Receive this advertisement at my Post Box
Citibank Shell Rebate Card
Benefit
5% Rebate on Shell Fuels
1.5% Rebate when you shop anywhere else
Upon Approval
Free Organiser
Free RM50 Shell voucher
HP Compaq Presario Notebook at RM799
Attractive? Finally a credit card that will actually benefit it's customer in the real sense...
But take a good look at the fine print and the selection of words.
For the classic card, you need to bring forward a balance of RM2200 every month to enjoy a 3% Shell rebate. That means a rebate of about RM15 per month, if you spend roughly RM300 on petrol per month.
For the Gold Card, you need to bring forward RM4200 to be eligible to enjoy the rebate (5%).
If you still think that it is a good deal, then observe further -
Citibank charges a minimum of 18% per annum as finance charges on all balance that are carried forward. So assuming that you need to maintain a carry forward balance of a minimum RM2200 every month (so as to enjoy the rebate), then the annual finance charges (interest) will be -
Citibank Shell Rebate Card
Benefit
5% Rebate on Shell Fuels
1.5% Rebate when you shop anywhere else
Upon Approval
Free Organiser
Free RM50 Shell voucher
HP Compaq Presario Notebook at RM799
Attractive? Finally a credit card that will actually benefit it's customer in the real sense...
But take a good look at the fine print and the selection of words.
For the classic card, you need to bring forward a balance of RM2200 every month to enjoy a 3% Shell rebate. That means a rebate of about RM15 per month, if you spend roughly RM300 on petrol per month.
For the Gold Card, you need to bring forward RM4200 to be eligible to enjoy the rebate (5%).
If you still think that it is a good deal, then observe further -
Citibank charges a minimum of 18% per annum as finance charges on all balance that are carried forward. So assuming that you need to maintain a carry forward balance of a minimum RM2200 every month (so as to enjoy the rebate), then the annual finance charges (interest) will be -
RM2200 x 0.18 = RM396
Divide that with the number of months in a year will result in RM33. That means you will see a RM33 finance charges printed in your statement every month. So tell, what benefit remains?
There will also not be any significant financial benefits even if you spend RM1000 per month in petrol, simply because there is a cap to the total amount of rebate annually. For classic card, there will be a limit of RM500. Divide that by 12 months and tell me if that is significant...
Hence, the only group of people that may possibly benefit from this Citibank Shell card are those who spend at least RM1100 to RM1388 per month in petrol OR anyone who swipe at least RM2000 per month on transactions.
There will also not be any significant financial benefits even if you spend RM1000 per month in petrol, simply because there is a cap to the total amount of rebate annually. For classic card, there will be a limit of RM500. Divide that by 12 months and tell me if that is significant...
Hence, the only group of people that may possibly benefit from this Citibank Shell card are those who spend at least RM1100 to RM1388 per month in petrol OR anyone who swipe at least RM2000 per month on transactions.
My conclusion - There is no free lunch in this world
Posts
6 anak ayam bother to comments:
Hi kaki.ayam
sorry to lari topic, but I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed reading your arguments and replies in what was quite a heated topic in a certain blog in blue (I think you know which one). Since the topic is now closed to comments, I can't post my reply there. Anyway, just wanted to say well done because I think you managed to say a lot of things that many people felt needed saying but didn't or couldn't present it half as well or as humbly as you did. Many thanks.
hey thanks for your comments in that 'blog in blue' too.
what's your view:
could this happen???
i wouldnt bet against it…
Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong Declared a Muslim, Children ‘Disinherited’
http://juslo.blogspot.com/2008/01/tan-sri-lim-goh-tong-declared-muslim.html
emm...why thank me...? i was just a busy body poking into someone else backyard...
but, i find it weird that en arip actually stops any further comments in that post - why are you guys not naming him? I don't see anything with wrong with that... here goes - http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-shallow-minded-commenters.html
although it is well within his right to do so, i do think that it was not appropriate...considering that we are actually debaing some really important points of the issue...and that en. arip still owes juslo some clarification on his contradictory statements...
to me, en.arip is just like anyone of us. his (& our) views are continuously being molded as we considers more view points from various perspectives. while everyone of us would like to be seen fair and objective, the truth is we are always bias towards things/issues and in his case, the belief that he holds dear.
it takes tremendous courage to admit that the foundation that we stand on is is not as solid as we thought it should be. whatever that means...
en.arip is an objective person, imho.
while it is important to point to him what we thought was unfair, we should do so in a way that would help him to come to terms with the reality. condemning him for this thoughts rarely helps. I just hope he wouldn't walk the same hateful and angry paths of mahaguru58 and menj.
If you have visited these two blogs, you would be grateful for the existence of people like en.arip.
Happy Chinese New Year!
For other readers that donno head or tail, here is the blog in blue -
http://enarip.blogspot.com/
2008/01/some-shallow-minded-
commenters.html
kaki.ayam,
actually, i did continue to condemn him in his next 2 posts.
http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/siti-aishah-antara-yang-tahu-dan-yang.html
http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/passport-to-mandate.html
until he simply ignored me. :P
i AM obnoxious n relentless when i'm convinced i'm right n i'm passionate about the subject.
1, NO, i disagree that it's his 'right' to stop a debate when he didnt like it.
http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/siti-aishah-antara-yang-tahu-dan-yang.html#c271619417184117881
but i do agree that people can have different views on the limit of free speech - but i'm still convinced that MY view is the right one, as usual. :)
2, after our debate (or during?), he actually did something VERY DISINGENEOUS at the Gan family site - shedding crocodile tears. that got me REALLY worked up...
http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/siti-aishah-antara-yang-tahu-dan-yang.html#c5788805275237370928
http://enarip.blogspot.com/2008/01/siti-aishah-antara-yang-tahu-dan-yang.html#c6644399344360880917
i dont know about u but i felt REALLY SICK about him after reading his further contradictory stands.
3, yes, i agree we should appreciate him, GIVEN people like menj & mahaguru.
but u cant have relativity in morality. we cant spare him just bcos he's not as sick as those 2. if we do so, we wd b complicit in allowing the standard of morality to deteriorate.
we should blast him too, but we should blast those 2 even harder.
happy cny to u too.
(sorry, again, for the F word at my blog)
wow kaki.ayam,
i see you have been making your rounds. if only i knew...hehe...but was too busy with my wedding plans la....
anyway, banks are private entities which need to make profits to survive. like it or not, there is no such thing as free lunch with these entities.
my suggestion is stick to why you need a credit card in the first place i.e. credit! forget about those little nice things that come along with it if it involves you paying for it...:)
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