GXBank is still the best travel card, for now.

Though the purple bank’s cashback on local spending has been reduced to 0.1%, the cashback on foreign spending is still 1% and covers almost everything.

As long as your overseas payment is made via the debit card (whether physical or online), you’ll most likely receive the cashback.

Until 6 May, the purple bank is waiving foreign transaction fees (1.2%) and does not charge you for withdrawing from overseas ATMs.

The purple bank is also very user friendly. All spending (whether local or foreign) comes with a breakdown, allowing you to view important details (ie. conversion rate, transaction ID, etc.).

My first purchase amounted to 13,000 yen with the GX card, which converted to RM388.22.

Exchange rate: 100 Yen = RM2.9863

Exchange rate with 1% cashback: 100 Yen = RM2.9565 (remember this figure because I’ll be comparing it with different cards below).

The lesser Yen converts to MYR, the better - this means the ringgit is stronger.

TNG Visa is the second best card, but there are conditions.

Until 30 June, the blue card is offering up to 2% unlimited cashback on all eligible spending with the debit card.

The cashback is separated into 3 tiers, which will increase to the maximum (2%) when you spend more than RM200 in a single transaction:

I spent RM156.78 using TNG Visa card and instantly got a 1% cashback:

Exchange rate: 100 yen = RM2.9920

Exchange rate (after cashback): 100 yen = RM2.9622

This is 0.19% more expensive than GXBank.

But since TNG Visa has a few tiers for its cashback (which can go up to 2%):

• If you’re spending below RM200, use GXBANK.

• If you’re spending above RM200, use TNG Visa (2% cashback), because GX will be ~0.80% more expensive.

Other things about the TNG Visa card you should be aware of…

• The card comes with a RM15 registration fee.
  You’ll have to spend at least RM750 (assuming you’ll get 2% cashback) to breakeven from the initial loss. ⚠️

• You’ll not receive any cashback from several categories such as Railroads, Local and Suburban Commuter Passenger Transportation (Including Ferries), Taxicabs and Limousines, Petroleum and Petroleum Products, etc.
  View the full list here.

What about Wise?

Wise charges a 0.5-0.6% fee for all conversions. You’ll be charged the lower range of the fee if you convert more.

Based on the picture on the right (converting RM1,000), Wise’s conversion rate AFTER fees is:

100 Yen = RM2.9941

This is actually 1.27% more expensive than GXBank (after its 1% cashback), and 2.1% more expensive than TNG Visa (after its 2% cashback).

Wise’s conversion rate is also quite misleading.

The exchange rate is applied BEFORE any fees.

In other words, Wise deducts your capital with the 0.5-0.6% fee first, before applying the conversion rate.

Rather than converting RM1,000 at 33.5796 JPY, you’re converting RM994.63 instead.

Last but not least: AEON Bank.

Though the pink bank is currently one of the best places to grow your savings (3.0% pa and 0.50% cashback for debit card spend), it is the worst travel card out of the four.

I spent 3,000 yen and it converted to RM90.99, which equals to:

100 yen = RM3.0330

With 0.50% cashback: 100 yen = RM3.0178

This makes AEON Bank:

• 2.07% more expensive than GXBank

• 2.71% more expensive than TNG Visa

• 0.79% more expensive than Wise

There are also other things I dislike about the pink card for travel:

1. My transaction on March 1st at 11:01 AM was still marked as “processing” even after 48 hours.

2. There’s no breakdown of the exchange rate in the transaction (unlike TNG and GXBank). AEON only shows me the final amount in ringgit and expects me to do the conversion myself. 🥲 

3. After making a payment at 11:01 AM, I only received the notification that my card was charged an hour later at 12:02 PM. 🫠 

4. AEON offers a 1% fee waiver for all overseas transactions, but it only kicks in after 24-48 hours—another unnecessary inconvenience. And even after the waiver, AEON is still the worst travel card among the four I tested.

“But must I register for so many cards??” 🥲

Not really—unless you're a finance nerd like me. After all, a 1-2% difference only translates to an extra RM50-100 for every RM5,000 spent.

Unless you're going on a family or luxury trip (spending over RM10k), Wise or any other alternative should be fine.

That said, I probably wouldn’t use AEON Bank for travel. The loss compared to GXBank and TNG Visa is just too significant.

(And no, I’m not sponsored by any of these brands—though I wish I was. 🥲)

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