Are You Unique Enough For You:nique?

Was invited for a soft launch at

HQ9, TTDI Plaza sometime last month.

A soft launch that required a lot of note-taking.

Haha. Totally felt like college all over again.
(Ahhh, I miss the good ol' days.)

A soft launch that had a freeflow of drinks and a buffet line for kai fan. (That's chicken rice for you bananas – che wah! Can say people already. Haha.)

It was the soft launch of Alliance Bank's latest, newest, funkiest, yuppiest, most unique credit card. Haha. And today, I finally found the time to start writing about it. -_-' (Yes, I know. My schedule is atrocious and it's pathetic how badly my posts are delayed nowadays. -_-) ANYHEW... Guess what it's called!

You:nique.
(Nuh-uh. No points for guessing, folks.
The answer was staring you in the face. Heh.)

And believe you me, like it's name,
this credit card's real unique, alright.

Listen up.

For one, it allows you to play dress-up with your credit card. Like, seriously! Apa macam mia picha pun boleh buboh. Asalkan tak kotor. Mesti halal – paham? Paham. Bagus. Masa untuk ber-moving on.

Haha. Kiddin'.

The two guys you see in the pic below didn't go on and on for hours just so I get to write two crummy lines on bad picture choice. Haha.

Our hosts (amongst a few others
who are not in the picture) for the night.

Let me explain. What you get to do with You:nique is personalise your credit card with a picture of your choice. Either from the host of images from the library available, or you can get your own pictures and artworks uploaded into the system to be put on your card. The requirements are 1020 x 660, and a maximum file size of 2mb. And the steps are real simple. Just upload (or pick), arrange for cropping, then click to submit for bank processing. If all goes well and your pictures get Alliance Bank's approval and Halal certificate, you'll get your card in 2 weeks. Simple as that!

Some examples of personalised cards.

BUT...
(There's always a 'but', innit?)

My personal suggestion is to avoid pictures of boyfriends and girlfriends though. Haha. Nanti break up time... SUEY LIAO LAH! Got the fella's picture stuck on your credit card. But but but... even if you think you're so in love that you must must must have your partner's face on your card, *rolls eyes* don't worry. Masa break-up... (Argh, I'm so jaded!!!) ...masih boleh diselamatkan. All you need to pay is RM38 for a change of skin and they'll send you a new card. RM38 for the satisfaction of physically removing your ex. Not too bad lah. Haha.


But... I'm a Penangite lah. And Penangites are too kiam siap to even cough up that amount of money for someone who no longer matters. So... listen to me. Don't put temporal people on your card. Unless you all ten ten ten already, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. RM38 can buy FOUR McValue Meals and A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND Hacks sweets already, you know?! Pandai pandai lah. Sekarang, ekonomi meleset. Jangan main main dengan wang.


Now, that brings me to my next point – you get to save (kinda sorta) with this credit card. All you need to do is swipe your card a minimum of 12 times a year and your annual fees get waived! So easy! And if anything, you'll already be getting a 3-year fee waiver on top of that. Not too shabby for the smallest bank in town, huh? They're playing David in a sea of Goliaths. Haha. Respect.


There's heaps for them to shout about lah, actually. Their rates, rewards and rebates are pretty impressive, if you ask me. They'll even send brochures notifying their users of new promotions and tie-ins with merchants. Credit cards don't quite get much better than this.

So who's eligible for You:nique?

Well, pretty much everybody
who's got a steady income.

1. You can't be a student (Bank Negara prohibits your application – not Alliance Bank. You think what? They don't want your business? Haha. If can of course they take you also laaa. =p)
2. You must be over the age of 21
3. You must earn more than RM1,500 a month

And that's it! I think most people would meet the necessary requirements for this card lah. Personally, I think the target market for this card is very yuppie. And it's a good thing for Alliance bank, too! Yuppies these days seem to have bigger spending powers than the size of their bank accounts (or their brains, for that matter). Haha. Spend spend spend, swipe swipe swipe only. No need to think wan. Haha. Spend first, worry later. Tsk tsk.


Anyhew, if you already own a credit card to your name, all you have to do is send Alliance Bank a photocopy of your card, a photocopy of your IC, and your signature. You can even scan all the above mentioned necessary stuff and email it over to Alliance Bank. After all, everything's pretty much gone online these days. Alliance Bank mesti tak lag. =p




I guess Alliance Bank's tagline – Banking Made Personal – just got a million times more relevant and meaningful with You:nique. Indeed, the credit card is now really personal. Way to go, Alliance Bank!

Okay! Enough about the card.

At the event, I met my 'arch enemy' for the first time that night! Guys, meet Huai Bin of SixthSeal.com!!!

Fake smile only wan. Haha. Both mau buat professional. Actually, he's stabbing me in the back with his right hand. You just can't see the knife. And I'm a good actress with a high tolerance for pain. =p He's so terrible, he even copies my notes. Look!

Wah, my muka so tak syok. Haha.


My notes that night.


I know. I have no organisation whatsoever. -_-

But still...

I have a healthy self esteem. Tee hee. =p

Then I happened to met some DGMBians there, too!

Royalshortness and Yatz. Joshua Ong too
kuat PR already. Running about all night.
That's why he's missing from this picture.

Haha. Didn't know I'd see any of them there. Such a nice surprise. It'd been awhile since I last spent time with any of them. =) But let's get to more important matters. Who cares about enemies or friends when you've got...

FREE GOODIE BAGS!!!

Everybody had their own personalised goodie bags with their blog addresses pre-pasted on 'em. Good move on Alliance Bank's part, actually. Totally made me feel like we're ALL *ahem* You:nique individuals. (Ahh, see, I can pun, too! =p) Here's mine.

There were two gifts inside.

One was a bear.

*lifts eyebrow*

Totally made me go, "Heh?!"
But, the other... Now, that one I REALLY like.

TADA!!!

Stylo milo notebook sleeve-slash-bag from AGVA.

Thank goodness I got the black one. The others got brown and beige and green and all sorts of blah colours. (Heh heh.) Some have theorised that we're given our bags according to our blog colours. Hmmm. If so, I'm glad that Tinki Talks is black. Haha.

Tried it on for size and...

Wheee! It fits perfectly!

Thanks, Alliance Bank!

For the many glasses of Sprite I drank, the buffet kai fan, the bear, the lappie baggie and the great night out at HQ9! =)