A bit on UOB credit card and TM

I tried redeeming points accumulated but gave up because it was too much of a hassle for what it was worth. Just imagine: for a small value item, it involved courier service, and because of my address, almost always the courier man would not be able to find it. Furthermore, it means having to have someone at home to receive it, or else, to go all the way to Silibin (no pun intended) in Ipoh to collect from the couriers.


Because of the small amounts spent, for years I did not bother to redeem any of the points which lapsed periodically.


Now, I find it worthwhile to redeem the points to pay for the government tax on credit card of Rm50. 10,000 points are required, and often, the points which lapsed negate its accumulation. 


The other day, I called up their Call Centre which is KL-based to redeem my points for the rebate. I used TM fixed line to call and had to listen to the usual 'Press 1 for this, 2 for that...' before I was put to a person and I had to explain my intention, then I was put on hold while he checked and realised exactly what I had in mind. I have just received my TM bill and the call and conversation lasted 8.37 minutes and cost me Rm7.40! Personally, under my circumstances, I wish UOB would make such a rebate automatic if and when my points were sufficient, without having to go through all that hassle and cost.


As for TM, I missed the days when telephone calls were free (at least, within a state), but now we are being charged according to duration. But to be honest, even if given unlimited free talk time, these days, being anti-social, I do not wish for long chats with anyone. I did not know the call to UOB would last more than 8 minutes, otherwise, I had the choice of calling when at my son's place where his Unifi subscription provides free calls to TM fixed lines, or using my YES subscription which charges 9 sen per minute.


While on TM, my son's Unifi service in Petaling Jaya has problems with connection. This had been going on, off and on, for about a month. I was disappointed, so did my grandson, during my last 3 visits when I brought along the iPad but could not connect to the internet. At Rm149 per month, this is a lot to pay for no service, not to mention the unworkable CCTV installed.
Link