As university students, it is important for you to start managing your own finance. It would save lots of bucks if you know the right way to use credit cards. New year has just begun so why not make some financial resolutions for yourself!
No matter you are paying school fees, buying daily essentials when living in dorms, dining, watching movies, singing karaoke or planning for future expenses, here are the benefits offered by the under mentioned credit cards.
| Credit Card | Benefit Category | How to use the card for maximized benefits? |
| PrimeCredit WeWa UnionPay Diamond Card | 4% rebates for spending in “Travel”, “Cinema”, “Karaoke”, “Theme park”. HK$10 rebates for every HK$250 spent. | Dining with “uni-mates” |
| PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card | 2% cash rebates for any local and overseas transactions, online transactions and Octopus automatic add value in this year, unlimited cash rebates amount | Studying, Working, Multi-usage |
| COMPASS VISA Credit Card | 8% off for purchases in parkNshop and Watsons during specific days in a month, 3% rebates for purchases in Taobao | Essential to those who live dorms |
| BOC i-card | 10X Points for online and contactless payments | Online shopping, Daily essential |
Application Requirement: Tertiary students only need to present their student cards and address proof for application.
1. Ordinary tertiary students: PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card + BOC i-card
It is a lot more convenient if you have one or two credit cards with you. With PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card, you could earn 2% unlimited rebates (or HK$2 or every HK$100 spent) for any purchases made in the dining, accommodation, transportation and clothing categories. The rebate rate is higher than those of other student credit cards.
You could also get discounts when buying movie tickets in CINEMA CITY, including Buy-1-Get-1 for regular-priced 3D/2D movies on Fridays and Saturdays (at most one complimentary ticket per week). But you are required to present a receipt of HK$300 or above in the present or previous month when buying the tickets. During weekdays, you can also enjoy 10% off with 2D/3D/Dolby Atmos movies. However, the two offers are not applicable during public holidays and other specific days.
Enjoy 10X Points, or 4% cash rebates with online and contactless payments via BOC i-card. But you could only earn 10,000 extra Points at most each month with these spending categories. That means you can earn the maximum benefits with a total transaction amount of HK$1,112 per category.
Moreover, you could earn basic Points with online bill payments via BOC i-card, and 0.4% cash rebates for paying school fees in particular. However, only the first HK$10,000 payments per month (or parts of the school fee payments) are eligible for redeeming Points.
2. Hall Mates Combo: COMPASS VISA Credit Card + PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card
Never underestimate the expenses incurred when living in a dorm. They could end up being one of the largest expenditure!
Use COMPASS VISA card and enjoy 8% off with a single purchase of HK$100 in parkNshop on the 2nd, 12th and 22nd of each month. You could earn 1% COMPASS Dollar at the same time, giving you a favourable rate of $1 COMPASS Dollar rebates per HK$100 spent. Also, you could enjoy HK$5 reduction on purchases in some on-campus Pacific Coffee branches on or before 31st May.
You are rewarded with $8 COMPASS Dollar rebates for purchasing any music apps or music in Apple App Store or Google Play on the monthly “Free App Day”.
Together with PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card, you could earn 2% unlimited rebates for local and overseas transactions, including Octopus automatic top up. This offer alone could already save you a handful of bucks.
3. Social/Dating: PrimeCredit WeWa UnionPay Diamond Card + PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card
Whenever you are going to hang out with friends, sing karaoke or watch movies, you must be wondering how you can save more and enjoy more at the same time. With PrimeCredit WeWa UnionPay Diamond Card, you could earn 4% rebates in the “Travel”, “Cinema”, “Karaoke” and “Theme park” spending categories. This means you can earn H$10 for every HK$250 spent, which is very attractive compared to the offer of other credit cards.
It is indeed quite pricey to watch movies in Hong Kong; not to mention you may have to pay for your significant other during certain occasions. Aside from the 4% rebates for cinema spending that come from using WeWa UnionPay Diamond Card; same as PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card, you could enjoy Buy-1-Get-1 2D/3D regular-priced movie tickets on Fridays and Saturdays in CINEMA CITY, as well as 10% off for 2D/3D/Dolby Atmos movies on the other days. The user regulations are exactly the same.
Plus the 2% rebates for all eligible spending that come with PrimeCredit EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card, you can definitely save some money even during your dates!
These two cards are handy when you want to do a little get away during semester breaks. By presenting eligible credit card and boarding pass, you could enjoy a regular beverage for HK$1 in the Pacific Coffee branches in the Hong Kong airport. Also, you could enjoy free access to the Plaza Premium Lounge in the Hong Kong and Macau with your reservations. You are allowed to use this service three days per year and three hours per visit.
University / College Co-branded Cards
Some banks are offering University or College co-branded card for students, staffs and alumni. They are easy to apply for students who have no fix and stable incomes. These cards usually offer benefits like discounts on campus facilities, get extra points or rebates on paying school fee, etc.. Also, Part of the total spending will be donated to the related institution for support of campus enhancement projects, student activities and / or alumni affairs development.
| University / College Co-branded Cards | |
| Banks | institutions |
| Hang Seng | -The Chinese University of Hong Kong -School of Continuing and Professional Studies CUHK -City University of Hong Kong -Hong Kong Baptist University -Hang Seng Management College |
| BEA | -The University of Hong Kong -HKU SPACE -The Hong Kong Polytechnic University -The Education University of Hong Kong -Lingnan University -VTC |
| BOC |
-Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
| Wing Lung Bank | -The Open University of Hong Kong -Chu Hai College of Higher Education |
| ICBC | -Caritas Institute of Higher Education -Caritas Bianchi College of Careers |
Friendly Reminder: Students should use credit card as a way for payment and use it wisely. Do not use credit card as future money.
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