Jan
14
2010

What we got before cancelling our credit cards…

Many banks in Malaysia are strategising to help customers pay the government service tax on credit cards effective Jan 1, 2010.

A random survey found that the banks are willing to allow customers to utilise their points collected to help pay the tax charge.

Other banks have also said that consumers could easily offset the tax with the many cash rebates offered with their credit cards.

The Government had announced in Budget 2010 that an annual service tax of RM50 will be imposed for each principal credit card and RM25 for each supplementary card, in an effort to encourage prudent spending.

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The thing is, whether you decide to utilise your points to pay the tax charge or offset it with the cash rebates, you are still in the losing end as previously, you could have used them for better purposes.

Darling holds countless credit cards. His job requires him to have lots of them. But if you multiply each card with RM50, it can easily burn a four figure hole in his pocket yearly. He had no choice but to cancel some less utilised ones. But before he does that, we managed to redeem some items from the points collected :D Recently, all the items were safely delivered to our house :)

This instant ear thermometer is a must since our old thermometer is already kaput!
Giant gift voucher. As good as cash~lah! Buy milk also not enough..
Ben 10 watch for Ethan
Akemi Memory Pillow for Darling. Don’t ask me why. He insists of getting this. Still haven’t utilise it though.. *shake head*
Tefal frying pan for ME :) Now I can fry eggs without the need to use oil! How cool is that? I’ve already been frying oil-less eggs for Ethan to bring to school :D
Word World VCDs for Ethan. He is loving it! He learnt his spellings from here~lah.
Picnic bag that I’ve converted into Ethan’s milk bag. See the original items included.. and how it has been replaced with Ethan’s smiley bottles and all :)
Last but not least, for the whole family – Disney on Ice tickets! We got the Rinkside VIP tickets. Our seats will be in the RED zone! Yee ha! Am so excited already :D

Now, who says Credit Card is bad? It is only bad for those who managed their funds poorly. If you managed it properly, it is actually beneficial. The money can roll and we get points to be redeemed later. Paying cash won’t give us these benefits. If only the government can see this… or if only more people are wiser with their spending…

About the Author: Merryn Tan

32 Comments + Add Comment

  • //

    Wow! you managed to redeem so many things. Good for you!

  • //

    Gee..looks like you blogger geng ping your new post faster than Blogspot. Published in FB already but yet to be shown in Blogspot reading list

  • //

    Wow…that's alot of things you've redeemed! Aiya..I will be missing Disney On Ice ler. :(

  • //

    err…i got burned by credit cards before and rarely use it now. I have dificulty in tracking my expenses and also, chases the points at times.

  • //

    smallkucing – My geng blogger very 'effisen' one.. lol.. it sync to my twitter n my twitter sync it to FB! :DMummyGwen – Yeah lor.. in three days time.. u in jakarta dy…Chrisau – Why lah u got urself 'burnt'? You use it at petrol station n got flames ah? lol…

  • //

    wow, lots of stuffs :-p

  • //

    Red zone.. that's very exciting… :) You were utilising your points wisely, everybody has their share..A fee of 4 digits? your darling must hold more than 20 cards? how does he fits all into his wallet?

  • //

    War….meaning before this you guys have been swiping a lot lar? :p

  • //

    wahhhh….you managed to redeem so many things!!!! must have using the credit cards frequently *hehe* anyway, great choices you have made!

  • //

    *roll eyes8* government! They can never made up their mind. They want us to spend to help boost the economy, and yet, they are making it difficult for many people to spend, cuz they are imposing various taxes on every goddamn thing they come across. LOL…I dun have credit card…but this is how I see it… government wanna earn our money, and sodomize us silly with everything they can think of.

  • //

    Good morning dotter, it is now 7.30 am friday,, wishing you a nice weekend ahead.ya,you just reminded that i needed to go shopping liao.. my belt sags already..latake care now

  • //

    That's lots of gifts u got to redeem…best is u got the disney on ice tickets. Me and hubby went once, and that time not sure is preggie or not..hahah.It was a great n fun show..do enjoy. We are still thinking if we shall go with the gals this yr.

  • //

    hahaha… this is the good part of credit card lor… I have yet to go through mine.. but not much coz last year already used up to redeem all my baking stuff.. muahaha..

  • //

    wow..u really know hoe to utilize ur card.

  • //

    Banks should pay the RM50 tax if they dun wan cardholders to cancel those cards. Just a thought.

  • //

    Mei Teng… bank would loose millions if they were to pay RM50 for each card. That alone is a lot of revenue. How many people in Malaysia holds crecit cards again?

  • //

    Cleffairy – Yeah, banks wud lose millions but they can always recover it other ways, they always have ways to cover up their losses… We are paying like crazy on interests itself.. be it housing loans or car or anything!!!

  • //

    yoooooooooooo! Word World VCDs! i want those!

  • //

    Of course they can actually recover if they want to. After all, they are making money out of nothing… you see… whatever they're using for business are people's money… not theirs. Banking business is definitely lucrative… I oso wanna bukak bank! LOL…

  • //

    Many goodies you redeem back…all good stuff, your hub must have been swipe cc very gao for the points he has.To me, I just hold 2 cards, the RM50 is still a reasonable amount once a year…think of the convenience and reward from it, it is still worth la. I won't take the points to offset the tax.

  • //

    If u spend a lot using the c/card, then only can redeem things. My point always gone to the drain because not even enough to redeem the min one. How sad hor. Recently, OCBC bank no longer give point but 2% rebate for every cents.

  • //

    Hi5 Merryn! You took the words right out of my mouth… the last paragraph esp. Hubs always says, if all cc users are like us, the banks will rugi big time. We don't pay a single sen of interest yet reap all these benefits from them haha! ;-)

  • //

    Echo your last paragraph I strongly go for plastic. When one knows how to take control, then it would be beneficial.

  • //

    wow amazing how much stuff could be exchanged from those points… cool :) thanks for sharing!

  • //

    Oh enjoy the disney on ice!!! I love watching that too!

    Funny that M'sians are cutting off the cc but I'm trying to get more! haha

  • //

    I wonder what job that require alot of credit card.That day, i ask your hubby what is his application. You just kidding me "He is your hubby" :S.After your hubby told, something related to IT… but IT need credit card a lot?It is good to have a credit card, not need bring out cash alot!

  • //

    Voon – The IT part doesn't require him to have lots of credit card. The 'being my husband' part requires him to have lots of it.. :P

  • //

    now i understand!i can close case (Kepo) for this issue :)

  • //

    To redeem so many things, u must hv a lot of points. Apart from personal exp, he charges company expenses kah?Btw, I'd like to know if the Omron thermometer is good. Is the backlit screen bright enuf to c in a dark room?

  • //

    Slavemom – I'm not too sure as I've never use it in a dark room :) I've tested it just now and it seemed ok to me :)

  • //

    Wow!!! You got Disney on Ice totally free?! This is superb.. I'm bringing my son, too! But on friday… Yours 1pm should b sat or sun right?

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MeHome is where MY heart is.
I am a mother to two boys; Ethan and Ayden and a wife to Darling William. I'm a stay at home mum who blogs to break the monotony of life and to avoid feeling jaded. Would love to get to know all the Super Mommies and Daddies and Babies or Singles out there with the hope that we can learn more from each other. Most of all, I am a happy person, and I hope YOU are too.

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