Should You Get The New CIMB World Mastercard Credit Card?

Need a card for travel and luxury spending? If so, you’ll want to consider getting a World Mastercard. This is a credit card that gives you access to unique travel perks and savings.

Not all World Mastercards are equal – each bank has their own version, with varying features and fees.

But if you’re looking for a straightforward cash rebate card, you’ll want to consider the CIMB World Mastercard. Although it has been in the market for a while, it was recently refreshed with new features and benefits.

Does this now make the card a worthy addition to your arsenal? Read on to find out.

Who is this credit card best for?

If you’re a frequent traveller looking for an unlimited cashback credit card, the CIMB World Mastercard may fit the bill. This card offers a straightforward cashback system – you get 1.5% unlimited cash rebate for all overseas or foreign currency spending. Best of all, there are no annual fees.

Good for:

• Frequent travellers who spend overseas, or in foreign currency
• Golfers who visit courses throughout Southeast Asia
• Those looking for a no-fee travel credit card

Bad for:

• Those looking to earn cashback or miles on local purchases

Why should you consider this card?

The best thing about the CIMB World Mastercard is that it’s one of the very few premier credit cards in Malaysia without annual fees. Paired with an unlimited 1.5% cash rebate on overseas or foreign currency transactions, you stand to save a lot without losing anything. Its simple rebate structure means that you don’t need to keep track of monthly limits or tiered cashback rewards.

Plus, unlike most major World credit cards that have an annual income requirement of RM100,000, the CIMB World Mastercard has a slightly lower requirement of RM90,000.

The card comes with a few travel perks for frequent globe-trotters: automatic travel insurance coverage of up to RM1 million, 15% off at The ZON Duty Free outlets in Malaysia and preferential foreign exchange rates.

If you’re an avid golfer, you’ll also definitely want to consider this card. As a World Mastercard cardholder, you’ll enjoy 50% off walk-in green fees at the following courses throughout Southeast Asia:

• Singapore: Sentosa Golf Club, Orchid Country Club, Warren Golf & Country Club
• Indonesia: Damai Indah Golf Club, Klub Golf Bogor Raya, Palm Spring Golf Resort
• Malaysia: Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club, Kota Permai Golf & Country Club, Glenmarie Golf & Country Club
• Thailand: Loch Palm Golf Club, Bangkok, Muang Kaew Golf Club, Bangkok, Alpine Golf & Country Club
• Vietnam: Song Be Golf Resort, The Montgomerie Vietnam, Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club
• Philippines: Luisita Golf Club, Mimosa Golf Course
• Taiwan: Sunrise Golf & Country Club, Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club, National Garden Golf & Country Club
• Hong Kong: Long Island Country Club, Zhuhai Lakewood Golf Club, Mission Hills Golf Club
• Korea: 88 Country Club, New Springville

How is it different from the old CIMB World Mastercard?

If you already have the CIMB World Mastercard prior to 15 November 2019, your card has been enhanced with these features:

	Old	New
Annual fee	None	None
Cash rebate	None	Unlimited 1.5% cash rebate on overseas (or foreign currency) spending
Bonus Points on flight tickets	2x	5x
Bonus Points on local purchases	1x	1x
Duty-free rebates	None	15% off at the Zon Duty Free outlets in Malaysia
Automatic Travel Insurance Coverage	Up to RM1 mil	Up to RM1 mil

With the introduction of the 1.5% cash rebate and higher Bonus Points earning rates, you’ll get more rewards for spending. Here’s an example of how much cash rebate and Bonus Points you’ll earn when purchasing a RM5,000 flight ticket:

RM5,000 flight ticket	Old	New
Bonus Points	2,000	5,000
Cash rebate	RM0	RM75

Earning and redeeming rewards

There are two main ways to earn Bonus Points with the CIMB World Mastercard:

• 1 Bonus Point on local purchases
• 5 Bonus Points on flight tickets

CIMB has an extensive catalogue of rewards that can be redeemed with your Bonus Points – ranging from miles, cashback, home essentials, travel luggage and vouchers (Agoda, Starbucks, Cold Storage, Giant, etc.).

Here are a few examples of what you can redeem:

CIMB Bonus Points	Redemption
10,000 Bonus Points	1,000 Malaysia Airlines Enrich Miles
40,000 Bonus Points	RM100 cashback – can be used to settle your credit card account balance
43,600 Bonus Points	RM100 Agoda voucher
43,600 Bonus Points	RM100 Zalora voucher
22,900 Bonus Points	RM50 Starbucks voucher

Based on the redemption options, you’ll need 400 to 458 Bonus Points to redeem RM1 worth of cashback or vouchers.

This means that if you spend on local purchases, your Bonus Points gives you an equivalent cashback value of 0.22% to 0.25%. If you spend on flight tickets, that’s an equivalent cashback value of 1.09% to 1.25%.

Interested in redeeming miles instead? When you purchase flight tickets and redeem your Bonus Points, you’ll get 1 Enrich Mile for every RM2 spent. When you spend on regular local purchases and redeem your Bonus Points, you’ll get 1 Enrich Mile for every RM10 spent. Unless you often spend on flight tickets, this doesn’t make the CIMB World Mastercard a good option if you’re looking to rack up your miles.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for cashback or miles on everyday spending, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

But for frequent travellers – especially those into golf – the CIMB World Mastercard makes an appealing unlimited cash rebate card. For existing credit card holders, the new and improved features (as of November 2019) makes it a card worth holding on to.