Alliance Visa Infinite Card: A Great Rewards Programme

Sometimes it seems like cashback cards get all the glory. After all, they offer savings in cold, hard cash.

But a good rewards card can help you save money too, or even score you a free flight ticket. If you’re looking for a solid rewards card, the Alliance Visa Infinite Card may fit the bill. Here’s what you need to know about this card.

Alliance Visa Infinite credit card key features

Benefits	● Up to 8x Timeless Bonus Points for every RM1 spent ● Points redeemable for gifts, miles and vouchers ● 5% Flexi Payment Plan
Interest rate	● 6.88% p.a. - 14.88% p.a.
Annual fee	● RM438 ● First year waived ● Subsequent years waived with a minimum spend of RM12,000 p.a.
Eligibility requirements	● Minimum annual income of RM60,000 per year ● 21 years and above

How does its rewards programme work?

With the Alliance Visa Infinite card, you can earn Timeless Bonus Points (TBP) for almost every transaction:

Category	Rewards
eCommerce and eWallet top-ups	8 TBP per RM1 spent
Groceries and overseas transactions	5 TBP per RM1 spent
Dining, entertainment, auto-billing, contactless and domestic transactions	1 TBP per RM1 spent

You can use your points to redeem the following:

• Use your points to redeem lifestyle items, gadgets and electrical or kitchen appliances.
• Get cash vouchers from AEON, Tesco, Giant, Cold Storage, Uniqlo, Kinokuniya, Starbucks and more. You would need 60,000 TBP to redeem an RM100 voucher. If you get 8 TBP for every RM1 you spend, using your points to redeem these vouchers is equivalent to a 1.33% return.
• Your points can be used to redeem Enrich Points or AirAsia Big Points:

Programme	TBP needed	Mile redemption	Estimated return rate
Enrich Points	6,000 TBP	1,000 Enrich Points	2.19%, assuming one Enrich Point is worth RM0.0164 (based on hotel redemption rates)
AirAsia Big Points	3,000 TBP	1,000 Big Points	2.13%, assuming one Big Point is worth RM0.008

If you don’t spend a lot on eCommerce or eWallets, hitting that 8 TBP tier might seem hard. But here’s a tip: use this card to top up your eWallets. Your eWallet funds can then be used to pay off other expenses, such as groceries, bills or dining. If you had used your card to pay these categories instead, you would have only earned 1 TBP for every RM1 spent.

These points never expire, so you can save them up for huge redemptions.

How does Alliance Visa Infinite card compare to other rewards cards?

Is this card better than the competition? We pit it against six other cards to find out:

Note: estimated redemption rates are accurate at the time of writing; may change from time to time

At 8 TBP for every RM1 spent, this card offers one of the best redemption rates. In our comparison, only the HSBC Visa Signature offers a slightly higher voucher redemption value. But when it comes to redeeming miles, the Alliance Visa Infinite is way ahead of the competition.

Of course, if you’re looking to get higher returns on your spending, cashback cards will offer better value (e.g. up to 15% cashback). But they tend to come with monthly or category caps (e.g. RM50 a month), which limit your returns. They also generally can’t be used to redeem gifts, vouchers or air miles.

On the other hand, the Alliance Visa Infinite card offers up to 1.33% to 2.19% return (based on 8 TBP per RM1 spent), without any limits.

Other features

The card also comes with a 0% Flexi Payment Plan, which allows you to break up your spending (applicable only for flight ticket purchases, hotel bookings and overseas spending) into 0% interest repayments for three months. This can be useful if you have a large purchase coming up, and you want to divide them into smaller repayments to manage your cash flow.

Fees

This card has a relatively high annual fee of RM438, but you can get it waived if you spend at least RM12,000 a year. That’s RM1,000 a month, which could be doable if you consolidate all your spending onto this card.

What we like

• Great rewards programme. You can earn points on almost everything, including eWallet top ups and auto-billing. Points never expire, and can be used to redeem gifts, miles or cash vouchers.
• High redemption rates. Your points can be used to easily rack up air miles.
• 0% Flexi Payment Plan. You can break up retail purchases at 0% interest for three months.

What to think about

• High annual fee. This card has a relatively high annual fee of RM438, but you can get it waived by spending at least RM12,000 a year.

How to be eligible for Alliance Visa Infinite Credit Card

To qualify for this card, you must meet these requirements:

• Minimum annual income of RM60,000 per year
• 21 years and above