Tech Tuesday : NexG – Cathay Cineplexes Debit Card

If you’re a student (like me) or unemployed and have no constant income, then its hard for you to apply for a credit card which usually requires all sorts of documents, bla bla bla. My solution is, just get a debit card.

Hafreze was asking me to share my experience of using this debit card so I decided to write the post. There are a few debit cards available in Malaysia, two that I know of is the Public Bank debit card and the Ambank NexG Prepaid MasterCard. After some deliberation, I chose the latter.

Read a complete guide after the jump.

How much is this card?

Its only RM25 for the starter pack – which includes the card, an application form and a list of terms and conditions. You can get it from any Ambank branch or 7-eleven store in Klang Valley. Then you have to pay only RM3 a month x 12 = RM36 a year to maintain it. The monthly fee is deducted automatically from the topup value. No other hidden charges.

Benefits?

• Enjoy online shopping convenience.
• Earn 1 AmBonus Point with every RM2 spent (except for transaction at Petrol Kiosk)
• Collect RealRewards points at participating outlets.
• Benefit from Lost Card Protection.
• FREE RM10,000 Personal Accident coverage (for the 1st year upon registration of your AmBank NexG™ PrePaid MasterCard. Terms and Conditions apply)®.
• Allows withdrawal of the money from an AmBank ATM Machine
• Has online banking services

Why I chose NexG?

The main reason I chose NexG was because they recently partnered with Cathay Cineplexes (the company who owns Cineleisure in Mutiara Damansara) and came up with their own Card the Ambank NexG – Cathay Cineplexes Prepaid MasterCard. Quite a mouthful eh? But wait till you hear the benefits.

As you can see, the Ambank NexG – Cathay Cineplexes Prepaid MasterCard is slightly different from the standard card because its black with a design of a movie reel in grey and has the Cathay logo on the top left and the words Ambank NexG on the top right. Then theres the cip on the left, the 16-digit card number (which i blurred in the pic), the validity date then the words CATHAY PREPAID CARD on the left and the MasterCard logo on the right. This particular card can only be bought at Cineleisure, Mutiara Damansara.

Additional Benefits:

• 1 free movie ticket
• Birthday bonus : 1 free movie ticket + small popcorn combo
• 10% of all Food and Beverages (in Cineleisure) bought using the card
• A whole bunch of discount coupons for restaurants & shops in One Utama & Cineleisure
• and…my favourite…..if you buy 3 tickets with the card, you get one free!

How to use?

1. Sign your name of the back of your card
2. Complete the registration form inside then you can either:
   (i) Post it with a copy of your IC using the Postage Paid Reply Envelope’
   (ii) Fax the form and a copy of your IC to 03-2164 0497
   (iii) Go to any Ambank branch and bring your IC, they will photocopy the IC for you and process your application
3. Top-up the value at any AmBank brance or merchants where you see the NexG Recharge Logo

Easy peasy? I went to the AmBank branch in KL Central to send my application and it was all settled in less than a week. If you want to check the status of your card, whether its approved or not, u can call the customer service num at (603) 2178 8888.

Usage

(I) PayPal Verification

I’ve used this card to verify my Paypal account. First you have to login to PayPal and verify your account. It costs 1.95USD which is around RM7.64 and will take about 2-3 days before it appears on your statement.

Then go to an AmBank atm to set your WebPIN. Then go to http://www.ambg.com.my click on Login and click First Time Login. Then set an id and password. Then login and click Account Summary then click Transaction History on the top. Then you should see a screen like this (click to make it bigger).

Under the description you should see PP *#### EXPUSE then some numbers and letters. The #### four numbers are what you need to verify your Paypal Account

(II) Buy tickets from AirAsia – you can also use this card to buy your AirAsia tickets, just make sure you get the address exactly the same as when you filled in the form. I bought my tickets for Phuket using this card

(III) Pay for hosting – I used this card to pay for my hosting with GoDaddy and never had any problems with it.

(IV) Withdraw money when I didnt have cash – I usually put aside some money every mth into this card but sometimes I need it so I just withdraw it from any AmBank atm (no extra charges) or any CIRRUS/PLUS network worldwide (Rm10 or 2% fee whichever is higher).

More info >> AmBank NexG official site

Don’t you agree its convenient? :D