How to Earn Miles When Paying Insurance in Malaysia?
Overview
Banks in Malaysia generally give very low MPR for Insurance payments, or exclude them from earning any altogether.
Why? That’s because banks want to use credit card rewards to incentivize you to spend money on things like dining, shopping, or traveling (discretionary spends). Insurance is considered as non-discretionary spend. You are going to pay for it anyway, so banks don’t bother giving good rewards for it.
What’s the MCC for Insurance Premiums?
In general, Insurance MCCs are
MCC 6300: Insurance Sales, Underwriting, and Premiums
MCC 5960: Direct Marketing – Insurance
Viable Cards
Here are the cards that still earn you miles when paying for insurance:
| Card | Monthly Limit | MPR | Monthly Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
 Alliance Bank Visa Virtual |
RM3,000 (Online) |
0.53 Enrich |
1,590 miles |
 UOB Lazada Card Apply |
RM500 (Insurance) |
0.36^ KF/ Asia Miles |
180 miles |
Alliance Bank Visa Virtual is the only viable card for insurance payments in Malaysia today. You can pay up RM3,000 of insurance premiums per month which is a decent amount. As long as you make the payment online, you get the 0.53MPR.
The UOB Lazada Card is another alternative, but the cap is only RM500 at an effective 0.36 MPR if you meet the RM1500 spend condition, i.e besides the RM500 spend on insurance/telco, you must spend RM500 on Lazada/Lazada wallet top-ups and another RM500 on selected online services (Youtube, Netflix, Grab).
That’s a lot of hoops to jump through for a so-so MPR, unless you already pool points with higher tier UOB cards. But if the card fits your spending habits, then it can still make sense.
Other cards you can use
At the entry level, you can use the CIMB Travel Platinum to pay for insurance premium to earn a RM65 Grab voucher for every RM3,000 spent, which works out to roughly 2% “cashback”. You also get 1x access to Plaza Premium First, which is a nice bonus.
If you’re a big spender and can’t be bothered to optimize, UOB VI Metal and UOB Zenith still can give you a 0.20 MPR and 0.13 MPR respectively.
| Card | Monthly Limit | MPR |
|---|---|---|
 UOB VI Metal |
Uncapped |
0.20 KF/ Asia Miles |
 UOB Zenith |
Uncapped |
0.13 KF/ Asia Miles |
While banks usually give very little MPR or exclude insurance spend altogether, insurance payments can still be used to meet the annual spend requirement for annual fee waivers. Here are some ideas:
| Card | Monthly Limit | MPR | Annual Spend Fee Waiver |
|---|---|---|---|
 SCB Journey |
Uncapped |
0.10 KrisFlyer |
RM60,000 (2nd year onwards) |
 Maybank WEM |
Uncapped |
0.08 KF/ Asia Miles |
RM120,000 (1-for-1 MH Business Class) |
 UOB World Card |
Uncapped |
0.05 KF/ Asia Miles |
RM50,000 (Can further offset with e-wallet top ups) |
 CIMB TWE |
Uncapped |
0.06 Seafood |
RM120,000 (2026 waiver campaign) |
Note that for UOB World, you earn a bonus of 125,000 UNIRM, or 6,250 KrisFlyer / Asia Miles (assuming no points pooling), when you spend RM48,000 annually. You also qualify for an annual fee waiver at RM50,000 spend.
Use Card Payment Platforms
You can also use card payment platforms like EveryPay and CardUp to pay for insurance, but this comes with a fee.
EveryPay does not have a dedicated payment category for Insurance, but you can select the Miscellaneous category. As long as the supporting document shows the required information such as amount, date, etc – it should work.
Other ways to earn miles
We know savvy mileschasers don’t like to take “no-miles” for an answer. There are other ways to earn miles on insurance, but they all come with limitations.
The idea is to pay through an insurance distributor that does not use the insurance MCCs 6300 or 5960. Here are a few ways:
1. ShopeePay
There is a small selection of personal accident and travel insurance available in the Shopee/ShopeePay app. You pay using SPayLater (we recommend 1 month with no fee), then make repayment using the Maybank KrisFlyer AMEX.
That said, the insurance offerings on this platform are quite basic, so make sure they actually meet your coverage needs before buying.
2. Klook
You can buy travel insurance on Klook, which codes as MCC 4722 (Travel Agencies and Tour Operators). This unlocks more payment options locally, such as Maybank Platinum Charge or even UOB PME using the overseas currency setting (make sure the CPM checks out!)
Be sure to also compare the price against buying directly from the insurer.
Conclusion
The Alliance Visa Virtual is the most viable card for insurance payments, with a decent RM3,000 monthly cap, as long as the payment is made online. If RM3,000 isn’t enough or the insurance payment can’t be made online, CIMB Travel Platinum is another choice to earn the RM65 Grab voucher instead.
Big spenders who can’t be bothered to optimize can simply use UOB VI Metal or UOB Zenith. If your goal is just to hit annual spend for fee waivers, lower MPR cards like SCB Journey, Maybank WEM, and CIMB TWE also make sense.
Lastly, insurance can be purchased via distributors like Shopee (Travel / Personal Accident) and Klook (Travel), which helps you avoid insurance MCCs and earn miles on online spend instead.
Know any other ways to earn miles on insurance locally? Join the BolehMiles Community below and let us know!