MilesBuzz

How quick can you apply for the same card (ie: CX Amex) after u decide to cancel one, just to get the Welcome Bonus?

I haven't been using my CX Amex for like 2 years now and on hindsight, I should probably have cancelled it last year?

ChrisLi

Normally you need to cut it and wait for a year (I will wait 13 months just to be safe)

In the application form they clearly state how long is the period required. Some credit card as I know doesn't allowing churning (e.g. DahSing ANA Credit Card)

MilesBuzz

It's a bit of a hassle to churn and the waiting period is quite long.....

fallinasleep

Now (finally) available in English

http://hk.dbs.com/en/consumer/credit...monthlyPromo14


Quick question for the pros:

What's the best card to spend 15-20k in the next week or so?

I have most of the non-mainland Chinese bank CCs out there.

At this moment, the HSBC 15x reward cash at Times Square seems to be the best deal but I hate paying redemption fees (ie HSBC's HK$300 annual fee for their mileage program).

How many incremental AM would you need to receive via the HSBC card versus any other conversion fee-free card to justify the HK$300 in your opinion, assuming you won't earn any more reward cash in the next 12 months.

Also, just to confirm, 10k spending at Times Square should equal 9000 AM (before fees) based on the 15x reward cash promotion. Is this correct?

Thanks

percysmith

9,000 correct.

Breakeven point between redeeming AM for $300 and Octopus Reward$ for free is 600 RewardCash (workings here: http://www.hongkongcard.com/forum/fo...ow.php?id=5692, assuming valuation of $0.1/mile)

One-off purchase for 15-20K?

Any chance to split? Times Square offer maxes out at 10K

If one-off but you can do it at Times Square, might as well stay there. 9,900 - 10,500 there ($1.52 - 2.38/mile)

percysmith

http://www.bankcomm.com.hk/mediafile...f_10104_en.pdf

You can choose to receive the bonus 2X either in points or in miles.

Bonus 2X rounded down to nearest $3,000 if miles, no rounding down for points.

Platinum Visa and Diamond Unionpay both OK.

If Diamond Unionpay:
Basic 1X: $8/mile
2X for $300 or over in HK: $4/mile
Extra 2X for promotion (edit 4 Sep: to be awarded in Jan 2012): $6/mile
Total promotional rate: 1/(1/8x2 + 1/12x2) = $2.4/mile)

Edit 4 Sep: Oh pooh. Just noticed an onerous T&C:

http://www.bankcomm.com.hk/mediafile..._en.pdf#page=3

Oh boo....this means it'll be too late for the $8/mile redemption.
The effective earn rate will be 1/(1/8x2 + 1/12x2) = $2.4/mile.

percysmith

Oh yes...the Urban Taxi Drivers Association Joint Committee...indeed

Drive to go plastic in taxis speeds up
Tuesday July 19 2011
Simpson Cheung [email protected]

Passengers will be able to pay taxi fares by Visa or Octopus card in some of the city's 18,000 cabs within a few months - but some taxi unions are lukewarm about the idea.

Octopus said yesterday that 300 more cabs from Motion Power would install card readers after a successful six-month pilot scheme involving 30 taxis. Last month, Visa said that after its successful trial, card readers would be installed in 600 taxis.

Taxi owners need to pay HK$250 a month to rent an Octopus card reader. The card operator will also charge 1 per cent of drivers' daily revenue as an administration fee. The remaining money will be transferred automatically to the drivers' bank accounts the next working day.

But Kwan Yuk-wah, chairman of the Urban Taxi Drivers Association Joint Committee which represents 7,000 cabbies, said: 'There was a trial run several years ago, but drivers ended up abandoning the Octopus readers under their seats. It was not feasible to implement.'

He said drivers end up with less cash flow if people pay fares with plastic. This can cause inconvenience for them as they need cash to pay tunnel tolls, fuel and taxi rents.

The card readers are integrated with the taxi meters and display the fare amount automatically. A button is also provided for passengers to add tips, but Kwan doubted if passengers would bother to give one.

Lam Kwai-keung, chairman of the Front Line Taxi Driver Association, said he strongly opposed the scheme as the administration fee was a further financial burden on drivers. He said life had been difficult for drivers because of surging oil prices and car rents. 'We are just doing business, but Octopus is trying to extract money from us,' he said.

Sunny Cheung Yiu-tong, chief executive officer of Octopus Holdings, said he hoped more taxis would be willing to install Octopus card readers after learning about its convenience. 'Passengers can get out faster, thus [saving time for] drivers to serve more passengers. They can get more tips. And it would be safer as drivers would not need to keep too much cash,' he said.

The company had tried to speed up the time it took drivers to cash in the electronic money, but it still took one working day for banks to handle the transaction, he said.

Cheung also admitted that there had been some cases in the trial scheme where passengers had been charged the wrong amount, but he said the situation would improve with a full launch.

Some drivers do like the alternative payment method. Lam Ching-kiu, who has used an Octopus reader in his car for two months, said he could now serve two to three more passengers a shift and earned 10 per cent more, outweighing the administration fee.

When the driver next to me is still handling change, I am ready to go,' he said.

A survey by Octopus last July showed that 90 per cent of 500 passengers interviewed welcomed the scheme, with 40 per cent saying that they would take taxis more frequently if they could pay a fare by Octopus.

Edwin Wong Ka-ho, 32, who frequently takes taxis, said he hoped more taxis could be equipped with the device.

'It will be faster and more convenient. Looking in pockets for cash or waiting for change from drivers is quite troublesome sometimes.'

Connecta

I'm taking taxis every workday to and from work, so really looking forward to that!

Another question regarding Fubon Platinum (Elite) Credit Card:

I'm still using it for it's 3HKD/1AM conversion rate for overseas transactions. I've used it extensively for big ticket items to purchase wine for investment and collected beyond 2.4M bonus points, which equates to 200,000AM.

The customer service called me today and mentioned that they have a limit of 100,000AM per redemption and that they wanted to split it up into _three_ redemptions (90,000AM + 90,000AM + 20,000AM), each costing HKD 150 fee. Obviously I did not agree and had questions.

Unfortunately, the CS agent couldn't respond to my questions, so I asked her to get back and clarifying where the 100,000AM limit is written (could not find it on the form, nor on the website - am on travel and can't access other docs) + why they have to split it up into three redemptions and not two redemptions at each 100,000AM.

Anyone else who ran into the same problem and/or knows where to find that 100,000AM limit? Thanks.

percysmith

Without the app, I can't locate the Octopus cabs.


First time I've heard of it. I've been through their T&C in English and Chinese line by line and couldn't find it either.

They may very well have redemption limits in the system but that's none of the customer's business if the customer's not notified in advance. If such limits exist they should process your redemption but rebate the second and third redemption fees.

Don't deal with their CS any further, write to their complaints division (which is in another building) about this lack of notice problem:

http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/cons...ct_persons.doc

Head of Customer Service Assurance
Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited
Customer Service Assurance, Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Fubon Bank Building, 38 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong
[email protected]
Fax: 2801 6483


If they don't respond or they refuse to assist then there's nothing you can do about it - bonus points programs aren't really protected by HKMA or any regulatory authority here (unlike US).

Pay up but you get to take them to a kangaroo court somewhere - Apple Daily is your best bet, SCMP if you're Chinese-challenged.

percysmith

Some taxi drivers are bait and switching about the availability of Visa acceptance.

I waited patiently for an Autotaxi last night. The Autotaxi promised Visa acceptance but took ages to show up. I noticed his GPS system is operational.

When we turned onto the highway I noticed the driver kept resetting his card terminal. It lights up but he kept resetting it. He swore his card terminal was working "two days ago" but has been playing up, and blamed the Autotaxi co for the poor quality of the terminals. I was too tired to examine the system and told him to try connecting again when I get off and have to pay.

I woke up at the destination and told him to try the terminal again. He told me it's switched off, and even if he turned it back on he "didn't have the code to use it". I assume this means he's trotting out the "not registered to use" excuse again http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...hk-61.html#903 . I had a $500 note on me and make him break it up.

On one hand I had few alternatives but to take a taxi from where I was. But on the other hand I felt defrauded by this probable lowlife cos he probably knowingly accepted a Visa order when he knew he couldn't Visa (or didn't want to), and I waited for him rather than flag the first taxi on the street.

Had I been more awake, I would've told him to pull over and terminated my hire there.

Point of interest to all Autotaxi customers. Most Autotaxi drivers taking Visa calls have honoured Visa payment tho.

Postscript - I wrote a complaint to Autotaxi about him http://www.autotaxi.com.hk/chin/index/contact_us.html. And I should publish the driver's details: driver of KL3977 with mobile number 6370 7812.

MilesBuzz

Got my ShaComm card on Thursday and already used it for one dining transaction yesterday

The HK$3,000 required for the 3k bonus AM will be easily fulfilled by my upcoming trip to Macau on Monday for 2 room bookings + 4 round-trip ferry tickets.

toplayer

Yep I had the same issue last year. What they did was divide up the conversions as above, charged and then immediately reversed the conversion fees above the $150. This was the solution offered by CS on our first call, they did not attempt to charge me the additional conversion fees above the $150. Their call to me was prompted by me submitting the faxed conversion form.

It all went smoothly aside from that.

Connecta

Thanks, percysmith and toplayer.

Although having told them that I was on travel in Europe and they even confirming knowing that, they still woke me up at 5am... At least I got the confirmation of the very same what toplayer experienced: This time with the explanation that it is an issue with their "system".

So I will be charged as well 3 times the conversion fee and then get a refund of the ones exceeding HKD 150 to be in line with their T&C. I did not bother asking why it had to be a split of 90,000AM + 90,000AM + 20,000AM, instead of 2x 100,000AM since the end result will be the same for me.

MilesBuzz

My BankComm CUP Diamond Card was just approved and I will be collecting it tomorrow. So, time to use that card for the moment

MilesBuzz

I tried to open an Internet Banking account while collecting the BankComm CUP Diamond Card. However, the agent said that I need to open a savings account with BankComm first before I can do that So, that means that I cannot use the card to pay bills online????

This wasn't the case with ShaComm and I can now access the Internet Banking site for ShaComm without even opening any savings account with them.