Posts · 13 November 2026 · 4 min read

The RM1,500 line: why the same cashback card can earn RM708 or cost you RM191

Five popular Malaysian cashback cards, two monthly budgets. Spend thresholds and fee waivers decide whether a card pays you or charges you.

Same cards, two budgets

Headline rates like 10% or 8% cashback only tell part of the story. Most cashback cards pay their top rate only after you reach a minimum spend each month, cap what each category can earn, and charge an annual fee unless you spend enough over the year.

To show how much that matters, we ran five popular cards through the MYcreditcardlab calculator with an everyday budget of RM1,700 a month: RM300 petrol, RM400 groceries, RM300 dining, RM150 Grab, RM350 online shopping and RM200 other retail.

• UOB ONE CardRM708.20
• Hong Leong WiseRM397.80
• Bank Islam Visa Platinum-i*RM350.60
• Maybank Cash Back Mastercard PlatinumRM215.00
• RHB Shell VisaRM203.00

Now spend RM500 less

Next we trimmed the same budget to RM1,200 a month: RM200 petrol, RM300 groceries, RM200 dining, RM100 Grab, RM250 online and RM150 other retail. Same habits, just a smaller month.

The ranking flips. UOB ONE drops from first place to a loss of RM191 a year, and Maybank Cash Back Platinum slips just below zero. Hong Leong Wise and Bank Islam Visa Platinum-i hold up far better.

• Bank Islam Visa Platinum-i*RM255.80
• Hong Leong WiseRM240.00
• RHB Shell VisaRM83.00
• Maybank Cash Back Mastercard Platinum−RM1.00
• UOB ONE Card−RM191.20

Why: the minimum spend line

UOB ONE and Maybank Cash Back Platinum both need RM1,500 of eligible spend in a statement month before their bonus rates apply. Below that line, both pay just 0.2%. At RM1,200 a month, neither card reaches its bonus tier.

Hong Leong Wise sets its line lower at RM1,000, and RHB Shell starts its tiers at RM1,000. Bank Islam Visa Platinum-i starts at RM500. Lower lines are easier to clear every month, which is why those cards lose less when spending dips.

Why: the annual fee waiver

UOB ONE has a RM195 annual fee, waived when you spend RM20,000 in retail purchases over the year. RM1,700 a month adds up to RM20,400, just over the line, so the fee is waived. RM1,200 a month is RM14,400, so the full fee applies on top of SST.

Maybank Cash Back Platinum has no annual fee, so at RM1,200 it only loses the RM25 SST against about RM24 of cashback. Hong Leong Wise charges its RM98 fee in both budgets and still comes out ahead, because it keeps paying bonus cashback.

RM1,700 a month is RM20,400 a year, only RM400 above UOB ONE’s RM20,000 fee waiver. One quiet month can be enough to bring the RM195 fee back.

Caps limit the upside too

Even above the line, bonus cashback is capped. UOB ONE pays 10% on petrol, groceries, dining and Grab, but each category is capped at RM15 a month. Maybank Cash Back Platinum caps its bonus categories at RM18 each. Spending more in a category that has already hit its cap earns little extra.

That is why the best card depends on where your money goes, not just how much you spend. A card that wins for a family with large grocery bills can lose for someone who mostly shops online.

How to use this

Check your last three statements and note your lowest month, not your average. If your lowest month falls below a card’s minimum spend, expect that month to earn far less.

Count the annual fee as a real cost unless you are confident of meeting the waiver every year, and remember that SST of RM25 applies to each physical card.

Figures above are estimates from the MYcreditcardlab calculator on 13 November 2026 using example budgets. Cards marked * are partial estimates because some bank rules are not yet confirmed. Bank terms change, so confirm current terms with the bank before you apply.

Bank Islam figures are illustrative estimates using terms scheduled for 21 November 2026, after the calculation date. Its current product disclosure sheet could not be independently retrieved during the final check.

Sources

• UOB ONE Card product page
• Hong Leong Wise Card product page
• Maybank Cash Back Mastercard Platinum product page
• RHB Shell Visa Credit Card product page
• Bank Islam credit card product disclosure sheet