Interest rate nerfs: Which bank account is best for miles chasers?

How are interest rates being cut?

Let’s first recap the changes that are taking place to BOC, OCBC and UOB from next month.

OCBC 360 Account

From 1 May 2025, the OCBC 360 Account will revise its interest rates as shown in the table below.

In short, the maximum effective interest rate (EIR) that can be earned on the first S$100,000 in the account will be cut from 7.65% to 6.3% p.a.. 

On the surface, that looks like a fairly mild reduction, but it’s actually worse than it appears. For starters, the only categories which have remained the same are Wealth (Insure) and Wealth (Invest). While there’s nothing wrong with purchasing investment or insurance products from a bank, it may not be the cheapest option available, and besides, the bonus interest in both cases only applies for 12 months.

The categories hit hardest are Salary, Save and Spend- the three categories which are easiest to attain.

• Crediting a minimum salary of S$1,800 per month will earn 2% p.a. from 1 May 2025, down from the current 2.5% p.a.
• Increasing your average daily balance (ADB) by S$500 each month will earn 0.75% p.a. from 1 May 2025, down from the current 1.5% p.a.
• Spending at least S$500 per calendar month on eligible OCBC credit cards will earn 0.5% p.a. from 1 May 2025, down from the current 0.6% p.a.

For miles collectors, spending on the OCBC 90°N Visa, OCBC 90°N Mastercard and OCBC Rewards Card will count towards the S$500 minimum monthly spend for the Save category. 

Of the three, I’d definitely recommend using the OCBC Rewards Card, which earns 4 miles per S$1 (mpd) on up to S$1,110 of online and offline shopping at department stores, stores selling bags, shoes and clothes, and e-commerce merchants like Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, and Taobao. 

If you meet the Salary, Save and Spend categories, your maximum EIR will fall from 4.65% to 3.3% p.a. (after factoring in the base interest of 0.05% p.a., which is unchanged). For someone with a S$100,000 balance, the maximum interest per year would decline from S$4,650 to S$3,300.

Bank of China SmartSaver

From 1 May 2025, the BOC SmartSaver Account will revise its interest rates as shown in the table below.

The situation is a bit more complicated with BOC, because not only is it revising its interest rates, it’s also changing the criteria to trigger bonus interest from card spending.

Previously, the minimum spend for bonus interest was S$500 and S$1,500 for the lower and higher tier respectively. From 1 May 2025, that will be increased to S$750 and S$2,500, though the bonus interest is also getting a slight boost.

There will also be cuts to the bonus interest for salary crediting and payments, and overall, the maximum EIR on the first S$100,000 falls from 7% to 6% p.a.

When it comes to card spending, the only miles-earning card that BOC offers is the BOC Elite Miles World Mastercard, which unfortunately is nowhere as good as it used to be. Cardholders earn 1 mpd on local spend and 2 mpd on foreign currency spend, figures that are easily exceeded by many other cards on the market.

UOB One Account

From 1 May 2025, the UOB One Account will revise its interest rates as shown in the table below.

As before, customers can unlock bonus interest by meeting the following criteria:

• Spend at least S$500 per calendar month, and
• Make at least 3 GIRO debit transactions or credit a salary of at least S$1,600 per month

If you meet the card spend and salary credit criteria, the maximum EIR that can be earned on the first S$150,000 in the account will be cut from 4% to 3.3% p.a..

If you meet the card spend and GIRO criteria, the maximum EIR that can be earned on the first S$125,000 in the account will be cut from 2.4% to 1.9% p.a..

Fortunately, the criteria to unlock bonus interest on the UOB One Account remains very straightforward, and does not require you to purchase insurance products or investments, nor increase your average daily balance.

Miles chasers will be pleased to know that spending on the UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card continues to be eligible, and the S$500 minimum spend requirement is well within the monthly bonus cap of S$1,000 (Lady’s Card) or S$2,000 (Lady’s Solitaire Card).

Both of these cards offer cardholders 4 mpd on their choice of one (Lady’s Card) or two (Lady’s Solitaire Card) bonus categories, capped at S$1,000 (Lady’s Card) or S$2,000 (Lady’s Solitaire Card) per calendar month.

Bonus categories include fashion, dining, family, travel, entertainment and transport, so choose wisely based on your historical spending patterns.

Which bank account is best for miles chasers?

In the table below, I’ve listed the bank accounts which accord bonus interest for spending on miles cards (for example, the Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account is omitted because it only recognises spend on the non-miles Bonus$aver Card).

I’ve also calculated the “realistic interest”, assuming a customer credits their salary, pays their bills via GIRO and meets the minimum card spending requirement.

Based on this, my top recommendation for miles chasers would continue to be the UOB One Account, because of its relatively high cap of S$150,000, and the ease of achieving its maximum interest rate. All you need to do is credit a salary of at least S$1,600 and spend a minimum of S$500 on the UOB Lady’s Card- what could be simpler?

The runner-up would be the OCBC 360 Account, though its cap is lower at S$100,000. Moreover, it should be noted that 0.75% p.a. comes from attaining the Save bonus, which requires you to increase your ADB by at least S$500 monthly. If the OCBC 360 is your day-to-day account, it will be very difficult to optimise this, as the daily inflows and outflows will affect your ADB.

Conclusion

With interest rates on the decline, miles chasers should look beyond the headline numbers and consider whether the bank accounts they are using are a good fit with their miles accumulation strategy.

My preferred picks remain the UOB One Account and OCBC 360 Account, but each person’s circumstances will differ. The key here is to align your banking and spending habits strategically, to ensure your miles accumulation doesn’t come at the expense of interest!