Yesterday, Maybank launched the all-new XL Rewards and XL Cashback Card, which offer up to 4 mpd and 5% cashback respectively on foreign currency spending, dining, shopping, travel and entertainment.
These are very compelling cards, and the addition of another 4 mpd option is especially timely, given that both the DBS Woman’s World Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card are set to cut their bonus caps in just a few days.
Moreover, if you’re already using the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature, World Mastercard or Visa Infinite, then it’s almost a no-brainer to add the XL Rewards to your portfolio.
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| Maybank XL Rewards Card | Maybank XL Cashback Card | |
| Annual Fee | S$87.20 (Waived for 2 years) |
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| Bonus Earn Rate | 4 mpd | 5% cashback |
| Bonus Cap | S$1,000 per calendar month | S$1,600 per calendar month |
| Min. Spend | S$500 per calendar month | |
| Bonus Categories |
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| T&Cs | Link | Link |
| Apply |
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| Note: If you don’t see the XL Cards listed, try applying via this page on desktop | ||
If you qualify, that is.
No, the Maybank XL Card doesn’t have an exorbitant income requirement. It doesn’t demand a minimum AUM. It doesn’t even ask you to support Manchester United. Instead, it has a far more controversial condition, one that’s bound to spark plenty of debate in the days and weeks to come.
The Maybank XL Card’s age restriction
The Maybank XL Rewards and Cashback Cards are only open to applicants 21-39 years old. If you’re 40 or older, your application will be automatically rejected.
Eligibility is based on your age at the time of application, so as of today (30 July 2025), the oldest person who could apply for an XL Card would be born on 31 July 1985.
| 🎁 39 going on 40? |
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Applicants who turn 40 this year (but are still 39 at the time of application) have reported receiving error messages about not meeting the age requirement.
If this happens to you, try to apply via the manual route instead (i.e. not SingPass). Enter your date of birth in the Day-Month-Year format, fully spelling out the month e.g. 31 July 1985. |
Now, it’s not like Maybank sends a team of collection agents to relieve you of your card the moment you turn 40. You can continue holding the XL Card even after this milestone, and it will still be renewed every time the expiry date comes around. However, if you choose to cancel it, you will never be able to apply for an XL Card again.
In other words, all that matters is that you get your foot in the door before 40. And if you’re already over that hill, I don’t know what to tell you other than it’s too late.
This isn’t the first card to have an upper age limit
It might surprise you to know that most banks actually have an upper age cap for credit card applicants in general. For example, Standard Chartered caps applicants at 65 years, CIMB at 70 years, and DBS at 75 years of age. These restrictions are related to concerns about reduced earning capacity, higher default risks and a shorter credit horizon.
A product-specific age cap is relatively rare— though not completely unprecedented. Certain student-focused credit cards (with fixed credit limits of S$500) also place an explicit cap on the maximum applicant age.
| Card | Age Range | Remarks |
 Maybank eVibes Card |
18-30 years | 1% cashback on all spend |
 DBS Live Fresh Student Card |
21-27 years | Up to 5% cashback on selected transactions |
However, that isn’t quite the same as what the XL Card is doing.
In the case of student cards, the primary restriction is that you need to be a student, and students just happen to be within that particular age group. With the XL Card, the primary restriction is age, period.
The closest parallel I can think of is the UOB Lady’s Card, which until July 2023, did not accept applications from men. This, naturally, was the catalyst for sensitive, nuanced, and civilised discourse on the roles of men and women in society.
So is the Maybank XL Card engaging in discrimination? You could certainly argue that, though I believe the bank would prefer to call it “segmentation” instead.
Here’s the thing though. There is a big difference between targeting and excluding. It would be one thing if the XL card were only advertised in youth-leaning platforms like, um, Fortnite and, er, TokTik (hello, fellow kids!), instead of platforms with more mature appeal, like Backcare Digest and Gardening Weekly.
But to put an explicit age restriction is sure to rile people up, especially when it’s a somewhat arbitrary cutoff (heck, even the kill age in Logan’s Run was 30). Is a 40 year old really any less spritely than his/her 39 year old counterpart?
Why is Maybank doing this?
Let’s be clear: Maybank isn’t breaking any laws here.
Singapore has no equivalent of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which in the US prohibits age-based discrimination (among other things) when granting credit facilities. Therefore, there is nothing stopping a bank from only issuing a particular credit card to a particular age group.
So it’s not really a question of whether they can; it’s a question of whether they should. And I think the answer clearly is no.
Only Maybank knows why an age cap is necessary, but if I had to guess, I’d say they were worried about cannibalising demand from their other cards. That might very well be a valid business concern, but even so, the optics are going to look terrible.
Leaving aside the inevitable accusations of ageism, this decision is going to needlessly alienate some of Maybank’s more mature customers. It’s going to limit the market share that Maybank can poach from other banks. It’s going to get them dragged through the mud in the court of public opinion. And you know what? If I were a rival bank, I’d jump on the chance to launch a viral marketing campaign poking fun at the restriction, and emphasising the inclusive nature of my cards.
I just don’t see what the upside is for Maybank here, and I wonder how long it can continue to justify the age cap.
Workarounds?
While the age cap is a hard limit, there are two possible ways someone aged 40 or over could get their hands on an XL Card nonetheless.
The first is to be a Maybank DUO Platinum Mastercard customer, because these cards will be automatically converted to a Maybank XL Cashback Card on 1 August 2025. Not only will they enjoy all the new XL bonus categories, they will also retain their 5% cashback on petrol in Singapore and Malaysia.
Unfortunately, if you don’t already have a DUO Platinum Mastercard, it’s too late to hop onboard as applications are no longer accepted.
The second is to find a friend or family member aged below 40 (I’ve been reliably informed that they do exist!), have them apply for an XL Card and make you a supplementary cardholder.
This obviously requires a great degree of trust, but it’s still far from perfect since the TREATS Points will become the property of the principal cardholder. Sure, they could add you as a redemption nominee and redeem the flights for you, but it’s quite a bit of hassle for an extra 48,000 miles a year.
Conclusion
The Maybank XL Cards are, by all metrics, great credit cards with competitive earn rates and broad bonus categories.
But by imposing an age cap, Maybank risks having those merits overshadowed by a louder discussion around ageism and discrimination, one that I suspect will not paint the bank in a particularly good light.
It feels like a bit of an own goal to be frank, and time will tell if the uproar forces the bank to backtrack.
What do you make of the XL Card’s age cap?
And you know what? If I were a rival bank, I’d jump on the chance to launch a viral marketing campaign poking fun at the restriction, and emphasising the inclusive nature of my cards. The twist is that concurrent banks are on a trend of downsizing cards with similar perks (as stated in this article). So none can afford to compete with this card without similar restriction it seems, hence none will make any noise about it. One can complain about the age limit, but the segmentation is obvious : targetting people likely having less cards, as a first step… Read more »
how do you do the quoting of the article text at the beginning of your comment?
Correct. I would’ve thought this strategy a fairly obvious one.
Workarounds?
Clearly, the solution is to open the cards to all below 40. That way, toddlers can apply on behalf of their parents. Bank gets more admin fees as the miles don’t pool toddler-parent.
/s
This age discrimination move is quite ridiculous..I was on the verge of applying for the Horizon card, but now I will get neither
ok boomer, go back to sleep.
Yes, go back to sleep
Those lazy ass Gen Zs are already sleeping
And Jason u must be grateful this one woke up long enough to reply u a snarky remark
Lol don’t you mean insightful input? The z generation is already sleeping enough for all the gens combined! I look at my junior staff and interns and wonder what is happening to them on a daily basis…they are so good at lame retorts but seem to be 3yos when it comes to actual work
Why are you against older people than you to get a card that does not seem to even target young people?
I might care more about this if I hadn’t given up on Maybank and their ridiculous insistence that I cannot run my Android phone the way I like in order to use their apps (and on that point, why do they need more than one to be installed…).
While they do warn the user, they do still allow the user to “Proceed Anyway” so it’s not that bad?
They disallow their app to be used on my Android phone no matter what I do.
Some Millennials aged 40-45 are also affected by this discrimination.
Millennials are born in 1990 or later, can’t be 40 years old in 2025.
Where did your definition come from? The most common definition for millennials are people born from 1981 to 1996.
There are plenty of millennials that are above 40 years old.
Google said millennial was born 1981 amd 1996.
I really cannot see any upside of maybank restricting up to 40 years old. It is so strange and make me feel discriminated. I was used to be neutral for maybank brand, now it is on negative territory. Good job.
I mean, until 2023 UOB did the same thing by restricting the Lady’s Card to only female customers. Would that be considered gender discrimination/sexism?