AFFIN Bank has announced a devaluation across its entire credit card portfolio. Notably, the changes will come into effect on the 1st of April 2025, giving cardholders ample notice to adjust their spending strategies.
Credit is due to AFFIN Bank for the early announcement, a practice other banks would do well to emulate.
This article will focus exclusively on the AFFIN Invikta Visa Infinite and World Mastercard, as the rest of the bank's credit card lineup offers uninspiring earn rates and fails to stand out in today’s competitive credit card market.
The AFFIN Invikta Visa Infinite and World Mastercard have historically provided solid miles per ringgit (MPR) rates, offering 0.16 MPR on local spend and 0.83 MPR on overseas spend.
These figures have positioned these cards as serious contenders, outperforming prominent competitors like the Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite (a surprising outcome that arguably reflects poorly on SCB) and even surpassing the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite in terms of overseas spending rewards.
With the upcoming devaluation, however, the AFFIN Invikta Visa Infinite and World Mastercard lose much of their appeal. While the cards may remain competitive within certain niches, they become far less compelling overall.
Beyond their decent earn rates (note all the MPR rates are for Enrich Miles), the cards offer little in terms of unique perks or features, aside from the standard lounge access benefits.
It’s worth noting, though, that despite the limited benefits, these cards seem to have gained a surprising level of traction among cardholders. I’ve personally observed their usage more frequently than one might expect.
Final Thoughts
I typically don't expect any Refined Points readers to be holding the AFFIN Invikta Visa Infinite or World Mastercard, but if you do, these latest changes may very well be a turning point in your airline miles strategy.
AFFIN Bank is expected to launch their long awaited AFFIN Diventium Visa Infinite credit card, in line with their launch of the AFFIN Diventium Private Bank. I'll be covering the details of this new launch expected to take place sometime in February, so stay tuned for more updates.
