As we enter the fourth quarter of 2024, various issuing banks have gradually begun to adjust the benefits of their credit cards. Following the recent cancellation of 7 co-branded cards by 3 major banks and the cancellation of the GoGo card LINE Pay rebate by Taishin Bank, there have been rule changes regarding the accumulation of points that cardholders can redeem for goods at convenience stores.
Three banks reduce “convenience store points,” two banks cut rebate points
Regarding the recent adjustments to credit card benefits by major issuing banks, the following is a summary by “Digital Times”:
“Convenience store points” reduced: Taishin Bank, Yuanta Bank, First Bank
Recently, Taishin Bank, Yuanta Bank, and First Bank have successively announced changes in point redemption, affecting both cardholders and bank members when redeeming points at 7-Eleven, OK Mart, FamilyMart, and Hi-Life stores.
Taishin Bank announced that starting from January 1, 2025, it will cease the service of redeeming Taishin credit card points for products at 7-Eleven and OK Mart kiosks. It will also stop the redemption of Taishin credit card points for EasyCard auto top-up discounts and eTag auto reload discounts. Where else can points be redeemed? Taishin Bank stated that through the Richart Life APP, the current Taishin Point still offers the following five redemption services:
– Bill discount: 100% discount on credit card unreconciled expenses
– Point plus cash: 100% discount on Taishin Pay purchases, applicable to 70,000 partner stores nationwide
– Point redemption: Redeem and use brand points immediately
– Point shopping: 100% discount at Richart Mart online mall
– Redeem goods: Redeem a wide selection of quality items and brand serial numbers
The cardholder benefit of redeeming points for goods at convenience stores using Taishin credit card points will be terminated next year.
Yuanta Bank, on the other hand, announced that starting from January 1, 2025, its credit cards will no longer offer redemption services for Miramar Cinemas and Life-ET rewards at Hi-Life. If there is a need for such redemption, it is necessary to complete it within this year.
As for First Bank, it has made changes to the benefits of its newly launched membership points within the official LINE account “Fellow Lion Coins.” It announced that in order to comply with the year-end filing period of the National Taxation Bureau, starting from December 1, 2024, the Fa points accumulated in the Fellow Lion Coins platform will temporarily cease to be used. For the 2,000-point serial numbers that have been accumulated from January to September 2024, if users want to use them on the FamilyMart app, First Bank expects to open the points redemption service to the public on January 1, 2025. The usage period will be until March 31, 2025, and Fellow Lion Coins members are urged to take note of the validity period.
Major reduction in credit card rebates: Cathay United Bank, Standard Chartered Bank
Cathay United Bank announced that starting from January 1, next year, the cashback, bonus points, and rewards provided by Cathay credit cards and debit cards, as well as the rewards and points provided by co-branded partner groups, will be adjusted to be calculated in New Taiwan Dollars. Any decimal amounts will be rounded down unconditionally. If the calculation of rebate points is less than 1 point, it will be rounded down unconditionally to the nearest whole number.
Standard Chartered Bank also made significant adjustments to the benefits of multiple cards, which will take effect from 2025. The changes include the “Standard Chartered WorldMiles Business Card,” where domestic spending will change from “NTD 18 for 1 mile” to “NTD 20 for 1 mile,” and the Standard Chartered Sustainable Simplified Card, where the general domestic and international spending rebate of 2% without a cap will be reduced to 1.2%.
Read more:
Taishin Bank’s double dog card changes! GoGo card LINE Pay rebate eliminated, FlyGo stops 2 rebates… December’s new benefits at a glance
Check your credit cards! 3 major banks cancel 7 co-branded cards, Mega Bank, Cathay United Bank, Taishin Bank… card cancellation timeline and replacement card types at a glance
Editor: Li Xiantai