Hmm | UOB Malaysia Reveals Annual Fee Waiver Policies

UOB Malaysia has released its updated guidelines for credit card annual fees and waiver conditions effective 2026.

While some tweaks were made—primarily affecting a few entry-level cards—the overall landscape for affluent-tier products remains relatively intact. That said, the biggest change is the formalisation of annual fee waiver requirements for several premium cards that previously left such details ambiguous.

Source: UOB Malaysia

For example, the UOB PRVI Miles Elite now officially requires a minimum annual spend of RM50,000 to waive its RM600 annual fee. Prior to this, UOB Malaysia had no published policy on waivers, though waiver approvals were reportedly granted on a case-by-case basis through customer service or relationship managers.

It’s worth pointing out that if you do pay the RM600 annual fee, you’ll receive 60,000 UNIRM points, equivalent to just 5,000 airline miles.

This puts the cost per mile at RM0.12, which is far from attractive. For context, I value KrisFlyer miles at around RM0.07 per mile, so you're essentially paying ~50% more when paying the annual fee. Of course, it goes without saying that if you convert that into Enrich Miles, you're practically just throwing free money at UOB, given the continued decline in value of Enrich Miles as of late.

Strategic Pivots to Be Considered?

As I’ve noted in my 2025 Airline Miles Strategy article, a successful UOB miles play hinges on holding at least two cards.

The UOB PRVI Miles Elite alone won’t get you far with its paltry 0.08 MPR on local spend. For my strategy, I pair the UOB Visa Infinite (0.41 MPR on dining) with the PRVI Miles Elite (up to 0.91 MPR on overseas spend), creating a much more viable accrual structure.

With the new policies, both cards now come with a combined spend requirement of RM100,000 annually to waive their respective fees. This threshold is not unmanageable—especially if you redirect large-ticket items like insurance, education, or even family expenses onto these cards.

Still, UOB’s move is oddly timed.

Post-acquisition of Citibank Malaysia’s consumer credit business, UOB has yet to fully stabilise its market positioning. Introducing stricter fee enforcement at this stage may cause friction, particularly when customer loyalty is still being rebuilt.

For reference, Maybank’s recent missteps in the affluent credit card segment have left a vacuum, but that doesn’t automatically guarantee UOB permanent retention of those migrating customers.

I'd go as far as saying that UOB's recent surge is somewhat related to the fact that CIMB continues to be stingy in its airline miles MPR rates. A small increase in MPR rates (which will likely never happen) will likely do plenty of damage and move the needle towards CIMB's favour, given their industry-leading airline conversion partners

In fact, affluent customers who are less mileage-focused may look elsewhere. Cards like the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite, Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite, and Hong Leong Bank’s Visa Infinite P all offer similar lifestyle privileges with far less annual fee friction—or in some cases, no annual fees at all.

Hong Leong Bank has already taken a bold first step towards this, and it remains to be seen what other tricks they have up their sleeves.

Should You Just Pay the Fees?

To be fair, there are scenarios where paying the RM600 annual fee might make sense. The UOB PRVI Miles Elite grants up to RM160 in Grab rides from KLIA monthly—an easy way for frequent travellers to recoup the fee within a few airport runs.

Meanwhile, the UOB Visa Infinite’s DragonPass lounge access, though limited to regional terminals, still adds tangible value—especially for those commuting to and from Greater China.

Final Thoughts

UOB Malaysia is threading into tricky waters with its 2026 credit card fee structure.

While transparency is always welcome, tightening the screws too soon—especially post-acquisition and amid market churn—may backfire. For serious airline miles collectors, the RM100,000 spend requirement is manageable, but UOB must be cautious not to alienate customers who value flexibility and low-maintenance perks.

With CIMB and Hong Leong Bank continuing to offer competitive alternatives with varying conditions, UOB's long-term success in the premium card space hinges not just on rewards, but on listening to the nuanced expectations of the Malaysian affluent segment.