2024 was full of twists and turns, especially in the fiercely competitive landscape of points-based and airline miles credit cards.
The highlight—or rather, lowlight—was undoubtedly Maybank's catastrophic TreatsPoints meltdown. Yet, amidst this chaos, certain banks smartly seized the opportunity, with UOB unexpectedly emerging as Malaysia's dark horse. Conversely, CIMB Visa Infinite, despite having all the potential, somehow failed to truly make waves.
Let's make one thing clear: CIMB credit cards are genuinely fantastic.
Until January 2025, I was deeply entrenched in CIMB's ecosystem, sitting on over a million unredeemed Bonus Points.
Personally, I paired the CIMB Travel World Elite for overseas expenses and CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite for domestic and dining spend. However, the true hidden gem was the CIMB Visa Infinite.
In Malaysia’s saturated credit card market, innovative products beyond typical spend accelerators (like the common "5x points for overseas spend") are rare. The only notably flexible credit card has traditionally been Alliance Bank's Visa Infinite, enabling easy E-wallet reloads and earning a reliable 0.53 Miles per Ringgit (MPR).
CIMB Visa Infinite disrupted this trend with its unique points-based threshold system, offering large sums of bonus points after reaching minimum monthly spends.
The real game-changer came in August 2024 when CIMB removed all spending caps. Refined Points wrote an extensive article here.
Suddenly, spending RM5,000—even on insurance—would net you a whopping 20,000 bonus points. In a market like Malaysia’s, lacking the hyper-specialized segmentation of Singapore’s credit card scene (petrol, dining, contactless, etc.), this gave consumers a compelling reason to consolidate spending onto a single powerful card.
Combining CIMB Visa Infinite with CIMB Travel World Elite made for an unbeatable duo, delivering an impressive 0.64 MPR on local spend and 0.8 MPR overseas for Enrich Miles.
Moreover, the substantial reduction in the CIMB Visa Infinite annual fee requirement—from RM120,000 to RM60,000 annual income—made it unquestionably attractive.
It arguably became even more appealing than locking RM250,000 AUM into the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite. Frankly, for affluent customers earning above RM120,000, the CIMB Visa Infinite’s tiered bonus structure presented immense untapped potential.
But Here's the Brutal Catch Nobody Saw Coming
Despite its potential, CIMB Visa Infinite stumbled due to restrictive redemption mechanics. First came the shocking five-fold increase in minimum points required for converting Bonus Points to airline miles.
Previously, just 12,500 Bonus Points could be exchanged for 1,000 Enrich Miles. Now, users must accumulate a daunting 62,500 points for a mere 5,000 Enrich Miles. For serious miles enthusiasts like myself, this was an absolute dealbreaker. Imagine missing out on a redemption by a single point—it's maddening!
Yet, it gets worse.
Perhaps the CIMB Visa Infinite’s most frustrating flaw was its delayed bonus point crediting system. The massive bonus points (7,500 for RM3,000 spend, or 15,000 for RM5,000 spend) are only credited after three excruciating months.
Frequent miles redeemers know how crucial timing is, especially for highly competitive long-haul Business Class award seats, like those coveted seats on Singapore Airlines. Waiting three months is practically suicidal in such a competitive landscape.
It's painfully obvious that whoever designed these mechanics doesn't actively redeem airline miles. Additionally, CIMB credits points only at the end of the statement cycle, prolonging an already agonizing wait.
Since migrating to UOB's ecosystem, I've truly realized the importance of user-friendly mechanics. Despite UOB's imperfections, its robust UNIRM points system highlights exactly what CIMB lacks.
UOB literally awards UNIRM points immediately once your transactions are posted and credits bonus UNIRM for meeting the minimum RM1,000 dining spend monthly literally in the first week of the next month.
Seriously, with the robust airline conversion partners CIMB has, had CIMB implemented a similar mechanism, they would've rendered the competition nearly irrelevant.
Final Thoughts: A Missed Opportunity of Monumental Proportions
There's no doubt CIMB offers some of the best credit card benefits available today. Its Travel credit card lineup uniquely grants access to the exclusive Plaza Premium First lounge—a privilege rivaled only by Maybank’s World Elite Mastercard and Alliance Privilege Visa Signature.
Despite what UOB fans tell you, and having personally visited both the Plaza Premium First and UOB's Private Lounge myself, the Plaza Premium First is a much more private and luxurious experience.
Moreover, CIMB boasts the widest network of points conversion partners in Malaysia, a massive advantage for savvy points maximizers.
Yet, CIMB utterly fumbled at a critical moment when Maybank's slip-up opened doors wide for competition. Rather than capturing market share aggressively, CIMB chose to enforce overly restrictive and borderline absurd mechanics, effectively shooting itself in the foot.
Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, I'm still hoping the CIMB Visa Infinite would rise to prominence if CIMB genuinely listens to customer feedback and aligns its mechanics with the needs of its cardholders. Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic!
