Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has announced that it is discontinuing its airasia credit card, effective 30 September 2023. In turn, existing cardholders will be provided with the HLB Sutera Platinum Visa credit card as a replacement.

In its FAQ regarding the matter, HLB explained that this re-carding exercise is necessary as its collaboration with airasia is coming to an end. The bank also highlighted that it will carry out the exercise in stages, and affected cardholders will be notified of the issuance of their new replacement Sutera Platinum Visa card at least 15 days prior. A second notification will also be sent out once the new card is on its way to them (supplementary cards will also be sent out if you have a supplementary cardholder).

For those who are already holding a Sutera Platinum Visa card (in addition to the airasia card), you will not be given another Sutera card, so there’s no need to worry about having duplicate cards. Instead, you can just swap over and start using your existing Sutera card to make future payments.

HLB also reassured that cardholders will not need to worry if they have any remaining airasia points earned via their airasia card; these points can still be viewed in and redeemed through the airasia app after the deactivation of their card. Understandably, your airasia points will not transfer over to your new Sutera Platinum Visa card.

Aside from that, note that the outstanding balance and standing instructions set under your airasia card will be transferred automatically to your new card. Other financial products taken up under your airasia card – such as balance transfers, quick cash, and flexi payment plans – will also be switched over automatically. Similarly, any Hong Leong Touch ‘n Go Zing cards linked to your airasia card will be linked automatically to the new Sutera card as well.

As a reminder, although HLB has said that it will carry out these transfers automatically for all affected cardholders, it is still best practice to check up on the processes and transactions on your end as well. This is to ensure that you do not unknowingly miss out an any (re)payments, or encounter any snags in the future when using your new card.

As for your credit limit, HLB said that the figure will remain unchanged; the credit limit of your new Sutera Platinum Visa card will still be the same as that of your airasia card. This applies to all supplementary airasia credit cardholders as well.

Meanwhile, for those who are curious about the benefits of the replacement card, the HLB Sutera Platinum Visa card is a rewards points card that lets you earn up to 8x Rewards Points for every RM1 spent in various spend categories, namely:

• 8x points for online spend on selected platforms
• 8x points for groceries and essentials (including selected pharmacies and convenience stores)
• 8x points for dining
• 8x points for overseas spend
• 1x point for all other eligible retail spend

In addition to earning Rewards Points to redeem frequent flyer miles, gifts, and other vouchers, the Sutera Platinum Visa card also comes with perks like complimentary travel insurance (up to RM1.7 million, covering missed connections, luggage delays or losses, and flight delays) and 0% interest flexi payment plans for 3 months.

In terms of the annual fee, the HLB Sutera Platinum Visa card costs RM120 (principal cardholders) and RM60 (supplementary cardholders) to own, although you can enjoy a waiver for the first year when you perform a transaction within 45 days from your card issuance date. Subsequent annual fees can also be waived with a minimum retail spend of RM15,000 in a year. Under this upcoming re-carding exercise for those holding the airasia card, however, affected cardholders will enjoy a two-year annual fee waiver.

For more information regarding the upcoming re-carding exercise, you can check out its FAQ here.

(Source: Hong Leong Bank)

• TAGS:
• AirAsia
• Credit Card Discontinuation
• HLB AirAsia Credit Card
• Hong Leong
• Hong Leong Bank
• Hong Leong Sutera Platinum Credit Card
• Hong Leong Touch ‘n Go Zing Cards