credit cards

1. Gas (RM 50.63)

I just did this to verify that my new debit card is working. I just got it a couple of minutes ago so I went to the petrol station and used it to verify that it’s been activated. I do this with my credit card too – for a completely different reason – to check if I’ve exceeded the limit.

2. Dinner (RM 46.85)

Xinxian went the opposite of the “Look East” policy and we searched for a place that serves the cuisine that she wanted – ended up eating at Pancake House where there were savory pancakes in addition to sweet ones. I had the Classic Country Pancake.

She had the Best Taco Special set.

We both ordered Halo Halo coz it says that it originates from the Philippines and since we’re heading there I thought it’ll be fun to eat this here and compare it with the authentic (at least geographically) one when we head there in about a week or so.

Not a bad place for a quick dinner.

3. Shopping (RM 199)

It has come to my attention that my style of dressing leaves a lot to be desired – the vibe I got was that I look horrigible in what my current wardrobe repertoire offers so when Xinxian broke the news to me we went searching for attire that would not be so offensive to her eyes.

I admit that my fashion sense may be slightly different – I love this pair of sneakers for example, while Xinxian just thought it was loud and garish.

I don’t buy a lot of clothes, preferring to spend the money on experiences like travel, but since there was a sale going on, and I had a self-appointed fashion consultant, I got a long sleeved checkered shirt. It was originally RM 199 but with the 50% discount, it went down to RM 99.50 which is about just slightly less than one night in the cheapest backpacker’s hostel I could find in London.

4. Movie (RM 22)

We watched a Cantonese film called The Silent War which I didn’t expect much out of but it surprised me by having a well thought out plot (albeit cliched and predictable) and great production values compared to the Chinese New Year movies I tend to watch.

There’s no slapstick humor and the character development is great, I’ll rate it a 7/10 – extra points for it being one of the rare Hong Kong films that’s actually good instead of something slapped together, filmed at the speed of light, and brought to you with minimal post production but a hefty dose of crude humor to compensate for the complete lack of a cohesive storyline, character development and depth.

At least you don’t see the audio boom in this movie – a endemic problem with low budget CNY movies. Heh.

I paid for everything using my debit card and managed to keep track of everything spent that night and I’m spending what I just put in earlier that evening.

The debit card in question is the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card. It’s available at all RHB Easy outlets, I went to the one in Kelana Jaya LRT. That’s the beauty of this – the outlets are all at high traffic areas and open 7 days a week!

Best of all, you can get everything done in 10 minutes by just walking in!

All you need is:

Your MyKad
10 minutes of your time
RM 20 for opening an account

I timed the entire process and it actually took only slightly more than 8 minutes. I was taking photos the entire time and I have the exact time – 8:36 minutes – from the first shot that I took to the final one. Heh.

I hate filling out forms. I think I’ve mentioned that a lot of times before. You don’t have to worry about that here as everything is done automatically – it’s either pulled from your MyKad and you just tell the teller the rest of the information.

I was serviced by one Mr. Nasri Nasir who was very helpful throughout – kudos for the efficiency!

Basically, the beauty of the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card lies not only in:

• 10 minute walk-in banking with just your MyKad
• On-the-spot approval
• No forms to fill

…but also the unique cash kickbacks that RHB offers with the use of the debit card. I’ll insert a chart to illustrate it better.

Thus, you actually open two accounts when you get the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card. You get double cash savings automatically, whenever you use your debit card. It all goes into your Easy-Smart Account 2 (think of it as a savings account) while your Easy-Smart Account 1 is your primary account.

The beauty of this system is that you automatically save (which is an awesome way of forcing people who have problems saving to actually save) each time you use your debit card from your contribution and the bank’s even higher contribution, all of which goes into your Easy-Smart Account 2.

To add icing to the cake, you can get up to 10% interest per annum on your Easy-Smart Account 2!

Thus, that night, I have saved a total of RM 0.50 (charges made after midnight won’t be tabulated until the next day), and that’s not counting the 10% p.a. interest.

It’s an easy way to budget too, since you’re on a debit card you’re using money you already have instead of purchasing on credit. Granted, credit cards have its own place in the entire system especially for travel but a debit card is a good and almost essential addition to your banking arsenal, almost as good as Umay Plus in Thailand.

Using the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card allows me to carry less cash and use the card instead, which is mighty convenient. You’re going to spend that money anyway, so I figured using the debit card instead of cash would be more useful in the long run due to the awesome and unique savings method that funnels all purchases made into a special “savings” account called Easy-Smart Account 2.

RM 0.99 might not sound like a lot but you know how it goes – sikit sikit lama lama jadi bukit. I’ve already saved that from one night out alone while if I’ve used a credit card, cash, or a different debit card, I would not have managed to save anything at all. It’s a great alternative to cash for me and it’s an easy way to save each time you spend! 🙂