Some time during the second half of 2005, a staff of AmBank came to our office to promote their credit cards. The cards were offered on the basis of "free for life" and with some kind of benefits under "RealRewards Programme". I had at that time several credit cards from other banks, but because I wanted to support a friend, I signed up for the AmBank Mastercard anyway. The selling points of "free for life" and "RealRewards" had no effect on me at all; and up to now, I still don't really know what's the "RealRewards" all about.
After I received my Ambank Mastercard, I've been using it quite regularly—again, for the sake of supporting a friend. I don't have an account with Ambank, but since they're located on the ground floor of the building wherein my office is located, there's never been a problem as far as payments of bills are concerned.
The other 2 credit cards I'm using actively are those of HSBC and Alliance Bank. But because I have existing accounts in those banks, I need not worry about payments of bills, as I've given written instructions to simply deduct the amounts due from my accounts. I have this phobia with late payments, no matter how small the outstanding amounts are. This is particularly so because I was told that all the banks are able to trace through a centralised computer system on any bad records by anyone throughout the nation. A black mark might lead to some difficulties when and if I ever apply for a loan from any other banks in the future.
Now as a habit, whenever I settle the AmBank Mastercard bills, I'd usually pay a little extra than what's due—I'm not bothered with the exact amount; I just pay a round figure. As long as it's a bit more, then I am safe.
Unfortunately, during the festive season in December, I totally forgot—for the first time, ever—to settle my AmBank Mastercard bill. I did not charge the card for that month, but there was the AirAsia insurance (RM24.00) which is automatically charged to the card on a monthly basis. As a result, there was a net charge of RM16.78.
A couple of days ago, I received the latest AmBank Mastercard bill and was surprised to find a RM10.00 late payment charge because of that outstanding RM16.78. How embarrassing! Over a period of a little over 3 years, I've only charged perhaps around RM40,000 to the card. I still have a big chunk of the so-called "RealRewards" points, which I never bothered to understand up to now. I can only guess that it's something which I can claim, perhaps for merchandise or services and other benefits.
Well, I don't really need the AmBank Mastercard anyway. So just shortly ago, I went downstairs to AmBank to settle the bill and cancel the card at the same time. I was given to understand that it would take about 3 working days for the cancellation process. I hope when and if I apply for a loan in the future, my application won't be rejected on the gounds of this miserable RM10 late payment charge.
3 comments:
A friend of mine, having read this post, wrote to me, saying that AmBank is not at fault.
I never said that AmBank is at fault. Otherwise, I wouldn't have paid them so readily; at least not until I've caused a scene at their bank. I think that's a standard minimum "late payment charge" adopted by all the banks in Malaysia.
No, the RM10 charge was not the main reason why I cancelled the card. But it has come to a point where it's becoming a bit of a nuisance to keep track of my cards. Besides, it's been a while now I've wanted to stop giving charity to the Air Asia insurer, and the simplest way to stop it is to let it lapse! Once the card is cancelled, so will the RM24 monthly payment. If I keep the card going, I might forget to pay again one of these days and hence incur the late payment charge. By cancelling the card, I can be sure that I won't forget.
I did try to cancel my AmBank Real Rewards credit card (even surrendered the card to the bank), and few weeks down the road, they persuaded me to keep the card and sent me a new one :)
Yes, HS, that is a natural reaction from the card merchants. They will try to persuade their card holders to keep their cards. For as long as the cards are still valid, there is the tendency that they will be utilised one way or another. Whatever amount charged to the cards, the merchants get a cut. And if payments are late, they make even more.
It's not only AmBank, I'm sure all the other banks are like that too. And if I were a card merchant, I would do exactly the same thing!
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