Wow | UOB Malaysia Significantly Devalues Lounge Access Benefits
- Refined Points
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 5
The second half of the year is well underway, and this is typically the season when we start seeing new product launches, program changes, and—unfortunately—devaluations.
UOB Malaysia has now joined the fray by cutting back on one of the most prized travel perks: airport lounge access.
If you’re a holder of the UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite or the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card, you can breathe easy for now—these two high-net-worth credit cards remain untouched. But for everyone else, the news isn’t quite as optimistic.
UOB Removes Supplementary Lounge Access
UOB Malaysia has made its most significant non-points-related devaluation since acquiring Citibank Malaysia’s consumer banking business—by axing supplementary lounge access across all eligible credit cards.
Leading the charge is the UOB Zenith World Elite. Effective 1 August 2025, this card will no longer offer lounge access to supplementary cardholders.
While UOB has always been vague about supplementary lounge access—rarely disclosing it in official marketing and leaving most cardholders to rely on forums and social media—there had been confirmation from UOB Malaysia’s official Facebook page that supplementary access was indeed a benefit. That’s now gone.
The UOB Zenith World Elite was already struggling to justify its position in the market. With only limited access to Plaza Premium Lounges (excluding more exclusive options like Plaza Premium First), a hefty RM1,000 non-waivable annual fee, and a steep RM190,000 income requirement, the card fails to compete against more attractive options like the CIMB Travel World Elite and Maybank World Elite Mastercard.
Although UOB now offers principal Zenith World Elite cardholders the ability to bring one guest into the lounge, this is a downgrade from the previous workaround of having unlimited supplementary cardholders each with lounge privileges.
This devaluation also affects the UOB PRVI Miles Elite and UOB World Card—two popular cards.
With the removal of supplementary lounge access, options in the RM60,000 income bracket that still offer this perk are now extremely limited. At the time of writing, the HSBC TravelOne Mastercard stands as one of the few exceptions.
UOB Malaysia Dials Back on KLIA Terminal 2 Lounge Access
KLIA Terminal 2—home to budget airlines such as AirAsia and Scoot—isn’t known for offering a premium travel experience, especially when it comes to lounges. The four lounges currently available at Terminal 2 are:
Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA Terminal 2 (Pre-immigration)
Sky Suite Lounge KLIA Terminal 2 (Pre-immigration)
Travel Club Lounge (Post-immigration – L gates)
Travel Club Lounge (Post-immigration – P/Q gates)
In truth, most of these lounges offer little beyond the bare minimum. The Plaza Premium Lounge is the most tolerable of the lot, though its location outside the departure area makes it inconvenient—especially for passengers departing from the distant P/Q gates, thanks to KLIA Terminal 2’s poorly planned layout.
Despite this, the Plaza Premium Lounge is usually overcrowded, a side effect of complimentary access being granted to many Malaysian cardholders.
As of now, UOB Malaysia has completely removed lounge access at KLIA Terminal 2 for the following cards: UOB Visa Infinite, UOB PRVI Miles Elite, UOB Lady’s Solitaire, and UOB World Card.
This move will impact a large number of UOB cardholders, especially those who were formerly part of the Citibank credit card ecosystem. Expect to see the Plaza Premium Lounge at Terminal 2 noticeably quieter in the coming months.
For the UOB PRVI Miles Elite, which already suffers from poor lounge access compared to its competitors, this further weakens its value proposition.
As for UOB Visa Infinite cardholders, this change is unlikely to cause a stir, since most savvy users would reserve their 12X annual DragonPass visits for higher-quality lounges elsewhere.
Fortunately, lounge access at the Plaza Premium Lounge in KLIA Terminal 1 remains available for all four of the affected credit cards.
This includes access to UOB’s so-called “Private Lounge”—a roped-off section within the main lounge that increasingly feels like a busy cafeteria more than a sanctuary for premium travellers.
Final Thoughts
UOB Malaysia’s recent lounge access devaluation is a telling sign of the bank’s shift toward a more cost-conscious strategy.
After the highly welcomed partnership with Grab—which granted select cardholders complimentary rides home from KLIA—it now seems that was the peak. That move reflected a customer-centric mindset and gave UOB a much-needed edge in the competitive travel credit card space. But fast forward to today, the removal of supplementary lounge access paints a very different picture.
If you’re on the UOB credit card ecosystem, it may be time to reassess whether your current cards still align with your travel and lifestyle needs. Keep a close eye on what other banks are offering, because in this game, agility is everything.
On a positive note, let's hope that the removal of supplementary lounge access will indeed free up some much needed real estate at the extremely overcrowded Plaza Premium Lounge at KLIA Terminal 1.
Update: Refined Points has published a follow-up article on the best credit cards for supplementary lounge access in Malaysia.
How disappointing. Just got my prvi approved last week
Time to cancel all my uob cards lol