Max Card: Why do different users choose different membership plans?

Launched on March 26, Max Card operates on a privilege-pack system in which each membership tier offers different benefits and cashback rates across five common spending categories: Shopping, Dining, Travel, Entertainment, and Online Transactions. A key feature is that users can switch packages flexibly after each cycle rather than being locked into a fixed benefits structure.

Freelancers: prioritize mobility, maximize experiences

Minh, a freelancer, said his travel schedule and expenses change with each contract. After a month in Hanoi, he prepared for a trip to Da Lat and chose the Elite package for his first month of using Max Card.

Minh said the Elite package provides 10% cashback on all transactions in the five categories, including Travel and Online Transactions—two areas he spends on most. He also highlighted the airport lounge benefit: two free lounge visits, plus one additional visit for every 30 million dong spent in foreign currency.

He added that the membership fee refund mechanism can significantly reduce costs in high-travel months. When spending reaches the threshold, the entire membership fee for that month is refunded, which he said nearly eliminates the card’s usage cost during peak travel periods.

Minh said that in months with less travel, he downgrades to a lower package with a more suitable fee, a change he described as taking only a few seconds in the app.

Young professionals: optimize daily expenditures, starting from a modest level

Linh received her first offer eight months ago and said a significant portion of her income goes to Shopee, TikTok Shop, and smaller online orders, alongside coffee and meals with friends on weekends.

In her first month with Max Card, Linh selected the Plus package, which offers 5% cashback across all five categories and a monthly membership fee of 100,000 dong. She described this as a starter option from a personal finance perspective—designed to optimize familiar expenses without creating cost or usage pressure.

Linh also said the package-selection mechanism changed her behavior: it was the first time she actively studied a credit card product rather than using it by habit. She indicated that during major sale seasons, she would consider upgrading to a higher package to maximize benefits in the short term.

Consumer experience: spending by preference, optimizing emotional satisfaction

Khoi, 28, a software engineer, said his spending is concentrated in dining and entertainment. He described eating out as both a need and an experience, and said he also spends regularly on movies and digital content platforms.

Khoi chose the Pro package, which provides 8% cashback across all categories and a maximum cashback limit of 1 million dong per month. He said the appeal is not only the cashback rate, but also the “feeling of being rewarded” for spending he would have made anyway, which he described as turning spending from a cost into a beneficial experience.

For his year-end plans, Khoi said he intends to switch to Elite before a trip to Japan to maximize additional Travel benefits and airport lounge privileges.

One card, many uses

Across the three users, the article describes three different spending structures and three different choices, emphasizing that there is no single “best” package—only the package that fits a user’s needs at a given time. This is presented as Max Card’s core operating logic: shifting the role of a credit card from a static product to a flexible platform where value is personalized per cycle.

With four choices—Starter (free), Plus, Pro, and Elite—and a uniform cashback mechanism across five spending groups, the article says users do not need to optimize spending by category. Instead, they choose the membership package that matches their lifestyle for that cycle.

It also frames the ability to adjust benefits in real time as a competitive advantage as consumer behavior changes from month to month, such as during travel seasons, shopping seasons, or peak working periods.

The article notes that users can find information about Max Card and register through the Max powered by VIB app to receive immediate offers.