Have you ever wondered why some people got up to 30 cards in their wallets. (how did they fit the cards in the wallet is another question). Have you ever wondered why people end up crying every month over their cards? Have you wondered why some people hate cards and dont have any cards in their wallets with exception of the 'must carry' card that include IC, driving license & ATM card perhaps.
Before I carry on let me, share with you what cards do I have in my wallet aside from IC and my just obtained 'L' driving license! However I dont keep all my cards in my wallet at all times since it cant fit all of them
1. Robinsons Card - You may think oh this guy is rich. Why? Robinsons is located in The Gardens Mid Valley, 1 of the high-end mall in Klang Valley. Well I can tell you, Robinsons isnt really a really high class department store, but I say its a mid priced high end dept store, or in other words higher class than Parkson and JUSCO. Dont expect to find a RM20 T-shirt here or maybe you can in sale period, LOL! Why did I apply for it? Why its FREE, and I am sure I am a going to be a long term customer of Robinsons since it is the ONLY place in Malaysia that carries Basic House Co, Korea brands such as Basic House & The Class. So far from this card, I have earned quite a lot of benefits: getting RM$10 voucher for accumulated spending of about RM$200+ from August-September, 10% discount and RM$10 voucher in Robinsons Xmas Cardmember preview sale. and they have a lot of these close-door activities only for members.
2. Times Privilege Card - I applied for this in KK thinking that I have 100% chance of going to NUS/NTU/SMU in Singapore to study, unfortunately its turns out to be NO! So this card is a waste of RM$15 fi? Not quite since after applying they give you a 20% welcome voucher and there is a Times in Pavilion, quite far though but still worth it!
3. Public Bank Day2Day Visa Debit card - This card was given to me when I opened an account in Public Bank. Its a 2-in-1 card, ATM & debit card. In addition it offers 0.3-0.8% cashback on every RM$1 swiped, not bad since you are paying from your own A/c.
4. Sunway University College Resident Card - I have no idea why they still need this card identification system. Anyway its required when I want to claim a parcel from hostel office
5. Jcard - Have to pay RM$12 yr but its really worth it considering that JUSCO have Jcard Member Day so oftenly offering 15% on all things in dept store, and 5% in supermarket even on Gardenia rotis that price already fixed. And you can use it outside JUSCO too!
6. Monash Student ID: A card to topup printing credit, open doors, borrow books, printing & photocopy use!
7. KFC Snax: A card to get points in KFC, LOL! And its FREE too
8. SAKAE Card: Froggie is the reason I apply for this card, erm not refering to the IA Frog, LOL! Cost RM$20, but its worthiness I had yet to be seen
9. Popular Student card: RM$10/2 yr. Can use in Popular in Malaysia, Singapore & HK also CD-RAMA. Since I frequently visit Popular its worth it
10. Worldcard: Its FREE! However since Im 'under-aged' I only got White instead of Green card that allows me to gain points in casino LOL! And without green card I cant even get the FREE goodies eg angpau & calendar! Urgh so much distinction! Used majorly in Genting and also in some outlets!
11. CIMB Bank ATM card:Given to me when I opened a airAsia savers a/c. cost rm8/yr!
12. Watsons Membership Card: Cost RM$12 for your lifetime really worth it! And you get a whole lot bunch of vouchers worth RM$200+ for you to use! So far I only use RM$3 of the voucher. Even better you can use your points to pay up till the last cent eg to offset RM1.1 from bil need 220 points or 2point=1 sen!
13. Bonuslink: Another FREE card that I mainly use in Parkson and Shell for my dad petrol and also Caring!
14. Sunway Pyramid Privilege Card: Got this card after I download the Pyramid app to my phone. so far I only used it for NZ Natural Ice cream get 10% off!
See how 'kiasu' I am 14 cards I have from different various brands for different purposes:some for point accumulation, some point + rebate, some discount+point+rebate, etc! You may ask is it worth it paying so much for these card annual fees! Well ATM cards you cant do without it so its worth it but I think my SAKAEcard & Times card is not really worth it!
Break a bit and I shall continue with 2nd part of the post on facts and figures! I am sure some of you will be jaw dropping how come a uni guy have so much card! Usually its 'auntie' that have these cards, LOL!
In my intro, I wrote about people crying over their cards at the end of the month. Why?
I have seen an episode of a teenage drama forget what is the name already. This guy goes into the internet and search for FREE, and he entered his dad credit card number in one of the sites. However, entah kenapa maybe the internet 'siao', suddenly every site charges to his dad credit card up to millions of dollars. However, lucky for this guy, he had a 'computer geek' friend that helped him to sort out this problem and prevents him from getting 'killed' by his dad!
Credit card is 'cool' and 'must have'! However, if you dont control your hands from swiping, haha! Now comes the problem, end of the month you will be getting very thick credit card statement or maybe long e-statement now! Sure if you got no money to pay in full, you can pay only RM$50 or 5% but mind you there is a 18% interest on outstanding amount. And this piles up, till the point of no return, people declare bankrupt mostly young people! Now, the government comes into the picture with AKPK helping to renegotiate your payments with your card issuer, and in 2010 Budget Malaysia govt introduces RM50/RM25 service tax on credit card. As a result, people rushed to 'POTONG' their credit card! But those still terikat with paying their dues on credit card, have to bare with repayments + tax! But is it working? Well according to a The Sun article, credit card numbers decreased by about 18%! And still billions is outstanding amounts! Judge for yourself
And lets go to see how Brunei goes about with their June enforced credit card directive. Minimum payment is raised from 5% to 8%, if you want to have a credit card from a bank, you need to have an account with that bank. Those with outstanding balances will have problems too and in Brunei the outstanding amount is also in the billions!
Well, not only credit card holders are having problem but also debit card holders like me. Sure you cant overspend, but the problem starts when you lost your debit card and didnt realise it. Yes, the 'thief' cant use it in any place that needs signature, unless your singature is too easy too copy! They can use it in petrol kiosks where no signature is required, and pump as much oil they want. Even more problems will come if that thief use it to buy petrol and sell the petrol to outsiders to industries! This is already an offence of misuse of subsidy! Even though you are not the one commiting the crime, you could be charged for 'kesalahan bersubahat' since the card name is yours! So better keep a good check on where about is your card! You dont want your 'kelalaian' to end with police knocking at your doors! You can block the card usage if you realise your card is hilang early, but if you realise it too late perhaps tens of thousands have been swiped and you will CRY!
In a The Nut Graph article written by a YB, he claimed that he have more than 30+ credit cards of which I think he already potong most of it due to the tax! Each of the card has its own benefits so you want more benefits apply all cards provided you can afford it!
While people are enjoying 'credit card lifestyle' there are also people who dont have any! There is dangers in this;they could be carrrying a huge piles of cash which is an easy target for robbers! But some people dont have any credit card as they feared they will forget to pay every month and accumulate the amount!
Well, there you have it my views on Cards, Cards, Cards! Credit card is good if you know how to use it (I dont mean know which shop can swipe but I mean prudence), debit card is as good as cash while other discount privilege card is only worth it if you patronise the store oftenly! Its the SALE season so I am assuming a lot of plastics money are transacted so HAPPY SHOPPING & CARDING just dont CRY at the end of the month! LOL!
P.S. This blogger may not want to apply for credit card when he works even though its more widely accepted that debit card which is rather a sad reality!
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