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Frequent Travellers? Here Are 6 Credit Cards That Gives You Better Air Miles

BY Nisya Aziz

Updated 19 Oct 2018




There are many credit cards available in the market, but it can be difficult to determine which one fits your needs and offer more than just a marketing gimmick. To help you frequent travellers out there, we’ve done some research and narrowed them down to a more comprehensive list.

Below are Loanstreet’s top picks for best travel credit cards (in no particular order) that offer great air miles and travel insurance coverage.

 

What's covered in this article?


1. Citibank PremierMiles Visa Signature

Do you fancy the jet-setting lifestyle like the crazy rich Asians? Then, this card is for you! Citibank PremierMiles Visa Signature lets you earn double premiermiles that NEVER EXPIRE, on overseas and selected online travel merchants i.e. AirAsia, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Air, Agoda, Airbnb, Expedia and Traveloka.

You can use these miles to redeem complimentary flights at over 90 airlines - Enrich Miles, Asia Miles, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Garuda, Singapore Airlines, KrisFlyer and Qatar Airways, just to name a few. Not only that. If you have enough PremierMiles, you can use them to pay off your annual fee.

As for travelling benefits, you will have unlimited complimentary access to a lounge while waiting for your flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA1), Penang International Airport, Kuching International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport. All you have to do is to just present your card. You will also get a complimentary ride home from KLIA1 when you spend overseas.

Another great thing about Citibank PremierMiles Visa Signature is that it also offers travel inconvenience coverage for flight delay, missed flight connection, baggage delay/loss/damage, trip cancellation and personal accident (when overseas).
 

Annual Fee: RM600

Min. income to apply: RM100,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.


 

2. Maybank 2 Cards Premier

One of the best credit cards to earn air miles in Malaysia,  you will get two credit cards that share the same statement – Maybank Reserve American Express Card and Maybank Visa Infinite (complimentary card).

Every time you spend locally and overseas, you will get Treatspoints that can be redeemed for Enrich Miles, KrisFlyer Miles and Asia Miles. You will be rewarded with 10,000 TreatsPoints when you activate the Maybank 2 Cards Premier. These points you accumulate is valid for 3 years.

Similar to Citibank PremierMiles Visa Signature, you also get to enjoy complimentary access at the participating Plaza Premium Lounge worldwide with the Visa Infinite card. However, this privilege is only limited to 5 times a year.

Besides that, Maybank 2 Cards Premier comes with travel insurance coverage up to RM 2,000,000 (for accidental death and disablement), as well as travel inconvenience coverage for missed connections, luggage delay and luggage loss - when you charge your travel fares to your card.
 

Annual Fee: RM800 (Free for the first year. Subsequent years free if you spend a minimum of RM 50,000 per annum)

Min. income to apply: RM120,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.

 

3. CIMB Enrich World Mastercard

Designed to cater for someone who travels frequently with Malaysian Airlines (MAS), the CIMB Enrich World MasterCard lets you earn reward points for a varied list of expenses. You’ll get to earn 1 Bonus Mile for every RM1.50 spent overseas and Bonus Mile for every RM3.00 spent locally.

As part of the partnership with MAS, you get to enjoy access up to 8 times a year to Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge at home and abroad. The MAS Golden Lounge vouchers will be delivered to you within 6 weeks after your card anniversary month. On top of that, you’ll also get a dedicated 24-hour Personal Concierge Services at your request.

Additionally, you’ll automatically get up to RM1,000,000 travel insurance coverage FOR FREE when you charge the full fare of your airline tickets to your card. The travel insurance coverage includes travel inconveniences such as lost baggage or flight delays.

Another benefit of being a CIMB Enrich World MasterCard cardholder is that you’ll be the first to know the best deals as you will enjoy priority booking 4 hours before selected MAS flight and travel offers are released to the public.
 

Annual Fee: RM 554.72 (100% annual fee waived if you spend RM 500,000 and above per annum)

Min. income to apply: RM100,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.


 

4. Hong Leong Visa Infinite

Apart from not charging you the annual fee, Hong Leong Visa Infinite makes earning miles seamless as well. For every amount charged to the card - locally and overseas, you’ll automatically earn Malaysian Airlines Enrich Miles without the need to file a request.

As a cardholder, you’ll get 4 complimentary access to participating plaza premium lounges in Malaysia and Singapore in the first year of your membership - KLIA, KLIA 2, Senai (Johor), Langkawi, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, The Green Market @ Changi, Singapore. To add, you’ll receive 4 complimentary access per year in the subsequent years if you spend a minimum of RM100,000 in the preceding year.

Like most credit cards, you’ll get travel insurance coverage of up to RM3,000,000, which covers travel accidents, and travel-related inconveniences such as missed connections, luggage delay, luggage loss and flight delays.

One of the plus points of getting this card is that you’ll have the access to a Visa Infinite Concierge service that assists in making dinner reservations, travel reservations, and entertainment reservations among others. Other than that, enjoy the preferential foreign currency exchange rate at domestic airports, and 24-Hour Hong Leong Premium Card Services Line to assist you at any time, anywhere.

 

Annual Fee: FREE

Min. income to apply: RM150,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.

 

5. Standard Chartered WorldMiles World Mastercard

If you're the kind of person who spends a lot overseas then you might find this card useful. With Standard Chartered WorldMiles World Mastercard, you get to earn 3 WorldMiles for every RM2 charged overseas and 1 WorldMile for every RM3 charged locally.

You can then convert them to air miles from frequent flyer programmes such as Asia Miles, KrisFlyer, Enrich, and AirAsia BIG at a rate of 2 WorldMiles for 1 air mile.

Other exclusive privileges and benefits include unlimited Plaza Premium Lounge access in KLIA and KLIA2, a complimentary airport ride home when you come back from overseas, exclusive offers from more than 700 merchants across Malaysia and Singapore, as well as discounted offers on luxury hotels, shopping, entertainment and golf courses across the world.

Furthermore, enjoy up to RM 80 cashback when you get a ride home with the airport limousine or KLIA Ekspres. However, you have to make 3 overseas transactions in the past 30 days to receive this offer and can only get cash rebate once per calendar month.

The only downside is that this credit card doesn’t offer travel insurance coverage.
 

Annual Fee: RM600

Min. income to apply: RM90,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.

 

 

6. HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard

This is a great card for those frequent travellers who earn RM36,000 and above, and would like to earn rewards. HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard lets you earn 1.1 Enrich Miles per RM 1 spent overseas and 1 Enrich Miles per RM 4 spent locally, which is capped at 20,000 and 30,000 per calendar month respectively.

What makes it even better, you’ll get 12 complimentary lounge access per year at up to 850 participating airport lounges worldwide. You won’t even have problems connecting with people online with the unlimited Wi-Fi through Boingo worldwide.

As for the travel coverage, you’ll get to enjoy Takaful Coverage of up to RM 750,000 when you charge your air ticket to your card. This include travel insurance, missed flight, lost and delayed luggage.

 

Annual Fee: RM600 (waived for the first year. Subsequent years waived if you spend a minimum of RM 45,000 per annum)

Min. income to apply: RM36,000

 

For more information or to apply, click here.

 

Which Travel Credit Card Suits You?

Honestly, there is no one-size-fits-all travel credit card. However, you can choose the one that is practical for you or apply a few so that you can maximise the rewards without stretching your wallets while travelling. You can use our credit card comparison tool to help you make the best decision. We hope that you find this article useful and don’t forget to SHARE IT with your family and friends.

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About the Author

Nisya Aziz

A storyteller at Finology, who drinks coffee like its water, Nisya enjoy bringing valuable, educational and entertaining content to others. When not busy crafting content, you’ll find her in the boulder gym or on stage, performing theatre shows.

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