Boost Beyond Card review - A complete guide on fees, benefits and more

The Boost Beyond card¹ is a prepaid Mastercard which also offers options to defer payments, available to select Boost customers who are also CelcomDigi pre or post paid users. If you’re wondering about how the Beyond card from Boost works, what it costs and how to get one, this guide is for you.

In this Boost beyond card review, we'll also compare the Boost Beyond card with the Wise card, to give an alternative option for your overseas spending. While Boost Beyond uses a foreign transaction fee for foreign currency spend, Wise lets you hold and exchange 40+ currencies, with no foreign transaction fees and low conversion costs form 0.33%.

What is the Boost Beyond Card

Boost² is a financial app which offers a broad range of services in Malaysia - and which has teamed up with CelcomDigi to offer the Boost prepaid card. This card is only available to people who are both Boost and CelcomDigi customers³ at the time of writing, but the intention is to roll out eligibility to allow more people to sign up.

If you’re able to get a Boost Beyond Card you can sign up in a few steps in the Boost app, to make physical and virtual card payments funded by either your Boost wallet balance or through Boost PayFlex. PayFlex lets you split your payment into instalments or defer them for a while - fees may apply to this service, which we will look at more closely later.

Whichever funding method you choose, Boost transactions are funded in MYR. If you’re abroad, your purchase cost is converted back to MYR with the network rate plus a 2% foreign transaction fee. It’s also not possible to use your Boost card in an ATM - which may mean you decide on a different card option for your next overseas trip. We’ll touch on one solid choice - the Wise card - later.

Boost Beyond Card benefits

So what Boost Beyond Card benefits could you access? Here’s a quick overview:

• Virtual and physical cards for instore and online payments
• Instant approval if you’re already a Boost and CelcomDigi customer
• Accepted at 100 million+ Mastercard merchants at home and abroad
• Pay with your ewallet balance or using PayFlex to defer or split costs
• Earn rewards and unlock Mastercard benefits
• Manage your card from your phone - lock, unlock and view transactions easily

Boost PayFlex

Boost PayFlex is an interesting feature which allows you to use your card to either pay instantly from your ewallet balance, or defer payment to a later stage. On eligible transactions you can choose to either defer payment for up to 30 days, or split down your costs across instalments, paying in 3 or 6 months.

If you choose to pay in 30 days, the minimum purchase transaction is 5 MYR. Repaying across 3 months has a minimum purchase transaction of 100 MYR, while splitting into 6 months of instalments requires a purchase of at least 300 MYR. Total usage limits run from 150 MYR to 1,500 MYR and are regularly reviewed - when you use this service, your repayments are deducted from a bank account you’ve linked to Boost on their due dates.

There's a fee for using PayFlex, as follows:

• Wakalah Fee - 5 MYR to 10 MYR for 30 day deferral, 10 MYR for instalments
• Profit Rate - 2.5%, payable on instalment transactions only

Late payment fees apply if you can’t cover the repayments from your linked bank account.

Boost Beyond Card annual fee

There’s no Boost Beyond Card annual fee - but other costs may arise depending on how you use your card. It’s important to review the card terms and conditions carefully, looking in particular at fees, which can include the following:

Wise card vs Boost Beyond Card

Not sure if the Boost Beyond Card is the one for you? Let’s run a quick head to head comparison on Boost’s Beyond Card vs the Wise card, on some key features.

Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

The Boost Beyond Card may be a good option if you’ll be spending online and in stores in MYR and want to defer your costs. There’s a fee to pay for this service, but it can spread out the costs of purchases over up to 6 months. If you’ll be travelling or need a card for ATM use, Wise may suit you better, with 40+ supported currencies, low fees and no foreign transaction charge.

How to apply for Boost Beyond card

Once you’ve checked you’re eligible you can apply for your new Boost Payond card in these few steps:

1. Download or log into the Boost app
2. Click the Beyond Card tile
3. Enter your details and submit the application
4. Once verified, you’ll get your virtual Beyond Card instantly

If you want a Beyond physical card you can apply in-app, and your physical card will be delivered to you within 5-7 working days at your registered address. Fees apply.

Summary

If you already use Boost and Celcom Digi, you can apply for a Boost Beyond Card to make paying for things online and in person easy. You’ll get the option to pay from your ewallet balance or to use PayFlex to defer payment - but this does come with a cost.

There are a few key downsides to the Boost Beyond Card which you’ll want to know about before you order yours. Firstly, for overseas use there’s a 2% fee which can push up the costs of travel and shopping online with international merchants. And secondly, even if you pay the 20 MYR fee to get a physical card, you can’t make ATM withdrawals - that can be a draw back if you prefer to use cash.

If you want to use ATMs, and if you’d expect to be spending in foreign currencies online or when you travel, you might decide the Wise card is a better fit.

With Wise you can add money in MYR and change to any of the 40+ supported currencies to spend wherever in the world you are. There’s no foreign transaction fee and all currency conversion uses the mid-market rate with low fees from 0.33%. Use Wise to get cash whenever you need it, with 2 withdrawals to the value of 1,000 MYR for free before a low, transparent fee begins. That means you’ll always be able to pay easily with Wise, at home and abroad.

Get started with Wise