Updated 1st Feb 2025
I do love flying in business class, and it’s even better if we get to fly it for free! Thanks to our Maybank 2 Cards Premier credit card, we managed to redeem 4 business class return airline tickets to Europe and New Zealand in the last few years. I only started looking for a new card when Maybank started implementing quotas on airline miles redemptions, making redemption extremely challenging (you’ll need to stay up every last day of the month past midnight and spend an hour attempting to exchange your points). Additionally, Maybank just announced that they are devaluing their Treatspoints by a further 25% on 22nd Feb 2025, so it’s really time to cut up these cards!
After some research, it turns out the Maybank 2 Cards Premier is no longer the best miles card out there now and there are other cards with better miles redemption rates! Here are some of the ones I found (I included Maybank 2 Cards Premier rates just for comparison).
Update June 2025: HLB Visa Infinite has been devalued 🙁 It’s only good for dining now
| Card | Currency spend | RM/mile | Notes | Annual Fee |
| HLB Visa Infinite | RM dining Foreign | 4.00-6.00 1.00 2.20 | Auto Enrich redemption | Free for life! |
| UOB PRVI Miles Elite | RM airline Foreign | 12.00 2.40 1.20 | Use of UOB Private Lounge at KLIA | RM600 (first 3 years free) |
| Maybank Krisflyer Amex Platinum | RM online Foreign | 2.50 2.00 2.00 | Krisflyer only (automatic redemption) | RM300 (first year waived) |
| RHB Visa Infinite | RM Foreign | 6.00 1.20 | Redemption rate only applicable for Enrich | Free |
| Ambank Enrich Visa Infinite | RM Foreign | 4.00 1.00 | Auto Enrich redemption | RM500 (first year free till end June 2025, waived if >RM100k annual spend) |
| Maybank 2 Cards Premier | RM Foreign | 6.25 2.50 | Limited miles quota each month | RM800 (waived if >RM80k annual spend) |
*RM/mile: the amount of Ringgit Malaysia spending required to earn 1 airline mile.
Note: I’ve only included cards that do not require invitation, and have no monthly caps on earning points.
Which card is the winner?
It seems there isn’t one card that wins hands down for both local and foreign spending, so you will need to get 2 different cards if you want to maximize your miles.
Local RM spend
For local spending, the Maybank Krisflyer Amex Platinum credit card has the best conversion rate of RM2.50/mile BUT many vendors don’t accept Amex. HLB Visa Infinite has a lower redemption rate (RM3.50/mile) but it is very flexible for local spending – it even counts petrol and utilities spending, and e-wallet top-ups! (update 6/2025: no longer valid after the rates revision). The automatic conversion to miles that both these cards offer is convenient, but don’t forget that the acquired miles will expire within 3 years. On the other hand, cards which require manual conversion will allow you to use the miles much later on, but you stand the risk of devaluation of your points (which seems to be happening on an annual basis!).
I was personally still on the fence between these 2 cards so I decided to get both! The Maybank Krisflyer Amex Platinum should be easy to get if you already have Maybank 2 Cards Premier, as they won’t need to approve you from scratch (the cards share the same credit limit). HLB Visa Infinite is free for life, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t use it much.
Overseas (foreign currency) spend
For overseas/foreign currency spending, both UOB PRVI Miles Elite and RHB Visa Infinite have the best redemption rate of RM1.20/mile. It’s definitely worth getting one of these cards if you spend a lot on travel or shopping overseas. Compared to my existing Maybank 2 Cards Premier, I could have redeemed TWICE the amount of miles if I thought to switch over sooner!!! Better late than never, but please don’t make the same mistake as I did. Review your credit cards annually and see if it’s still worth your money!
RHB’s Visa Infinite actually almost had a devaluation in 2024, which was postponed indefinitely. On the other hand the UOB PRVI Miles Elite was devalued already around September 2024. Hence I find UOB to be the safer bet at this time, given that RHB mighty roll out a devaluation anytime soon.
Update 1/2/25: We have a new winner for foreign spending : the Ambank Enrich Visa Infinite! This Ambank card has a redemption rate of RM1/mile for foreign currency, and RM4/mile for Ringgit spend (not the best, but still better than the UOB and RHB cards mentioned earlier for local spending)! It auto-redeems Enrich and has a couple of other Enrich perks such as 10% discount on MAS flights and 30% reduction in Elite points required for tier promotion. This looks like a great card for those flying MAS often (or who don’t mind the hassle of getting partner airlines redemptions by making phone calls, I heard it’s possible but have never tried).
Invite-only Private Banking or Premier/Privilege Banking cards
If you’re looking for even better miles conversion, there are some invite-only cards for privilege/premier or private banking customers. The RHB Premier Visa Infinite card has a earning rate of RM1/mile for overseas spending and RM2.66/mile for local spending on dining, hotels and online. The UOB Privilege Visa Infinite also has overseas conversion of RM1/mile. However, it’s probably just much easier to get the Ambank Enrich Visa Infinite which already has a rate of RM1/mile. You don’t have to bother setting up a premier/privilege account and locking up your funds with the bank, especially if they have lousy FD rates or like to push high-fee “investments”.
Finally there is the invite-only UOB Metal Visa Infinite card that boasts a conversion of RM0.50/mile, the best around. I previously assumed that we needed a private banking account with UOB i.e. RM3 million AUM with them, but it seems it’s possible to get the card with just privilege banking status and sufficiently high income. Plus you don’t have to sit around waiting for an invite – it never hurts to ask!
Dealbreakers 🙁
The downside of both the UOB and HLB credit cards, which we only realized after getting them, is that they don’t support Apple Pay!!! I’m no longer in the habit of bringing my purse out with me, so this has been quite a major dealbreaker. HLB does support Google Pay though, so if you’re an Android user, then no problem!
My 2025 Credit Card Strategy
Local spend: Maybank Krisflyer Amex Platinum where possible, HLB Visa Infinite as back-up. Perhaps the need to carry a physical card around now is a good excuse for me to buy the new purse I’ve been eye-ing :p
Overseas/foreign currency spend: UOB PRVI Miles Elite for the flexibility of Enrich, Krisflyer or Asia Miles. Since we don’t know where our next trip is going to be, having all 3 options will give us the best chances of redeeming that sometimes-elusive business class ticket.
Did I miss out any other good credit cards for earning airline miles? Please share in the comments!
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