Maybank has recently announced significant revisions to its air miles redemption process, including the introduction of new limits on the conversion of TreatsPoints and Membership Rewards Points into air miles.
These changes, effective from 12 April 2024, have introduced a set of constraints that are quite unusual in the realm of loyalty programs. We have previously seen CIMB doing the same with their Travel credit cards, but for a specific reason: to prevent gamification of the redemption system.
Historically, Maybank customers enjoyed the freedom to redeem up to two million air miles annually across various airlines without facing any additional restrictions. However, under the new policy, this two million cap will now encompass air miles converted during promotional bonus miles campaigns, such as those frequently offered by Malaysia Airlines through their Enrich Bonus Points campaigns.
Adding another layer of complexity, Maybank is setting a sub-limit on the number of air miles that can be redeemed through these promotional campaigns. From 12 April onwards, customers will be restricted to converting a maximum of 250,000 air miles per campaign.
Perhaps the most unconventional change is the establishment of a “collective monthly conversion limit” set at 100 million air miles. This means that Maybank will allocate a monthly pool of 100 million air miles for redemption by its cardmembers, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Should the pool be exhausted within a given month, customers will need to wait until the next month to convert additional points. This monthly limit is designed to refresh at the start of each calendar month.
Final Thoughts
Despite these new redemption limits, Maybank assures its customers that all other privileges and benefits associated with their credit cards will remain unchanged. The bank has also updated its terms and conditions for the TreatsPoints and Membership Rewards Points Redemption program to include these recent adjustments.
In all honesty, it appears Maybank's strategy in imposing these new limitations aims to prevent a sudden surge in customers rushing to convert their TreatsPoints into airline miles, possibly as a preemptive measure to switching their loyalty to credit cards offering more attractive airline miles conversions and overall value.
Given the recent substantial devaluations by Maybank, and with competitors such as CIMB and UOB gaining traction in the travel credit card sector, it wouldn't be surprising to witness a shift in consumer preference towards these emerging market leaders in the near future.
It's also plausible that Maybank's strategy in imposing these limitations aim to curb those charging work-related expenses on their Maybank credit cards to earn TreatsPoints, only to claim from their own companies, which is an issue CIMB also faced.
