Dividend Magic

Saving and Investing towards Financial Independence in Malaysia

Maybank Premier

Best Priority and Premier Banking in Malaysia

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Filed Under: Fixed Deposits, Savings Accounts etc, Other Investments 12

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia 2025 – Who I’m Using Now

2025 Update

Fast forward to April 2025, I’ve again moved from HSBC Premier to CIMB Preferred. Reason – HSBC are closing all corporate accounts.

Also, after extensive research, I realised that the best Premier Banking for me right now is CIMB. And the main reason is the credit card they offer – the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite. The T&C for lounge access is one of the best in Malaysia.

Early 2025 update

It is 2025 and I think this Best Premier Banking in Malaysia article deserves an update. I’ve left Maybank Premier and joined HSBC Premier. The requirement was RM200,000 when I first joined. As of 2025, it has increased to RM300,000 assets under management (AUM).

The main reason I made the switch was because they offered a better and more user-friendly corporate account. Maybank’s was really outdated.

Got a pretty good Relationship Manager and I was able to place my RM200K into bonds with HSBC. They’ve got a pretty diverse range of forex accounts as well. I used their USD account and subsequently was able to place them into US Fixed Deposits, capitalising on their 4-5% interest rates.

A cautionary tale here regarding bonds as I was encouraged to park my money into YNH Property Berhad’s bonds. I was extremely lucky I did not as they’ve since been embroiled in controversy after controversy. Please do your research and make sure the company is financially sound.

The usual perks were available, dedicated parking, a small lounge with coffee/tea, newspapers etc. Nothing to shout about.

Would love to hear about your experiences now that we’re in 2025.

Private Banking vs Priority / Premier Banking in Malaysia

The article is a work in progress and I’ll be updating it as and when new information becomes available. Thank you to everyone who messaged and emailed me with your experiences.

First, let me clarify that premier banking and priority banking aren’t the same. They are miles apart. You need to have RM250K and above to be eligible for premier banking. For private banking, it is at least RM3 million.

In this article, we will be talking about priority/premier banking primarily because I am only eligible for that and have experience with it. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we can talk about private banking. I’ve also spoken to some of my friends and readers to collate their experiences here for you to decide.

If you’re considering upgrading from being a standard customer to joining the higher ranks in premier banking, allow me to burst your bubble – premier banking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Premier Banking in Malaysia Ranked – The Good and the Bad

The reason I’m writing this article is because I myself am looking to switch away from my current bank – Maybank to one that offers better services. And since I’ll be doing my research on premier banking in Malaysia anyway, I might as well jot everything down here and share this with everyone.

The list below is based on my 2-year long experience with Maybank’s Premier Banking as well as the experiences of my friends and colleagues with other banks as well. The general good and bad are listed here and we will go into each bank’s good and bad later in the article.

As of 2025, CIMB is my favourite bank as a preferred/premier/priority customer. I’ve ranked them in order below.

No long queues

Let’s start with the good first. In the day-to-day running of my business, I require weekly (sometimes daily) cash deposits over the counter or through ATMs.

I get to skip ahead of the queue to conduct my usual banking. Oh, and you also get to park in a designated spot for premier banking customers. But this isn’t great because, at my branch, the parking is always occupied.

Better, faster and more secure service

With a premier banking card, and at branches where they have premier banking in Malaysia, I’m allowed to head to a specially designated floor to do my banking, deposits, and whatnot there. At some branches, you get coffee and canned drinks while you wait. You get WiFi if you’re lucky.

I’ve also seen some branches where they provide newspapers and a tv that reports on financial news. Some even have PCs for you to do your online banking or stock trading if you choose to.

If, like me, you find yourself depositing wads of cash, you get added security as there will be a bank teller assisting you with the counting and subsequent depositing of cash.

Better mortgage and loan rates

You’re able to procure slightly better rates when applying for mortgages and hire purchases. As a premier banking customer, you’ll also be afforded a less stringent loan approval process.

A personal relationship manager

I’ve been a premier banking customer with Maybank for about a year now. As a premier banking customer, you’re assigned a personal banker, also known as a relationship manager (RM) that acts as a liaison and caters to your banking needs. Instead of having to head over to the branch directly, you’re able to make certain transactions over the phone.

Your experience as a premier banking customer is highly dependent on the RM that’s assigned to you. Unfortunately for me, I’ve been assigned one that is very pushy and sales-oriented and sees fit to constantly bombard me with product offers every other week. And being the nice person that I am, I have to come up with excuses to politely reject his proposals.

The products offered to me have always been unit trusts, packaged products that consist of unit trusts and more unit trusts. Hence I see this as a double-edged sword. You just have to be firm and let your relationship manager know what you’re interested in and what you’re not.

You all know how much I hate unit trusts and their fees.

Idle Cash

Now this is the worst part for me. All banks in Malaysia will require you to either have cash/investments or loans with them to be eligible for premier-ship.

Personally, I place my cash in fixed deposits and treat this as my emergency fund. I practice FD Laddering. Yes, you often are able to get slightly better FD rates but still, I don’t like the idea of RM200K or more sitting in the bank generating measly returns.

1. CIMB Bank – CIMB Preferred

CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite
  1. Service: Top-notch service.
  2. Parking: Designated parking spot for CIMB Prefered clients at most branches
  3. Requirement: RM250K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes. You can nominate up to 3 immediate family members, and all you need is a joint deposit account with them. Terms here.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: No, confirmed 2025 with RM
  6. Special Credit Card: CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite – This is one of the holy grail invite-only cards to get access to premium airport lounges. Main reason that I moved to CIMB in 2025.
    I write about the best credit card options in Malaysia here.
  7. RM: Professional
  8. Products and services :
    1. FD (Slightly higher rates)

In 2025, I’ve moved to CIMB. And they take no.1 spot. Their CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite for Preferred customers is the main reason I park my money here. Lounge access is one of the best you can get. Supplementary cardholders share your access, and you get access to premium airport lounges. Zero annual fees.

If you’d like to join, drop me an email ([email protected]). We can split the referral fee!

2. Maybank – MaybankPremier

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - Maybank Premier
  1. Service: Good (Sitting area)
  2. Parking: Designated spot, no sticker was provided to me, had to show my debit card to prove I’m a customer.
  3. Requirement: RM200K RM250K AUM
  4. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  5. Premium Credit Card: Didn’t opt for it.
  6. RM: Pushy
  7. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)

I’m fortunate enough to be able to be eligible for premier banking. I park the minimum amount in fixed deposits as emergency funds and invest the rest. Maybank takes number 2 spot mainly due to being Malaysia’s largest bank and they have the most branches around.

The best thing about Maybank’s premier banking for me is actually being able to conduct my banking transactions quickly. What usually takes me 30 mins to an hour can be done in probably 10-15 mins.

Perhaps I got a pretty pushy RM and also it is because I’m well-versed in finance and investing that the products offered were of very little interest to me. The only time I put money with my RM was when he offered the bundled ASM product to me where I managed to get some of the coveted fixed-priced units. I wrote about it hERE.

All in all, premier ain’t nothing much to shout about so the next time you see someone walking up the stairs or to the premier banking section, you know that it really isn’t that big of a deal.

Coincidentally, Maybank also happens to offer some of the best credit cards in Malaysia in terms of cashback – the Maybank 2 Cards. You can read more about them here.

3. UOB Bank – UOB Privilege Banking

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - UOB Privilege Banking
  1. Service: Top-notch service.
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all UOB branches. Limousine service available to pick up from home to the branch and from the branch to any other place in KL. (Contact RM to apply.)
  3. Requirement: RM500K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: No.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite
  7. RM: Professional
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA (InvestPro account which gives 1.7% interest p.a. for deposits over RM50K)
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment

Special products: Yet to be discovered

This one was also provided by Mr. T, a fellow reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

If you can afford the RM500K AUM requirement, UOB will be a great place to park your money. Service is top notch and you get access to their array of very useful credit cards.

4. Hong Leong – Hong Leong Priority

Hong Leong Priority Banking Hong Leong Visa Infinite P
  1. Service: Top-notch service.
  2. Parking: Designated parking spot for Hong Leong Priority Banking clients.
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: No
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Hong Leong Visa Infinite P – This is a free-for-life card that gives you Premium Plaza Lounge access 4X a year. A good card and a reason to sign up. But as of 2025, CIMB’s card is better.
    I write about the best credit card options in Malaysia here.
  7. RM: Professional
  8. Products and services :
    1. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Number 4 because Hong Leong gives a pretty good credit card for their priority banking customers. But still.. for RM300K AUM, I’d rather go for CIMB.

5. Alliance Bank – Alliance Privilege

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - Alliance Privilege
  1. Service: Good
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park no questions asked.
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes, up to 3 family members.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Alliance Privilege Visa Signature
  7. Products and services:
    1. CASA (2.25% for deposits more than 350k)
    2. FD Slightly higher compared to standard board rates.
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Foreign currency retail bonds

This one was provided by one of Alliance’s own RM.

Alliance bank provides a pretty decent credit card to earn Enrich Miles, so if you’re already a privilege banking member with them, ask for the Alliance Bank Visa Infinite. You can read more about the best credit cards here.

6. OCBC Bank – OCBC Premier Banking

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - OCBC Premier Banking
  1. Service: Excellent
  2. Parking: Designated spot
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: No
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: OCBC Premier Voyage Mastercard
  7. RM: Pushy, salesman
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)
    3. Bundled UT with FD (FD slightly higher rates but high UT fees)
    4. 24hr loan approval status!

Sign up here.

7. HSBC Bank – HSBC Premier

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - HSBC Premier Banking
  1. Service: Good (Free WIFI, sitting area, financial channel, coffee, tea. Self-service coke, sprite, packet drink.)
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all HSBC branches, 2-hour limit.
  3. Requirement: RM200K RM300K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Premier Family extension to one legal spouse and all children until their 30th birthday
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: RM150 per month
  6. Premium Credit Card: HSBC Premier Master Card (Free access to airport lounge)
  7. RM: Professional
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (mediocre rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Unit Trust (Birthday month 1% sales charges)
  • Special products: When you are an HSBC Premier customer, you are automatically a premier customer overseas as well. USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China without having to meet their overseas’ minimum requirements. When you transfer your funds between countries, it is a real-time transaction and does not include service charges. You can get a credit card in that country as well.
  • Oversea banking benefit: If you get an HSBC HK bank account. You can trade shares in the HK market (high fees). However, you can apply for HK IPO using margin. E.g. Ant Financial. You can apply for a 90% margin and pay only a 10% investment fund. This will increase your chances to get the IPO share as HK IPO is base on the size of the application to allocate the IPO. For E.g. If the allocation rate is 10% and 1 lot is 100 shares. If you apply for 100 shares, your chance is 10% to get 100 shares. If you apply for 1000 shares, your chances are 100% to get 100 shares. However, to use margin to apply, your address must be HK address.
  • You can get a credit card in other areas like HK. You get the credit line of HKD 200K. The bank requires no collateral.

8. Standard Chartered Bank – Standard Chartered Priority

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - Standard Chartered Priority
  1. Service: Good (Free WIFI, sitting area, financial channel, coffee, tea, hot chocolate
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all SC branches, 2-hour limit.
  3. Requirement: RM250K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes. Immediate family members can enjoy Priority status and privileges globally. Terms here.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Standard Chartered PB Priority VISA Infinite (Free access to airport lounges. Free airport taxi. Hotel dining 50% cashback until 30 Dec 2020. Must maintain AUM of RM250K)
  7. RM: Professional
  8. Products and services
    1. CASA (Privilege account gives the best current account interest rate – 2.6% T&Cs Apply.)
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Discount on safe deposit boxes
  • Special products: When you are an SC Priority customer, you are automatically an SC Priority customer in other countries such as the UK, HK, and Singapore without having to meet their minimum requirements. When you transfer your funds between countries, it is a real-time transaction and with no service charges. You can get a credit card in that country as well.
  • Oversea banking benefit: Same as HSBC HK for IPO. Need to go over to HK to open an account. For SC Singapore, no need to go to Singapore to open an account. Can trade world stock (USA, Germany, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia). For priority banking customers, 0.2% with no minimum. No custodian charges and no charges to receive dividends.

9. Public Bank – Red Carpet Banking

Public Bank - Red Carpet Banking RCB Debit Cards
  1. Service: Priority lane, lounge area, dedicated RM
  2. Parking: Designated spot.
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM (RCB Gold)
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes, joint member.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: No
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

Looks pretty standard without much to offer.. RM300K is a pretty high entry point compared to other banks. I might as well go for international banks like HSBC, UOB or Standard Chartered.

10. Bank Islam – Premier Wealth

Bank Islam Premier Wealth - Bank Islam Visa Debit Card - iSapphire
  1. Service: Priority lane, lounge area, dedicated RM
  2. Parking: Designated spot.
  3. Requirement: RM250K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes, joint member.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Bank Islam Visa Debit Card – i Sapphire
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

The debit card is okay, you get 3X complementary access to lounges and zero annual fees. Not great, just okay.

11. RHB Bank – RHB Premier

RHB Bank - RHB Premier Credit Card
  1. Service: Priority lane, lounge area, dedicated RM.
  2. Parking: Designated spot
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes, for spouse and children.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: RM150 trimonthly fee
  6. Premium Credit Card: RHB Premier Card
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

Nothing to shout about to be honest. The banks at the last few spots are all meh..

12. AmBank – Signature Priority Banking

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia - AmBank Signature Priority Banking
  1. Service: Posh waiting area.
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all AmBank branches.
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: Yes, up to 3 family members. Minimum AUM for them is RM50K.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: AmBank Signature Metal Visa Infinite Credit Card (AUM RM2 million)
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

Premier status extension to family members comes with certain requirements. Not really worth it here. Putting them almost at the bottom. You’d be better off going with the other banks.

13. Affin Bank – Affin Invikta

Affin bank - Affin Invikta Cards
  1. Service: Priority lane, lounge area, invitations to events
  2. Parking: Dedicated parking spot
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: No.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Yes – Affin Invikta Visa Infinite.
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

12X lounge access for the credit card. Nothing else really.. Their Invikta website has zero information. I had to google and find their AUM requirements from other sources.

14. Bank Rakyat – Rakyat Xclusive

Bank Rakyat Xclusive - Exclusive Explorer
  1. Service: Priority lane, lounge area
  2. Parking: Dedicated parking spot
  3. Requirement: RM250K AUM
  4. Premier status extended to immediate family members: No.
  5. Penalty if you drop below AUM: Unsure
  6. Premium Credit Card: Yes – Exclusive Explorer.
  7. RM: Standard
  8. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

Nothing to shout about, just came across them while doing research. Their premier banking page doesn’t even seem like they’re making an effort.

The Best Premier Banking Service in Malaysia

These are all personal experiences, from different customers, at different branches, with different RMs. Your own experience will very likely be different.

So I won’t do you the injustice of naming the best in Malaysia. BUT, based on everyone’s experiences, I’ll want to go for UOB if I had RM500K. Right now though, I’ll probably give HSBC a try. Will be updating this page with my experiences with them in the near future.

Final Thoughts.

As a final conclusion, premier banking is a nice thing to have. But treat it as a bonus and an extra. Don’t go pooling all your money into your saving accounts and FDs just to meet the required AUM to be eligible. Build up your assets first, and if your emergency funds come up to RM200K and above, opt for premier banking. At the end of the day, you’re parking a huge amount of money with them, earning very little returns when you can for example invest in stocks or bitcoin. Opportunity costs.

Another thing to note is that the banks themselves won’t always offer you premier banking even if you reach their requirements. So take the initiative and ask your bank for it if you’re eligible.

These are all the banks I’m able to write about from first-hand experience as well as from my friend’s and readers’ experiences. I’ll be looking to finish the list and have all the banks in Malaysia listed. Do drop me a comment or email if you’ve got experiences you’d like to share.

Oh, and if you’re thinking of signing up for premier banking, look out for referral and reward programs with said bank. If they have one, drop me an email or comment and I can hook you up with readers who are already clients and you can both enjoy the rewards.

Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who messaged me and shared your experiences. If you have experience with other banks not mentioned here, help us build this list further by dropping a comment!

If you’re exploring Premier Banking in Malaysia, you might also be interested in my hybrid strategy for credit cards in Malaysia. Discover the best credit card options from Malaysian banks here.

Maybank 2 Cards Premier – Best Air-miles Card

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Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life, Credit Cards, Other, Other Investments 15

There are two components to Maybank 2 Cards. You get a Visa / Mastercard and an American Express card. 2 cards.

The card we will want to focus on is the Amex card, as it gives 5x Treatspoints per RM1 spent whereas the Visa / Master gives 2x Treatspoints.

To keep it simple – You spend as much as you can with your Amex. The Visa / Master is the fallback card for places that don’t accept Amex.

You can check for the latest promos and register for Maybank cards hERE.

Cashback vs Air-miles

First off, if you’re new to the world of credit cards, allow me to explain. To me, credit cards for the first 10 years of my life were about cashback. I have since yesterday, switched to air-miles mode.

I’ve done the research, I’ve done the numbers. You get a better bang for your buck with the air-miles approach. A caveat: Your spending will need to be in the above the RM36K per annum range.

How to get Maybank 2 Cards Premier

Maybank recently revised the minimum income required for their Maybank 2 Cards Premier to RM100K per annum. Even if you don’t fulfill this requirement, I’ll tell you how you can still get them cards.

I was a little short on the income front. Maybank doesn’t care about your dividend income.

I spoke to my relationship manager in the bank and to my surprise, a simple FD pledge would allow me to get the Premier cards.

So, if you’re short on the income/salary front, talk to someone in the bank. This is not a foolproof method and it goes on a case-by-case basis.

Also to note, if you’re planning on getting the 2 Cards Premier, your existing Treatspoints cannot be carried over. This is because the redemption rate is much more favourable to the premier cards.

Maybank 2 Cards Premier Annual Fees

Now, one last thing before you jump on the premier card bandwagon. Apart from the RM25 mandatory fee from the government, the premier cards have an annual fee of RM800.

The cards are free for the first year. For subsequent years, you’ll need to have an annual spending of RM80,000 to get the fee waived.

You know I’m frugal and there’s no way I have that much of an annual spending every year.

My strategy for this? I am utilizing the 4 free supplementary cards provided by the cards. Combining the spending of all cards should get me to RM80K a year. And yes, Maybank allows you to total up the spending per annum of the principal and supplementary cardholders.

What’s in it for the supplementary cardholders? Well, they get the same 2x or 5x treatspoints as you, the same redemption rate for air miles. Basically, everything is the same for them as supplementary cardholders!

I’ve got the first year to test this out. We’ll see how it goes.
I do solemnly swear that the RM80K target will not cause me to spend more than I usually do.

Meantime, do follow me on Instagram and on Facebook for updates.

End.

As I’m writing this, I feel an unexplainable urge to go on a rampage on the benefits of a credit card. As opposed to cash and debit cards. Instead, I’ll keep myself controlled for now and have a long-ass article on it soon.

I know most of you reading this are masters and sifus at optimising your credit cards. Please do let me know if you have better cards out there to recommend for air-miles and cashback for other readers.

You can check for the latest promos and register for Maybank cards hERE.