Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard: All you need to know

The Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard is a credit card with an attractive cash rebate on petrol in Singapore and Malaysia. And it offers cash rebates on retail purchases abroad. But not enough cash rebates can cover up the hefty fees associated with this credit card, especially when using it abroad. So read on to learn more about the inner workings of the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard.

And if you want a cheaper card with a lot lower fees and global reach, take a look at the Wise multi-currency card.

How does the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard work?

The Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard works like a normal credit card – You are given a credit line to make purchases against using the card, in-person or online. You’ll get a bill every statement cycle stating how much you charged to the card plus fees. And if you aren’t able to pay back the full amount you are hit with a 25.9% interest rate on the balance.

On top of the interest rate, the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard does come with numerous fees. Whether it's an annual fee, foreign transaction fee or cash advance fee, it’s likely you are going to have to pay extra. Here’s a breakdown of its major fees, and also how they compare to the easy, transparent and cheap Wise borderless card.

Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard fees and charges

Who is eligible for Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard?

If you are looking to apply for the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard, you first must be at least 21 years old, and then make the income minimums. The income requirements do depend on your citizenship:

• S$ 30,000 for Singapore citizens or permanent residents
• S$ 45,000 for Malaysian citizens
• S$ 60,000 for other nationalities

If you are a Malaysian citizen or a foreign national, you must be employed for at least 1 year to be eligible. And in all three cases, you will be asked for verification documents and proof of income. You can apply online through the Maybank website or at a local branch near you.²

What can I do with Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard?

You can use the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard for your day to day spending and travel around Southeast Asia and the world. But this card has special additional offers for spending on things like petrol, rebates on foreign currency purchases, points rewards and travel insurance.

Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard cashback/ rewards

An attractive deal for those that drive a lot, the Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard offers a 5% cash rebate at participating petrol stations in Singapore and Malaysia. You can also get a 1.5% cash rebate on retail purchases in a foreign currency. In both cases, there is no minimum amount necessary or cap to how much you can get as a cash rebate. You can even combine them, where if you were in Malaysia you can get the 5% cash rebate at a petrol station and the 1.5% foreign currency cash rebate too.³

Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard travel insurance

If you are heading out on a trip and charge your full air travel to your DUO Platinum Mastercard, you will get complimentary travel insurance for you, your spouse and children below the age of 23. You can get it up to S$ 500,000, and get coverage for flight delays, missed flight connections and lost and late luggage.⁴

Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard TREAT points

When you use your Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard locally in Singapore, you can begin to accumulate TREAT points. For every S$ 1 spent, you get 1 TREAT point. You can then spend your points on dining, shopping and travel deals. Just make sure that you sign up separately for the Maybank DUO Rewards Membership Programme to take advantage of this.⁵

Overseas spend with Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard

The Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard sure gives quite a few perks while spending at home, Malaysia, or abroad. But what it doesn’t give you is a break from fees. To spend in a non-Singapore dollar currency can hurt your wallet in two ways- with a foreign transaction fee and a hidden exchange rate fee.

First, every time you use this card abroad it will be hit with a 2.75% transaction fee straightaway. Then, this card first converts your foreign currency into US dollars, and then from US dollars to Singapore dollars before it appears on your statement. And what the credit card company and bank have done is make the exchange rate for you weaker than the rate they use internally. This allows them to take a small cut of every conversion and means more money out of your wallet.

This hidden fee plus the foreign transaction fee can really add up as you travel and spend abroad. Don’t give the banks more money than you have to when you travel, get Wise’s multi-currency card to be bank-fee free.

Get your Wise borderless card - a multi-currency account that is on average 7 times cheaper than banks

Wise borderless card is an easy and cheap way to spend abroad. By using smarter technology, this one account lets you hold and spend locally in 40+ currencies from around the world. You do this with only one low conversion fee between .35-1% every time you convert from Singapore dollars. And you get free cash withdrawals up to $350 every month from ATMs around the world.

It gets even better because Wise’s borderless card lets you shop on global platforms like Qoo10 and Amazon with the same low fees. Need to keep track of your spending? The award-winning app pushes magic notifications to keep you updated. So leave the cash rebates behind and save real hard cash with Wise’s borderless card.