Why the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite Could Be the Ultimate Enrich Miles Card in 2025
- Refined Points
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Following Hong Leong Bank’s unexpected overhaul of its Visa Infinite portfolio, social media sentiment has been overwhelmingly positive.
While some cardholders may be disappointed by the reduced local spend MPR, it's important to remember that the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite was never positioned to dominate in that area—especially with the Alliance Bank Visa Infinite already occupying that space.
However, these updates have introduced a notable shift in the optimal strategy for earning Enrich Miles—something I’ll explore in this article.
Back to Basics: The Foundation of Any Airline Miles Strategy
When it comes to earning airline miles effectively, your highest monthly spend category should be the cornerstone of your strategy. Every human on the planet has to eat—whether it’s dining out or cooking at home—so most people naturally find themselves spending on either restaurants or groceries.
Yet, I often find it strange how some people argue that dining or grocery spend shouldn’t be a major consideration when choosing the right credit card. If you believe that, you’re essentially adjusting your lifestyle just for the sake of chasing miles—which should never be the case.
The card has to work for you, not the other way around. If your sole goal is to earn miles at all costs, then just get the AMEX Platinum Charge Card, pay the RM3,250 annual fee, and call it a day. You’ll be broke, but at least you’ll be first in line for that Business Class boarding gate.
If you primarily dine out, a dining-focused credit card is a must. If you cook frequently, a card that rewards grocery purchases will give you better mileage returns. Other spending categories like insurance also matter, but are more niche in nature.
Categories such as overseas spend are relevant only to a small group of Malaysians, given that most people don’t travel for more than three weeks a year. So, choosing a card based solely on its overseas MPR might not yield the best overall returns.
CIMB and UOB were quick to capture the dining spend market. Both have offered dining accelerators on their cards, making them popular choices. Standard Chartered entered the space with the Journey card, but lacked a strong companion card in its lineup, limiting its impact.
Enter: Hong Leong Bank’s Visa Infinite
With the recent revamp, Hong Leong Bank has raised its dining MPR—both local and overseas—to 1. While some may lament the absence of an overseas spend accelerator, this is not a deal-breaker.
When paired with the AmBank Enrich Visa Infinite, which also earns 1 MPR on overseas spend, the strategy becomes incredibly compelling.
Together, these two cards offer an unbeatable 1 MPR on both local dining and international spend, with zero annual fees for the Hong Leong Visa Infinite and direct Enrich conversion.
This eliminates the need for the previous workaround with the Alliance Bank Visa Infinite, where cardholders would reload e-wallets and use them for dining to earn 0.53 MPR. Now, that RM3,000 monthly spend can be redirected to more practical areas like insurance, aligning better with most people’s lifestyles.
Who Loses Out the Most?
Despite the shakeup, UOB and CIMB cardholders likely won't feel the heat. UOB remains the fastest route to KrisFlyer and Asia Miles in Malaysia, while CIMB continues to offer the only practical route to Avios.
CIMB also dominates the dining promo scene, boasting over 170+ merchant offers— the largest in Malaysia and far ahead of both UOB and Hong Leong Bank.
Maybank cardholders, especially those using the Maybank 2 Cards Premier American Express Reserve or Visa Infinite, will likely continue migrating—if they haven’t already.
The largest shift, however, may occur among global bank credit card holders. The HSBC Premier Travel World Mastercard, which requires a steep RM3 million AUM but only offers 0.25 MPR on local spend, looks especially unattractive now.
Affluent customers may opt instead for the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite P, which offers 1 MPR on dining and 0.33 MPR on shopping and travel—categories that cover the majority of high-net-worth spend.
Similarly, Standard Chartered’s Journey card no longer holds strong appeal. Its 0.5 MPR on dining has now been eclipsed, and its airline conversion partners—mainly KrisFlyer and Asia Miles—are already well-covered by UOB’s stronger card lineup.
Final Thoughts
As with every Enrich Miles-focused article I’ve written, allow me to end with a word of caution: Only adopt these strategies if you’re genuinely committed to flying with Malaysia Airlines.
The airline continues to suffer from well-documented service issues, and anchoring your entire miles strategy to a single airline—especially one facing operational challenges—is rarely wise.
And if you think redeeming Enrich Miles for Oneworld partner airlines is as seamless as some claim, I wholeheartedly encourage you to try it yourself. It’s a humbling experience—and not in the good way.
In the meantime, for those still keen on Enrich Miles despite the caveats, the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite just became one of the strongest tools in your arsenal. Use it wisely.
