Hong Leong Bank (HLB) Visa Infinite card review - Are the Enrich Miles worth it in Malaysia?

Looking for a travel credit card that offers reward earning opportunities at home and abroad, as well as a suite of travel targeted benefits? You may be thinking of the HLB Visa Infinite card¹. This credit card has no annual fee and opportunities to earn rewards from Malaysian Airlines, including higher reward earning rates when you’re abroad. But is it worth getting?

Read this guide to the HLB Visa Infinite credit card to help you decide. We’ll also introduce an alternative which is also worth taking along with you on your travels - the Wise card. The Wise card is a debit card, not a credit card, and offers low cost ways to spend in 150+ countries with the mid-market exchange rate and no foreign transaction fee². More on that later.

What is the HLB Visa Infinite credit card?

The HLB Visa Infinite credit card is issued as a standard card, and as the HLB Visa Infinite P card³, which is by invitation only and aimed at higher net worth individuals. There’s also an HLB Visa Infinite card which is only available to registered doctors and dentists⁴. This guide looks at the standard HLV Visa Infinite, although the benefits of the other 2 cards are relatively similar.

The standard HLB Visa Infinite credit card is available to customers aged between 21 and 70 years old with a minimum income of 150,000 MYR annually. Supplementary cards are available for customers aged 18 or over.

The Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite allows customers to earn Enrich Points - the loyalty and reward points scheme from Malaysian AIrways (MAS). Points are earned and issued directly as Enrich Points, so there’s no conversion from one scheme to another and no request process to allow you to redeem your points with MAS and their partners. We’ll look at the Hong Leong Bank Infinite credit card points earning and redemption options later - first, here’s an overview of the key features and fees⁵:

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HLB Visa Infinite card benefits

There’s no annual fee for the HLB Visa Infinite credit card which makes it an attractive option if you’re looking for a credit card with no ongoing fees to pay. Although charges do apply to some transaction types, such as getting a cash advance, you can also access some nice perks which are mainly aimed at travellers.

The key Hong Leong Infinite card benefits include:

• Earn Malaysian Airlines Enrich Points as you spend
• Automatic travel insurance when you pay for flights with your card
• Complimentary Hong Leong Visa Infinite lounge access
• HLB Premium travel desk and Visa concierge services to help book travel and experiences

Likely the main reason to consider the HLB Visa Infinite credit card is if you travel with MAS frequently, and would benefit from easy ways to earn and spend Enrich Points. We’ll look at how point earning and spending works next.

Earning Enrich Points

Your Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite card lets you earn Enrich Points directly, without needing to earn bank points and convert to the airline’s point scheme. You can earn on more or less all your card spending, at the following rates:

Bear in mind that there’s no way to earn points on some spending, including government payments or tax, cash advances or similar transactions, or paying your card fees.

It’s also very important to note that although you’ll earn more points when you spend in foreign currencies, you’ll also pay higher fees. When you spend in a foreign currency, the conversion to MYR is handled by the card network - Visa. The Visa exchange rate applies, with a couple of additional fees - a 1% fee that’s paid to Visa, and a further 1% paid to HLB. That means that you pay a little bit more every time you spend in a foreign currency with your card - worth considering if you’re thinking of a credit card for overseas use.

If you’re more interested in getting a card you can use overseas with low fees and no foreign transaction fees, you may prefer a debit card such as the Wise card. We’ll look at that a bit more later.

Enrich Points redemption

Once you’ve earned Enrich Points it’s time to have fun spending them. Enrich Points are issued by Malaysian Airlines and can be used both for spending with MAS, and also with partner organisations - giving more choice. The ways you can redeem your Enrich Points include⁶:

• Buying MAS flights in full or in part
• Upgrading on MAS flights
• For hotel bookings
• For experiences
• To top up an Enrich Money account⁷

If you choose to open an Enrich Money account you can add money to your digital account by converting Enrich Points, and then spend it with the linked Enrich card. You’ll also be able to earn more Enrich Points as you spend, if you choose to top up your account with money rather than using your points for conversion.

For flight booking and upgrades, as well as for hotel arrangements, you can book online through the MAS website, in person at an MAS office or by phone. Depending on the flights you want to book you may be able to use points as part payment instead of covering the full cost of your booking, and simply top up the remaining fee with cash.

Remember to bring along the Wise card - To worry less about fees and focus more on your travel experiences

If cutting fees and costs when you spend internationally is more important to you than earning reward points, consider getting an international debit card to make your MYR go further when you’re away from home.

The Wise card is an international debit card you can use in 150+ countries - and a smart low cost alternative to using a credit card when you spend in foreign currencies. Wise accounts can support 40+ currencies, so all you need to do is add money in MYR and convert to the currency you need in advance or when you pay. There are no ongoing card charges, you’ll only ever pay transparent low fees for the services you need. Plus you get the mid-market rate for currency conversion wherever you spend in person or online in foreign currencies.

Order a Wise card for a one time card fee of 13.70 MYR, to spend seamlessly around the world and make 2 free withdrawals of up to 1000 MYR a month to make sure you have cash in your pocket when you need it.

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Summary

The HLB Visa Infinite card is a good pick for many frequent travellers as it has no ongoing annual fee to pay, and allows you to earn MAS Enrich Points directly with no conversion request process. However, there are still some potential costs including interest, penalties and cash advance fees. Weigh up the benefits against the fees - and check out the Wise card as a smart addition to your wallet, for low cost spending and withdrawals around the world.