Beware of complex cash rebates and reward points on credit cards, Hong Kong consumer watchdog warns
- Consumer Council urges card issuers to be clearer on conditions after finding most plans contain convoluted calculating mechanisms
- Taiwan most popular destination for rebates on overseas card spending
Shoppers should not blindly pursue credit card rewards by racking up huge bills as the calculations for such perks are complicated, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has warned.
On Monday, the Consumer Council said convoluted cash rebate plans also made it difficult for users to make informed decisions when choosing a card, with rewards varying widely across plans.
The watchdog made the comments after analysing 19 card issuers and 38 cash rebate plans in the city.
It found that rebates differed greatly between cards – for a HK$1 cashback reward, for example, holders of one of the cards only needed to spend HK$50, but to get the same rebate on another card, they had to spend HK$450. However, this was muddied up with other conditions.
Factors that influenced rebate values included the type of shops at which the cards were used, the amount of rebate sought at a given time, and even the currency or global region in which the purchases were made.
The council advised consumers to pay closer attention to the variations and how their own finances would be affected.
“Consumers should choose the card that best suits their individual consumption pattern, instead of blindly pursuing rewards through excessive spending, which might far outweigh the benefits,” said Clement Chan Kam-wing, chairman of the council’s publicity and community relations committee.