Over the years, I have had a love-hate relationship with credit cards where my spending habits had led me to maximise my credit card limit. Even after I cleared my debts, I remembered that I tried to apply for a credit card which got rejected. That situation then led me to live a life without a credit card for almost a year. I never saw the need to have a credit card as even when I went on business trips, many hotels allow deposits to be paid in cash or debit card until one particular business trip. When I was in Singapore for one of my business trips, the hotel declined to accept my debit card & they only accepted cash deposits or credit card to put on hold. 

There were 2 problems that I was facing during that trip. Since it was just a short trip(one night), I have changed a minimum amount of money & secondly, I have no credit card. The situation has resulted in me paying deposits via cash but it also makes me feel quite embarrassed to not have any credit card. After I came back from Singapore, I finally applied for a new credit card. Since it was a year after I settled my debts, I was allowed to reapply for a new card. 

One of my biggest fears is my inability to control my credit card spending since I have had two bad experiences of being unable to manage my credit card spending. During that time, I was also tracking my expenses using a mobile app. With a new credit card in hand, I was also making sure that I am able to track my spending by checking on the credit card app constantly & also via my expenses tracking app. Since Citibank mobile app is quite user friendly, I am able to track my spending closely to ensure that I won’t miss any payment. 

Years later, I discovered a credit card that was able to align with my passion for travelling. With Air Asia Hong Leong card, I am able to collect points to redeem free flights. I did redeem a return flight for Vietnam for June 2020 travelling but too bad, we are all stuck in this pandemic. With the transition from Citibank card to Hong Leong card, one of the main issues that I was facing was the inconvenience of the Hong Leong mobile app vs the Citibank mobile app. I am not able to track my credit card expenses as accurate as the Citibank mobile app. There was once when I overlooked my expenses which I had to pay extra few ringgit for the interest during my transition from Citibank credit card to AirAsia credit card due to unfamiliarity with the mobile app. 

After a few years of learning & managing my credit card expenses the right way, I am able to figure out what is the best way to manage & track my expenses. First, if you are using an expense tracking app, your problem is solved as you can always link your credit card spending to your expenses app. You can also cross-check your credit card statement or app to make sure that you are not missing out on any transactions. It is good to use a tracking app to always make sure you are spending within your budget. 

Secondly, the best practice that I learnt is to round up my expenses or payment. Usually, I will round it up to pay extra. At the end of each month, whatever that I overpay will be the amount that I will be using to treat myself. I remembered accumulating over RM200 in 3 months which I used to buy a shoe from Zalora. Third & the most important point of all, never rely on the credit card statement as you will only see the total expenses at the end of the month. Always keep track of your credit card expenses on a weekly basis to ensure that you do not overspend.

These steps are easier said than done. To get all the steps done, you are required to have good discipline in your money management aspect to ensure you don’t overspend & keep your credit card expenses in check. Once you incorporate all these habits, you will notice that your credit card expenses can easily be managed & you won’t able to miss any details. With tracking habits, you will also be more aware of your credit card spending habits to ensure that you do not go overboard.

I have also collaborated with CompareHero to share with all of you these three awesome credit cards for your benefit.