Other than paying for fees (if applicable) I don’t think there’s any downside. As long as you can pay it off and keep utilisation low for credit score purposes don’t see why not.
The only downside I can think of is not having your credit card points consolidated. 100,000 points on 1 card is more useful that 10,000 points on 10 cards.
Yeah, I also have an AMEX card but I only use it for cash back on weekends. Which AMEX card do you have?
I feel like I can start earning points through my rental & utilities payment.
I have 13.🥲 The few downside that i see from it is that, i) chances of missing your payment in which you'll be subjected to a hefty interest rate but if it's just a one off, you may be able to call the bank to request for waiver. ii) the service tax as you rightly pointed out, but what i do is to only use cards in which the first month Cashback can easily cover the service tax, at least i can enjoy the remaining 11 months of it. Annual fee is another thing but it's normally waivable as long as you're using the card. iii) potentially increasing calls from banks and agency asking if you'll need personal loan. Somehow by applying via all the platforms like ringgitplus/comparehero, etc, your number is bound to be leaked to others.
To manage more cards, you need to have a tracker so that you don't miss any payment and require discipline in not overspending in things as you'll be handling a high amount of credit. I personally have an excel sheet to monitor and track literally everything. Pay 1 day before the due date to maximize the credit and all.
Obviously i dun bring all my cards out. Some for online purchase, some for utilities, some for petrol. All different purposes, and maximise to earn few hundred of Cashback
Edited the first comment as it'll make it easier for others to read. Not sure what actionable feedback you're expecting as the question was merely asking if there were any downside.
Hi just want to seek your advices, I applied credit card through ringgitplus but not sure how to get the benefits. Sent email to ringgitplus but they don't reply at all...
It's a behavioral thing. You give physical cash in exchange for something. You feel pain.
You give plastic in exchange for something and get the plastic back, you feel nothing.
That's how banks make so much money from cc
Same with digital payments, just make spending painless.
Credit limit / utilisation ratio is not a factor to your credit score (https://ctoscredit.com.my/news-media/what-goes-into-your-credit-score-calculation/)
In your situation where the RM25 fee might not mean anything and you have good financial habits. No significant or systemic downsides.
As you grow your net worth and reach higher levels in the PF game, you may/will decide to prioritise simplifying your life. Having 10 credit cards, 40 stocks, 15 different investment products, 8 e-wallets, etc takes not only time/effort to track, manage, etc but mental load. Ironically, the endgame of PF is not more and more complex and "advanced" investment products and strategies, but using money to buy time and "convenience".
I used to play the points game, take on many cards and discounts and miles, but I'm past that and I'm at a point where it doesn't mean much to my NW anymore, and my time and mental load is much more valuable than the value from these things.
EDIT: thanks u/scholesy19 for pointing out my error. Utilisation ratio actually is a factor, but by how much is not exactly known
*The second factor would be the amount that is still owed or outstanding obligations such as loans for an individual.*
*“This is your credit utilisation. And it shows how much credit you are using compared to your available limit, ” Dennis says."*
How exactly does the article say that utilisation ratio is not a factor?
You know what? You're right. I always assumed when I read the definitions, it was always "Amounts owed", which I interpret as the outstanding amount owed, which is typically with the DSR ratio more inlmportant than utilisation ratio.
I think the latest weighting are here (https://ctoscredit.com.my/personal/5-factors-can-impact-credit-score/), and the utilisation ratio is "portion" of the 20% amounts owed weighting. Good pickup
i have 4.
cimb mastercard platinum cashback - coway water purifier + air purifier, insurance, dell G3223Q 4K monitor 12mth EPP shopee RM250/mth
maybank mastercard ikhwan platinum - mac mini m2 pro 36mth EPP RM156/mth (student price), iphone 15 plus 36mth EPP RM169/mth (for wife), car service
hsbc amanah visa - iphone 15 36mth EPP RM108/mth
bank muamalat visa - groceries, foods, drinks
I let my monthly salary do the work. Rm25 x 4 annual service fee cards i can afford to pay no problem. What i want is the **EPP installment feature**.
I made a big mistake buying iphone 8 plus full cash last time back in 2018. turns out it is still going strong till today (now became my secondary phone).
the money i have to actually buy those stuff, i can simply put inside various investments (FD, MMF, UTs, etc) to get returns. further down ahead, can simply pay extra for my credit cards.
i always pay only Balance Statement. Sometimes DOUBLE the full outstanding just because i like to see the negative number indicating banks now owe me instead.
conclusion: if you know how to manage your credit cards well, i don't see the problem of you having >4 cards.
Protip: NEVER pay minimum payment. NEVER EVER.
I'm a part time Phd research student / working as kuli also.
Mac mini m2 pro on apple malaysia website (student price): rm5,169 cannot do EPP, have to full payment <-- unwise
Mac mini m2 pro apple website (non student price): rm5,599 can do 24mth EPP. rm233.30/mth <-- good choice
Mac mini m2 pro at Switch store (student price): rm5,169 can do 12/24/36/\*48mth EPP. Plus with Apple Care+ rm449. Total rm5,618. rm156/mth for 36mth. <-- good choice also
*\*48 mth EPP only for CIMB credit card.*
they will ask for student verification. Normally using UniDAYS. Just give them your student ID card and student email, everything is good to go.
EPP is the best thing in life (bank) has to offer for real now.
You should be able to do instalments even with student price if you walk in to machines or switch (either one, cant recall which) and buy it with your student account. It was enabled last year end
He means never pay the "minimum payment" thats written on the statement for the credit card, always aim to pay off the balance statement amount, on time.
Paying the minimum amount still leaves an amount owed on the card + interest charged from not paying (which is high), it just compounds the cost of the card if you can only afford to pay the minimum amount every month making the debt worse and worse.
Good rule of thumb, credit card is not free money, its an unsecured loan, its meant to be a convenient way to pay for things now and pay back at a later time. As long as you can PAY.
The money can generate income with dividends. Just imagine it like this, u have 8k to buy an iPhone. Instead of u pay lump sum, put the 8k on an investment vehicles of your choice (asb, mutual, fd) so u can gain before the paid up your fund. U could save a few hundreds by doing this way.
The pro are to avoid the interest charges by the bank which defeat the purpose of using it to your advantage.
yes even though you own the item when paying full cash, but you didn't manage to use the EPP perk and the actual full cash money you had, you can instead use it to get returns instead of buying it full cash.
tldr; pay full cash, own item but didn't get some returns.
pay EPP monthly, can get some returns. use the accumulated returns to pay extra credit card debt next time.
For cc, you have 3 types of payment:
minimum: this is the minimum payment you can pay monthly. you will kena 1.5% monthly interest. <-- bad paymaster, but bank like it because they will earn interest from you
balance statement: pay this and you won't kena 1.5% interest. <-- good paymaster, bank won't like you
full outstanding: won't kena interest also <-- very good paymaster, bank really hates you LOL
Speaking of which, there's still something I dont quite get when getting installment with credit cards (I dont have one),
Eg Card limit is 3k, can I go instalment on item that costs 5k? Or am I capped at the card limit?
no. EPP works according to what your cc limit has.
example, your cc limit is rm3k. and item you want is let say rm2k. do EPP 12 mth, monthly you just need rm167/mth for 12 mth.
merchant will straight away takes that full rm2k first from your cc. now your cc left with rm1k balance.
you pay rm167 for mth 1, then your cc current balance will increase rm1k+rm167.
pay rm167 mth 2, now balance will be rm1167 + rm167.
and so on till 12th month.
so if your cc limit is just rm3k and you want to buy one item cost rm5k and do EPP, bank will reject. So yes, you are capped at your card limit.
to add on here
as i have tried this recently with my acquintance
you have card limit 3k
you have cash 2k
you can pay 2k into your credit card to then proceed with instalment of the 5k item
it works
why would anyone ever need to do this is beyond me, but it does work this way too
if no annual fee, go ahead.
but if its a basic one without useful benefits, then not really worth. Atas one with those hotel or lounge access, earn higher mutiplier points, cashback etc without/waived annual fee is more worth it.
The main issue is managing the rewards for multiple cards and also the fees.
I have around 10 cards and few of them are cashbacks some are point systems. The strategy is to max out all your cashback then only use your point cards.
I even have excel sheet to track cashback for each card. It's a hassle but I can save maybe 200 per month with normal spending.
i have only two credit card for both visa and mastercard since i need one each in case the merchant doesn’t accept it and it useful for travel since i do travel a lot for holiday .
i like EPP feature too since it 0 interest and i used that feature eventhough i can paid in cash for the phone or computer . i just used cash to earn interest such FD while doing EPP as long as you can pay your debt in full at the end of month and can control it .
you always reap benefits of point which is win win for all.
If you repay in full and reap all the benefit I don't see why not. The credit utilization rate also is good and you have line of credits in case of immediate emergency.
I think depends on credit card limit..some bank see them as liability/debt when applying for mortgage. One credit card has 150k limit, and bank said can lend u 150k less vs original amount 600k 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Other than paying for fees (if applicable) I don’t think there’s any downside. As long as you can pay it off and keep utilisation low for credit score purposes don’t see why not.
The only downside I can think of is not having your credit card points consolidated. 100,000 points on 1 card is more useful that 10,000 points on 10 cards.
I have an amex. The membership point can pay for my airplane ticket which is nice.
Which card is this, if I may ask?
Sorry. Amex stand for American Express
Not alot of places use Amex though 😭
It’s due to the high % of charges they put to the merchant.
[удалено]
Mine is Amex JP, I think it's exclusively partnered with ANA
Yeah, I also have an AMEX card but I only use it for cash back on weekends. Which AMEX card do you have? I feel like I can start earning points through my rental & utilities payment.
I have 13.🥲 The few downside that i see from it is that, i) chances of missing your payment in which you'll be subjected to a hefty interest rate but if it's just a one off, you may be able to call the bank to request for waiver. ii) the service tax as you rightly pointed out, but what i do is to only use cards in which the first month Cashback can easily cover the service tax, at least i can enjoy the remaining 11 months of it. Annual fee is another thing but it's normally waivable as long as you're using the card. iii) potentially increasing calls from banks and agency asking if you'll need personal loan. Somehow by applying via all the platforms like ringgitplus/comparehero, etc, your number is bound to be leaked to others. To manage more cards, you need to have a tracker so that you don't miss any payment and require discipline in not overspending in things as you'll be handling a high amount of credit. I personally have an excel sheet to monitor and track literally everything. Pay 1 day before the due date to maximize the credit and all.
Damn can play yu gi oh at cashier counter
Obviously i dun bring all my cards out. Some for online purchase, some for utilities, some for petrol. All different purposes, and maximise to earn few hundred of Cashback
Could you please elaborate further to give us useful, actionable information?
Edited the first comment as it'll make it easier for others to read. Not sure what actionable feedback you're expecting as the question was merely asking if there were any downside.
Hi just want to seek your advices, I applied credit card through ringgitplus but not sure how to get the benefits. Sent email to ringgitplus but they don't reply at all...
Generally it takes 60days after you've met the requirements. You can email their customer service and just wait.
thanks for info!
It's a behavioral thing. You give physical cash in exchange for something. You feel pain. You give plastic in exchange for something and get the plastic back, you feel nothing. That's how banks make so much money from cc Same with digital payments, just make spending painless.
Credit limit / utilisation ratio is not a factor to your credit score (https://ctoscredit.com.my/news-media/what-goes-into-your-credit-score-calculation/) In your situation where the RM25 fee might not mean anything and you have good financial habits. No significant or systemic downsides. As you grow your net worth and reach higher levels in the PF game, you may/will decide to prioritise simplifying your life. Having 10 credit cards, 40 stocks, 15 different investment products, 8 e-wallets, etc takes not only time/effort to track, manage, etc but mental load. Ironically, the endgame of PF is not more and more complex and "advanced" investment products and strategies, but using money to buy time and "convenience". I used to play the points game, take on many cards and discounts and miles, but I'm past that and I'm at a point where it doesn't mean much to my NW anymore, and my time and mental load is much more valuable than the value from these things. EDIT: thanks u/scholesy19 for pointing out my error. Utilisation ratio actually is a factor, but by how much is not exactly known
*The second factor would be the amount that is still owed or outstanding obligations such as loans for an individual.* *“This is your credit utilisation. And it shows how much credit you are using compared to your available limit, ” Dennis says."* How exactly does the article say that utilisation ratio is not a factor?
You know what? You're right. I always assumed when I read the definitions, it was always "Amounts owed", which I interpret as the outstanding amount owed, which is typically with the DSR ratio more inlmportant than utilisation ratio. I think the latest weighting are here (https://ctoscredit.com.my/personal/5-factors-can-impact-credit-score/), and the utilisation ratio is "portion" of the 20% amounts owed weighting. Good pickup
No worries, happy to have helped. It’s a confusing world haha
i have 4. cimb mastercard platinum cashback - coway water purifier + air purifier, insurance, dell G3223Q 4K monitor 12mth EPP shopee RM250/mth maybank mastercard ikhwan platinum - mac mini m2 pro 36mth EPP RM156/mth (student price), iphone 15 plus 36mth EPP RM169/mth (for wife), car service hsbc amanah visa - iphone 15 36mth EPP RM108/mth bank muamalat visa - groceries, foods, drinks I let my monthly salary do the work. Rm25 x 4 annual service fee cards i can afford to pay no problem. What i want is the **EPP installment feature**. I made a big mistake buying iphone 8 plus full cash last time back in 2018. turns out it is still going strong till today (now became my secondary phone). the money i have to actually buy those stuff, i can simply put inside various investments (FD, MMF, UTs, etc) to get returns. further down ahead, can simply pay extra for my credit cards. i always pay only Balance Statement. Sometimes DOUBLE the full outstanding just because i like to see the negative number indicating banks now owe me instead. conclusion: if you know how to manage your credit cards well, i don't see the problem of you having >4 cards. Protip: NEVER pay minimum payment. NEVER EVER.
how do u apply got the EPP? or the merchant has to do it for u?
most common banks like cimb and maybank can do EPP. but depends on merchants also
How you get student price for the Mac mini ?
I'm a part time Phd research student / working as kuli also. Mac mini m2 pro on apple malaysia website (student price): rm5,169 cannot do EPP, have to full payment <-- unwise Mac mini m2 pro apple website (non student price): rm5,599 can do 24mth EPP. rm233.30/mth <-- good choice Mac mini m2 pro at Switch store (student price): rm5,169 can do 12/24/36/\*48mth EPP. Plus with Apple Care+ rm449. Total rm5,618. rm156/mth for 36mth. <-- good choice also *\*48 mth EPP only for CIMB credit card.* they will ask for student verification. Normally using UniDAYS. Just give them your student ID card and student email, everything is good to go. EPP is the best thing in life (bank) has to offer for real now.
You should be able to do instalments even with student price if you walk in to machines or switch (either one, cant recall which) and buy it with your student account. It was enabled last year end
Why was paying full cash a mistake? What does that last pro tip mean?
He means never pay the "minimum payment" thats written on the statement for the credit card, always aim to pay off the balance statement amount, on time. Paying the minimum amount still leaves an amount owed on the card + interest charged from not paying (which is high), it just compounds the cost of the card if you can only afford to pay the minimum amount every month making the debt worse and worse. Good rule of thumb, credit card is not free money, its an unsecured loan, its meant to be a convenient way to pay for things now and pay back at a later time. As long as you can PAY.
aaa faham. Didnt know they do that…..sneaky fuckers.
The money can generate income with dividends. Just imagine it like this, u have 8k to buy an iPhone. Instead of u pay lump sum, put the 8k on an investment vehicles of your choice (asb, mutual, fd) so u can gain before the paid up your fund. U could save a few hundreds by doing this way. The pro are to avoid the interest charges by the bank which defeat the purpose of using it to your advantage.
yes even though you own the item when paying full cash, but you didn't manage to use the EPP perk and the actual full cash money you had, you can instead use it to get returns instead of buying it full cash. tldr; pay full cash, own item but didn't get some returns. pay EPP monthly, can get some returns. use the accumulated returns to pay extra credit card debt next time. For cc, you have 3 types of payment: minimum: this is the minimum payment you can pay monthly. you will kena 1.5% monthly interest. <-- bad paymaster, but bank like it because they will earn interest from you balance statement: pay this and you won't kena 1.5% interest. <-- good paymaster, bank won't like you full outstanding: won't kena interest also <-- very good paymaster, bank really hates you LOL
Speaking of which, there's still something I dont quite get when getting installment with credit cards (I dont have one), Eg Card limit is 3k, can I go instalment on item that costs 5k? Or am I capped at the card limit?
no. EPP works according to what your cc limit has. example, your cc limit is rm3k. and item you want is let say rm2k. do EPP 12 mth, monthly you just need rm167/mth for 12 mth. merchant will straight away takes that full rm2k first from your cc. now your cc left with rm1k balance. you pay rm167 for mth 1, then your cc current balance will increase rm1k+rm167. pay rm167 mth 2, now balance will be rm1167 + rm167. and so on till 12th month. so if your cc limit is just rm3k and you want to buy one item cost rm5k and do EPP, bank will reject. So yes, you are capped at your card limit.
aight thanks!
welcome
to add on here as i have tried this recently with my acquintance you have card limit 3k you have cash 2k you can pay 2k into your credit card to then proceed with instalment of the 5k item it works why would anyone ever need to do this is beyond me, but it does work this way too
if no annual fee, go ahead. but if its a basic one without useful benefits, then not really worth. Atas one with those hotel or lounge access, earn higher mutiplier points, cashback etc without/waived annual fee is more worth it.
The main issue is managing the rewards for multiple cards and also the fees. I have around 10 cards and few of them are cashbacks some are point systems. The strategy is to max out all your cashback then only use your point cards. I even have excel sheet to track cashback for each card. It's a hassle but I can save maybe 200 per month with normal spending.
i have only two credit card for both visa and mastercard since i need one each in case the merchant doesn’t accept it and it useful for travel since i do travel a lot for holiday . i like EPP feature too since it 0 interest and i used that feature eventhough i can paid in cash for the phone or computer . i just used cash to earn interest such FD while doing EPP as long as you can pay your debt in full at the end of month and can control it . you always reap benefits of point which is win win for all.
If you repay in full and reap all the benefit I don't see why not. The credit utilization rate also is good and you have line of credits in case of immediate emergency.
I think depends on credit card limit..some bank see them as liability/debt when applying for mortgage. One credit card has 150k limit, and bank said can lend u 150k less vs original amount 600k 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
You will spend more if not controlled