Looking for the best credit cards to complement your spending patterns and expenditure? This ultimate guide covers all things credit cards in Singapore 2024 – from choosing between a cashback, miles, or rewards credit card to planning your credit card strategy.

Best Credit Cards in Singapore on SingSaver

Cashback: Citi Cash Back Card | Citi Cash Back+ Card | CIMB Visa Signature Card | CIMB World Mastercard | Maybank Friends & Family Card | UOB EVOL Card | UOB One Card | UOB Absolute Cashback Card | OCBC 365 Card | HSBC Visa Platinium | Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card

Miles: Citi PremierMiles Card | Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card | UOB PRVI Miles Card | OCBC 90°N Card | KrisFlyer UOB Card | American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend | DBS Altitude Visa Card

Rewards: Citi Rewards Card | HSBC Revolution Card | UOB Lady's Card | UOB Lady's Solitaire Card | OCBC Titanium Rewards Card | DBS Woman's World Card | Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card

As we transition towards a cashless economy, many of us have begun trading off cash in favour of credit cards – so much so that credit cards have become a staple in our daily lives. 

But between cashback, miles, and rewards credit cards, just exactly which few deserve a spot in your wallet? And even among the chosen few, each card has its own rebate-maximising tactic according to its niche categories.

So, regardless of whether you’re a seasoned credit card veteran or credit card newbie, it’s always good to reassess and refresh your credit card strategy every year.

Our ultimate credit card guide 2024 will cover all things credit cards that you’ll need to know in order to lock in the best credit card strategy complementing your expenditure habits, goals, and preferences.

📚 Remember to bookmark this article for easy future reference! 

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Table of contents

• What are your credit card goals?
• How to choose a credit card? 
• How to earn sign-up and welcome bonuses for new cards?
• How to maximise cashback, miles, and rewards points?
• Components of a good credit card combo
  
  Best credit cards for:
  • Dining & food delivery
  • Online purchases
  • Contactless purchases
  • Offline purchases
  • Travel and foreign currency purchases
  • Public transport
  • Groceries
  • Petrol
  • Big-ticket items
  • General spending
• Tips for stacking credit cards
• What to know before applying for credit cards?
• How to apply for credit cards?
• FAQs about owning credit cards in Singapore

Disclaimer: Last updated on 18 December 2023. This article is meant for educational purposes only. It is not intended as professional financial advice but as credit card recommendations only. 

Overview: Planning a credit card strategy 2024

Every year, when it’s time to do some financial spring cleaning, these top questions come to mind: What is my credit card strategy for this year? What will my main credit card roster look like?

Like strategising in competitive gaming or a sports match, a consistently healthy financial status also depends on a game plan. And there are key concerns to consider.

Click to jump to:

• Credit card goals
• New card sign-up & welcome bonuses
• Maximising cashback, miles, and reward points
• Best credit card combination 
• Stacking credit cards
  

How do credit cards work?

You can say that credit cards are one step above debit cards in the world of personal finance. So much so that oftentimes, applying for and getting your first credit card is recognised as one of your first signs of adulting. Essentially, transitioning from debit cards to credit cards presents a new set of challenges and new responsibilities to handle.

How credit cards work

Credit cards function similarly to a loan where you borrow money from the credit card issuer (bank) to make purchases first and repay after. Depending on your spending habits and preferences, you can opt for a cashback, miles, or rewards credit card.

But regardless of which credit card type you choose, all your transactions are recorded and collated by the end of a calendar/statement month in a consolidated bill. Thereafter, you're required to fully repay this owed amount. 

As a result, it becomes easy for the careless to blindly tap your credit card because you don't feel the immediate sting of your funds depleting. Neither do you have an accurate gauge of how much money you have left unless you properly monitor your account balance.

While it's acceptable to pay the bill's minimum amount by the due date, any outstanding amount will be subjected to interest. You're highly encouraged to pay off the full amount less you start incurring credit card debt and other credit card fees (e.g. late fees). 

How debit cards work

This is unlike a debit card where each transaction amount is directly deducted from the linked savings account. Therefore, if you don't possess sufficient funds, your transaction simply won't go through which is a pretty effective deterrent against overspending.

However, the biggest downside to debit cards is that only some offer rebates on your spending — and even then, it's usually in the form of cash rebate, and not miles. For example, the UOB One Debit Card rewards up to 10% cashback on Shopee, groceries, and transport.

The bottom line is, owning a credit card teaches the importance of tracking our expenses diligently (enough) and always spending within our means.

Read more: 
What Should You Do If You Can't Pay Your Credit Card Bill?
4 Ways You're Accumulating Debt Without Knowing it

What are your credit card goals?

As the mantra goes, “begin with the end in mind”. So let’s start off simple: what credit card goals would you like to achieve in 2024? 

Is it to maintain a good credit score? Is it to max out on monthly cashback? Is it to accumulate enough miles to book a business return ticket? 

Do you want a dedicated credit card for online shopping and dining? Or perhaps you need a trusty card for public transport commutes? Maybe you have an upcoming home renovation to pay for?

Read more:
How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Home Renovation in Singapore
How to Earn Miles on MRT and Bus Rides With SimplyGo

Depending on what goals you wish to achieve, your priorities for your credit card strategy will follow accordingly. This means being realistic about your goals too.

For instance, if you want to book an economy return ticket to Seoul, you’ll need at least 54,000 KrisFlyer miles to redeem it. 

HSBC Revolution Card

Even with a miles card like HSBC Revolution that earns up to 10X Rewards Points or 4 miles per S$1 dollar (4mpd) on selected categories or via contactless payment. This boosted rate is capped at S$1,000 per month. 

Once that’s exceeded, the mileage rate drops back down to the base 0.4 mpd.

So considering you max out on 4,000 miles per month for a year, that’s only 48,000 miles accumulated. There are still 6,000 leftover miles to account for.

Under the base 0.4 mpd rate, you’d minimally need to spend an extra S$15,000 to compensate for that amount to fulfil 54,000 KrisFlyer miles. 

Unless you’re spending on a big-ticket item, this is definitely a lofty goal to reach in total annual expenditure. 

💡 Pro-tip: Different banks’ mileage programmes have different rewards points-to-miles conversion rates and minimum redemption blocks. 

For instance, we know that 1 HSBC Reward Point = 0.4 miles. However, there’s a minimum redemption block of 25,000 HSBC Reward Points = 10,000 miles.

You’d also need to pay an annual membership fee if you wish to redeem these miles yearly.

The takeaway here is to thoroughly ponder your credit card objectives and narrow down the more attainable ones from there.

Cashback vs Miles vs Rewards: How to choose the right credit card for yourself?

These days, spending has become second nature. It’s easier to throw caution to the wind and spend money without meticulously tracking every penny, but at the risk of becoming a spendthrift after that. 

And guilty as charged! 

We’ve all cut ourselves some slack whenever we exceeded our planned monthly budget. That said, choosing the right credit card can either complement your spending habits or cause them to turn for the worse.

Ask yourself these questions to determine what’s an appropriate credit card for you:

• Do you prefer cashback, miles, or rewards points?
• What’s your monthly budget allowance?
• What’s your actual monthly expenditure/spending pattern like? Do you exceed said budget?
• What’s the spend category breakdown of your expenditure like?
• What credit card objective(s) do you want to achieve?

First and foremost, what type of rebates do you fancy? 

💰 Cashback is great for those who prefer cash rebates to offset their monthly credit card bills.

✈️ Miles is great for those who want their spending habits to fund their next trip out of the country.

💯 Rewards points are great for those who enjoy redeeming rewards through points (bank privileges, miles conversion, annual fee waivers, and more)!

From these three general definitions, you can already get a rough idea of which credit card type might suit your needs.

Next, identify what categories you spend on the most each month. Do you like to dine out and order takeaway frequently? Do you mostly shop online? Do you need to buy groceries regularly? Do you commute on public transport or via private hire (e.g. Gojek, Grab) more?

💡 Pro-tip: A good gauge to track your spending categories would be to reflect on your last three months’ expenses.

Depending on what your top spend categories are, you can narrow down which credit cards cater towards them in terms of offering boosted rebates.

UOB One Card  Apply Now	UOB Lady's Card Apply Now

For instance, UOB One Card rewards up to 15% cashback on Grab, Shopee, and selected grocery partners. Alternatively, UOB’s Lady Card rewards 10X UNI$ Points (4 miles) per S$5 spent on selected shopping and dining.

See also: Cashback vs Miles vs Rewards: Which is the Best Credit Card?

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How to earn sign-up & welcome bonuses on new cards?

It’s undeniable that welcome bonuses and sign-up rewards are great incentives to apply for credit cards.

When using a credit card comparison site like ours, SingSaver, you’ll find tons of ongoing credit card promotions giving away attractive rewards like Dyson AirWrap, Ergotune chairs, Sony headphones, and more – just by applying for a credit card.

After successful application and approval, just spend a minimum amount on eligible transactions within the month to receive your reward. 

Besides that, some credit cards offer welcome bonuses like complimentary miles or enhanced cashback rates to encourage more spending within the first month.

Whatever your cup of tea is, the common denominator to earning sign-up and welcome bonuses are hitting your credit card’s minimum spend amount within a stated period.

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How to maximise cashback, miles, or rewards points?

Figuring out how to maximise your cashback, miles, or rewards points every month is another common conundrum that many credit cardholders have. It seems easy enough but is often harder than expected to achieve.

Click to jump to:

• Cashback
• Miles
• Rewards Points

💰 Cashback

In order to maximise your cashback, there are a few generic conditions to satisfy.

1. Fulfil your cashback card’s monthly minimum spend requirement. They can come in denominations of S$500, S$600, S$800, S1,000, or S$2,000.
2. Only transactions with eligible merchants will be considered as eligible spend.
3. Different cashback cards have different cashback caps per category. You need to track when each category’s limit is reached.

💡 Pro-tip: Once all of a card’s cashback category caps are hit, switch to another cashback credit card to continue earning rebates elsewhere. Don’t leave any cashback opportunity wasted. 🤩

Out of the three, the most common pitfall many cardholders struggle with is point two – failing to spend at eligible merchants. To qualify for cashback, a merchant you transacted with must fall under a credit card’s Merchant Category Codes (MCCs). 

Any purchases made with a merchant omitted from a card’s MCCs will not qualify for cashback.

Read more:
Best Cashback Credit Card in Singapore
Best Unlimited Cashback Credit Cards in Singapore

✈️ Miles

In order to maximise your miles, there are fewer conditions to satisfy but a longer waiting game is involved.

1. Find out your card’s miles rates on local spend and overseas spend. 
2. Miles are calculated per every S$1 spent on local or overseas spend. (e.g. 1.2 mpd, 4 mpd)
3. Charge all your transactions (both local and overseas) to your air miles card.
4. Find out if your card has boosted miles rates for selected spend categories.
5. If so, make it your dedicated card for purchases under those categories to maximise your monthly miles. 
6. No minimum spend is required. 
7. But, cards have spend caps on selected categories, so your total boosted miles will be capped too.

Most miles credit cards tend to have a higher miles rate on overseas spend than local spend. That means you earn more miles on overseas expenses (per S$1) charged to your miles card than locally.

Citi PremierMiles Card

For instance, a miles card like Citi PremierMiles has a base rate of 1.2 mpd on local spending and 2 mpd on overseas spending. However, Citibank imposes a 3.25% foreign transaction (FX) fee. There is also a currency conversion fee of 1% (Visa/Mastercard) or 2.95% (AMEX).

💡 Pro-tip: Bypass those pesky FCY fees, earn miles, and additional rebates by tagging your air miles card to a multi-currency card like the Instarem Amaze Card. 

AMEX Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card

 

Amex Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card Welcome Gift: Receive up to 17,000 KrisFlyer Miles when you make a min. spend of S$500 within the first month of card approval. For new-to-American-Express Card Members only. Valid till 30 April 2024. T&Cs apply.

For boosted miles earn rates, AMEX Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Credit Card offers an enhanced 3.1 mpd on eligible Grab and dining transactions, capped at S$200 each per month.

See also: Best Air Miles Credit Cards in Singapore

💯 Rewards Points

In order to maximise Rewards Points, you follow the same approach as collecting miles.

1. Find out your card’s base and boosted Rewards Point rates. 
2. Only eligible spend with eligible merchants will qualify for boosted rates.
3. Other spend will earn the base rate only.
4. No minimum spend is required.
5. But, cards have spend caps on selected categories, so your boosted Rewards Points will be capped too.
6. Rewards Points can either be redeemed for bank privileges/rewards or converted into miles.

Essentially, a rewards credit card is a mix of cashback and miles cards. You’re able to collect points and redeem rewards (e.g. retail vouchers, cash credit, annual fee waivers, etc.) or convert them into miles. 

DBS Woman's World Card

For example, DBS Woman’s World Card earns up to 10X DBS Points per S$5 spent on online purchases, capped at S$1,500 per month. So, you can earn a monthly maximum of 4,000 DBS Points. 

That’s enough to redeem a Takashimaya Department Store S$50 voucher (3,200 DBS Points) or convert it to 8,000 miles.

This is why opting for a rewards card allows you to swing both ways in either the cashback game or the miles game.

💡 Pro-tip: Remember to monitor your points’ expiry, if applicable.

See also: Best Rewards Cards in Singapore

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What makes a good credit card combo?

Now we’ve arrived at the juicy question: what’s the best credit card combination to use in 2023? 

Credit card combinations are subjective to your needs and preferences in spending. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to determining the best credit card roster. 

However, there’s one mindset that’ll help streamline your credit card lineup in 2023.

Prioritise specialised spending cards & use general spending cards minimally.

This golden rule applies to everyone, regardless of cashback, miles, or rewards.

General spending cards are credit cards that earn base rebates on a broad spectrum of spend categories. These are usually useful for everyday spend (e.g. groceries, petrol, public transport, etc.).

Specialised spending cards are credit cards that earn enhanced rebates on specific spend categories. These are usually useful for dedicated spending habits (e.g. online or contactless shopping, overseas purchases, travel, dining out and food delivery, etc.)

Now don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with general spending cards. But if you want to earn more for less, work smarter not harder… 

Your general spending card should be used minimally or only as a backup card whereas your specialised spending card should be maximised.

Best credit cards for different spending

Click to jump to:

• Best for dining & food delivery
• Best for online purchases
• Best for contactless purchases
• Best for offline purchases
• Best for travel/FCY purchases
• Best for public transport
• Best for groceries
• Best for petrol
• Best for utilities/bills
• Best for big-ticket items
• Best for general spending

Best credit cards for dining & food delivery

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️
• Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Min. spend requirement	Cashback cap
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	10% cashback on food delivery (WhyQ, foodpanda, Deliveroo)   3% cashback on dining (excludes fast food)	S$800 per calendar month	Capped at Daily$15 per dining & food delivery
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% cashback on dining & food delivery	S$800 per calendar month	Capped at S$25 per dining & food delivery
UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% on dining & food delivery paid via online or mobile contactless spend	S$600 per statement month	Capped at S$20 per dining & food delivery

Compare Best Cashback Cards

Credit card	Miles earn rate	Details
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd for dining paid via online or mobile contactless spend	Bonus miles capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month No annual fee   Card T&Cs
UOB Lady's Card Apply Now	6 mpd on dining	Choose dining as 15X category   Bonus miles capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month   Card T&Cs
DBS Woman's World Card Apply Now	4 mpd on dining via online spend	Bonus miles capped at S$1,500 online spend per calendar month Bonus miles only awarded in next calendar month Card T&Cs
📢 Honourable mention   Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card Apply Now	Up to 3.2 mpd on dining	Min. S$300 spend per calendar month   Capped at 2,400 bonus miles / 30,000 bonus TREATS Points per calendar month   Bonus miles only valid if redeemed via Maybank's TREATS SG App   3-year annual fee waiver   Card T&Cs
📢 Honourable mention   KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply Now	Up to 3 mpd on dining & food delivery	Min. S$800 annual spend on Singapore Airlines, Scoot, and KrisShop transactions   No cap on bonus miles earned   No transfer fee for miles   Bonus miles only awarded 2 months after annual fee payment   Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

The HSBC Revolution Card, UOB Lady’s Card and DBS Woman’s World Card need no introduction. These have been evergreen, popular miles cards for many reasons — dining being one of them.

Rewarding up to 4 mpd for dining, earning miles on them are generally fuss-free and complaints are few and far between.

On the flip side, the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card and KrisFlyer UOB Card are honourable mentions here. 

For starters, they don’t reward as many bonus miles per dollar as the aforementioned few.

Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card rewards up to 3.2 mpd and the KrisFlyer UOB Card rewards up to 3 mpd, after various terms and conditions are met. Hence, they require cardholders to jump through more hoops.

However, Maybank Horizon Visa Signature outshines KrisFlyer UOB just a smidge when it comes to low spenders. Its minimum spend is only S$300 per month to qualify for its 3.2 mpd! 

Credit card	Points earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points per S$1 on dining & food delivery via online spend	10X Rewards Points consists of: 1 base point 9X bonus points Capped at 9,000 Bonus Points per statement month   No cap on Base Points Card T&Cs
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Reward Points on dining & food delivery via online or mobile contactless spend	10X Rewards Points consists of: 1 base point 9X bonus points Bonus Points capped at S$1,000 spend per statement month   No annual fee   Card T&Cs
UOB Lady's Card Apply Now	15X UNI$ per S$5 spend on dining	Choose dining as 15X category   Bonus Points capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month   Card T&Cs
DBS Woman's World Card Apply Now	10X DBS Points per S$5 on dining & food delivery via online spend	10X DBS Points consists of: 1 base point 9X bonus points Bonus Points capped at S$1,500 online spend per calendar month   Bonus Points only awarded in next calendar month   Card T&Cs
📢 Honourable mention   Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card Apply Now	Up to 10X Rewards Points on FCY dining Up to 5X Rewards points on local dining	Capped at 20,000 Bonus Points per year   Card T&Cs

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

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Best credit cards for online purchases 

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️
• Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Min. spend requirement	Cashback cap
CIMB Visa Signature Card Apply Now	10% cashback on online spend	S$800 spend per statement month	Capped at S$20 on online spend
OCBC Frank Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cashback on online spend: 8% on local online spend Extra 2% on eligible green merchants	S$800 spend per calendar month	Capped at S$25 on online spend
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	5% cashback on selected merchants: RedMart Lazada Taobao Shopee Amazon.sg Q0010	S$800 spend per calendar month	Capped at Daily$15 on online spend
UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% cashback on online spend	S$600 per statement month	Capped at S$20 on online spend

Compare Best Cashback Cards

Credit card	Miles earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	4 mpd on online spend	Bonus 4 mpd rate capped at S$1,000 spend per statement month   No cap on base 0.4 mpd rate Card T&Cs
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd on online spend	Bonus 4mpd rate capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month   No cap on base 0.4 mpd rate  No annual fee   Card T&Cs
UOB Lady's Card Apply Now	6 mpd on dining	Choose dining as 15X category   Bonus miles capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month   Card T&Cs
DBS Woman's World Card Apply Now	4 mpd on dining via online spend	4 mpd consists of: 1.6 base mpd 3.4 bonus mpd Bonus 4 mpd rate capped at S$1,500 online spend per calendar month   Bonus miles only awarded in next calendar month   Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

As always, the HSBC Revolution Card and the Citi Rewards Card come out on top.

Personally, we'd only UOB Lady’s Card as a backup plan because of the limitations in its category selection. 

Online transactions encompass a wide variety of spend categories – taking Grab, shopping on Shopee, renewing your Spotify subscription, and the list goes on.

In contrast, this card only allows you to choose one category per quarter, it’s not the most viable for overall online purchases.

Credit Card	Points earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points per S$1 on online spend	10X Rewards Points consists of: 1 base point 9X bonus points Bonus Points capped at S$1,000 spend per statement month   No cap on Base Points Card T&Cs
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card Apply Now	50 OCBC$ per S$5 on online spend Bonus: E-commerce protection	50 OCBC$ per S$5 consists of: 5X base points 45X base points on eligible merchants Bonus OCBC$ Points capped at 120,000 per year OCBC$ points are awarded per S$5 blocks Eligible MCCs & rewards T&Cs Card T&Cs
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply Now	10X DBS Points per S$5 on online spend	10X DBS Points consists of: 1 base point 9X bonus points Bonus Points capped at S$1,500 spend per calendar month   Bonus Points only awarded in next calendar month Card T&Cs

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

Overall, as long as your online transaction doesn’t fall under a bank’s general exclusion list, it’s more or less eligible for your card’s rebates.

That’s why, online purchases are a broad spectrum of categories that everyone should maximise either cashback, miles, or rewards points under.

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Best credit cards for contactless purchases

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Min. spend requirement	Cashback cap
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15% cash rebate on selected categories via mobile contactless spend: Public transport (SimplyGo) Shopee Dairy Farm International Grab UOB Travel Up to 22.66% fuel savings at SPC and Shell	S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 spend per statement month (for 3 consecutive months)   Min. 5 transactions per month	Capped at up to S$2,000 cash rebate per year   Card T&Cs
DBS Live Fresh Card Apply Now	Up to 6% on mobile contactless spend: Public transport (SimplyGo) Up to 14% fuel savings at Esso	S$800 per statement month	Capped at S$20 on mobile contactless spend
OCBC Frank Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cashback on online spend: 8% on local online spend Extra 2% on eligible green merchants	S$800 spend per calendar month	Capped at S$25 on mobile contactless spend   Card T&Cs
UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% on mobile contactless spend	S$600 per statement month	Capped at S$20 on mobile contactless spend   Card T&Cs

Compare Best Cashback Cards

Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on mobile contactless spend	Bonus miles/points capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month   No cap on base miles/points earned No annual fee   Card T&Cs
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card	10X UNI$ per S$5 (4 mpd) on mobile contactless spend	Bonus points/miles capped at S$1,000 spend per calendar month: Online spend Mobile contactless spend Card T&Cs
📢 Honourable mention   UOB Visa Signature Card Apply Now	10X UNI$ per S$5 (4 mpd) on mobile contactless spend	Min. S$1,000 spend per statement month in either: Overseas spend Petrol & mobile contactless spend Bonus miles/points capped at S$2,000 spend shared between above 2 categories   Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

We’ve combined miles and rewards cards for contactless payment because we recommend the same cards for both: HSBC Revolution Card and UOB Preferred Platinum Visa (PPV) Card — with an honourable mention going to UOB Visa Signature Card.

Both HSBC Revolution and UOB PPV Cards offer 10X Rewards Points or 4 mpd depending on what your poison is. More specifically, these two cards are specialised for mobile contactless spend — furthering the cashless agenda.

However, if we’re nitpicking, HSBC Revolution has a slight edge over UOB PPV. Why? Because unfortunately, the latter has a few downsides.

• 👎 Must add UOB PPV to mobile wallet and pay via PayWave in order to qualify for bonus 4 mpd via mobile contactless spend. 
• 👎 Tapping physical card does not qualify for bonus 4 mpd.
• 👎 More non-eligible merchant exclusions (e.g. UOB$ merchants)

Nevertheless, the UOB PPV is still a decent card to score your miles on contactless spend. It removes the additional hassle of bringing out your physical card anyway.

Other than that, if you ever bust your minimum S$1,000 spend limit on either cards, this is where the UOB Visa Signature Card swiftly comes in as backup. 

Likewise, it earns 4 mpd for a minimum S$1,000 spend (per statement month) on contactless and/or petrol spend. Each month’s total spend is capped at S$2,000 (per statement month) across all overseas (including online), petrol, and contactless spend.

So, if you felt like a baller and went all out on S$2,000 contactless spend within a calendar month, your maximum miles earned is 4,000X UNI$ or 8,000 miles.

📝 Editor’s note: Nowadays, I don’t usually bother bringing out my wallet anymore. I usually assume either PayWave or QR payment will be accepted; but if not, I’d just borrow some money from pals first and pay back later. 🤭

In any case, being able to earn enhanced cashback, miles, or rewards points with just a tap of PayWave is the epitome of efficiency (see: shiok). 

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Best credit cards for offline purchases

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Min. spend requirement	Cashback cap
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15% cash rebate on selected categories: Public transport (SimplyGo) Shopee Dairy Farm International Grab UOB Travel Up to 22.66% fuel savings at SPC and Shell	S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 spend per statement month (for 3 consecutive months)   Min. 5 transactions per month	Capped at up to S$2,000 cash rebate per year   Card T&Cs
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	Up to 10% cash rebate on daily essentials: 10% on dining 8% on shopping Up to 5% cash rebate on bills: 5% on utility bills 3% on telco bills Up to 20.1% + extra 2% cash rebate on fuel 0.3% cash rebate on all other spend	S$800 spend per calendar month	Different Daily$ rebate caps for each category (per calendar month)   Daily$ Cap T&Cs
Citi Cash Back Card Apply Now	6% cashback on groceries and dining   8% cashback on petrol and private commute   0.20% cashback on all other spend   Up to 20.88% fuel savings at Esso and Shell	S$800 spend per statement month	Capped at S$80 per statement month

Compare Best Cashback Cards

✈️ Miles & 🎁 Rewards card combo
Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card Apply Now Apply Now	10X OCBC$ (4 mpd) on eligible offline purchases Bonus: Extra 2% at BEST Denki	120,000 OCBC$ annual spend cap (10,000 OCBC$ cap per month) Rewards T&Cs Card T&Cs
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card  Apply Now	Up to 3X TREATS Points (1.2 mpd) on offline purchases	No min. spend for local retail spend   40,000 Bonus TREATS Points cap (per calendar month) 3X TREATS Points consists of: - 1X base point - 2X bonus points 1.2 mpd only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Three-year annual fee waiver Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on offline purchases	S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Card T&Cs
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on offline purchases	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

As far as rewards credit cards are concerned, the OCBC Titanium Rewards Card is one of the best cards for offline shopping. That said, although it still maintains its 120,000 bonus OCBC$ annual cap, it now imposes a 10,000 OCBC$ cap per calendar month too. 

This shouldn't come as a huge caveat unless in the event of purchasing big-ticket items and other costly purchases. Other than that, this card is still generally ideal for cardholders with irregular shopping habits — preferring to swipe their cards more often in some months, and less so during other months. 

💡 Pro-tip: For offline spend, max out on your OCBC Titanium Rewards first before moving on to HSBC Revolution or Citi Rewards. Aim to reserve the latter two for more online and mobile contactless spend.

Meanwhile, another miles card we’d recommend here is the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card.

Offering up to 3X TREATS Points (or 1.2 mpd) on all local retail spend, it's a comparable rate to many travel credit cards. It’s a decent card for offline spend on the daily grind.

What's more, you won't have to worry about hitting any minimum spend requirement to earn bonus miles/points on local spend for transactions under groceries, dining, food delivery, transport and petrol, hotels (e.g. staycations), and department and retail stores.

Best credit cards for travel / foreign currency (FCY) spend

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️
• Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
CIMB Visa Signature Card Apply Now	10% on cruises	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$100 cashback cap (per statement month) - S$20 per category 10% cashback consists of: - 0.2% base cashback - 9.8% bonus cashback No annual fee Card T&Cs
Citi Cash Back Card Apply Now	6% on grocery stores and dining worldwide	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$80 cashback cap (per statement month) Cashback T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
OCBC Frank Card Apply Now	Up to 10% on FCY spend: - Base 8% cashback - Extra 2% on selected green merchants	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$100 cashback cap (per calendar month): - S$25 per category Cashback T&Cs
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% on FCY spend on preferred categories (Choose 5): - Groceries - Dining & food delivery - Transport - Data communication & online TV streaming - Retail & pets - Online fashion - Entertainment - Pharmacy - Sports & sports apparels - Beauty & wellness	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$125 cashback cap (per statement month) - S$25 per category Three-year annual fee waiver
📣 Honourable mention UOB Absolute Cashback Card Apply Now	Unlimited 1.7% on all spend	No min. spend No spend cap Bonus 3% consists of: - 1.7% base cashback - 1.3% bonus cashback with min. S$1,500 spend

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In the realm of overseas spend cashback, the OCBC Frank Card and Maybank Family & Friends Card take the spotlight.

The OCBC Frank Card is dedicated to giving you up to 10% cashback on FCY spend, if you transact with eligible green merchants.

Conversely, the Maybank Family & Friends Card also offers a respectable 8% cashback globally on your top 5 preferred categories (out of 10 choices). 

Both cards require a minimum S$800 monthly spend in order to receive their respective cashback bonuses.

Credit card	Miles earn rate	Details
Amaze + Citi Rewards Cards Apply Now	1 InstaPoint per S$1 (1% cashback) on min. S$10 in FCY spend 4 mpd on online FCY spend	Citi Rewards 9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Instarem amaze   1 InstaPoint per S$1 spent in FCY transactions of at least S$10 InstaPoints can be converted to 1% cashback or discounts on overseas money transfers
UOB PRVI Miles Card Apply Now Apply Now   Apply Now	6 mpd on major airlines and hotel globally 2.4 mpd on FCY spend	Bookings via Agoda, Expedia, and UOB Travel Up to S$500,000 complimentary travel insurance coverage Card T&Cs
UOB Visa Signature Card	4 mpd on FCY spend	Min. S$1,000 monthly spend per category S$2,000 spend cap (per statement month) Card T&Cs
KrisFlyer UOB Card Apply Now	3 mpd on travel (including Airbnb)	Min. S$800 annual spend on SIA, Scoot, and KrisShop No miles cap on 3 mpd but complicated bonus components - 1.2 base mpd - 1.8 bonus mpd where only credited 14 months after card approval Read our KrisFlyer UOB Card review here

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

Despite the rewards programme exclusions and cashback nerfs, it’s still a solid choice to pair your Citi Rewards Card with the multicurrency card, Amaze.

Compared to other multi-currency cards on the market like YouTrip or Revolut, the Amaze Card allows you to link up to 5 MasterCard bank cards (like Citi Rewards) to the Amaze wallet.

Additionally, the Amaze Card offers 1 InstaPoint per S$1 of at least S$10 FCY spend, capped at S$500 per transaction. 

For instance, if you only transacted S$9 in FCY spend, you won’t earn any InstaPoints. And regardless of whether you spend S$500 or S$1,000 in FCY, you’ll receive a maximum of 500 InstaPoints only. 

For more credit card pairing hacks, click to jump to our tips on credit card stacking.

Credit Card	Points earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points per S$1 on online FCY spend (except travel)	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest point   Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
Standard Chartered Rewards+ Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points on FCY spend (overseas, retail, dining, and travel)	20,000 Point cap on bonus points (per year) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Card T&Cs
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card	50 OCBC$ per S$5 on FCY spend	120,000 bonus OCBC$ cap (per year) OCBC$ points are awarded per S$5 blocks 50 OCBC$ per S$5 consists of: - 5X base points - 45X base points on eligible merchants Eligible MCCs & rewards T&Cs Card T&Cs

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

When we think of overseas spend, we’d usually consider miles (and sometimes, cashback) cards to pay for our FCY transactions. But if we’re talking rewards, SCB+ Rewards Card seems like a possible option.

Offering up to 10X Rewards Points on all FCY spend on overseas retail, dining, and travel, this rewards card was made for all your overseas splurges — be it in shopping, eating, or experiences/entertainment.

💡 Pro-tip: Want extra cashback? Say no more. Earn up to S$200 cashback when you activate and spend a minimum of S$388 on eligible transactions within 30 days of your card’s approval. T&Cs apply.

Read more:
Instarem’s amaze Card Review: Is it Still Amazing?
Cash vs Multi-Currency Cards: Pros & Cons
Credit Card or Multi-Currency Card For Overseas Spending?

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Best credit cards for public transport & private-hire vehicles (e.g Grab, Gojek, taxis)

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️
• Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15% on public transport (SimplyGO) and Grab	Quarterly cashback Min. S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 monthly spend for 3 consecutive months - Min. 5 transactions per statement month More details on cashback breakdown
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	5% on public transport (SimplyGO)	Min. S$800 monthly spend Daily$15 rebate cap in total (per calendar month)
DBS Live Fresh Card Apply Now	Up to 6% on public transport (including SimplyGO)	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$20 cashback cap on transport spend Cashback FAQs Card T&Cs
OCBC Frank Card Apply Now	Up to 10% on public transport (SimplyGO) and private hire: - 8% on mobile contactless spend - Extra 2% on selected green merchants	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$25 cashback cap (per calendar month) for each category Cashback T&Cs
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% on transport	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$25 cashback cap (per statement month) Three-year annual fee waiver
UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% on public transport (SimplyGO) via mobile contactless spend	Min. S$600 monthly spend S$20 cashback cap (per statement month) for each category

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Credit card	Miles earn rate	Details
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	6 mpd on public transport (SimplyGO) and ride-hailing apps (e.g. Grab, ComfortDelGro Taxi)	Choose transport as 15X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 2X UNI$ per S$1 spent - UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number Card T&Cs
UOB PRVI Miles Card Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now	1.4 mpd on public transport via mobile contactless spend (SimplyGO)	No min. spend Equivalent to 0.7X UNI$ per S$1 spend UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number Card T&Cs
Standard Chartered Smart Card Apply Now	Up to 7.7 mpd on public transport (SimplyGO)	No min. spend S$818 spend cap (per statement month) Limited spend categories: McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Burger King, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, Toast Box, Fun Toast, public transport via SimplyGO, Netflix, Spotify, Youtube, Disney+ Singapore Card T&Cs
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd for Grab, Gojek, and taxi services via online or mobile contactless spend Not applicable to public transport via SimplyGO	S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Card T&Cs
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	4 mpd on ride-hailing apps (e.g. Grab, Gojek, taxis) Not applicable to public transport via SimplyGO	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply Now	4 mpd on ride-hailing apps (e.g. Grab, Gojek, and taxi services) via online spend	S$1,500 spend cap (per calendar month) Miles are awarded in S$5 blocks per spend Bonus miles only awarded in next calendar month Card T&Cs
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card  Apply Now	1.2 mpd for ride-hailing apps and taxi ride providers: - Comfort and CityCab - Cabcharge Asia Pte Ltd - Grab - Gojek - Tada, etc.	No min. spend for local retail spend  40,000 Bonus TREATS Points cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 3X TREATS Points 1.2 mpd only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Three-year annual fee waiver Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

For daily commuters, using a trusty credit card to offset every cent in public transport costs is a cent well-saved. Although the public transport rebate game is largely dominated by cashback cards, there are still notable miles cards worth considering.

The UOB Lady's Card is the best bet here. As long as you choose 'Transport' as your 10X Category, you can start earning 4 mpd on public transport via SimplyGo, capped at S$1,000 per calendar month.  

💡 Fun fact: The UOB PRVI Miles Card used to be the highest-earning miles card for public transport, at an amazing rate of 4.4 mpd. Unfortunately, this promotion was only ongoing from 1 September to 31 December 2020.

Besides that, the Standard Chartered Smart Card is another prime contender.

Featuring up to 7.7 mpd (or 19.2 360° Reward Points per S$1) on fast food, streaming subscriptions, and public transport (SimplyGO), it’s definitely the miles card for your commuting.

The enhanced 19.2 360° Reward Points consist of:

• 1.6 base 360° Reward Points per S$1 (or 0.5% cashback)
• 17.6 bonus 360° Reward Points per S$1 (or 5.5% cashback)

But there’s always a catch, isn’t there? This upsized 7.7 mpd doesn’t exactly come for free. In order to achieve this glorious rate, you’ll need to own a Visa Infinite as a complementary card. 

SCB Visa Infinite Card

Why is that so? Essentially, Standard Chartered’s reward system is biased towards Visa Infinite cardholders. They’re entitled to a boosted bonus miles conversion rate of 1,000 miles = 2,500 points, which amounts to 0.4 mpd.

Hence, the bonus 17.6 360° Reward Points per S$1 can be calculated into roughly 7.4 mpd.   

What’s more, with these cards, you can pool your points together. This means that you can tabulate your points across all cards before “cashing them all out” for miles in one shot!

Furthermore, this enhanced rate is available for a limited time only — until 31 December 2023. After that, it reverts to the measly 1.6 mpd. So, enjoy it while it lasts! 

But wait!

What if you don't own the SCB Visa Infinite Card? What happens then?

You'll only be entitled to redeem your 360° Reward Points into cashback at the minimum rate of 3,200 360° Reward Points = S$10 cashback.

In other words, the SCB Smart Card simply functions as a traditional rewards card to earn cash rebates – which doesn't make this a very strategic 'miles' card by proxy anymore.

Read their T&Cs here for more details.

Meanwhile, crowd favourites, HSBC Revolution and Citi Rewards, don't seem to reward miles for public transport. They're mostly only useful for booking Grab, Gojek, and taxi rides via apps.

Credit Card	Points earn rate	Details
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card  Apply Now	1.2 mpd for ride-hailing apps and taxi ride providers: - Comfort and CityCab - Cabcharge Asia Pte Ltd - Grab - Gojek - Tada, etc.	No min. spend for local retail spend  40,000 Bonus TREATS Points cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 3X TREATS Points 1.2 mpd only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Three-year annual fee waiver Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points per S$1 on ride-hailing apps only Not applicable to public transport via SimplyGO	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd for Grab, Gojek, and taxi services via online or mobile contactless spend Not applicable to public transport via SimplyGO	S$1,000 spend cap (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest point No annual fee Card T&Cs
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply Now	10X DBS Points per S$5 on ride-hailing apps e.g. (Grab, Gojek, and taxi services) via online spend	S$1,500 spend cap (per calendar month) 10X DBS Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Equivalent to 2X DBS Points per S$1 spent Bonus miles only awarded in next calendar month Card T&Cs
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	15X UNI$ per S$5 spend on on public transport (SimplyGO) and ride-hailing apps (e.g. Grab, ComfortDelGro Taxi)	Choose transport as 15X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 2X UNI$ per S$1 spent - UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number Card T&Cs
Standard Chartered Smart Card Apply Now	Up to 19.2X 360° Reward Points on public transport (SimplyGO)	S$14,400 points cap (per statement month) on additional bonus points 19.2 Reward Points consists of: - 1.6X base points - 17.6X bonus points Bonus rate valid till 31 Dec 2023 only Card T&Cs
📣 Honourable mention Citi SMRT Card Apply Now	5% SMRT$ savings on public transport (SimplyGO) and ride-hailing services	5% SMRT$ savings consists of: - 0.3% base points - 4.7% bonus points Rebate conversion rate: - 10 SMRT$ = S$10 - 50 SMRT$ = S$50 - 100 SMRT$ = S$100

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

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Best credit cards for groceries

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15% on Dairy Farm International merchants	Quarterly cashback Min. S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 monthly spend for 3 consecutive months - Min. 5 transactions per statement month More details on cashback breakdown
CIMB Visa Signature Card Apply Now	10% on groceries	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$100 cashback cap (per statement month): - S$20 per category - No cap on all other spend Cashback T&Cs
Citi Cash Back Card Apply Now	6% on groceries	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$80 cashback cap (per statement month) Cashback T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% on groceries	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$25 cashback cap (per statement month)
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	5% at Sheng Siong	No min. spend for Sheng Siong groceries Daily$15 rebate cap in total (per calendar month)

Compare Best Cashback Credit Cards

Are we even surprised? Cashback cards basically dominate the grocery division as well… which is to be expected. After all, they’re usually unrivalled in cash rebates for everyday spend categories like grocery shopping. 

💡 Pro-tip: The DBS Live Fresh Card and the OCBC Frank Card reward up to 10% cashback for those who enjoy shopping at eco-merchant supermarkets like Scoop Wholefoods! Please refer to their respective T&Cs for more eligible merchant details.

Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on online groceries	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (or 4 mpd) on groceries via online or mobile contactless spend	S$1,000 spend cap (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest point No annual fee Card T&Cs
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	10X UNI$ (4 mpd) on selected supermarkets	Choose family as 10X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Equivalent to 2X UNI$ per S$1 spent - UNI$ are rounded down to the nearest whole number Card T&Cs

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Best credit cards for petrol

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
OCBC 365 Card Apply Now	6% on all fuel Bonus: Up to 22.1% fuel savings at Caltex Up to 20.2% fuel savings at Esso	Min. S$800 monthly spend Daily$15 rebate cap in total (per calendar month)
Citi Cash Back Card Apply Now	8% on all fuel	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$80 cashback cap (per statement month) Cashback T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	Up to 20.1% on fuel at SPC	No min. monthly spend to earn base rebates Min. S$800 monthly spend (to earn max. rebates) Different spend categories capped at different Daily$ cash rebates (per calendar month) Cash rebate T&Cs
HSBC Visa Platinum Card Apply Now	5% on all fuel	Quarterly cash rebate Min. S$600 monthly spend S$250 quarterly cashback cap No annual fee Cash rebate T&Cs

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If you specifically pump petrol at Esso or Shell, consider the UOB One Card.

If you specifically pump petrol at SPC, consider the POSB Everyday Card.

If you’re not loyal to any petrol kiosk and prefer to pump at your convenience, use either the Citi Cash Back Card or HSBC Visa Platinum Card. 

Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
UOB Visa Signature Card	10X UNI$ per S$5 (or 4 mpd) on all fuel spend	Min. S$1,000 monthly spend per category S$2,000 spend cap (per statement month) Card T&Cs
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	10X UNI$ per S$5 (or 4 mpd) on fuel spend at Esso, Shell, SPC, etc.	Choose transport as 10X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Card T&Cs
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card Apply Now	Up to 3X TREATS Points (1.2 mpd) on all fuel	No min. spend on all local retail spend 40,000 Bonus TREATS Points cap (per calendar month) 3X TREATS Points consists of: - 1X base point - 2X bonus points 1.2 mpd only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Three-year annual fee waiver Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs
Maybank World Mastercard Apply Now	10X TREATS Points (4 mpd) on all fuel	Higher annual income requirement of S$80,000 10X TREATS Points consists of: - 1X base point - 9X bonus points 4 mpd only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

If you don’t drive as often, we’d recommend the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card. It earns a decent 3X TREATS Points or 1.2 mpd on fuel spend and is comparable to travel credit cards.

But if you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and drive on the daily, the UOB Visa Signature Card will be your best bet. It has the highest spend cap of S$2,000 per statement month shared across two broad categories: 

• Overseas and online transactions
• Petrol and contactless transactions

This way, you can either allocate UOB Visa Signature as your dedicated petrol card by maxing out the S$2,000 monthly spend cap on fuel spend only or split this spend limit evenly among the other categories.

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Best credit cards for utilities

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
UOB Absolute Cashback Card Apply Now	1.7%	No min. spend   No cashback cap   No spend exclusions   Card T&Cs
Citi Cash Back+ Card Apply Now	1.6%	No min. spend   No cashback cap   Card T&Cs
AMEX True Cashback Card Apply Now	1.5% (3% welcome cashback with min. S$5,000 spend within first 6 months)	No min. spend   No cashback cap   Receive cashback in same statement month   Card T&Cs
Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card Apply Now	1.5%	No min. spend   No cashback cap   Card T&Cs

Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card Apply Now	1.4 mpd	Min. S$2,000 spend per statement month, otherwise 1 mpd   S$594 annual fee (S$599.50 w/ 9% GST from 1 Jan 2024 onwards)   Card T&Cs
Standard Chartered Journey Card Apply Now	1.2 mpd (3X Rewards Points)	No min. spend No cap on miles 360° Rewards Points never expire   Card T&Cs
Maybank Visa Infinite Card Apply Now	1.2 mpd (3X TREATS Points)	No min. spend No cap on miles S$600 annual fee (First year waived; thereafter waived with min. S$6,000 annual spend)   Card T&Cs
Maybank World Mastercard Apply Now	0.4 mpd	S$240 annual fee (First year waived)
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card Apply Now	0.25 mpd (0.6X TREATS Points)	No min. spend and no cap on 0.25 mpd rate S$180 annual fee (First 3 years waived; thereafter waived with min. S$18,000 annual spend) Card T&Cs

In general, there are two ways to receive your electric bills:

• Direct from retailer
• Via SP Group

If your electricity retailer chooses to bill you directly, you can expect to receive two different utility bills: one from your electricity retailer, and another from SP Group (other utilities like water and waste expenses).

However, if your electricity bill is sent to you via SP Group, you can expect to receive a consolidated utility bill comprising electricity, water, and waste expenses. 

Irrespective of which method you receive your utility bills, your utility transactions will code under MCC 4900: Utilities - Electricity, Gas, Heating Oil, Sanitary, and Water. And since you're reading this, we assume you most likely intend to pay for your utilities using a credit card.

Overall, most electricity retailers accept Visa and Mastercard payments for your bills but only a handful accept AMEX payments such as SP Group*, Geneco, PacificLight Energy, Senoko Energy, and Sembcorp Power. 

Alternatively, you can also earn miles using bill payment services like AXS, CardUp, and Citi PayAll. Different provider yields different costs per mile and admin fees. So choosing the right bill payment service for you will depend on your personal valuation or threshold of these factors.

Source: Adapted from MileLion
*Also handles billing for Tuas Power; adapted from MileLion
**Based on the earn rate of 1.2 to 1.6 mpd of general spending miles cards

Best credit cards for big-ticket purchases

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️ + Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
UOB One Card Apply Now	Up to 15%: - 3.33% base cashback on eligible spend - Additional 5% on eligible merchants - Enhanced 6.67% on eligible merchants	Quarterly cashback Min. S$500 / S$1,000 / S$2,000 monthly spend for 3 consecutive months - Min. 5 transactions per statement month More details on cashback breakdown
UOB Absolute Cashback Card   Apply Now	Unlimited 1.7% on all spend	No min. spend No cashback cap
Citi Cash Back+ Card Apply Now	Unlimited 1.6% on all spend	No min. spend No cashback cap Citi Merchants Exclusion List
AMEX True Cashback Card Apply Now	Unlimited 1.5% on all spend	No min. spend No cashback cap

Compare Best Cashback Credit Cards

Well, there’s clearly a trend here.

Cashback cards generally have more limitations for large expenses – literally – because of the monthly cashback cap imposed on the majority of them. The cap can be as little as S$75 cashback per month. (*cough* DBS Live Fresh *cough*)

As a result, your cashback and cash rebates will be compromised if you choose to buy a big-ticket item using a regular cashback card. You’ll be missing out on a lot of wasted cashback.

That’s why if you identify as a big spender and cashback lover, we’d recommend an unlimited cashback card for you to spend to your heart’s content.

See also: 6 Reasons Why Your First Credit Card Should Be an Unlimited Cashback Card

But not all hope is lost, because there is one regular cashback card you can try – the UOB One Card. The UOB One Card is the most notable cashback card currently known for its minimum spend tiers and enhanced cashback.

Depending on whether you spend S$500, S$1,000, or S$2,000 per month, you stand to earn up to 15% cashback on all eligible spend categories such as UOB Travel, Dairy Farm International etc.

Credit card	Miles / Points earn rate	Details
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on online and mobile contactless spend	S$1,000 spend cap (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest point No annual fee Card T&Cs
UOB Visa Signature Card	10X UNI$ per S$5 (or 4 mpd) on: - Overseas & online spend - Mobile contactless spend	Min. S$1,000 monthly spend per category S$2,000 spend cap (per statement month) Card T&Cs
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply Now	10X UNI$ per $5 (or 4 mpd) on 2 preferred categories: - Beauty - Fashion - Family - Travel - Transport - Entertainment	Good for honeymoon travelling Choose travel as 10X category S$1,000 spend cap (per calendar month) Card T&Cs
Citi Prestige Card Apply Now	5 ThankYou Points (2 mpd) on overseas spend 3.25 ThankYou Points (1.3 mpd) on local spend 1X complimentary night stay with min. consecutive four-night stay at any hotel or resort Unlimited complimentary access to Priority Pass airport lounges 8 complimentary one-way airport limousine transfers Bonus: 120,000 ThankYou Points (48,000 miles) welcome gift	Ideal for luxurious wedding honeymoon overseas Higher annual income requirement of S$120,000 Rebate conversion rate: - S$10 = 4,400 ThankYou Points - S$20 = 8,800 ThankYou Points - $50 = 22,000 ThankYou Points Benefits T&Cs Card T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List

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Comparatively, miles cards have higher spend caps than cashback cards, so they’re slightly more ideal for big-ticket items. However, these caps usually range between S$1,000 to S$2,000 per month.

Unless it’s similar to the OCBC Titanium Rewards Card which doesn’t follow a monthly spend cap, but an annual spend cap instead.

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Best credit cards for general spending

• Cashback 💵
• Miles ✈️
• Rewards 🎁

Credit card	Cashback rate	Details
POSB Everyday Card Apply Now	Up to 10%	Min. S$800 monthly spend Daily$15 rebate cap in total (per calendar month)
OCBC 365 Card Apply Now	Up to 5%	Min. S$800/ S$1,600 monthly spend S$80/ S$160 cashback cap (per calendar month)
OCBC Frank Card Apply Now	Up to 8% on online & mobile contactless spend Extra 2% on selected green merchants	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$100 cashback cap (per calendar month): - S$25 per category Cashback T&Cs
DBS Live Fresh Card Apply Now	6% on local and overseas shopping spend and transport spend (including SimplyGO) 0.3% unlimited cashback for all other spend	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$70 cashback cap (per calendar month): - S$50 on shopping spend - S$20 on transport spend   No cashback cap for all other spend
Maybank Family & Friends Card Apply Now	8% on preferred categories (Choose 5): - Groceries - Dining & food delivery - Transport - Data communication & online TV streaming - Retail & pets - Online fashion - Entertainment - Pharmacy - Sports & sports apparels - Beauty & wellness	Min. S$800 monthly spend S$25 cashback cap (per statement month)
UOB EVOL Card Apply Now	8% on dining & food delivery paid via online or mobile contactless spend	Min. S$600 monthly spend S$20 cashback cap for each category (per statement month)

Compare Best Cashback Credit Cards

Credit card	Miles earn rate	Details
UOB PRVI Miles Card Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now	1.4 mpd on local spend 2.4 mpd on overseas spend (including FCY online shopping) Bonus: Over 44,000 welcome miles with min. S$1,000 monthly spend for 2 consecutive months + annual fee payment	No min. spend No miles cap Card T&Cs
OCBC Voyage Card	1.3 mpd on local spend 2.2 mpd on foreign spend Bonus: - Up to 23% off fuel spend at Sinopec - 19% off fuel spend at Caltex - 14% off fuel spend at Esso
DBS Vantage Card	1.5 mpd or 1.5% cashback on local spend 2.2 mpd or 2.2% cashback on overseas spend   Up to 6 mpd on Expedia bookings   Bonus: - Up to 19% fuel savings at Esso - 10 complimentary airport lounge access to over 1,300 airports worldwide	DBS Points never expire Miles & cashback are calculated in DBS Points per every S$5 spent 1 DBS Point = 2 miles or S$0.02 cashback Min. S$120,000 annual income requirement Expensive annual fees of S$594
Citi PremierMiles Card Apply Now	1.2 mpd on local spend 2 mpd on overseas spend	Citi Miles never expire Miles to cash rebate conversion Citi Merchants Exclusion List
DBS Altitude Card Apply Now	1.3 mpd on local spend 2.2 mpd on overseas spend Up to 10 mpd on hotel and flight transactions via selected platforms	DBS Points never expire Card T&Cs
OCBC 90°N Card	1.2 mpd on local spend 2.1 mpd on overseas spend Bonus: 7 Travel$ per S$1 on Agoda bookings in FCY 6 Travel$ per S$1 on Agoda bookings in SGD	Travel$ Miles never expire Travel$ are awarded per S$5 transactions 1 Travel$ mile = 1 KrisFlyer mile Converted in blocks of 1,000 Travel$ From Feb 2023: Convert Travel$ to loyalty points at 8 airline and hotel partner programmes Loyalty Programme T&Cs Card T&Cs

Compare Best Miles Credit Cards

Broadly speaking, the approach to using miles cards for general spend should be on a last-resort basis. 

But don’t get us wrong; we’re not saying your staple HSBC Revolution and Citi Rewards can’t be used for general spend. On the contrary, it’s more like you shouldn't let their competitive 4 mpd rate go to waste.

Thus, you should reserve them for more targeted and/or intentional spend of sizeable value to maximise your miles earned. 

Otherwise, the “unlimited” miles card – UOB PRVI Miles Card – is a fairly safe choice. Earning you 1.4 mpd on local spend and 2 mpd on overseas spend (including FCY overseas shopping), your miles will accumulate at a decent pace. 

Similarly, the OCBC Voyage Card earns you 1.3 mpd on local spend and 2.2 mpd on overseas spend. Even better, you’re entitled to upsized discounts on fuel spend at Sinopec, Caltex, and Esso.

But hey, if you’re reading this, you’re probably in the miles game for the long haul. Slow and steady wins the race, so the UOB PRVI Miles and OCBC Vantage Cards should be more of supplement to your other mainstay miles cards.

Credit card	Points earn rate	Details
Citi Rewards Card Apply Now	10X Rewards Points per S$1 on eligible online spend: - Online & offline retail shopping (including selected department stores) - Food delivery - Online groceries - Taxi / ride-hailing apps	9,000 Bonus Point cap on 10X rate, no Base Point cap on 1X rate (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest S$1 Card T&Cs Other T&Cs Citi Merchants Exclusion List
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	10X Reward Points on online and mobile contactless spend	S$1,000 spend cap (per statement month) 10X Rewards Points consists of: - 1 base point - 9X bonus points Calculations for 10X Rewards Points are rounded down to the nearest point No annual fee Card T&Cs
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card Apply Now	3X TREATS Points on local retail spend 7X TREATS Points on overseas and air tickets (from all airlines)	Min. S$800 monthly spend for overseas and air ticket spend 40,000 Bonus TREATS Points cap (per calendar month) 7X TREATS Points consists of: - 1X base point - 6X bonus points 3X TREATS Points consists of: - 1X base point - 2X bonus points 7X and 3X TREATS Points only applicable if redeemed on Maybank TREATS SG app Rewards Points/Miles T&Cs Card T&Cs
The American Express Platinum Credit Card Apply Now	2X Membership Rewards Points per S$1.60 spent Up to 10X Membership Rewards Points (5.5 miles) per S$1.60 spent at Platinum 10Xcelerator Partners in Singapore Enjoy exclusive Platinum lifestyle, dining, and rewards from selected merchants	Above average annual fee of S$324 No cap on base Membership Rewards Points earned Membership Rewards Points never expire Card T&Cs

Compare Best Rewards Credit Cards

If your HSBC Revolution and Citi Rewards Cards are specifically reserved for accumulating miles, the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card or the American Express Platinum Card could be allocated as your general spend rewards cards.

What we like about the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card is its lower S$300 minimum monthly spend and decent rebate rate of up to 8X TREATS Points on general spend categories like dining, petrol, transport, and travel bookings on Agoda.

Meanwhile, the American Express Platinum Card is slightly different in that it earns up to 10X Membership Rewards Points per S$1.60 spent at Platinum 10Xcelerator Partners in Singapore. 

Although it charges a heftier S$324 annual fee (compared to the average S$194.40 fee), AMEX rewards programme has always been known for its exclusive and excellent list of partners.

Tips for stacking credit cards

For truly avid credit card fiends, having an effective credit card combo is not enough. Why not take it a step further and add some credit card stacking tips as the cherry on top?

#1 Pairing an unlimited cashback card with GrabPay Card

For the uninitiated, GrabPay Card is a prepaid MasterCard that functions like a debit card. It allows you to spend from your GrabPay Wallet directly, so you’ll have to ensure your wallet balance is sufficiently topped up whenever you want to use it.

Besides functioning like a debit card, you can earn GrabRewards Points per dollar spent on eligible Grab F&B merchants. Other spend will not earn any points.

But that’s not our main reason for recommending the GrabPay Card.

The GrabPay Card is most useful for double-dipping rewards and paying for insurance when paired with an unlimited cashback credit card like the AMEX True Cashback Card. 

AMEX True Cashback Card

The AMEX True Cashback Card offers 1.5% unlimited cashback on almost all spend*.

It's great for paying commonly-excluded categories such as insurance premiums, e-wallet top-ups and bill payments.

But then, you must be thinking: why can’t I just pay for insurance upfront using the cashback cards themselves?

Well, the problem is that it's an AMEX card.

Meaning, you technically can pay your premiums with them directly – provided that your insurance company accepts AMEX as a valid payment processor. Although in reality, many insurance companies don’t.

Hence, topping up your GrabPay wallet with the AMEX True Cashback Card to pay your insurance premiums via the GrabPay Card is one of the best methods to still receive your cashback on such a tricky category.

While you’re at it, order yourself some GrabFood to earn GrabRewards Points too. 😉

Note: AMEX True Cashback Card has slightly more spend exclusions than the UOB Absolute Cashback Card.

See also: 6 Reasons Why Your First Credit Card Should Be an Unlimited Cashback Card

#2 Pairing a MasterCard credit card with Instarem amaze Card

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Source: Instarem

The Instarem amaze Card is another multicurrency rewards card for shopping and travel. 

Here’s what it offers:

• E-wallet top-up with competitive FX rates while travelling overseas
• Allows users to link up multiple MasterCard credit cards 
• Earn InstaPoints on FCY spends to convert to 1% cashback or discounts on overseas money transfers

As long as you own a MasterCard credit card, you can link it to your amaze account and double dip in rebates too! 

Citi Rewards Card

The Citi Rewards Card is a popular choice pairing with amaze because you can earn 10X Rewards Points (4 mpd) on eligible online and offline shopping spend (including selected department stores), ride-hailing apps, online groceries, and online food delivery. 

On top of that, you’ll earn 1 InstaPoint for every S$1 spent in FCY transactions of at least S$10, which you can proceed to either convert for 1% cashback or discounts on overseas money transfers with amaze.

You’re essentially earning miles and cashback simultaneously!

💡 Pro-tip: Hearsay, Instarem Amaze converts all offline transactions into online transactions! That’s why it’s the perfect combination with a credit card like Citi Rewards catering towards online spend.

Read more:
Multi-Currency Card vs Credit Card vs Cash For Travelling Overseas
Citi Rewards Card Review

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SingSaver's Most Recommended Travel Insurance Products: Apply today to enjoy comprehensive coverages at affordable premiums, irresistible sign-up offers, and the ultimate peace of mind during your travels.

Product	Best for	Key coverages	Promotion
Allianz Travel Hero [Lowest price in Singapore guaranteed] Apply Now	High coverage per dollar	- Up to S$500,000 for overseas medical expenses - Up to S$150,000 accidental death and total and permanent disability - Up to S$15,000 travel cancellation - Up to S$3,000 flight delay (S$400 for daily receipts limit, min 6h) - Up to S$3,000 loss of baggage	Buy now to receive: 4 miles per S$1 spend on your premium. Valid till 2 May 2024 8:59 am. Tavel Miles Campaign and Additional 2 Miles Travel Giveaway T&Cs apply. Complimentary lounge access during flight delays. Valid till 1 July 2024 8:59 am.  T&Cs apply. Exclusive on SingSaver only.
FWD Travel Insurance [Best deal guaranteed]  Apply Now	Affordability	- Up to S$1,000,000 for overseas medical expenses - Up to S$400,000 accidental death and total and permanent disability - Up to S$15,000 travel cancellation - Up to S$1,000 flight delay (S$100/6h) - Up to S$7,500 loss of baggage	Use the promo code TRAVEL25 to get a 25% discount on Single Trip and Annual Trip plans! Valid till 15 April 2024. T&Cs apply. Buy now to receive: 4 miles per S$1 spend on your premium. Valid till 2 May 2024 8:59 am. Tavel Miles Campaign and Additional 2 Miles Travel Giveaway T&Cs apply. Complimentary lounge access during flight delays. Valid till 1 July 2024 8:59 am.  T&Cs apply.
MSIG TravelEasy [Best deal guaranteed]  Apply Now	Comprehensive medical coverage	- Up to S$1,000,000 for overseas medical expenses - Up to S$500,000 accidental death and total and permanent disability - Up to S$15,000 travel cancellation - Up to S$1,500 flight delay (S$100/6h) - Up to S$7,500 loss of baggage	Get up to 40% off when you buy NOW! Valid till 30 April 2024. T&Cs apply. Also receive: 4 miles per S$1 spend on your premium. Valid till 2 May 2024 8:59 am. Tavel Miles Campaign and Additional 2 Miles Travel Giveaway T&Cs apply. Complimentary lounge access during flight delays. Valid till 1 July 2024 8:59 am.  T&Cs apply.

Compare Best Travel Insurance

What to know before applying for credit cards?

Before you start applying for credit cards, there are a few ground rules to know.

1. You should be earning at least S$30,000 in annual income.

For entry-level credit cards, the minimum annual income is S$30,000 unless stated otherwise. Higher-tier credit cards would naturally demand higher income requirements like S$80,000 and S$120,000.

Banks would usually require you to declare at least 3 months’ worth of your salary during application.

💡 Pro-tip: There have been anecdotal cases of successful credit card applications even if one’s annual income falls below the minimum requirement. We’re not sure why the exceptions happen, but you could just try your luck and see whether the bank accepts or rejects your application.

2. There are many fees and charges involved with credit cards.

We all know the importance of keeping track of your monthly credit card bill and paying it in full on time, but here are some other fees and charges that new cardholders might be unaware of.

• Annual principal fee: A non-refundable yearly fee for card ownership.
• Minimum monthly repayment: The smallest sum of money needed to pay monthly to keep your credit account in good standing. Each card’s minimum monthly payment differs according to their T&Cs.

An example of how minimum payment is calculated
Source: Citibank

• • • Overlimit fee: A fee imposed on the card with the highest balance on the statement billing date, if the total outstanding balance of all credit cards exceed customer’s combined credit limit within the statement period.
  • Cash advance fee: A fee imposed for a disbursement of funds in any currency.
  • Foreign transaction (FX/FCY) fees*: The fees that banks impose when using your credit card to make overseas or online purchases in non-SGD spend. 
  • Annual interest rate: The yearly interest rate (p.a.) charged on your card’s balance.
  • Late payment charges: A fee imposed for failure to pay credit card bill on time.
  • Card renewal/replacement fee: A handling fee for the renewal or replacement of the card.

💡 Pro-tip: A credit card’s annual fee can usually be waived if you call up your bank to request.

*Foreign transaction fees are different from currency conversion fees imposed by credit card payment processors like Visa, MasterCard or AMEX. Regardless, both charges are imposed during transactions in non-SGD spend.

Read more:
Why Was Your Credit Card Application Declined?
Can You Get a Credit Card on Low or No Income?

How to apply for credit cards through SingSaver?

Now that you’ve learned all that you need to know about credit cards in Singapore, it’s time to actually sign up for one — with none other than us at SingSaver!

The sign-up process is actually fairly straightforward. We’ll take you through the steps:

Step #1: Choose your preferred credit card through our comprehensive card comparison pages.

Step #2: Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button to access the card’s Application Form.

Step #3: Fill up your email address in the form’s blank to receive a link to the Rewards Redemption Form. 

You must fill up your email address in order to receive your credit card sign-up gift

Step #4: Once filled up, press ‘Confirm’ to go to complete the rest of the card’s Application Form on the next page as per normal.

Step #5: To receive your sign-up reward, follow the link in the email sent to sign up for a SingSaver Account and submit your Rewards Redemption Form.

You should receive an email that looks something like this.

Step #6: Wait for your credit card to be approved.

In the meantime, your sign-up reward will be retrievable within 90 to 120 days from the date of your Rewards Redemption Form submission, so long as you’ve successfully met all promotion eligibility.

You’ll be sent an email update in due time regarding the collection point for gift retrieval.

💡 Pro-tip: Remember, only eligible categories as defined by your card’s sign-up promotion will be counted towards your card’s eligible spend. So be sure to call up your card’s bank to monitor your spend requirement’s progress periodically.

Read more:
Credit Card Welcome Offer: A Comparison of the Best Gifts
Credit Card Promotions: Exclusive on SingSaver

FAQs about owning credit cards in Singapore

#1: Is it necessary to own a credit card in Singapore?

The short answer is: no.

You definitely don’t need a credit card to get by in Singapore. Plenty of working adults live in Singapore perfectly fine with a normal debit card. 

However, we do admit that most adults get a credit card at some point in their lives, but the motivations for a credit card differ.

From credit card sign-up rewards, to clocking miles for the next overseas getaway, to cushioning inflation with some cashback, you need to be certain of why and what you’re getting a credit card for.

Also, ensure your finances are in check first. The last thing you’d want to deal with is credit card debt.

Read more:
What Should You Do if You Can’t Pay Off Your Credit Card Bill?
4 Ways You’re Accumulating Debt Without Knowing it
Unpaid Credit Card Bills? Here’s How a Balance Transfer Helps

#2: Should I have a mixture of cashback, miles, and rewards cards in my wallet? Or should I focus on one kind of credit card only?

There’s no “right or wrong” way to own credit cards, it’s up to personal preference. You can totally interchange between cashback, miles, and rewards cards as and when you want.

But from a rebate maximisation standpoint, it’s better to pick a lane and stick to it. In other words, decide whether you prefer collecting cashback, miles, or rewards points, and commit to it!

#3: What are Merchant Category Codes (MCCs)?

A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number assigned to a merchant or business by the merchant’s acquiring bank.

The bank provides the credit card payment facilities used by the merchant to determine and apply the relevant MCC best describing the merchant’s activities.

For example, a restaurant like Genki Sushi falls under the Dining category, and will thus be classified under one of the acquiring bank’s MCC for dining like MCC 5812 (Restaurants and Eating Places) perhaps. 

According to Citibank’s MCC manual, the categories are as follows:

• MCCs 0001 – 1499 (Agricultural Services)
• MCCs 1500 – 2999 (Contracted Services)
• MCCs 3000 – 3299 (Airlines)
• MCCs 3300 – 3499 (Car Rental)
• MCCs 3500 – 3999 (Lodging)
• MCCs 4000 – 4799 (Transportation Services)
• MCCs 4800 – 4999 (Utility Services)
• MCCs 5000 – 5999 (Retail Outlet Services)
• MCCs 5600 – 5699 (Clothing Stores)s
• MCCs 5700 – 7299 (Miscellaneous Stores)
• MCCs 7300 – 7999 (Business Services)
• MCCs 8000 – 8999 (Professional Services and Membership Organisations)
• MCCs 9000 – 9999 (Government Services)

#4: How can I check for MCCs?

There’s no “confirmed” way to verify MCCs. While our table above is a good point of reference, there are always MCC eligibility exceptions that you’ll have to personally scrub through your credit card’s T&Cs themselves.

Unfortunately, MCCs aren’t as straightforward all the time. There tend to be overlaps between merchant categories and banks may differ in MCC classification for the same merchant.

The RedMart-Lazada classification is one tricky example.

Although RedMart is under Lazada, it doesn’t belong in the same MCC 5311 (Department Stores, Online Shopping). Rather, its transactions are classified under MCC 5411 (Grocery Stores, Supermarkets).

Another troublesome example would be hotel dining.

Technically, you ate a buffet dinner at a hotel’s restaurant, but the bank would recognise the main business as MCCs 3500 – 3999 (Lodging).

As a result, what you thought was enhanced cashback for dining actually turned out to yield the base cashback rate instead. Tragic.

Moral of the story here? You literally have to read the fine print of your receipts…

Nonetheless, below is a compilation of commonly-recognised merchants and their general MCC classifications (unless stated otherwise by the bank):

Note: The merchants listed above are not exhaustive.

#5: How much is 1 KrisFlyer Mile worth?

Every bank has different Rewards Points conversion rates into KrisFlyer or Asia Miles miles.

*Frequent Flyer Programme refers to KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club, Ethihad Guest, Eva Air, Air France & KLM Flying Blue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Thai Royal Orchid Plus, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles.

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#6 Which banks’ points / miles never expire?

#7: What’s the difference between statement month & calendar month? 

Your credit card’s billing date can either follow a statement month system or calendar month system. Knowing when your credit card statement period resets is crucial to keeping track of your card’s spend limit or earn rate cap. 

Between the two systems, calendar month is more direct.

Calendar month refers to the billing date following the period of a full month (e.g. 1 to 31 March).

Conversely, statement month refers to the billing date following the month upon card activation. For example, if your credit card was activated on the 5th of this month, the billing period lasts until the 4th of the next month.

#8: What are foreign transaction (FX) / foreign currency (FCY) fees?

They’re essentially the same thing.

Foreign transaction (FX) / foreign currency (FCY) fees refer to the foreign currency charge imposed by banks on your Singapore-issued credit card when purchasing something in non-SGD. This figure ranges between 2.5% to 3.5%.

Typically, card transactions effected in USD will be converted into SGD. Meanwhile, card transactions effected in other foreign currencies will have to be converted to USD first, and then to SGD.

However, there are exceptions for AUD where Visa cards (like Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Card) will convert AUD into SGD directly.

#9: What are currency conversion fees?

Currency conversion fees refer to the additional charge imposed by credit card payment processors like Visa, MasterCard, or American Express (AMEX) to convert your purchase from foreign currency to your card’s local currency.

Visa and MasterCard typically charge 1%, whereas AMEX charges between 2.5% to 2.7%, depending on personal or corporate cards.

#10: I want to use my air miles card to redeem flights / upgrade my cabin class. Is it still worth it?

It depends on how much you value a mile. 

In general, a mile is valued at 1.4 cents to 1.8 cents on average. Essentially, buying miles for anywhere under 2 cents will be considered an acceptable rate. 

This value will vary depending on how much you acquire your miles through direct purchase and what you redeem your miles for.

Purchasing miles directly typically costs between 1 cent to 2 cents per mile (CPM). 

🍙🇯🇵🍜 For my fellow Japan-loving Singaporeans, here’s an example of a round-trip ticket to Tokyo via Singapore Airlines in January 2023:

As you can see, the airfare and CPM from Economy to Business Class on Singapore Airlines got pricier with every tier, albeit following a downward trend. 

It was only at the Suites or First Class tier that the estimated CPM became relatively cheaper, making it the most “worthwhile” class to redeem your miles with. However, also take note that none of the CPM was below 2 cents. 

So relative to all the cabin classes, redeeming your miles for the Suite/First Class would be the most “worth it”. But considering that all the CPM were more than 2 cents, would you have been better off saving your miles redemption for something else?

See also: How Do You Value an Air Mile?

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#11: I want to use my air miles card to earn miles on overseas spending, but I’m charged an FCY fee on all foreign currency purchases. Is it still worth it?

Apart from accounting for cost per mile (CPM) and what you redeem your miles for, your miles card’s FCY fee also matters here.

By comparing your CPM acquisition versus your card’s FCY fee (2.5% – 3.5%), you can calculate the cost difference between the hypothetical CPM versus actual CPM attained through your miles card.

Our article below elucidates the cost breakdown in greater detail, so do click the link below to read!

See also: Should I Use Credit Cards Overseas to Earn Miles? 

#12: Is it worth paying my air miles card’s annual fee to earn the renewal miles bonus?

No, annual fees aren’t exactly the cost-effective way to earn miles. There are cheaper methods to buy miles as a byproduct such as topping up your account with any bill payment service like CardUp and StanChart EasyBill.

The cost per mile (CPM) of “buying miles” by paying your card’s annual fee is usually not as worth as earning miles “as a byproduct” from other credit card activities.

See also: When Does it Make Sense to Pay Credit Card Annual Fee?

#13: How to avoid paying my credit card’s annual fee?

Check out our comprehensive fee waiver guide to know how to request for every bank!

#14: How to connect GIRO to automate credit card bill payments?

GIRO — or General Interbank Recurring Order — is an electronic direct debit mechanism for billing organisations to facilitate automated direct transfers between bank accounts on customers’ behalf.

All you need is a bank account to set up your GIRO account and ensure your bank has a partnership with the billing organisation. 

Simply follow your bank’s instructions on their respective websites to set up and begin automating your credit card bill payment. You’ll never have to worry about missing your bill due date ever again.

#15: Is there any early cancellation fee for credit cards?

Most banks don’t impose an early cancellation fee for credit cards. However, do check your card’s terms & conditions for the most accurate information. 

But, cancelling your credit card without clearing your outstanding balance (including all pending charges) will lower your credit score.

Bottom line is, always fully pay off your balance, request your credit balance back, and redeem any rewards with your accumulated points and miles before you bid farewell to your credit card.

Read more:
Can Cancelling a Credit Card Have Detrimental Effects?
Reasons to Cancel Credit Card and How to Do Just That

Conclusion

As the adage goes, “Different strokes for different folks”. There is no one-size-fits-all credit card strategy out there. 

Whether a credit card strategy is appropriate or right for you depends largely on your expenditure habits, goals, and preferences. 

We can only offer general suggestions in credit card strategies for various spend purposes, but other than that, you’d still have to do a yearly financial self-assessment. That will help you to re-align what financial goals you want to achieve for 2023 and how credit cards will fit into the picture.

📚 Remember to bookmark this ultimate credit card guide page for easy reference in the future! 😉