Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has announced some enhancements to the features of its Wise credit card, which will take effect from 1 October onwards. The revision includes the addition of a new online spend category that even includes e-wallet top ups, and a change in the monthly cashback cap.

Currently, the Hong Leong Wise card offers cashback on three categories – groceries, dining, and petrol – at the rate of 1% on weekdays and 8% on weekends (monthly cap of RM18 per category). There is also an unlimited 0.25% cashback offered on all other expenses, available for both weekdays and weekends. To unlock these rates, you will need to hit a minimum monthly spend of RM500.

Come 1 October 2021, Hong Leong will enhance the card’s features by adding a new online spend category, on top of the original groceries, dining, and petrol, making it a total of four cashback categories. HLB lists the following platforms as eligible online transactions, though it’s definitely not an exhaustive list:

• Lazada
• Shopee
• Grab
• FoodPanda
• Touch ‘n Go
• MYEG
• Spotify
• Netflix
• Apple Music

In addition to the above, HLB clarified that e-wallet reloads and food delivery transactions are also eligible for cashback.

Aside from that, HLB is also expanding the expenses that are allowed under the groceries category for the Hong Leong Wise card. Previously, the groceries category only included purchases from grocery stores and selected convenience stores. Under the new revision, the upgraded groceries & essentials category will see purchases made at all drug stores and pharmacies, such as Guardian, Watsons, and Caring Pharmacy, to be eligible for cashback.

Finally, Hong Leong is reducing the monthly cashback cap for each spend category from RM18 to RM15. Despite this cut, however, you’ll be happy to know that the total cashback that you can earn will actually increase from RM54 per month (RM18 x 3 eligible categories) to RM60 per month (RM15 x 4 eligible categories) due to the introduction of the online spend category.

Here’s a table to summarise the upcoming changes to the Hong Leong Wise card:

	Before 1 October 2021	After 1 October 2021
Spend categories eligible for 1% weekday/8% weekend cashback benefit	– Groceries – Petrol – Dining	– Online spend – Groceries & essentials – Petrol – Dining
Monthly cashback cap per category	RM18	RM15
Maximum total cashback that can be earned per month	RM54	RM60

Apart from these updates, all other remaining features for the Hong Leong Wise card remain unchanged. You will still be able to tap into the unlimited 0.25% cashback for other expenses, and must spend a minimum of RM500 in order to unlock the weekday/weekend cashback. The annual fees are also maintained at RM98 (principal) and RM48 (supplementary).

Overall, these changes do look like a good enhancement to the HLB Wise card, which is already a solid general cashback card. The addition of the Online spend category is a welcome addition that’s indicative of the change in spending habits among Malaysians since the start of the pandemic, but the RM98 annual fee is still quite heavy. We’ll be updating our review of this card once the changes come into effect.

(Source: Hong Leong Bank)

• TAGS:
• Credit Card Revisions
• Hong Leong
• Hong Leong Bank
• Hong Leong Wise
• Hong Leong Wise Credit Card