Credit Card Comparison: Citi Rewards vs OCBC Rewards vs HSBC Revolution

Earn 10X rewards with no minimum spend? Enter Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards, and HSBC Revolution. These top rewards credit cards deserve to be on your radar if you’re keen on racking up rewards points at record speed.

You can count on rewards credit cards to make each dollar of yours work hard for you as you spend. Of course, rewards credit cards like Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards, and HSBC Revolution are supremely strong contenders to consider if you enjoy shopping and online shopping and are thrilled to start earning 10X rewards on your purchases. 

In this Citi Rewards vs OCBC Rewards vs HSBC Revolution three-way comparison, you will learn more about what each card has to offer as well as important things to note in this rewards apple-to-apple-apple comparison. 

Table of contents

• Similarities between these rewards cards
• Comparison #1: Rewards workings
• Comparison #2: Minimum spend required to earn 10X rewards
• Comparison #3: Rewards expiry
• Comparison #4: Extra perks 
• Conclusion: Which one should you choose?

Similarities: Citi Rewards vs OCBC Rewards vs HSBC Revolution

Credit card	Key benefits
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X rewards on shopping, online shopping, online food delivery, online groceries, Grab, Gojek rides   1X reward on all other spend
OCBC Rewards Card Apply Now	50 OCBC$ for every S$5 spent on eligible online and retail purchases   5 OCBC$ for every S$5 spent on all other purchases
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X rewards on online and contactless spending   1X reward on all other spend

What these rewards credit cards have in common

Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards (previously OCBC Titanium Rewards) and HSBC Revolution are accessible rewards credit cards that only require a minimum annual income of S$30,000. A common attribute of all three credit cards is that there is no cap on base rewards points earned. Also, there’s no minimum spend required to start earning 10X rewards.

How these rewards credit cards differ

Credit cards aren’t created equal. While Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards and HSBC Revolution all reward you on your spending, there are several differences between these cards you ought to know if you’ve been thinking about adding either one of these cards to your wallet(or mobile wallet). Read on to find out which card could be the right fit for you and your needs.

[UPDATE!] Comparison #1: Rewards workings

The rewards workings for Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards and HSBC Revolution aren’t entirely the same although all three rewards cards let you earn 10X rewards on specific categories, albeit with a cap — monthly S$1,000 spend on 10X rewards categories for Citi Rewards and HSBC Revolution; average monthly S$1,100 spend on 10X rewards categories for OCBC Rewards. 

Comparison #2: Minimum spend required to earn 10X rewards

Although there’s no minimum spend required for cardmembers to start earning 10X rewards on their spending, keep in mind that OCBC Rewards OCBC$ for every block of S$5 spent. This applies even to cardmembers’ 1X reward expenses.

Comparison #3: Rewards expiry

While OCBC$ expires quickest amongst the three, keep in mind that Citi Rewards' points expiry can be tricky.

For starters, most people aren't aware that the maximum points validity is five years. Cardmembers have to accrue and redeem their points in fixed five-year periods, counted from their card approval date.

If you were to accrue points towards the end of your fixed five-year period, those points would only be valid for a short period of time. Citi does offer a three-month grace period, though.

These are things to consider when thinking about which rewards credit card to go for, especially if you are gunning for big rewards like free flights or hotel stays as those require a fairly huge amount of rewards points hence a longer period of time to accumulate.

Comparison #4: Extra perks

The additional perks that come with each of the three cards are quite varied. The most tangible benefits, at least for me, are those that HSBC Revolution offers. You might be more inclined to go with Citi Rewards or OCBC Rewards and that’s entirely OK. Everyone has different wants and preferences.

Conclusion: Which one should you choose?

Citi Rewards, OCBC Rewards and HSBC Revolution offer generous rewards on your spending if you spend under those listed qualified categories. The best one for you largely depends on your lifestyle and spending habits. 

Choose HSBC Revolution: HSBC Revolution is more straightforward in that cardmembers who spend online or make contactless payments through Visa payWave and Apple Pay get to earn 10X rewards on their spending. It’s as easy as that, there’s no need to bother about specific spending categories at all. 

The additional perks that come with HSBC Revolution are enticing too — perpetual waiver of the card’s annual fee and plenty of awesome 1-for-1 dining, lifestyle and hotel deals for you to enjoy at no extra cost.

[Update!] From 1 January 2024 onwards, the HSBC Revolution Card will no longer earn 10X Rewards on MCC 4722 (Travel Agencies & Tour Operators) and MCC 7011 (Lodging - Hotels, Motels, and Resorts). These are called merchant category codes and they're responsible for dictating a credit card's merchant eligibility in earning bonus rebates.

Unfortunately, since this card follows a bonus whitelist approach, as long as the merchant falls under these codes, they will not be recognised as eligible bonus transactions anymore.

[Update!]The nerfs don't just stop there. Starting 1 May 2024, three more MCCs will be removed from the list: MCC 5411 (Supermarkets), MCC 5499 (Miscellaneous Food Stores), and MCC 5814 (Fast Food).

Moving forward, below are examples of affected merchants of these MCC exclusions: 

It's also important to note that certain major hotel chains such as the Hilton (MCC 3504) and Hyatt (MCC 3604) have their unique MCCs falling in the 3500-3999 range. Thus, you'll need to conduct your own checks to verify which MCC your transactions at theses hotels fall under.

This is a significant pity considering that the HSBC Revolution Card has consistently been a trustworthy miles credit card for overseas travel. But now, it seems as though it'll be overshadowed by its counterpart, the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card, as HSBC's main card for travel-related and overseas transactions. 

Choose OCBC Rewards Card: Since 15 January 2024, the OCBC Titanium Rewards Card has now been officially rebranded to the OCBC Rewards Card. Apart from a swanky new colour design, there are some other mechanic changes as well.

You can now earn 15 OCBC$ per S$1 (equivalent to 6 mpd) spend on selected retailers per quarter. [UPDATE!] In fact, from 1 April to 30 June 2024, OCBC Rewards Cardholders will earn 6 mpd at Watsons, department stores or duty-free shops. These retailers change every three months.

Note: Before this, the only other miles cards offering such rates were the UOB Lady's / Lady's Solitaire Cards. 

Meanwhile, you can continue to earn 10 OCBC$ per S$1 (4 mpd) on eligible online and in-person shopping.

That said, do take note of the changes made to the list of eligible MCCs. The following merchants are no longer eligible for bonus OCBC$:

In their stead, they've been replaced with a new selection of eligible MCCs:

Here's the updated consolidation of all the current eligible MCCs:

Source: OCBC

If you are a new homeowner who’s looking to furnish your home with a myriad of home appliances and furniture, consider OCBC Titanium as you stand to enjoy an extra 2% cash rebate on your purchases at BEST Denki.

[Update!] Although the OCBC Titanium Rewards Card maintains its 120,000 bonus OCBC$ annual cap, this cap is now split and limited to a maximum of only 10,000 bonus OCBC$ per calendar month.

Together with the removal of MCCs 5045 and 5732, these two big changes spell a loss in OCBC Rewards' utility for big-ticket purchases overall – since electronics, computers, and other software can often be considered major (and costly) household purchases. 

If for some reason, none of these rewards credit cards are what you're looking for, maybe compare these other alternative cards with us on our SingSaver site below!