Overview

Initial Impression: KBank Platinum is more like your reliable, everyday card. Nothing flashy, but it does its job and comes with a few decent perks if you actually read the fine print.

Benchmarking

Let’s be real—if you’re looking for a credit card that dazzles with lounge access, airport limo rides, or 10x points at every café, this isn’t it. But KBank is a reliable bank with some of the largest networks, which earns a boost on practicality but little else

Notwithstanding, KBank Platinum score relatively poor when it comes to the direct benefits it can offer to users. Here’s a breakdown of the score below:

Earn Mechanism

As with the theme of this card, there is nothing special about the points offered for KBank platinum users. Users will earn a basic rate with opportunities for bonus earn rates restricted to one-off campaigns:

• Base Earning Rate: Earn 1 KPoint for every 25 baht spent on eligible purchases

You can see how this earn mechanism works in the examples below:

While the points earn rate is relatively low compared to other cards on the market, the bright side is that there is no explicit cap on points earned within a particular billing cycle.

Collecting Miles

Where KPoints stands out is their option of both Thai Airways and Etihad as miles transfer partners. However, this also means that you will not have access to other popular Thai and regional airlines such as AirAsia or Singapore Airlines.

Note: For ease of comparison, all examples would refer to Thai Airways ROP miles unless otherwise stated.

Based on the points earn rate, we can infer the following miles earn rate for KBank Platinum:

Getting Cashback

One of the perks of KPoints is that they could also be redeemed directly for cashback. While this will come at the expense of potential redemption for miles or other rewards, this gives miles an immediate monetary value. 

Spending Overseas

When you use a credit card overseas, your purchases are charged in a foreign currency and then converted to Thai Baht. This conversion comes with a foreign exchange (FX) spread or fee—a hidden cost many cardholders overlook.

The KBank Platinum Visa imposes foreign transaction fees that can add up when you're spending abroad or making purchases in foreign currencies. Here's a breakdown of the charges:

• Currency Conversion Fee: When you make a purchase in a foreign currency, the amount is first converted to U.S. Dollars (USD) and then to Thai Baht (THB) using Visa's exchange rate. KBank adds a 2.5% hedging premium on top of this amount to cover currency conversion risks.
• Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) Fee: Starting from May 1, 2024, KBank, along with other Thai banks, introduced a 1% DCC fee for transactions processed in foreign currencies. This applies to both in-person and online purchases made outside Thailand.

So, in short, this is probably not the card to be using overseas.

Lounge Access

KBank Platinum does offer lounge access, although the conditions to access this perk can be rather restrictive: you must be flying with Thai Airways out of Suvarnabhumi Airport. 

If you are flying with another airline or are thinking about your return flight, then you’ll be out of luck with KBank Platinum.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the KBank Platinum, you must meet specific eligibility criteria based on nationality, income, and employment status. Here's a breakdown of the requirements:

A. Ordinary Requirements:

Thai Nationals

Foreigner

B. Alternative Requirements:

Annual Fee

The KBank Platinum comes with a small annual fee for both primary and supplementary cards. However, this fee can be waived under relatively easy conditions:

Primary Card

Supplementary Card

KBank Platinum supplementary cards also allow points to be pooled into the primary cardholder’s KPoint account. This means that spending on both the main and supplementary cards contributes to a single, shared points balance. It’s a handy feature that makes it easier to rack up points faster and streamlines redemption since everything is combined under one account.KBank Platinum supplementary cards also allow points to be pooled into the primary cardholder’s KPoint account. This means that spending on both the main and supplementary cards contributes to a single, shared points balance. It’s a handy feature that makes it easier to rack up points faster and streamlines redemption since everything is combined under one account.

For example, if both you and your spouse spend ฿15,000 per month, you’ll earn points as if you spent ฿30,000—reaching travel or cashback rewards much quicker.