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Driving into Malaysia

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malcontent
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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by malcontent » Thu, 28 Jul 2022 2:48 pm

x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 1:36 pm
BTW, how about this card:
https://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-x-tou ... ring-card/
The official TnG web pages point to the above link as of the solution/replacement for an expired TnG card holders while still in Singapore.
These come with RM0 balance on the TnG wallet and can only top up in M’sia, so how?

I’ve been trying to confirm… can you can add this non-enhanced card to eWallet and use it with no balance if you connect it to a credit card?

The theory is, whenever you pass through the toll and tap the zero balance card, it will automatically charge the toll to your credit card if you’ve set it up under eWallet.

If this can work, even better - don’t need to keep any balance on the card. But so far nobody has confirmed that this method can actually work.

https://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-faqs/ ... nk-card-15

FAQ15 —

“Yes, you can add your Touch ‘n Go purse by keying in the serial / MFG number into the Touch ‘n Go eWallet for PayDirect.

PayDirect allows you to pass through tolls with your added Touch ‘n Go Card(s), but toll fees will be deducted directly from your Touch ‘n Go eWallet.”
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by x9200 » Thu, 28 Jul 2022 4:58 pm

If there was no way to top up this card in Singapore (or use it as you mentioned), it would be probably the most idiotic thing to recommend it, but you never know.
https://www.touchngo.com.my/announcemen ... -malaysia/

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by malcontent » Thu, 28 Jul 2022 5:59 pm

x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 4:58 pm
If there was no way to top up this card in Singapore (or use it as you mentioned), it would be probably the most idiotic thing to recommend it, but you never know.
https://www.touchngo.com.my/announcemen ... -malaysia/
Exactly.

Points 5-6 talk about reloading, and all options to reload are in Malaysia.

Yet, upon driving into M’sia you need to pay RM20 using a TnG card that has a balance… this after the border has been closed well beyond the 12 month window for expiry… no way to reactivate, no way to reload… some really sharp tools came up with this.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Fri, 29 Jul 2022 5:14 am

x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 1:36 pm
BTW, how about this card:
https://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-x-tou ... ring-card/
The official TnG web pages point to the above link as of the solution/replacement for an expired TnG card holders while still in Singapore.
So there is a solution! As for whether it’s a good one… Frankly I don’t even know where my touch and go card is, must be shoved somewhere in the glove compartment. Long time since I’ve been to JB, I do miss it though. The food is so tasty and inexpensive.
Last edited by Lisafuller on Fri, 29 Jul 2022 5:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Fri, 29 Jul 2022 5:16 am

x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 1:10 pm
Lisafuller wrote:
Tue, 26 Jul 2022 4:19 am
x9200 wrote:
Sun, 24 Jul 2022 9:12 am

Anything between SGD15 to over SGD60, so a lot. The NFC versions starts at around SGD30 with no value included.
I just ordered one. Will report what kind of animal is it once I get it (and find an NFC enabled mobile).
$60? That’s ridiculous. Please do update. I was hoping to take a trip to JB via the KTM but getting tickets is proving to be quite difficult.
Ok, so here is the update. The card seems to work. The application (TNG eWallet) recognized it with no issue. Topping it up was also eventually successful (or so it seems) but required a few loops as it complained that it could not identify the card in the process. Looked more like a software problem than the card to me but it could also be the old Iphone 7 I used.
To register the eWallet one needs to provide all sort of personal details including a photo of the passport's personal data page, but I guess it is something expected.
That’s good, at least it ended up working. I would’ve been pissed if I paid such a premium only to have it not work in the end.

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Fri, 29 Jul 2022 5:17 am

malcontent wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 2:48 pm
x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 1:36 pm
BTW, how about this card:
https://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-x-tou ... ring-card/
The official TnG web pages point to the above link as of the solution/replacement for an expired TnG card holders while still in Singapore.
These come with RM0 balance on the TnG wallet and can only top up in M’sia, so how?

I’ve been trying to confirm… can you can add this non-enhanced card to eWallet and use it with no balance if you connect it to a credit card?

The theory is, whenever you pass through the toll and tap the zero balance card, it will automatically charge the toll to your credit card if you’ve set it up under eWallet.

If this can work, even better - don’t need to keep any balance on the card. But so far nobody has confirmed that this method can actually work.

https://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-faqs/ ... nk-card-15

FAQ15 —

“Yes, you can add your Touch ‘n Go purse by keying in the serial / MFG number into the Touch ‘n Go eWallet for PayDirect.

PayDirect allows you to pass through tolls with your added Touch ‘n Go Card(s), but toll fees will be deducted directly from your Touch ‘n Go eWallet.”
Wow, if this is the case, it would become like GrabPay auto top up. How convenient!

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Fri, 29 Jul 2022 5:18 am

malcontent wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 5:59 pm
x9200 wrote:
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 4:58 pm
If there was no way to top up this card in Singapore (or use it as you mentioned), it would be probably the most idiotic thing to recommend it, but you never know.
https://www.touchngo.com.my/announcemen ... -malaysia/
Exactly.

Points 5-6 talk about reloading, and all options to reload are in Malaysia.

Yet, upon driving into M’sia you need to pay RM20 using a TnG card that has a balance… this after the border has been closed well beyond the 12 month window for expiry… no way to reactivate, no way to reload… some really sharp tools came up with this.
Can’t help but laugh at this. Leave it to Malaysia to mess up what’s basically a glorified ez link card system.

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by hermanz » Tue, 30 Aug 2022 11:06 pm

To eliminate dormant Fee to kick in every 6 months, what you need to do is to bind it in TNG eWallet (Require SG or MY phone no to open up an account). Once you bind the card, the card dormant fee will be waive all together.

If you have the latest rainbow card would be better as it allow reload via NFC.

To reload your eWallet you can use SG issued credit or debit card. However if you didn't have any local issued card you can use Reload PIN option which you can purchase it at https://www.seagm.com/tng-reload-pin-malaysia

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by malcontent » Tue, 30 Aug 2022 11:43 pm

I heard that linking your TnG card to the eWallet app will prevent it from expiring, but I also heard that might be for a limited time only (during pandemic). Not sure when they might pull the carpet out. They can change the terms at any time, and I wouldn’t put it past them.

The thing I still don’t know is, if you buy the TnG+NETS card in SG, can you then link it to eWallet and then add your credit card — after that, can you use the RM0 balance card at the toll gate and it deducts from your credit card?
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by smoulder » Sun, 18 Sep 2022 10:23 am

An alternative to driving into Malaysia is driving in Malaysia. Rent a car. Which is what I just did. Crossed over into JB by the Causeway Link bus, had lunch at the City Square Mall and then picked up the car.

It took us just over 2 hours from leaving home till stepping out of the immigration counter at JB. This was on a Thursday morning. We stepped out at 9.30am after eating breakfast at home. Took a taxi to Kranji MRT and then caught the Causeway Link bus from there.

We probably could have breezed through faster had we not had to go through the manual check at Woodlands (since we have a toddler) and also had we not encountered a very slow Malaysian immigration officer at JB. But all in all, it was not very stressful - how it compares to driving across - cons are that you have to get in and out of a few different modes of transport, but pros are when we saw the car queue. The buses zipped through (thanks to the time we chose).

Some other things to note if you consider this mode of crossing -
1. Better done on a weekday.
2. Works if you are traveling light.
3. If you are able to get yourself a KTM shuttle ticket instead of traveling by bus, that is the least stressful way to get across the border.

Once across, we tried to get hold of a touch n go card at Watson in City Square Mall but were told that they were out of stock. So we called up the car rental company and they gave us one with no value. We went to the nearest petrol station and topped up. We will return it to them along with the car in JB. In our case, we collected another card from my in laws - one of the advantages of having Malaysian in laws :-"

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Tue, 27 Sep 2022 2:07 am

smoulder wrote:An alternative to driving into Malaysia is driving in Malaysia. Rent a car. Which is what I just did. Crossed over into JB by the Causeway Link bus, had lunch at the City Square Mall and then picked up the car.

It took us just over 2 hours from leaving home till stepping out of the immigration counter at JB. This was on a Thursday morning. We stepped out at 9.30am after eating breakfast at home. Took a taxi to Kranji MRT and then caught the Causeway Link bus from there.

We probably could have breezed through faster had we not had to go through the manual check at Woodlands (since we have a toddler) and also had we not encountered a very slow Malaysian immigration officer at JB. But all in all, it was not very stressful - how it compares to driving across - cons are that you have to get in and out of a few different modes of transport, but pros are when we saw the car queue. The buses zipped through (thanks to the time we chose).

Some other things to note if you consider this mode of crossing -
1. Better done on a weekday.
2. Works if you are traveling light.
3. If you are able to get yourself a KTM shuttle ticket instead of traveling by bus, that is the least stressful way to get across the border.

Once across, we tried to get hold of a touch n go card at Watson in City Square Mall but were told that they were out of stock. So we called up the car rental company and they gave us one with no value. We went to the nearest petrol station and topped up. We will return it to them along with the car in JB. In our case, we collected another card from my in laws - one of the advantages of having Malaysian in laws :-"
Another alternative is to just take Grab. I went in last week and took six Grab rides over the course of one day, covering close to 100 km in total distance. The total damage was just around $40 SGD (split between me and a friend so $20 each).

Grab in JB is nothing like SG, the drivers accept bookings instantaneously, and are there within two or three minutes tops. There’s also no waiting fee.

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by smoulder » Tue, 27 Sep 2022 8:06 am

Lisa, yes, taking Grab is doable and I have done that too. Works great if you are only going to be within JB. If you have to drive further, like we did to my in laws town, Seremban, then obviously Grab won't help.

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Tue, 27 Sep 2022 1:09 pm

smoulder wrote:Lisa, yes, taking Grab is doable and I have done that too. Works great if you are only going to be within JB. If you have to drive further, like we did to my in laws town, Seremban, then obviously Grab won't help.
I see, is grab not as popular up there? Or is it just too expensive to travel so far?

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by smoulder » Tue, 27 Sep 2022 1:16 pm

Lisafuller wrote:
Tue, 27 Sep 2022 1:09 pm
smoulder wrote:Lisa, yes, taking Grab is doable and I have done that too. Works great if you are only going to be within JB. If you have to drive further, like we did to my in laws town, Seremban, then obviously Grab won't help.
I see, is grab not as popular up there? Or is it just too expensive to travel so far?
It is 271 kms from CIQ to my in laws place in Seremban. I don't think anyone from JB is going to click on that ride :lol:

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Re: Driving into Malaysia

Post by Lisafuller » Tue, 27 Sep 2022 8:52 pm

smoulder wrote:
Lisafuller wrote:
Tue, 27 Sep 2022 1:09 pm
smoulder wrote:Lisa, yes, taking Grab is doable and I have done that too. Works great if you are only going to be within JB. If you have to drive further, like we did to my in laws town, Seremban, then obviously Grab won't help.
I see, is grab not as popular up there? Or is it just too expensive to travel so far?
It is 271 kms from CIQ to my in laws place in Seremban. I don't think anyone from JB is going to click on that ride :lol:
Oh my, definitely not!

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