WOW | Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite Sees Huge Upgrade
- Refined Points
- May 1
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Hong Leong Bank has officially entered the ring with a bold and unexpected revamp of its Visa Infinite credit cards—introducing a new category-based earning structure with significantly enhanced Enrich Miles rates.
What’s most surprising is that this comes with no annual fee, making the value proposition all the more impressive—and slightly puzzling.
One can’t help but wonder how Hong Leong Bank plans to sustainably fund this, especially with direct mileage crediting to Enrich accounts, a feature typically reserved for co-branded airline cards like the AmBank Enrich Visa Infinite.
Just weeks ago, I published an article critiquing Hong Leong Bank’s continued absence in the airline miles space. With Maybank gradually losing its footing, CIMB imposing head-scratching conditions, and UOB doing almost everything right (albeit in a vacuum of competition), it was starting to feel like the market lacked fresh energy.
Now, Hong Leong Bank has not only responded, but done so with a proposition that’s arguably market-leading.
Before and After
Previously, the Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite lineup—which includes the standard Visa Infinite, Visa Infinite P, and Doctor’s Edition—offered 0.28 MPR on local spend and 0.45 MPR on overseas spend. Miles were credited directly to your Enrich account, mimicking the functionality of a co-branded card.
That structure has now been overhauled.
Cardholders can now earn an eye-popping 1 MPR on dining spend—both local and overseas. For context, this makes Hong Leong Bank’s local dining rate the highest in the market.
The only other card that offers 1 MPR on local dining is the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card, which requires RM3 million in AUM and charges a RM3,000 annual fee. The next best alternative is CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite, offering up to 0.92 MPR on dining, provided you spend RM10,000 on dining monthly.
Rather than follow the typical model of differentiating earn rates by local vs. overseas spend, Hong Leong Bank has introduced a purely category-based structure.
This is a first in the Malaysian market and means you'll now earn the same MPR whether you dine domestically or abroad. The same logic applies across other categories such as Travel and Retail Shopping.
Some might raise an eyebrow at the relatively low 0.16 MPR on "Other Spend" overseas, but this is clearly a strategic pivot. Hong Leong Bank is targeting the domestic spend market—where the vast majority of transactions in Malaysia take place.
There’s also now a meaningful product distinction based on AUM:
Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite P (RM300,000 AUM):
Dining Spend: 1 MPR
Travel & Retail Shopping: 0.33 MPR
All Other Spend: 0.20 MPR
Hong Leong Bank Visa Infinite / Doctor’s Edition:
Dining Spend: 1 MPr
Travel & Retail Shopping: 0.25 MPR
All Other Spend: 0.16 MPR
A Sneaky Move by Hong Leong Bank
While the new 1 MPR on dining spend is impressive, it comes with a quiet caveat. The rate only applies to spend tagged under specific MCCs:
5811 (Caterers)
5812 (Restaurants),
5814 (Fast Food)
Conspicuously absent is MCC 5813, which covers “Drinking Places.”
This exclusion is likely intentional. MCC 5813 encompasses bars, pubs, and cocktail lounges—frequent haunts of high-value beverage spenders, many of whom are notorious for gaming rewards programs. Some day-to-day café chains like Starbucks may also fall under this MCC, though this remains unconfirmed.
This decision seems aimed at protecting the bank from excessive mileage payouts triggered by high-ticket beverage spending. And considering Hong Leong’s core clientele often includes entrepreneurs and SME owners, it’s a pragmatic move.
For the average cardholder, this exclusion is unlikely to be a dealbreaker—after all, missing out on a few Enrich miles from your RM10 Starbucks coffee isn’t the end of the world.
Final Thoughts
Hong Leong Bank’s refreshed Visa Infinite offering is easily one of the boldest moves we’ve seen in Malaysia’s miles game this year. The introduction of a category-based MPR structure—combined with market-leading rates on local dining—is a major win for cardholders, especially since it remains a free-for-life product.
That said, it will be interesting to see how long these rates last, and whether other banks follow suit or begin tightening their own programs in response. For now, Hong Leong Bank has placed itself firmly back on the map for serious miles collectors.
I’ll be publishing a follow-up article soon that dives into a full Enrich Miles strategy based on this new development—so stay tuned to Refined Points if you want to maximise your redemptions and craft the most efficient earning strategy possible.
Meanwhile, as always, my Ultimate Category Specific Guide and my Enrich Ultimate Guides are updated to reflect the new changes.
