ABN Amro Switch Platinum Card

I recently applied for the ABN Amro Switch Platinum Card, and I was told by the telemarketer it comes with a ABN Amro Platinum Card as well. With a belt of over 10 cards under my name, I was hesitant. But here's what made me agree to the switch (apologies for the pun ;p):

* No annual fees ever!
Now this is an explicit statement saying that they are not going to charge any annual fees! So there is no need to call their customer service hotline seeking fee waivers, and no worries about minimum spending to qualify for the fee waivers!

I think this is a smart move - how many of us pay the annual dues? Traditionally it has been a source of revenue stream for credit card companies, but in recent years it has dwindled in importance. Of my 15 cards (I think... I lost count), I have never paid for the fee subscription, as I took advantage of the x-year fee waivers. There was once I was asked to pay the annual fees, and I cancelled the card. No loss, really, the banks just keep presenting me with cards! It definitely pays to have a good credit history :)

* No cash advance fee
This is attractive for those who obtains emergency cash advances from ATMs, whether locally or overseas. The cash advance fee ranges from an upfront 2-4% usually. However, do note that although there are no upfront fees, the bank does charge interest on the cash amount withdrawn at the prevailing rates! So use it as an emergency back-up line.

* 18% p.a. interest
There are some months when cash is tight - and we are only able to pay off the minimum payment. So a lower interest rate, vis-a-vis competitors' rates of 24% p.a. helps, since interest is calculated on a daily basis.

My advice is, try to spend within your means - spend only what you can afford. And attempt to pay off your credit card bills in full. Credit card companies and banks still love you for this - if you spend enough (like I do!), they still want your business! The business model has changed such that the bulk of revenues come from retailers (credit card companies charge an average of 2-3% to retailers for offering their services).

Still, for the ocassional months when cash flow becomes tight, it helps to be able to pay lower interest.

* 3 times more rewards points
You also get 3 times more reward points for your spend within the first 30 days of card issuance. It's temporary but still it's better than nothing. It goes to show how competitive this retail bit of business is and banks are becoming more creative at luring customers at all expense!

* Waiver of admin fees for cab rides
For those of us who take cab rides often, you will know that for payment by credit cards, the cab companies charge an additional 10% on top of the cab fare. ABN Amro partnered with Comfort, City Cab and Yellow Top (i.e. the biggest cab companies locally) to waive the 10% admin fee and GST for payments using an ABN Amro credit card. Now when there is a huge jam and the cab fare turns out higher than expected, there's no need to worry about not having enough cash in your wallet!

I know this feature appeals to auditors especially. Due to the nature of their work, extensive travel is needed. And cab fares, like other out-of-pocket expenditure are paid first while it takes at least a month for the accounting firms to reimburse their staff. So by using ABN Amro credit cards, they are able to get on to cabs and get the reimbursement on time to pay their credit card bills! Not to mention ABN Amro offers a priority booking hotline as well - comes in handy on rainy days when hotlines are swarmed with bookings!

Overall rating: Average
This rating is based on a self-made rating system using Cold Storage vouchers. The conversion rate is S$80 Cold Storage vouchers for 3200 points (an average spending of ~S$16,000), or approx. 0.5%. The rate compares well with other banks but other banks provide voucher denominations of $10 and $20, so you get to exchange for vouchers sooner. Alternatively, you may choose to use S$50 + 1200 points (~spending of $6,000) to redeem the vouchers.