OCBC Premier Voyage card review - Best premier banking miles card in Malaysia?

If you’re eligible for a OCBC Premier Voyage Mastercard¹, you could get yourself a distinctive OCBC metal card - the first of its kind - and easy ways to earn rewards as you spend. However, it’s important to understand the OCBC Premier Voyage card requirements, as this card is only available by invitation to specific customer groups.

This guide walks through all you need to know about the OCBC Premier Voyage including eligibility, earning and fees - and we’ll also touch on the Wise card as a smart alternative. 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 rate and no foreign transaction fee². More on that later.

What is the OCBC Premier Voyage credit card?

The OCBC Premier Voyage Mastercard is Malaysia's first metal card crafted from featherweight Duralumin metal - sure to make you stand out from the crowd. In Malaysia, only the Premier version of the Voyage card is available, which is offered by invitation only to eligible Premier banking customers and Premier private clients.

Benefits you can get from the card include flexible OCBC Voyage miles redemption for travel, staycations, or as cashback, and access to the OCBC Voyage lounge when you travel. You can also spend overseas with no foreign transaction fee to pay.

Who can qualify for an OCBC Premier Voyage card?

The OCBC Premier Voyage card is offered by invitation to clients considered to be high net worth individuals (HNWI). But what does that mean? To give some context, here’s the OCBC HNWI definition. You’ll need to meet one of these criteria at least, to apply³:

• Your net personal assets must exceed 3 million MYR
• Your gross annual income must be no less than 300,000 MYR
• Your gross annual income jointly with your spouse must be no less than 400,000 MYR

Not what you’re looking for? If you want a simpler solution for overseas spending, check out the Wise card. More on that later.

OCBC Premier Voyage credit card feature overview

As with all credit cards, there are some fees to pay - including a 750 MYR annual charge and fairly high costs and interest if you use your card in an ATM. To decide if this is the right card for you, you’ll need to weigh up both the costs and the benefits - here’s a quick overview of some of the most important features of the OCBC Premier Voyage Mastercard.

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OCBC Premier Voyage card benefits

As we’ve mentioned, to get the OCBC Premier Voyage Mastercard you’ll need to be an existing OCBC Premier banking customer or Premier private client, and pay an annual fee. Once you’ve got your card in your hand, you can access exclusive benefits including:

• Earn unlimited Voyage Miles that never expire
• Redeem Voyage Miles for travel, shopping and cashback
• No foreign transaction fee
• Complimentary access to Plaza Premium Lounge at KLIA

The overarching theme of the benefits on offer here is around travel and lifestyle experiences - you can have the OCBC Mastercard concierge book your flights and an airport transfer, paying with your Voyage miles - then you’ll be able to hang out at the airport with complimentary lounge access, and spend on arrival with no foreign transaction fee. The downside of course is the cost. While these benefits are offered as part of your package, you’ll still need to be a Premier banking customer or Premier private client and pay the annual fee, plus any extra fees and charges accrued as you spend.

Earning OCBC Voyage Miles

When you spend with your OCBC Premier Voyage card, at home or abroad, you’ll earn Voyage miles at the following rate:

Miles are not issued for some spending types - such as paying card costs like your annual fee or paying taxes. There is also a clause that states that miles are not paid on spending in the UK and most European countries - if you’re planning to use your card when you travel, this is well worth understanding⁵. Depending on where you’re heading you might find that getting a lower overall cost with a card that has no annual fee - like the Wise card - is better value in the end.

Bear in mind as well that although you’re earning more Voyage Miles when you spend overseas, your foreign currency spending may come with extra fees. Generally there’s no foreign transaction fee to pay, and your spending is converted using the Mastercard network exchange rate. This rate is usually pretty fair but can include a small markup. There are also OCBC fees when you use your card in an ATM or casino overseas which it’s worth being aware of⁶.

OCBC Voyage Miles redemption

Once you have OCBC Voyage Miles, you can redeem them in several different ways:

• As cash back for credit against your annual fees
• As hotel vouchers for specific partner hotels
• As lifestyle vouchers including airport lounge access
• For concierge services

Concierge services can include:

• Booking flights, hotel or airport transfers
• Booking dining
• Arranging entertainment or concert tickets
• Arranging car hire or sightseeing
• Sending gifts or flowers to others
• Booking golf course access

Point conversion rates vary depending on what you decide to redeem - but to give an idea, you can switch 5,000 miles for 50 MYR cashback to be credited to your account to offset charges. On the other hand, 12,500 miles might get you a 500 MYR voucher for a specific Mastercard partner hotel.

Bring along the Wise card - To spend less on conversion fees and more on travel experiences

Credit cards aren’t right for everyone. If you’re not eligible for the OCBC Premier Voyage card - or if you simply don’t want to pay the annual fee and any applicable charges - check out the Wise card as a low cost alternative.

The Wise card is a debit card which means no restrictive eligibility requirements, no interest and no penalty charges. Just add money in MYR and convert to any of 40+ supported currencies in advance or when you pay, to spend in over 150 countries with transparent low fees, and the mid-market rate for currency conversion.

There’s a one time card fee of 13.70 MYR, with no ongoing charges and no minimum account balance - plus if you need to get cash for your trip, you can make 2 free withdrawals of up to 1000 MYR a month before paying the low Wise withdrawal fees.

Sign up for your Wise card today 💳

Summary

Use this guide to decide if the OCBC Premier Voyage card is the one for you. Compare it against the low cost Wise card on both features and fees, to see which works best for your preferences and spending habits.