Quiz: What’s Your Credit Card Type?
- By CompareHero.my
- November 21, 2019
Picking a credit card can be tricky.
With the amount of options in the market, the filtering process tends to be a long and tiresome one. You have to think about which credit card provider to choose, what type of credit card suits your lifestyle needs, and then go through the product details.
And then it’s like a game of luck. You’ll end up hating it or loving it. At the end of the day, you’ll want to be able to use a credit card that suits your needs. For example, if you’re an avid online shopper, it’s best to choose a credit card that could provide benefits for e-commerce spends. Or if you often drive, you would need a credit card that could reward you for your petrol transactions.
Kind of sounds like searching for a soulmate, right?
But before we decide the areas of interest, let’s get down to the basics first. Which type of rewards system would you prefer? A typical credit card offers two types of rewards: cashback and rewards points.
If you’re unsure of which type of credit card you would prefer, take the test below and we’ll find the best match for you.
P.S. We’ll suggest a credit card for you and throw in a gift if you successfully apply! 😉
Interested to see more? Browse through the other available Citi credit cards and compare its features seamlessly.
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Is RM500 Enough To Encourage Women To Start Working Again?
- By CompareHero.my
- November 19, 2019
How do you feel when you have to leave your children to go to work?
For stay-at-home moms, getting back to work is tough. As a working mother, they are afraid that bosses expect them to work like they do not have children!
For the Belanjawan 2020, the government introduced the Women@Work initiative in an attempt to encourage women to re-enter the job market after not working for a year or more. Part of the initiative includes an additional RM500 on top of their monthly wage for two years. Although women activists and NGOs applaud the decision, not every woman that is eligible for this initiative feels motivated to return to work.
We asked women who left the labour force for family commitments about this new initiative, and the following is their take on the career comeback programme:
From what we gathered, an additional RM500 every month is definitely not enough to encourage them to re-enter the workforce.
In an exclusive interview with CompareHero.my, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said initiatives to get women to return to the workforce should be more holistic. He hopes the government could review the procedure of how the wage incentive will be paid.
“The wage incentive should be paid directly to employees and not by crediting RM500 into the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF),” he said.
Incompetent childcare facilities
Another major factor women stop working is the childcare facility here is not convincing enough. There is a need to review the practices of childcare centres here.
He also said employers can send returning employees to Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) retraining programs.
We also spoke to Suraya Zainudin, the founder of personal finance blog Ringgit Oh Ringgit on this matter. She echoed Shamsuddin on refining Women@work initiative to a more holistic approach.
She added: “I like the initiatives fine but it is not a particularly holistic approach on its own. No doubt, some women will take advantage of it.
“But it’s almost like it’s implying the only way to attract women back to the workforce is by throwing money at them, which helps, don’t get me wrong.
However, it is almost like it is implying that the only way to attract women back to the workforce is by throwing money at them,” she said.
She posed a question when the women are back at work, who would take care of their children?
“I am cautious of lauding the initiative, if we are not careful, all we are doing is encouraging women to do ‘double shift’, where they work full time in paid employment and full time in taking care of their children.
“This initiative should be combined with employers’ dedication to subsidise childcare, encourage flexi-work, introduce paternal leave, and encourage cultural change to normalise men performing ‘women’s work’, not just in the family unit but also doing the ‘office housework‘,” she added.
What do you think?
Do you think an additional RM500 every month for the next two years is a good move to get women to re-enter the workforce? Let us know what you think in the poll below!
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Travel Insurance: What Happens When Natural Disaster Strikes?
- By CompareHero.my
- November 18, 2019
Hazardous earthquake and deadly monsoon flood: those are scenarios that every traveler dreads. We know that natural disasters are the last thing you want to think about when you are travelling.
With never-ending climate change issues, we may encounter more natural disasters these days and in time to come. But what do natural disasters mean for your travel plans?
Ever wondered what you can do if you are stuck abroad after a natural disaster takes place? Or if you are scheduled to travel to a destination in the path of a hurricane? What about if you are in a destination where an earthquake is imminent or has already wreaked havoc?
While you cannot control what nature has in store for us, you can prepare yourself financially for when it happens. Purchasing a travel insurance can help protect you and your travel investment in a wide range of situations like these by covering the costs and losses.
Contents
All you need to know about travel insurance.
Buying travel insurance early helps you to travel with peace of mind.
Some providers offer coverage for financial losses incurred due to natural disasters. Some of the areas of coverage typically include coverage for medical evacuation, lost bags, reimbursement of certain costs related to trip cancellation prior to departure for unforeseen reasons, or interruption of trip. Among the unforeseen reasons include weather, injury, terrorism or bankruptcy of the travel provider.
However, it’s best to read the fine print of your policy to see the limitations of the coverage.
Tune Protect’s Travel Easy offers coverage for natural disasters occurring near your place of residence within 14 days prior to departure from Malaysia. In this case, you may claim if you cancel your trip and suffer loss of payments that have been paid in advance. This could be in the form of an air ticket, hotel, tours or even car rentals.
What is natural disaster?
Not every major weather or environmental event may count as a natural disaster. If there is a hurricane that brings heavy rains but does not damage buildings, for instance, it may affect your vacation and yet not be called a natural disaster.
A natural disaster is typically defined by travel insurance plans as “a flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, volcanic eruption, blizzard, or avalanche that is due to natural causes.” But it is important to note that not all these disasters are included in every plan’s description of coverage.
Having said that, claims for losses due to natural disasters that are known events are never covered.
Your insurer may also not cover you for what is often termed a known event. Usually, this means a civil commotion, natural disaster and so on that threatens your health or disrupts your trip.
They are typically made known to you by your airline or hotel, or publicised through media reports or government travel advisories, before you sign up for the policy. If the known event happens after you have bought your policy, you may be able to claim for cancellation of trip, if that is included in your policy.
How to save money with travel insurance?
Use a comparison tool to get quotes for plans suited for individual, family, or even couples. Easily compare across providers in the market and buy online!
Its coverage varies from policy to policy and deciphering the fine print can require professional guidance. Here are some tips and issues to consider. Most travel insurance plans cover natural disasters with these coverage options:
Benefits will be paid if mandatory evacuation or official public evacuation orders are issued due to natural disaster, or a natural disaster renders your principal residence or destination residence uninhabitable. It also covers cancellation or interruption of your place of employment is rendered unsuitable for business and you’re required to work.
If a formal recommendation is issued from local authorities for you to leave the country due to a natural disaster.
If you miss a cruise or tour or are delayed more than a defined number of hours as a result of a natural disaster, benefits will be paid to reimburse your unexpected trip expenses and additional transportation costs.
If you are injured or killed while travelling as a result of a natural disaster, benefits will be paid to reimburse you, the medical facility who treated you, or your beneficiaries up to the travel insurance plan limits.
If you are injured while travelling on a covered trip and require medical treatment that cannot be administered locally, your travel insurance provider will coordinate and pay for you to be evacuated to a medical facility where you can be treated. If you are killed while travelling as a result of a natural disaster, the travel insurance provider will coordinate and pay for your body to be returned home.
7 Best Travel Insurance Providers That Covers Natural Disasters
If you find yourself amid a natural disaster, contact your insurer as soon as possible, and preferably before incurring additional expenses like hotel bookings. Most travel insurance providers offer a 24/7 worldwide phone assistance. They will advise you on the documentation you need to provide in order to make a claim, which might include receipts or police reports.
However, travel insurance will not cover you if you deliberately enter danger or engage in high-risk behaviour. If you get hurt while chasing a tornado, or while climbing a volcano to see active lava flows, or when photographing a wildfire up close — your claim will be denied.
Finding the right travel insurance is not easy, but we make it simple to find the right travel coverage for your next trip.
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Personal Financing: Good or Bad?
- By CompareHero.my
- November 15, 2019
Personal loans tend to get a bad reputation. For most people, borrowing money (for any reason) is never a good thing. From social stigmas to cultural issues and hearsay, there are plenty of factors that can hold back a person from seeking financial assistance whenever he/she needs to. But it can be a viable option in a variety of circumstances.
First, let’s define it.
Personal loans are also known as personal financing, a type of unsecured financing. Personal financing product is disbursed on the basis of the individual’s credit history and ability to pay the financing from personal income. Repayment is usually through fixed amount installments over a fixed term.
Some financing are earmarked for a specific purchase. You buy a home with a mortgage (or home loan), you purchase a car with a hire purchase (auto loan) and you might pay for education with a student loan. But personal financing can be used for just about anything. Some financiers want to know what you will do with the money they lend you, but as long as you’ve applied for and received it for a responsible and legal reason, you can do what you want with it.
Did you know?
Personal financing profit rates can be much lower than credit card interest rates! You can end up saving thousands.
With proper planning to boost your finances, personal financing could be the more appropriate option to provide immediate cash flow. With a fixed profit rate and repayment terms, you can definitely plan in advance to enjoy full control over your budget and start chasing your dreams!
Contents
Here are three Malaysians who found personal financing to be a viable and helpful option.
Nina, late 20s, in Corporate Law
Nina works at a legal department in an MNC, and she’s finally got her keys to her new apartment she bought. Now she wants to turn her property into a liveable home with some basic renovations and furnishing. After days of research and comparing, she learnt that instead of placing the burden on her credit card (which many people do), why not opt for personal financing that can finance up to RM120,000.00 with a flat profit rate of 6.00% per annum? And that is what she did. Now, she not only has a dream home but a much more comfortable payment schedule as well.
Adam, mid 30s, in Pharmaceutical Sales
An enthusiastic young chap, Adam finally felt it was right time to settle down with his long-time girlfriend. They planned to self-fund their small intimate wedding and started to make arrangements. In the excitement of things, Adam purchased all the jewellery, wedding costumes and paid for the deposits of the venue and photographers. But now he realises he doesn’t have enough to fund the rest and is trying to pay off multiple sources for the wedding purchases. So Adam decided to apply for personal financing and to his delight, there was one that suited him best with his monthly income. Now, he has cash flow and has consolidated all his debt from previous purchases into a fixed rate payment plan.
Jo, early 30s, Business Analyst in a MNC.
Jo has great ambitions and plans to grow both herself and her career; with that in mind, she wants to take on a Master’s Degree in Business Administration – an MBA. Unfortunately, she is unable to afford the full tuition fees by herself, as she has to balance her living expenses and other commitments. Instead of trying to save RM1,000 per month to fund a part time MBA course, which would take many years, she decides on financing. Applying for financing shouldn’t be stressful, Jo chose a provider that has hassle-free application, offers instant disbursement upon approval and a fixed profit rate, all with a monthly repayment she can afford. Jo could then invest her time and efforts in her future education.
Financial Discipline
Financial self-control is key. If you have existing debt, it is strongly advised that you don’t add new debt. Consider consolidating your debt and refrain from spending too much on unnecessary things or make an effort to earn more so as to pay your commitments. Failing to make prompt loan payments or defaulting on repayments could get you into serious financial troubles and distresses. On-time payments on your loans can improve your overall credit profile along with your credit score. This shows diligence, financial discipline, and good money management.
This financial article is for general information purposes only. It is not prepared with any particular individual or purposes in mind and does not take into account any investment objectives, financial situation or personal circumstances or needs of any particular individual. This document is not investment advice or recommendation. You should not use or rely on the results of this financial personality quiz in making any investment or financial decision. HSBC Amanah is not responsible for such use or reliance by you. You should consult your independent professional advisor before making any financial decision or if you have any questions.
Up to a maximum amount of RM120,000.00 and a flat profit rate of 6.00% per annum. Manage your debts with HSBC Amanah Personal Financing-i.
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5 Travel Must-Haves You Tend To Always Leave Behind
- By CompareHero.my
More often than not, we get so excited about something that we tend to forget the most important bits — and that happens with traveling a lot. I’m not talking about your phone charger or toothbrush but items that could turn your trip into a disaster if neglected.
Suddenly a holiday isn’t so relaxing when you’re faced with inconveniences.
Here are 5 of the most important things that people tend to leave behind when they go on a trip. Keep these in your checklist the next time you travel!
You’ll never know when you’re going to fall sick. As ironic as it sounds, going on a holiday actually puts our bodies through a lot of stress. Traveling in general, has a negative effect on our immune system as it puts us through a myriad of risks.
There’s sleep deprivation from red eye flights, risk of deep vein thrombosis from the lack of movement in the airplane, change in bowel movements from the sudden routine change, or even food poisoning from dodgy food stalls in different countries. If you really think about it, the chances of falling sick is really high.
Extra Copies of Important Documents
People often remind us to not forget our IDs and passports when we travel, but nobody ever reminds us to bring extra copies of those. Having an additional copy could help expedite the process of filing reports just in case the original copies got lost or stolen.
This doesn’t just apply to IDs and passports, but also to other important documents such as itinerary, travel insurance, hotel bookings, tour confirmations, car rental receipts, as well as other relevant documentations.
Set Up Your VPN
I’ll give you an example. Have you ever travelled to China only to remember you cannot access some of your commonly used apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and more? What if you needed to access restricted platforms in order to obtain important information?
The best way to get access to geo-restricted platforms is through a virtual private network (VPN). This helps you to mask your specific geographical location by making your virtual presence appear somewhere else, which tricks websites into giving you access.
Besides that, it also encrypts your internet connection which prevents monitoring by Internet service providers (ISPs), hackers and government agencies. This is especially important while traveling because you would most likely depend on public wifis for internet connection, which is a prime spot for hackers.
- Compatible on all platforms
- No hidden fees
- Good choice of servers
- Available in as many countries as possible
Activate Your Card For Overseas Use
Imagine checking out a cart full of souvenirs and realising your credit card is not activated for overseas use. While this depends fully on the type of credit card you hold, it’s best to check with your bank if your card requires any activation before you travel.
The same thing applies to your debit card — withdrawals from ATMs overseas would be rejected if your card isn’t activated for overseas use. Each bank has their own activation procedure, either via their app, website, phone call or by physically visiting the bank itself.
Get Travel Insurance
This is probably one of the more important things that people tend to forget. Travel insurance providers would highly recommend buying it immediately after the trip has been booked. This is due to the fact that people tend to leave it for the last minute until they actually forget to purchase it.
But apart from negligence, a large number of people don’t purchase travel insurance when they travel simply because they are not aware of the value of it. Or rather, the risks that they are putting themselves through as they travel unprotected.
Purchasing a travel insurance ensures that you would be protected against travel-related risks. Some of the common travel mishaps include lost or stolen baggage as well as personal belongings, flight delay or cancellation, hospitalisation, and more.
Imagine having to purchase another baggage because it was damaged during the unloading process, or spending exorbitant amounts on an unexpected visit to the hospital because of an injury. With travel insurance, you can be reimbursed for these mishaps, and you get to travel with a peace of mind.
There are plenty of plans available in the market to suit the varying needs of travelers. Looking for something on a budget? The Sompo Travel Lite goes as low as RM7. Planning to go on a scuba diving adventure? Plans like the AXA SmartTraveller VIP offers protection for high risk sports.
