Maybank World Elite Mastercard review - Is it worth getting in Malaysia?

The Maybank World Elite Mastercard¹ is a unique metal credit card available to higher earners, with relatively high fees and extremely good lifestyle perks and benefits. Get rewarded as you spend, plus complimentary travel insurance, Maybank World Mastercard Elite lounge access and a broad range additional travel features.

Is this the right card for you? This Maybank World Elite Mastercard review walks through the benefits of this premium card, and also the costs associated with using it. We'll also introduce the Wise card, a handy travel companion to make seamless card payments when you're overseas.

What is the Maybank World Elite Mastercard?

The Maybank World Elite Mastercard is a conventional credit card issued by Maybank in Malaysia. It’s worth noting that there’s also the Maybank Islamic World Elite Mastercard Ikhwan² which can have slightly different features - this guide focuses on the conventional card only.

The Maybank World Elite Mastercard has a high annual fee and minimum income requirements, and has been designed for high earners looking for a card to give them enviable travel and lifestyle perks. Thanks to the card, you could start your travels in style at an airport lounge, get covered by travel insurance when overseas, with free golfing around the world and data roaming to help you keep in touch throughout your trip.

We’ll examine the Maybank World Mastercard benefits in detail later - first let’s look at some of the costs you’ll need to consider:

*Details correct at time of research - 18th July 2025

Can I get a Maybank World Mastercard supplementary card?

You can get up to 4 Maybank World Elite Mastercard supplementary cards with no additional fee once you’ve paid the annual charge for the primary card.

Supplementary card holders can earn rewards and access certain benefits, but it’s worth checking the small print when you sign up for extra cards. For example, the number of lounge access opportunities is capped at 16 annually, which must be shared by the principal card holder and any additional guests.

Is the Maybank World Mastercard still available?

The Maybank World Mastercard was discontinued in 2024. Existing card holders were upgraded to the Elite card, and new applications can only be made for the Elite option at the time of writing.

Maybank World Elite Mastercard benefits

While some of the costs associated with the Maybank World Elite Mastercard can be high, the benefits you get in return are extremely generous. You’ll still need to weigh up the value of the card based on your spending patterns and preferences, but for frequent travellers looking for nice travel perks this card can be an interesting option.

Maybank World Elite Mastercard travel benefits

The Maybank World Elite Mastercard travel benefits include:

• Get a free Business Class Ticket to London or Paris with Qatar Airways when you buy a ticket for yourself - annual minimum spend of 250,000 MYR required
• Get one free night when booking at Radisson Blu Hotel London or Hotel Napoleon Paris, once a year
• Airport lounge access - more detail coming up on that later
• Up to 2,000,000 MYR in complimentary travel insurance coverage
• Complimentary Flexiroam global data roaming for 10 days in over 200 countries once per year - 3GB data maximum, with discounts on additional package purchases
• Free green fees at over 100 golf clubs
• Up to 40% discount at participating Marriott Bonvoy restaurants
• Mastercard concierge services for help with bookings, arrangements and travel planning

This is a pretty comprehensive range of travel perks - but it’s worth remembering that a foreign transaction fee applies when you use your card for overseas spending. This pushes up the costs of purchases when you travel by 2.25%. If you’d prefer to avoid this charge, you might want to keep your Maybank World Elite Mastercard for local use in Malaysia, and pack a different card, like the Wise card, for lower cost travel spending. More on that later.

Maybank World Elite Mastercard TreatsPoints

When you spend with your Maybank World Elite Mastercard you earn Treatspoints under the Maybank reward scheme. The earning rate depends on the type of spending involved:

• 10x TreatsPoints for every 5 MYR of local spending
• 25x TreatsPoints for every 5 MYR spent overseas
• 1x TreatsPoints on utilities, petrol, education, EzyPay and insurance transactions

You can’t get TreatsPoints on certain transactions, such as payments to Government Bodies and E-Wallet reloads. It’s also worth bearing in mind that even with the increased point earning possibility, using your card overseas might not be the most cost effective solution. The Maybank foreign transaction fee for Mastercards is 2.25%, which means a higher cost whenever you spend overseas, or with international ecommerce retailers.

Once you’ve earned points on your card you can then choose how you want to redeem them, for extra benefits as you spend.

Standard redemption rate is 500 points for 1 MYR. You can use your Treatspoints to select items from the Treatspoints redemption catalogue, including electrical goods, household items, toys and vouchers for popular stores. To give an idea of the redemption rate, you can get a 100 MYR voucher for a store like Guardian with 57,000 Treatspoints⁴.

Maybank World Elite Mastercard lounge access

With your Maybank World Elite Mastercard you can get 16x lounge access per year at Plaza Premium First, Plaza Premium Lounge and Travel Club Lounges. These passes can be used by the card holder, and also by their guests, subject to the 16 visit cap. Find participating lounges at airports around the world, to get your travel off to a relaxing start.

Want to save on your overseas spending? Use the Wise cardto maximise your MYR conversions

The Wise card lets you spend in 40+ currencies at the mid-market rate including CNY, JPY, GBP, and SGD so you know you'll be getting a great deal in over 150+ countries. Simply create a free Wise account, order a card and top-up MYR to get started.

Virtual cards are free and can be added to your Google or Apple Pay wallet, while a physical Wise card can be ordered for a low fee of 13.7 MYR. Having a physical Wise card allows you to make chip and pin payments, as well as two free ATM withdrawals to the value of 1,000 MYR each month, before low fees start.

While abroad, you can choose to spend with directly in MYR and let auto-conversion do the trick, or convert to your desired currency with your Wise account. Either way, you’ll get the exchange rate you see on Google, with low, transparent fees from 0.77%.

Get a credit card for the travel benefits and perks with your credit card, but don't forget your Wise card to get real savings when spending foreign currency.

💳 Get your Wise card today