Maya Jet Black Credit Card: A Review

We’ve seen the hype on other websites and social media regarding Maya’s Jet Black credit card, but is it really worth it?

What’s the Maya Jet Black Credit Card?

Spend-to-Miles Ratio: PHP 40.00/Maya Mile*

Annual Fee: No annual fee*

Lounge Access: DragonPass (1 access per quarter)*

Airline Partner/s: Mabuhay Miles

Other Notes:

Lots of asterisks mean there are also a lot of disclaimers and conditions, all of which I’ll discuss in the latter part of this post.

Why did I get it?

With the set of cards I have right now, there really isn’t any reason for me to get Maya’s Jet Black credit card. However, I am interested in the top level of their card which they dubbed as Metal. This, as its name implies, is going to be made of metal and can be gotten by paying a subscription fee. Looks like there will be an addition to my list of Philippine’s Most Elite Credit Cards soon!

How did I apply for it?

There are two “versions” of the card: regular and secured. With the regular card, the bank assigns a credit limit to you. With the secured version, the bank uses a portion (80%) of your security deposit to serve as your credit limit. The minimum amount to open a security deposit is PHP 20,000.00 so your credit limit will be PHP 16,000.00. While your card is active, you will be unable to use your security deposit; if you do, your card will end up getting cancelled. Nevertheless, the amount will still earn an interest of 3.5% p.a. so it’s not that bad.

To check if you are eligible to apply for the card, open the Maya app and go to “Cards”.

Tap on “Get yours” under the Landers credit card banner. There should be an option to choose between Landers Cashback Everywhere and the Maya Black credit card on the next screen. Select whatever card you are applying for. Follow the prompt and fill up the necessary details. You will also be asked to choose a statement date which is a feature of this card.

If you get approved, you should be able to access your credit card instantly. Delivery of the physical card will then be a few days after. The virtual card, on the other hand, can be used for online transactions immediately.

Delving Deeper into the Maya Jet Black Credit Card

Ok, now that we’ve got the card, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details. And oh boy, this is a lot.

Features

The CVV changes every time the card details are accessed. Personally, I think this is a hit-and-miss feature. It works if you’re only doing one-time transactions but what about recurring ones such as subscriptions? It seems like this will simply not work.

You can easily copy the card details from the app. Additionally, you can block/unblock or freeze/unfreeze the card via the app. This is actually a good feature. But with other banks, the availability and reliability to access the app to do this is important.

You can enable/disable the type of transactions (online, foreign, chip, cash advance, etc.) as well as set the amount limits per day. While this gives an added layer of security, it’s also another thing to think about when using your card.

Transactions done at some merchants will earn you 5x Maya Miles. Other merchants could even earn you 10x Maya Miles. Most of these merchants seem to be retail stores and at the higher end at that. Will these Maya Miles be even worth it?

The card has a 2% foreign transaction fee. This is lower than most of the cards available in the market but not as good as the travel-oriented ones. 

There are 3 tiers/levels of the card. Jet is Tier 1. Midnight is Tier 2. Metal is Tier 3. Each tier earns 1 Maya Mile for every PHP 40.00 (Jet), PHP 30.00 (Midnight), and PHP 20.00 (Metal) respectively. Upgrading to Tier 2 to Tier 3 can be done via paid subscription when available.

Maya Miles have a validity of 2 years. No other credit card has validity for their points/rewards system. This is a minus for me.

Benefits

1 lounge access per quarter. The lounge access does not carry over; meaning, if you are unable to use it within a quarter, it simply expires. Still, this is pretty good considering the card technically has no annual fee and has a low entry requirement.

Has no annual fee but has an inactivity fee. To avoid this, at least 1 transaction must be made each month.

No information yet whether 1 Maya Mile is equivalent to 1 airline mile (possibly Mabuhay Mile).

Rewards

1 Maya Mile is roughly equivalent to PHP 0.16 cashback/rebate. Depending on the card that you have, the % of the cashback/rebate will be different. Here’s a table to show the % cashback/rebate based on different Maya Black card tiers.

Of course, the best earning rates will always be the ones at the upper tiers. However, we will also have to consider the subscription fees which, at this point, haven’t been announced.

Lastly, there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to earning Maya Miles. For example, paying utility bills will NOT earn you ANY Maya Mile. This is such a downer!

The Verdict?

The Maya Jet Black credit card is an okay card to start with, specially for those who have a hard time opening an account with traditional banks and even getting a secured credit card from them. However, those who already have credit cards with traditional banks can totally skip this; unless they’re also going for the Metal Black version.