Pick any bank apart from Mashreq Bank
These are the reasons why I'm warning you on not to ever get involve with Mashreq Bank in any way:
- Be careful in taking Mashreq Bank's smart saver credit card as if you use it overseas, mashreq's exchange rate is at least 10% lower than the advised exchange rate. They will lure you with the cashback of around 3% earned from selected spendings but they actually get 7% more of it as they gave you a very low exchange rate. And that is without interest rate yet assuming you paid it in full every month. Sounds like a daylight robbery to me.
- Customer Service is so bad. My rate is 1 out of 10. Call center as well as those in the branch counters doesn't seemed to have communicated to each other. I requested for a clearance letter the other week so I could transfer my salary to another bank but nobody told me to close my credit cards in order to transfer my salary to another bank, so they charge me AED100 for this letter which I paid. Then I got the letter and submitted it to my company but my company didn't accept it as they have mentioned my credit limit in the letter which they refer to as unsecured credit cards.
So, I went to the bank again and asked them to remove the credit limits and they said I have to close my credit cards which is fair enough. But they said I have to pay for another AED100 for a clearance letter without the mention of credit limit. wow! another daylight robbery!
See, the purpose to request for a clearance letter is very clear which is to move to another bank but nobody advised me to close my credit cards so they don't need to mention the credit limits which I didn't even ask to have in the first place. Call center said, it's ok maam, you may keep your credit card. So then, they can charge me for another 100dhs for the next letter.
- Third, this bank's 3rd party agents lure laborers of salary ranging from 600 to 1200 dhs in labor camps to get a credit card with a limit of 4500++dhs. And of course, these poor laborers were easily lured as you see, they are in a not so good condition. This bank is taking advantage of these laborers who in the end without proper knowledge on how to manage their money will be in debt. I think this bank is so ruthless and so greedy.
'hope this helps. At least, one bank crash out from your list.
Mashreq Bank is the worst, so far for me.
By the way, I also have an active account in NBAD also, 'can't say much about NBAD as I haven't really use it in a daily basis. However, my favorite so far if Emirates NBD, they have the best exchange rate, so far.