Card Combos: How to Match Credit Cards to Your Spending Patterns

Gourmand, shopaholic, motorhead, jetsetter or just plain lazy? Here’s how to optimise your card spend.

With the sheer number of credit cards out there, figuring out what card to use and when can feel like a bit of a brain teaser. And using the right card at the right time can be the difference between a big rebate or going home empty-handed, the stakes are high indeed!

But there’s no reason it needs to be this stressful. In this post, we’ll look at five common types of profiles, the cards that would suit each of them best, and how they can earn the most miles on their spending.

Table of contents

• Best for dining
• Best for shopping
• Best for petrol
• Best for travelling
• Best for everything

For the Gourmand

Gourmand: Recommended Cards
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card	6 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, must select Dining as quarterly bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card	6 mpd	Capped at S$3,000 per calendar month, must select Dining as one of your two quarterly bonus categories
HSBC Revolution Card Apply Now	4 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, must be online or contactless spend
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply Now	1.2 mpd	Min. spend of S$800 per calendar month required

If dining out is your vice, then there’s plenty of cards that will take away some of the guilt (though perhaps not the calories).

The UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card will earn 6 mpd on dining, capped at S$1,000 and S$3,000 per calendar month respectively. You will need to declare Dining as your quarterly bonus category, although this can be changed in subsequent quarters if you wish.

However, the UOB Lady’s Cards are only open to females. If you’re a male, your next best option is the HSBC Revolution Card, which earns 4 mpd on dining, capped at S$1,000 per calendar month. Do note that you must pay via contactless spend (i.e. tapping the physical card or adding it to your mobile wallet and tapping your phone) or online in order to qualify for the 4 mpd rate.

Alternatively, there’s also the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature, which earns 1.2 mpd on dining, subject to a minimum spend of S$800 per calendar month (which can be on dining or non-dining spend).

While it may be tempting to just focus on the earn rates, here’s an important PSA: definitions matter too! Inside the T&Cs, you’ll learn how each card defines “dining” (based on Merchant Category Codes, or MCCs), which can make a big difference to how many miles you earn.

To illustrate, the HSBC Revolution Card has the widest definition of dining, including not just restaurants, but nightclubs, caterers, bakeries, and confectionery stores. This means you can earn 4 mpd whether you’re at Crystal Jade, Cinnabon, or McDonald’s, even at places you wouldn’t typically think of as restaurants like The Coca Tree, Famous Amos or Bengawan Solo.

The UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card narrow the definition a bit, excluding nightclubs, bakeries and confectionery stores. This means you can’t earn bonuses when you visit a Paris Baguette or Brewerkz, for example.

And the Maybank Visa Signature has the narrowest definition of all, defining dining as only sit-down restaurants. This means it’s the wrong card to use for your KFC or Popeye’s fix, much less any of the other categories mentioned here.

For the Shopaholic

Shopaholic: Recommended Cards
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, must select Fashion as quarterly bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$3,000 per calendar month, must select Fashion as one of your two quarterly bonus categories.
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply Now	4 mpd	Capped at S$2,000 per calendar month. Must be online
OCBC Titanium Rewards Card	4 mpd	Capped at S$13,335 per membership year

Shopaholics can use the UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card to earn 6 mpd on shopping, capped at S$1,000 and S$3,000 per calendar month respectively. You will need to declare Fashion as your quarterly bonus category.

UOB defines fashion as any department store, retail store or shopping website that sells clothes, shoes and bags as its main business activity. This includes Adidas, ASOS, Chanel, Charles & Keith, H&M, Qoo10, Takashimaya, TANGS and ZARA, just to name a few.

Alternatively, if you prefer to shop online, then the DBS Woman’s World Card could be right for you. Cardholders earn 4 mpd on all online transactions, capped at S$2,000 per calendar month. This includes Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, Qoo10, or pretty much any e-commerce website you can think of.

Big spender? If you’re buying an expensive bag or laptop computer, you’re almost certainly going to bust the monthly bonus caps for the other cards here. Use the OCBC Titanium Rewards instead, because its 4 mpd cap is based on S$13,335 per membership year. The OCBC Titanium Rewards defines shopping as men and women’s fashion stores, shoe stores, computer and electronics stores, as well as Amazon, Courts, Ezbuy, IKEA, Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee and Taobao.

For the Motorhead

Motorhead: Recommended Cards
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, must select Transport as quarterly bonus category. Excludes SPC, Shell
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card Apply Now Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$3,000 per calendar month, must select Transport as one of your two quarterly bonus categories. Excludes SPC, Shell
Maybank World Mastercard Apply Now	4 mpd	Receive 15% more fuel savings with the Corporate Fuel Card on top of 4 mpd from Maybank World Mastercard

If you find yourself regularly on the road, then you need a card that rewards you for petrol spending.

The UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card will earn 6 mpd on petrol, capped at S$1,000 and S$3,000 per calendar month respectively. You will need to declare Transport as your quarterly bonus category, and do note that Shell and SPC are excluded.

If Shell and SPC are your preferred petrol stations, then the Maybank World Mastercard might be a better choice. Cardholders enjoy 4 mpd on all petrol transactions, regardless of which station they visit.

For the Jetsetter

Jetsetter: Recommended Cards
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Lady’s Card Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, must select Travel as quarterly bonus category
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card   Apply Now	6 mpd	Capped at S$3,000 per calendar month, must select Travel as one of your two quarterly bonus categories
Citi Rewards Card + Amaze Apply Now	4 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per statement month, excluding travel
UOB Visa Signature	4 mpd	Capped at S$2,000 per statement month, with a minimum spend of S$1,000

If you like hopping overseas for vacations short or long, then the UOB Lady’s Card and UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card will earn 6 mpd on air tickets, hotels, cruises, and travel agencies, capped at S$1,000 and S$3,000 per calendar month respectively. You will need to declare Travel as your quarterly bonus category.

What about spending when you’re physically overseas? The Citi Rewards Card + Amaze is a potent combination. How it works is that you pair your Citi Rewards Card to your Amaze Card, then use the latter for spending when overseas. Amaze will convert the foreign currency transaction into Singapore dollars at competitive rates, then charge the Citi Rewards Card. You’ll still earn points from the Citi Rewards Card, and since Amaze transactions count as online, that’s an easy 4 mpd!

See also: Digital Multi-Currency Account Comparison 2023 - YouTrip vs Revolut vs Instarem vs Wise vs Wirex

There’s one caveat, however: the Citi Rewards Card does not offer bonuses on travel transactions, so this isn’t the right card to use for your air tickets, hotels, car rental, train tickets, or tours.

If you need a card for that, you can consider the UOB Visa Signature. This will earn 4 mpd on all foreign currency transactions, provided you spend at least S$1,000 overseas per statement month, and capped at S$2,000 per statement month. Assuming you plan to spend at least S$1,000 on your holiday, then this would be a simple solution- just remember you’ll have to pay a 3.25% foreign currency transaction fee (Visa cards cannot be paired with Amaze).

For the Lazy Bones

Lazy Bones: Recommended Cards
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Preferred Platinum Visa	4 mpd	Capped at S$1,110 per calendar month, must use mobile payments
Citi Rewards + Amaze Apply Now	4 mpd	Capped at S$1,000 per statement month, excludes travel

What if your spending cuts across multiple categories each month and you can’t be bothered to remember which card to use when? That’s fine too! There’s two solutions that will let you earn 4 mpd at almost all merchants.

The first is the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa, which earns 4 mpd anywhere contactless payments are accepted (except merchants which are part of the UOB$ programme, such as Cold Storage and Giant). You’ll need to add the card to your Apple, Google or Samsung Pay wallet, and tap your phone to pay in order to receive the bonus.

The second is the Citi Rewards + Amaze combination mentioned earlier, which isn’t just for overseas spending. Remember, Amaze converts all offline transactions into online ones, so when you use the Amaze to pay in Singapore, be it a restaurant, hairdresser, supermarket or anywhere else (well, except the aforementioned travel exclusion), you’ll still earn 4 mpd, capped at S$1,000 per statement month.

Conclusion

Obviously, no one is going to be a pure gourmand, or pure shopaholic, or any of the other profiles mentioned here. But you can easily mix and match the cards above to optimise the returns you get on your spending.

As always, be sure to set up GIRO arrangements for any new cards you get, and pay off the bill in full and on time. There’s no point going through all the hassle of maximising rewards only to get hit by late fees and interest!