[KB Card Heritage Reserve] The Best Card for a Family of Three Traveling Abroad. Unlimited Overseas Spending Rewards. The Lounge 3-Person Access. Voucher Analysis, Strategy, and Review.

Hello.

This is Dr. Baek from Sinsa Station Laminate Dental Clinic.

It’s been a while since Dr. Baek’s introductory course on credit cards.

Since some of you seem to enjoy it in your own way, today I’d like to introduce a somewhat unfamiliar credit card.

Introduction

These days, one big topic is the crash in Marriott points.

Before long, Marriott sharply increased the points needed for award stays, and the value of the points fell.

I introduced it last time as well. It’s a pretty good card, but also a fairly bothersome one. Still, one of the reasons it’s loved is the benefit of “The Lounge app - free entry for 1 companion.”

Then we should look for a lounge card that lets a companion in for free, right?!!! Why has it not gotten attention until now?

Under the brand name “KB Card Heritage,”

there are three lineups: Smart < Reserve < Exclusive.

There is also a Classic one now, but its rewards rate is poor, so I’ll leave it out..

The problem is that this youngest one turned out to be unexpectedly excellent.

1. If you pay using KB Pay (usually online payments, right? But it also applied to in-store Samsung Pay payments at one point..), it earns 1.5 Korean Air miles per KRW 1,000. Up to a whopping KRW 4 million per month..

2. It gives access to the Martina Gold Lounge. Cards like this are rare these days... (3 times per year) It also includes Priority Pass (10 times per year)

3. For overseas spending, with no previous-month spending requirement and not even a reward cap, it gives 2x rewards without limit.. and it’s even a Master card.

4. Even so, the annual fee is relatively low (KRW 200,000), and there is a KRW 150,000 voucher with a low usage hurdle. In other words, the effective annual fee is KRW 50,000.

5. It even includes hotel valet service (15 times per year, 5 times per month) and Incheon Airport valet service (5 times per year, 3 times per month), so it’s an out-of-this-world card.

With the appearance of this crazy youngest card, the Heritage Reserve card has basically never been in the spotlight. So if you search online, you barely find anything lol. It’s treated like a dumb card...

The KB Card Heritage Exclusive card is a card issued only to KB Bank VVIP customers and those with substantial deposits, so I’ll exclude it.

So why did I get this card!!! Receipt and unboxing review

Honestly, I wanted one more metal card...... hehe...

I already have two metal cards, with the Hyundai AP1 and Hyundai The First1..

But after giving the Hyundai Korean Air The First1 to my wife, I wanted a gold card too...

Once I applied, it was delivered incredibly fast.

I applied on Wednesday evening.. and it arrived early Friday morning... Maybe not many people actually receive this card?

When you open the box, there is a suede-textured box inside. Anyway, following KB Card Heritage Smart, this is the second Heritage card!! Heritage Reserve.

The long-awaited half-metal card appears, where gold and black coexist. It’s different from the Hyundai The First1, which gives a somewhat brass-like impression.. this is a more muted half-gold color card.

This is exactly the color. I took a few extra photos to capture this tone..... haha

Mine is the Korean Air mileage version, so it is vertically half-and-half.

The embossed words “Korean Air Skypass” have a tactile feel that makes you want to touch them.

One feature is that it feels surprisingly light. If you’ve used the Hyundai AP or Hyundai Korean Air The First card, you’ll know it’s quite light when you hold it.

So it has a weight that makes you wonder, “Is this really a metal card?” That’s a slight downside for me.

Inside, there is a pretty fancy paper booklet explaining the voucher and the benefits. Let’s take a look at each one~

Voucher analysis. Honestly, not that great.

First, the annual fee is KRW 800,000. A substantial annual fee. It’s the kind of annual fee many people would consider expensive.

The domestic-only version is also KRW 800,000, and the Amex version is also KRW 800,000, so if possible, let’s get the Amex version with the benefits.

For the voucher (coupon service), you must choose one of three options,

and you can receive it if you spend at least KRW 2 million in the first year and at least KRW 20 million per year starting from the second year.

It’s roughly worth KRW 500,000 to 600,000 in benefits.

In the previous year’s spending, national taxes, local taxes, the four major insurances, maintenance fees, water bills, electricity bills, and so on are all excluded. A strict one.

They say you get a KRW 600,000 discount coupon when paying at golf clubs. But there are only a few partner golf clubs.. I don’t play golf, so this is not for me.

The airfare discount is the most useful. If you book on the official websites of Korean Air, Asiana, Jin Air, Jeju Air, or T’way, they deduct KRW 600,000 from the payment amount.

It’s easy enough to use, but you have to spend more than KRW 600,000, so you’ll need to take an international flight!

I already have the Hyundai Card Korean Air The First card, so I also had to use the KRW 50,000 voucher and earn 5 miles per KRW 1,000, which made this unappealing as well.

So I decided to go with a hotel membership issue. The Parnas Smart option seems likely to be the most popular, especially after The Westin Seoul Parnas (is that the name?) opens in September, but I’m planning to choose Walkerhill membership because I want a discount at Myeongwolgwan.

However, it’s written as if only the Prestige Club Oak mixed type (Grand) is allowed.. so I’ll have to negotiate with the issuer on that.

Walkerhill membership has the lowest value at KRW 500,000, so if you get this one, it’s basically like completing KRW 500,000 worth of homework first...

What about the other voucher benefits?

The core benefit is Korean Air mileage accumulation. I really like that there is no previous-month spending requirement and no accumulation cap.

If you spend a lot overseas, you can use it without worry.

(But this is also true for Heritage Smart..)

Remember that gift certificates, national taxes, local taxes, the four major insurances, maintenance fees, electricity bills, water bills, and so on all do not earn rewards..

As the explanation says, this is a card made for golf-loving middle-aged men, and it includes a golf bag delivery service. It says once a year, and it’s handled by a place called Hi Caddy?

I’m being kind, so it’s worth KRW 69,000 round-trip. If you add a Boston bag, you have to pay for that ^^

Medical escort service. Use this when you’re too busy but your parents are sick. It says it’s provided free for up to 3 hours.

They escort you from your home front door to the destination front door. However, transportation costs are your responsibility.

For 3 hours.. that’s a service worth KRW 73,000. I’m not sure I’d use it well.

A 6-month subscription to Millie’s Library is apparently worth KRW 71,400.

If you use all three of these services to the fullest, it comes to KRW 69,000 + 73,000 + 71,400 = KRW 213,400.

That’s just about KRW 200,000 exactly.

This is kind of good.

If you purchase a Lotte Hotel membership (KRW 750,000), you don’t get the 20% discount benefit, but you do get a 10% benefit.

(However, the Hyundai AP card, which has a special rewards category for “hotel,” gives 2x rewards.. so if you consider the opportunity cost, it’s not even 10%.)

Providing valet parking service up to 5 times per month is meaningful. Both Lotte Hotel Seoul and Lotte Hotel Jamsil are places with terrible parking shortages.. being able to use Lotte Hotel valet is definitely helpful for improving quality of life.

That’s the end of the benefits............ Compared with its younger sibling, KB Card Heritage Smart, there doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage. Rather, it looks even less appealing.

Amex Elite & Icon

The Amex Elite & Icon service, which is granted only to KB Card Heritage Reserve among domestic cards, is what saves this card.

The reason it can replace the Marriott Bonvoy The Best Shinhan Card I mentioned earlier.!!!

Using The Lounge app, you can enter the lounge with yourself + up to 2 companions. These days, there are many families of three, and being able to comfortably go to the lounge together with your child is a huge advantage.

The usage count is 9, so if 3 people enter, you can use it up to 3 times a year.

• And since it’s 9 times per year, it still counts as 9 uses even though the first year is not 12 months. I received mine in August, so that means I can use it 9 times from August to December too! hehe

That is clearly a special advantage.

The Incheon Airport valet parking service that was also available on the Heritage Smart card. You need to reserve in advance, and it’s provided 12 times per year, 5 times per month.

It was 3 times per month and 5 times per year earlier, right?

The deluxe hotel valet parking service is 24 times per year, 10 times per month.

For Heritage Smart, it was 15 times per year and 5 times per month, so the number of uses is definitely higher!

KB Card Heritage Smart valet parking-eligible hotel list

If you really look into it, Hotel Naru, GLAD Yeouido, Andaz Seoul, Hilton Garden Inn Seoul Gangnam, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, and ASEM Tower are additionally available. Not many cards offer valet parking at Andaz Seoul, and not many cards offer valet parking at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. This seems like a clear advantage. But on the other hand, Oakwood Premier Coex Center is missing.. It’s a bit disappointing that the 5-hour free parking at COEX is not available.

In the provinces, Grand Josun Busan is available, but JW Marriott Jeju is not. haha

And twice a year. The BE MY GUEST service I love is provided. It should go well if used together with valet parking, right?

Before I knew it, I used it at Outback..

Recently, I used it very well at Andaz Hotel. haha With a KRW 30,000 discount on purchases of KRW 60,000 or more, it’s useful when eating shaved ice ^^

Among the Amex Elite services, my favorites are the free Americano at Café Artisée and the free latte at Baekmidang! I haven’t really been able to use the rest. haha Especially at Baekmidang, because café lattes are so expensive (KRW 5,900), buying coffee with a 1+1 offer adds up to about KRW 6,000 in savings each time..

You probably won’t use this often, but among the Amex Icon services, if you receive Hertz’s Five Star status, you get vehicle upgrades and fast checkout service. Streamlining the process is surprisingly nice when traveling abroad. ^^ I haven’t had a chance to enjoy the other benefits, so if I do, I’ll let you know.. A 15% online purchase discount at Bloomingdale’s... I should try that once in New York. haha

So who would be a good fit for the KB Card Heritage Reserve?

For most people, just getting the KB Card Heritage Smart is enough to enjoy overseas spending and international travel with no inconvenience at all.

With an effective annual fee of only KRW 50,000...

If you get a family card with no annual fee in advance, you can also use it as if you have a free companion benefit for one person. The special 2x overseas rewards are also unlimited with no spending requirement.. so this is the same as Reserve too..

If you use the voucher for airfare, the Heritage Reserve has an effective annual fee of KRW 200,000... Among that, if you want the lounge benefit for 2 companions with The Lounge, and if you plan to use Lotte Hotel valet parking a bit... the Heritage Reserve does have its own meaning. But if you already have a more premium card than that, this one also loses some of its appeal, right?

Personally, I think the golf bag delivery service, medical escort service, and Millie’s Library subscription are too dependent on individual tastes.

(Honestly, is there really a person in Korea who can use all three well..?) The unlimited overseas spending benefit is somewhat less meaningful because the brand is “AMEX”.. There are many places that don’t accept it...

To overcome that, you need to use BE MY GUEST well, and stop by Baekmidang whenever you think of it.

You should also make use of hotel valet parking and airport parking valet as well.

Conclusion: If you want exactly one premium card and your family of three takes 2–3 trips a year, this is a very good choice. As soon as one of the conditions I mentioned is missing.. the card seems like it becomes just something for show ^^ haha

Personally, since I can make good use of the KB Pay additional rewards service up to KRW 4 million, which is the appeal of the Heritage Smart card, I got this one as an extra card. haha The gold card does look nice when you use it~ haha

Please think carefully and choose.

That’s all for Dr. Baek’s introductory course on credit cards!!