Tips to Choose the Best Credit Card in Taiwan

For a country whose population is about 23.5 million*, Taiwan had an effective credit card count of 39.42 million, issued by 36 credit card issuing banks and financial institutions, amongst which the total number of active cards stood at 25.77 million^#. The amount of monthly retail sales through credit cards was NT$263.5 billion^#. All these stats just go to show that credit cards are a highly popular means of making payments in Taiwan. 

Ok, let's get to the nub: you are a first-time credit card user (not very probable!) or a credit card user who has not had a very successful time with a credit card. Or, a credit card user who is always on the lookout for interesting credit card-related write-ups. Whoever you are, the following tips, hopefully, will help you make the right credit card selection:

Understand your spending patterns

Even before you apply for a credit card, it is important that you know your spending patterns well. Track all your spends, for a month or two. You may do it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper or use an app if you find that more convenient. At the end of the tracking period you should be able to identify your biggest spend categories – groceries, fuel, shopping, air travel etc.

Understand the types of credit cards available

There are a number of broad-based credit card categories. These include:

Cash rebate cards – These cards return a part of your credit card spends. For instance, the Citibank Cash Back Infinite Card provide cardholders with 1.5% cash rebate on overseas retail spend and 0.88% cash rebate on domestic retail spend. The Treasures Credit Card from DBS, the HSBC Cash Back Platinum Card and the Cashback Card from ANZ are other examples.

Rewards cards – These cards provide you with reward points for your credit card spends. You can redeem these reward points against a range of gifts / privileges. Take the HSBC Rewards Signature Card, for instance; you get to earn one reward point for every spend of NT$30 plus various opportunities to earn bonus reward points. The Citibank Rewards Card is another example of such a card.

Air Miles cards – Convert your credit card spends to Air Miles and use the earned air miles to book flight tickets, hotel reservations etc. The Citi PremierMiles (Premium World) card is an example. Cardholders can earn 1 Citi Mile for every spend of  NT$20. You can use these Miles to redeem flight tickets from 60+ airlines and book hotel accommodation from over 5,000 hotels worldwide.

Co-branded cards – These cards carry the brand of a prominent retailer in addition to the bank's / card scheme's logos. Cardholders get the chance to get additional rewards, discounts or other privileges at the retailer's. The LEXUS World Card and the LEXUS Business Platinum Card from ANZ and the Citi . HAPPY GO Co-Brand Card are examples.

Sync spends to cards

Now, start short-listing credit cards to your biggest spend categories. Remember to short-list only those cards that you are eligible for! You can then compare short-listed cards based on features, benefits, interest rate, charges etc and zoom in on a card that fits your requirements best.

* Data courtesy: Statistical Bureau of Taiwan, as of 2014.

# Statistics sourced from the Financial Supervisory Commission, Republic of China (Taiwan), as of June 2016.