Credit Card Tips

There are 6 banks in Brunei: Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), HongKong Shanghai Bank (HSBC), Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), MayBank (MB), Baiduri Bank (BB) and United Overseas Bank (UOB). Some of you might be confused hey! arent you missing one more Tabung Amamah Islam Brunei (TAIB) as the name implies TAIB is actually not a bank. Ok so all banks make some if not most of their money from credit cards. Credit cards are the devil in disguise. They are the worst types of loan you can get. They charge the highest interest out of all loans. In Brunei, Banks charge on average 24% p.a. for using your credit card. The lowest credit card is from BIBD and the highest is SCB. SCB actually charge you a bit more than 24% p.a. for using their credit card.



Tips:

1. Use a SCB credit card if you pay in full each month because they have quite a good rewards value for money programme as well as 0% EasyPay.

2. Use a BB credit card or HSBC credit card if you travel a lot because they have points which can go towards RBA air miles.

3. Use a BIBD credit card which has the lowest interest if you must carry a balance on your credit card.

4. Use a MB credit card if you travel to Malaysia a lot as they have discounts for retail outlets there.

5. Use a UOB credit card if you travel to Singapore a lot as they have discounts for retail outlets there.

6. Avoid paying late fees by setting up a direct debit instruction to pay at least the minimum amount however 100% is even better

7. Avoid withdrawing cash from your credit card by not opting for the option of getting a pin number for your credit card

8. Lastly, avoid paying annual fees for the convenience a credit card gives you just by asking them to waive your annual fees.