GenX GenY GenZ: OCBC Bank Titanium MasterCard

An article by GenX published at www.generationsxyz.blogspot.com
Please do not reprint/reproduce this article in whole or part in any form.

Back in mid 2010, OCBC Malaysia revamped its Titanium Master Card as a pure cash back credit card without any reward points. The highlights of this card is that it offers 5% cash rebate for Petrol, Dinning, Groceries, Utilities and Telephone Bills and 1% for all other types of transactions.

The card design is simple and clean. From the above picture it looks like blueish but in actual fact the card looks metallic and looking closer the OCBC BANK and TITANIUM words stand out like 3D with the shadow effects.

So what is good about the card? Well as mentioned in the above paragraph it offers 5% cash rebate for Petrol, Groceries, Telephone Bills, Utilities (Electric and Water Bills and ASTRO too) and for the first time Dinning anywhere. However, the maximum cash back for an entire month is limited to only RM50 and this card has NO REWARD POINTS.

OCBC Titanium has one very good benefit is that if you spend RM10,000 a year with it, they will absorb the RM50 government tax. By swiping minimum 12x the annual fee of RM68 for principal card is waived.

To qualify for the OCBC Titanium MasterCard, you need to have minimum income of RM36,000. To apply go to any OCBC branch or go to OCBC website or call 1300885000 OCBC Customer Service to find out more.

Here are my comments on the OCBC Titanium Master Card (not considering the offers for new card holders such as the RM120 cash back per month until end December 2010):

Pros

Free annual fee waiver by swiping it 12x, Save the hassle to call for waiver.
Government tax of RM50 is absorbed by the bank if spend more than RM10K with the card.
5% rebate for Petrol, Dinning, Groceries, Telcos bills, Astro and Electric & Water Bills.

Cons

Maximum cash back per month is only RM50 starting 1st January 2011.
No reward points and therefore no incentive, or actually no point of using the card once the RM50 cash rebate is achieved.

Here is a summary comparing cash back between OCBC Titanium Master Card versus Citibank Platinum Cash Back versus Maybankard 2 American Express versus UOB One Card.

From the above, I conclude that the OCBC Titanium is fantastic for those who spend less than RM1K per month for their TNB, Telco, Astro, Petrol, Dining and Groceries as we can earn 5% cash back everyday. However, if you spend more than RM1K, then you may need to consider one of the other cards mentioned above. For those who spend RM5K per month at places that do not accept American Express cards, look into Alliance Bank Platinum Credit Card where you can earn up to 2% when you combine both the cash back and points earned. For those who spend really really alot and need a Visa card, do consider Hong Leong Bank Essential where you can earn unlimited 1% cash back BUT nothing for petrol. At places that accept AMEX, jsut use the Maybankard 2 AMEX and earn 5X Treats Points which is like equivalent to 2.5% when you redeem for vouchers or do On The Spot Redemption.

For your information, OCBC Platinum card also offer Cash Back but the rate is only 0.5% for all transactions but it is not capped like the Titanium Card. Same goes for CIMB/Direct Access Visa Infinite where it gives 0.5% cash rebate and 1% for overseas transactions. Banks are now offering cash rebate instead of gifts. I guess it is cheaper for them cost wise as compared to engaging a third party for the gift program, printing the gift booklet and sending it out, updating the gift website yearly etc etc.

Conclusion - the OCBC Titanium is pretty good for those who need a card for spending up to RM1,000 with it for Petrol, Telco Bills, TNB, ASTRO, Groceries and Dinning. After spending RM1K with the card, you would have reached the maximum cash back of RM50/month. so charge all your transactions to other cards as you'll be losing out if you continue to use OCBC Titanium since it has no reward points or any other benefits.

[Update March 2012 - FREE 1 for 1 movie ticket at GSC with OCBC Credit Cards. This promo is great as it applies to ALL Class everyday. Click here for Terms and Conditions]