Renewed Aljja Card... "Benefits Have Decreased"

Renewal Cards, Online Benefits Enhanced
But Annual Fees and Previous Month Spending Requirements Also Increased

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As card companies' profitability deteriorates, some premium cards have been discontinued, while some cards have been re-released in renewed versions. Although online benefits such as delivery applications (apps) and easy payments have been strengthened in response to changes in consumption patterns, there are criticisms that benefits are worse than before due to higher annual fees or monthly spending requirements.

According to the industry on the 12th, Lotte Like It Fun, which was discontinued on the 1st, has been renewed as 'Like It Fun Plus.' Like It Fun, which was popular for offering 50% discounts at Starbucks and Angel-in-us and 30% discounts at all coffee shops, has been reduced to only Starbucks as a brand in the renewal. Instead, an additional 10% benefit is provided when using easy payment, allowing discounts of up to 60%. A 5% discount benefit for delivery apps was also added. However, the public transportation discount rate was reduced from 20% to 10%, the annual fee increased by 5,000 won, and the monthly spending requirement rose by 100,000 won.

The Hyundai Card Zero series was also re-released in May as 'Zero Edition 2.' For the two discount types of Zero Edition 2, the discount rate in essential living areas increased from 1.2% to 1.5%. For the two accumulation types, the mobile essential area accumulation rate improved from 1.5% to 2.5%. The essential living area now includes easy payment sectors, and the mobile essential area added new normal sectors such as OTT subscription services. Additionally, Visa Platinum services have started to be provided. However, as benefits increased, the annual fee rose from the previous 5,000 won to 10,000 won after renewal, and the prepayment benefit disappeared in the two discount types.

The Sh Suhyup Bank Real? Real! Card was recently renewed as 'Real? Real! 2.' The existing card provided up to 1.2% cashback benefits at all merchants without monthly spending or cashback limits, and if certain quarterly spending criteria were met, additional cashback of up to 200,000 won annually was possible. However, the renewed card introduced monthly spending requirements (300,000 won and 700,000 won), and the basic billing discount rate was only 0.7% to 1%. Instead, special accumulation of 1.5% was added in sectors such as large marts, online shopping, coffee, delivery apps, and movies. Also, the existing telecommunications discount benefit disappeared, but 2% cashback is given on overseas usage amounts without monthly spending or cashback limits.

Woori Card's Card Eui Jeongseok SoSam Check was revamped as 'Card Eui Jeongseok SoSam Newtro Check' to fit the new normal. With this renewal, the evening cashback time changed from 6 PM?12 AM to 5 PM?11 PM, and a 5% cashback benefit for delivery apps was added. However, the fuel sector was excluded from transportation benefits, and the monthly usage frequency was limited to 2?3 times across all sectors. The payment amount per transaction also increased in most sectors. The overseas merchant cashback limit changed from unlimited to a maximum of 10,000 won per month, but for transactions over 100,000 won, the cashback rate was raised to 2%.

Go Seung-hoon, CEO of Card Gorilla, said, "It is true that it is difficult to expect premium cards as before due to the deterioration of card companies' profitability. However, since there are many benefits favorable to changed consumption patterns due to COVID-19, such as easy payments, subscription services, and delivery apps after renewal, if consumers understand the benefits they want well and choose cards accordingly, the actual benefits they can receive may increase."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.