of merchandise.
*You can also use the UOB card to get cash rebates at many outlets such as BHPetrol, GSC, and Sushi King. In addition, you can get cash rebates by paying your utility bill via UOB PayOnline. The best part is that the card is free.

I have just received my UOB platinum card. See you at Carrefour.

Use your Credit Cards Wisely

How to Use Your Credit Card Wisely

There is a saying, "Credit card is for convenience and not for credit." So, take the following precautionary measures:

 1. Every time you use your card make sure that you have sufficient funds to meet the payment at the end of the month.

2. Do not exceed your credit limit. 

3.When you notice any unauthorized transactions in your statement, inform the bank promptly. 

4, Pay your monthly statement before the due date. 

5. When you make major purchases by monthly instalments ensure that the amount is within your monthly budget.

 6. When you are unable to make payment in full you must settle the monthly interest fully and also nothing less than the minimum amount. 

7. Notify the bank when you change your address. Ask for a copy of the monthly statement when you don't receive it. Otherwise, you will end up paying interest for late payment.

Image source: https://lucky-bella.com/tag/best-credit-cards/

Safeguard Your Credit Cards

Safeguard Your Credit Cards

Take note of the following points to protect your cards from fraudulent uses:

1. Sign your name on the reverse of the card as soon as you receive your new card.
2. Do not disclose your 16 digits number and the 3 digits security number to anyone.
3. Keep copies of your charge slips and use them to check the monthly statement.
4. Whenever you go overseas inform the bank and provide a contact number.
5. Arrange with your bank to increase the credit limit for your trips abroad.
6. Inform the bank in the first instance when your card is lost.

Image source: http://www.businesshubgroup.com/how-do-you-protect-your-credit-cards-from-cyber-crime