Credit Card Discussion: What Card U Have? Bad time to Apply?

[po2wq]

me hv oni maybank ...

dat time angrily cancelled my ocbc card ... n den suddenly hv 2 travel over-c's ... quikly looked 4 1 ...

luckily found maybank which offered n still offer waiver of annual subscripshn fee if u use ur card 24 times a yr ... ezily achievable la ...

 

[johnny333]

me hv oni maybank ...
luckily found maybank which offered n still offer waiver of annual subscripshn fee if u use ur card 24 times a yr ... ezily achievable la ...

Got a Maybank card & I didn't use 24 times a year because got too many cards. They never sent me any reminder notice/warning letter

 

[pia]

Got a Maybank card & I didn't use 24 times a year because got too many cards. They never sent me any reminder notice/warning letter

I had a DBS card which I didn't use. Asked to waive annual fees. They graciously did, but said " Pls lah, use at least once lah" So I used $30

 

[johnny333]

Hi Johnny333,


thus based on my profile, two cards are ideal - one to take care of neccessary expenditures and the other for discretionary expenditure both of which give me the maximum rebates in the market today

I didn't go out to collect credit cards just so happen to end up with so many.
Other than the credit cards also had Kris frequent flyer & a United Air card

Nowdays one card is more than enough since I'm getting all those loyalty points accumulated in one card. Very difficult to track so many cards & points. I carry a backup just in case there is a problem with one card which happened when I was in the US, the merchant forgot to reverse the charge after I returned the rental. Another occasion, one of my cards had a problem with the magnetic strip.

Amex is a bad card to rely on if you're in the US. The merchants there often decline that card because of the cost & hassles from Amex,

Carrying too many cards is a problem if you loose your wallet. Just imagine having to inform so many banks of the losses

Must also be careful when travelling in SE Asia as there are cloning gangs. Easier to track card usage on 1 to 2 cards. I usually carry cash & use the cards as a backup.

A Citibank ATM card is also good to have as they have branches in Jkt & BKK

 

[johnny333]

I had a DBS card which I didn't use. Asked to waive annual fees. They graciously did, but said " Pls lah, use at least once lah" So I used $30

DBS! I've got a very low opinion of that bank

You choose a bank that you can trust & I don't trust DBS

 

[singveld]

no one need more than 1 credit card.
better not to have any credit card at all. if possible.

 

[scroobal]

For those who pay in full each month

1. Always carry 2 different cards (VISA and Mastercard) from 2 different banks to avoid the once in a blue moon system down or mag stripe failure due to faulty machine.

2. Amex is good if you are big T&E spender. It however tends to be rejected by smaller merchants.

3. There is no difference between between silver, gold, plat or black. Its the credit line that important.

4. Only a VISA / Mastercard / Amex / Diners / JCB cards have charge-back protection in the event that merchant fails to provide the goods or the goods are not as described or the service is not performed. For example if you purchased a travel package with plans to travel overseas in 6 mths time but in between the airline failed, the travel compay went under or the hotel closed, then these card schems will provide refunds. If you purchased using NETS, Cheque or cash, you can kiss it goodbye or take civil suit and pray that they got money.

5. Some services cannot be bought if you do not have a scheme card. Try renting a car or checking into a hotel overseas with cash - you will be shown the door. Try buying books from Amazon.

For those who do want to pay in full

1. There are cheaper ways to obtain loans than to use the card.

2. There is no such thing as interest free installment payments. It already factored into the cost. You can get same product cheaper elsewhere.

3. If you have outstanding amount in a number of cards, apply for personal loan with lower interest and consolidate all debts. You then must have the disciple not to use the card as a revolving line.

Note: If anyone tells you that you do not need a credit is either in an old folks home or have never the shores of singapore or still living in a well.

 

[congo9]

Credit card is for ppl like me to roll on credit if you frequently accumulate more then 15k transaction per month. If your Supplier is to give you 30 day credit , and you can pay them using CCard. That will add another 55 days. You got 90 days of CRedit ! That very helpful for ppl like me. And some more you can accumulate points and exchange for free gift !

Yes , it shiok to use credit card. But beware , PAY all the outstanding amount on TIME and in FULL , EVERYTIME , I STRESS ! That the most important part.

 

[kakowi]

.
Carrying too many cards is a problem if you loose your wallet. Just imagine having to inform so many banks of the losses

Yeah, this is true
.

Must also be careful when travelling in SE Asia as there are cloning gangs. Easier to track card usage on 1 to 2 cards. I usually carry cash & use the cards as a backup.

Here the danger is in the spending...so long as you focus on one card and let the others be on standby in the hotel safe...it is manageable

.
A Citibank ATM card is also good to have as they have branches in Jkt & BKK

This no longer has the advantages it used to have.

The only time this is valid is when you are in the States when the conversion rates from US$ to Sing$ is perhaps the most favourable you can get.



Note that all ATM cards can be used even in Citibank and other banks' ATMs. But here i had not done a study on the differential advantage of using a third-party network versus an intra-bank network in terms of conversion rates.

Thus this can be a consideration but not a critical one from the perspective of savings from exchange differences, given the amount that is normally withdrawn from ATMs.

From the perspective of convenience, there is no difference from other banks' ATM cards.

Actually I did tried to live without a credit card.

It work quite well for me but there are some inconveniences (minor in my opinion):

(a) you need to put a cash deposit with the hotel; they tend to be more suspicious of you though

(b) online transactions had to be done via debit cards. Not all debit cards can be used though.
​

The plus side is i never got into debt, never overspend and my budget balanced all the time.

The negative side is that some transactions cannot be done by me in which case i circumvent it by asking a relative to pay for me and i pay him later.


Interestingly enough, there are some priority customers who prefer debit cards even though the bank is so eager to offer them a prestigious credit card free of charge. At least two banks had started on this to-date in different guises.

 

[besotted]

I have four cards but I find the personalised service from Bank of China the best. If DBS, UOB or OCBC can have half the service standard of BOC, I would be satisifed, but they are far behind. Citibank is the worst in my experience but I don't use it anymore and maybe they have changed I wouldnt know

 

[johnny333]

The plus side is i never got into debt, never overspend and my budget balanced all the time.

I treat credit cards like cash & never spend if I don't have the cash. The only time I don't pay off the credit card bill is if I forget. I am surprised there are so many people spending on credit like there is no tomorrow.

If you have to pay hospital bills in Spore better have a credit hard handy

When overseas, using a Citibank atm card at a Citybank atm has its advantages: you don't have to pay for withdrawals & the limit of the withdrawals is only limited by the amount you have in your account. Thats because the Citybank overseas branches are linked to your account info.

 

[kakowi]

If you have to pay hospital bills in Spore better have a credit hard handy

I did reflect on this at one time when i decided to move away from credit cards. My credit limit is only a paltry 2x salary and i thought that so long as i have that amount in my savings, i can do without that credit card.

That works so long as i am in singapore however.

Overseas a credit card gives the hospital more confidence in taking you as a patient. Firstly that you have the money. Secondly you have the earning power. Thirdly you can get more money.


When overseas, using a Citibank atm card at a Citybank atm has its advantages: you don't have to pay for withdrawals & the limit of the withdrawals is only limited by the amount you have in your account. Thats because the Citybank overseas branches are linked to your account info.

Thanks for bringing this up. It was at the tip of my tongue that i could not fully recall Citibank's unique selling proposition for their ATM. Use of their own bank's network allow more favourable exchange rates between US$ and Sing$ as well as no withdrawal fees. The person who was in charge of consumer banking at that time when they formulated their USP was a marketing guru. A genius who made Citibank's consumer banking a premier product at one time. More profitable than their wholesale. Still is today, but more in retaining their aggression but less so in customer touchpoints, in my opinion. Their shareholder composition had also changed over the years.

The other points about withdrawals' limits dependent on your savings as well as the linkages applies to other banks' ATM cards too.

Johnny333, i guess i gotten off-topic.

 

[pia]

DBS! I've got a very low opinion of that bank

You choose a bank that you can trust & I don't trust DBS

I have a credit card with them but no accounts.... means I don't trust them but they trust me

 

[middaydog]

Pls Discuss:

telemarket from deebeeass once called me " you want a dbs card or not, everything also free "
I said everything also free then ok lor

the following few days I had all kind of card came to me, dbs, posb, black card, gold card, platinum card, blue card, green card with instruction to activate within a week of receiving them

I threw them all away

 

[johnny333]

Overseas a credit card gives the hospital more confidence in taking you as a patient.

Not talking about overseas hospital, local hospitals in Spore require some guarantee of payment, even if you have enough in your medisave can guaranteed that you still have to pay$$$ out of pocket :(

They want tp make sure you can pay. Just like a hotel they want a security deposite .

 

[johnny333]

I have a credit card with them but no accounts.... means I don't trust them but they trust me

Like that huh ?

Got enough problems in Spore & you still want to get into the same bed as DBS DBS is my cpf banker & every quarter they take out $$ from my CPF to pay themselves the fee for holding my CPF unit trusts

When they take you to court, remember that they are GLC & you are only an "lesser mortal"

 

[cass888]

People should just learn to cut their coat according to their cloth.

A card is just a card but collection policies and attitudes vary across banks. Singapore banks are generally kinder to you when you hit a rough patch.

 

[Ou812]

Thank you all for your replies.

I will go for the star alliance/krisflyer miles since i fly alot

Also i agree its not good to have too many cards

One fren got 8 cards from 8 bank, Telling me always get freebie

But i think 2 is a good number to have.

No one here thinks the timing is bad to apply, i.e. bank not approve due to economy so will go ahead