OCBC Bank has officially launched its new OCBC 90°N Visa Card, a travel card aimed primarily at rewarding travellers with points earning on their daily expenses that you can redeem as cashback for any spending on OCBC 90°N Visa Card, complimentary travel insurance, and a unique lounge access feature that allows cardholders to bring a guest. 

Cardholders will earn rewards points on their transactions, known as Travel$, at a rate of 1 Travel$ for every RM1 spent locally, and 5 Travel$ for every RM1 of overseas spend. These points can then be conveniently viewed and redeemed as cashback on anything via the OCBC Internet Banking website or OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking app. Cardholders can redeem cashback, provided they have a minimum of 5,000 Travel$ (equivalent to RM10 cashback) and have made at least one travel-related spend (such as airline tickets, accommodations, travel agencies and tour operators, as well as tourist attractions) in the past 12 months.

In its FAQ, OCBC Bank states that there is no limit to the amount of Travel$ that you can earn. In addition, all Travel$ have a validity period of five years – which is longer than the industry norm of three years.

Besides that, the new card will also offer 2x complimentary Plaza Premium Lounge (PPL) access at KLIA and KLIA2 for the first year, which you can share with an accompanying guest as well – a unique perk as most credit cards in the market restrict lounge access only to the cardholder. Cardmembers can continue to enjoy this benefit for subsequent years upon a minimum total retail spend of RM30,000 p.a. in the current year.

Lastly, OCBC 90°N Visa cardholders enjoy travel insurance coverage of up to RM1 million, inclusive of death and permanent disablement benefits, when they pay for their travel arrangements with the OCBC 90°N Visa Card.

The OCBC 90°N Visa Card has an annual fee of RM288 for principal cards (and RM88 for every supplementary card), which is waived for the first year for first-time OCBC credit cardholders or those who have not held any cards with the bank in the past 12 months. The minimum annual income requirement is RM60,000 (or RM5,000 a month).

Managing Director & Head of Consumer Financial Services of OCBC Bank, Anne Leh said that the launch of this card is particularly timely as travel and tourism is once again rebounding after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“According to the Global Travel Insight report from Visa, a full recovery is expected for the global travel and tourism industry three years after the pandemic. Asia Pacific monthly outbound travel was forecasted to match its 2019 levels as early as July 2023, the report states, which is about now. Overall, overseas credit card expenditure amongst our cardmembers has also exceeded the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, and we continue to see strong growth in this category,” said Leh, adding that the OCBC 90°N Visa Card is well poised to tap into this trend.

Leh also highlighted that the new card has been designed specifically to address existing pain points that many cardmembers currently face. These include having difficulty in keeping track of points balances, a tedious redemption process – which is also limited to travel-related rewards – as well as a restrictive airport lounge access policy.

Ng Kong Boon, Country Manager for Visa Malaysia, said “It is exciting to see global tourism rebounding and Malaysian travellers preparing to resume their ventures abroad. Based on our latest insights on post-pandemic travel preferences, almost one in three Malaysians (30%) are eager to travel overseas for both leisure and work in 2023. In addition, more than two in five of Malaysians (41%) consider discounts and promotions a key driver in taking international trips. That is why we believe the launch of OCBC 90°N Visa credit card comes at the right time and will help Malaysian cardholders enjoy a seamless and secure payment experience when they pay and travel with Visa.”

In conjunction with the launch of the OCBC 90°N Visa Card, OCBC Bank is currently providing limited-time-only welcome offers to first-time OCBC credit card customers – from today until 31 October 2023. For instance, the first 3,000 successful applicants will be given an exclusive LED edition of the card which lights up whenever you make contactless payments. First-time OCBC credit card customers will also receive up to RM300 in travel rewards, including bonus Travel$, GrabGifts vouchers, and discounts on bookings on Klook (upon spending a minimum of RM1,500 on their new card within 60 days). Terms and conditions apply. 

(Source: OCBC Bank [1, 2])

• TAGS:
• Anne Leh
• Credit Card Launch
• OCBC
• OCBC 90°N Visa Credit Card
• OCBC Bank
• Plaza Premium Lounge