The best credit card for big purchases should not have any rewards earning cap. Maximise your returns on big purchases with the credit cards below.
Best Credit Cards For Big-Ticket Items On SingSaver
- Cashback: Citi Cash Back+ Card | UOB Absolute Cashback Card | Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card | CIMB World Mastercard
- Miles: Citi PremierMiles Card | DBS Altitude Visa Card | DBS Altitude AMEX Card | UOB PRVI Miles AMEX Card | UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard Card | UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card | KrisFlyer UOB Card
- Rewards: AMEX Platinum Card | Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card
Have a brand new house to furnish or an upcoming wedding to pay for? Fret not. The best credit cards for big purchases in Singapore can help stretch every dollar you spend.
With rising costs of living in the backdrop, it is only logical that you do all you can to make your money work harder for you, even when we’re talking about spending money.
In this article, we share tips and tricks on how you can maximise credit card rewards on big purchases and how to use credit cards wisely.
We’ve also rounded up the best cashback credit cards, the best miles credit cards and the best rewards credit cards for big purchases for your perusal. You’re welcome!
- How to maximise credit card rewards on big purchases?
- Best cashback credit cards for big purchases
- Best miles credit cards for big purchases
- Best rewards credit cards for big purchases
- Use credit cards wisely
How to maximise credit card rewards on big purchases?
Apart from deciding whether you’d like to earn cashback, air miles or rewards points on your big-ticket items, it is important that your credit card of choice doesn’t restrict you when it comes to earning those rewards.
This means picking credit cards without an earning cap.
In case you didn’t already know, some credit cards offer fantastic rewards rates, but they come with caps on how much rewards you can actually earn. A good example would be HSBC Revolution Credit Card.
This rewards card lets you earn 10X rewards points (i.e. 4mpd) — which is awesome — but only on the first S$1,000 eligible spend in a month.
Best credit cards for big purchases
Best cashback credit cards
Cashback credit card | Flat rate cashback rate | Apply now |
Citi Cash Back+ | 1.6% | |
UOB Absolute Cashback Card | 1.7% | |
American Express True Cashback | 1.5% | |
Standard Chartered Simply Cash | 1.5% | |
CIMB World Mastercard | 2% on: - Luxury Goods - Taxi and Automobile - Movies and Digital Entertainment - Wine & Dine and Online Food Delivery with min. spend of S$1,000 within statement month Otherwise, get 1% unlimited cashback instead 1% unlimited cashback on all other spend with min. spend of S$500 within statement month |
The CIMB World Mastercard is a great choice if luxury goods and dining are a mainstay in your monthly to-buy list. There’s no limit to how much cashback you can earn, but take note of the minimum spend requirement!
The other four credit cards mentioned above are straightforward and fuss-free, with no cap and no minimum spend to boot.
If you prefer something that offers cashback on everything including insurance premiums, school fees, medical bills, utilities, mobile wallet top-ups (i.e. commonly excluded transactions), consider the UOB Absolute Cashback Card or the American Express True Cashback.
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Best miles credit cards
Miles credit card | Miles earn rate | Apply now |
Citi PremierMiles | - 1.2mpd on local spend - 2mpd on overseas spend - Up to 7mpd on Agoda hotel transactions - 10mpd on Kaligo hotel transactions |
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DBS Altitude Visa DBS Altitude AMEX |
- 1.2mpd on local spend - 2mpd on overseas spend - 3mpd on online flights and hotels (capped at S$5k per month) - 6mpd on Expedia flight and hotel transactions - 10mpd on Kaligo hotel transactions |
Apply Now |
UOB PRVI Miles AMEX UOB PRVI Miles Mastercard UOB PRVI Miles Visa |
- 1.4mpd on local spend - 2.4mpd on overseas spend - 6mpd on major airlines and hotel worldwide with Agoda, Expedia and UOB Travel |
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UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card | - 1.2mpd on all spend - 3mpd on Singapore Airlines, Scoot and KrisShop purchases - 3mpd on dining,food delivery, online shopping and travel, and transport spend (with min. S$500 annual spend on Singapore Airlines Group) |
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American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card | - 1.1mpd on all local spend - 2mpd on Singapore Airlines and KrisShop spend - 2mpd on overseas spend in June and December - 3mpd on Grab, capped at S$200 per month |
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OCBC 90°N Mastercard |
- 1.2mpd on local spend - 2.5mpd on overseas spend, capped at first S$2,000 till 30 June 2022 -2.1mpd on overseas spend, capped at first S$2,000 |
N/A |
OCBC VOYAGE Card | - 1.3mpd on local spend - 2.2mpd on overseas spend |
N/A |
You certainly have many options when it comes to picking an air miles credit card that lets you earn unlimited miles.
All of the shortlisted air miles credit cards above have their pros and cons; so choose one according to your spending habits.
Want some inspiration to get started? I use the UOB KrisFlyer Credit Card, DBS Altitude Visa and Citi PremierMiles for my own miles accumulation journey.
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Best rewards credit cards
Best rewards credit cards | Rewards earn rate | Apply now |
Citi Prestige | - 3.25 ThankYou Points per S$1 spent locally (i.e. 1.3mpd) - 5 ThankYou Points per S$1 spent overseas (i.e. 2mpd) - Exclusive Cit relationship bonus of up to 30% extra ThankYou Points |
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American Express Platinum Credit Card | - 2 Membership Rewards Points per S$1.60 spent (1.1 miles) - 10 Membership Rewards Points per S$1.60 at Platinum 10Xcelerator Partners (i.e. 5.5 miles) |
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Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card | - 3.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent locally (i.e. 1.4mpd) - 7.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent overseas (i.e. 3mpd) Note: Min. S$2,000 eligible spend in a statement cycle required, otherwise all spend will only earn 2.5 Rewards Points per S$1 spent (1mpd) |
While there are many solid rewards credit cards on the market that I enjoy using and recommend, most of them limit the number of bonus rewards points you can earn monthly.
For those who are new to the world of credit cards, the abovementioned Citi Prestige and Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card belong to the premium credit cards camp that requires their cardmembers to earn a certain amount of annual income and pay their respective hefty annual fee. Their travel and lifestyle perks are truly fantastic, though!
As for American Express Platinum Credit Card, this credit card is targeted at foodies as well as discerning consumers who appreciate and enjoy platinum-level lifestyle perks year-round.
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Use credit cards wisely
Credit cards are good financial tools if you know how to use them wisely and responsibly.
They can help make your money go further, even when it comes to big ticket items and purchases like luxury bags, designer clothes, bespoke jewellery, the ultimate luxurious vacations, home furnishings and appliances (these really add up quickly and easily), fancy wine and dine, etc.
Pro tip: Pay all your credit card bills in full before their due dates to make your rewards count!
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