
American Express True Cashback Card
1.5 - 3 % cashback
Updated: 28 Jul 2026
Senior Content Editor - Singapore
| Card | Minimum Spend For Installment | Annual Fee | Min. Annual Income | Card benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S$300 | S$654.00 | S$150,000 | 1.2 - 2 miles per dollar | |
| S$250 | S$397.85 | Conditional | 1.2 - 2 miles / dollar | |
| S$100 | S$497.06 | S$120,000 | - |

The information on this page is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. While we review and compare financial products to help you find the best options, we do not provide personalised recommendations or investment advisory services. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.
Medical expenses can put a huge dent in the wallet, but using the right credit card may be a balm. Here are the best cards to pay with.
While no one likes discussing medical bills, it's something we'll have to deal with at some point in life. Whether it's something as serious as a life-saving surgery or something more benign like LASIK, these big-ticket expenses are usually in the four- to five-digit range.
This then begs the question: which credit card is best for paying medical bills in Singapore, and can you actually earn anything on these pocket-burning expenses?
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The first thing we need to do is pin down exactly what kind of medical treatment we’re talking about. There’s a wide range of possibilities, ranging from hospitals to dentists, physiotherapists, optometrists, and every manner of medical care. Here’s the range of Merchant Category Codes (MCC)* that medical transactions can come under:
|
MCCs |
Description |
Examples |
|
8011 |
Doctors & Physicians (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
Raffles Medical, Healthway Medical |
|
8021 |
Dentists and Orthodontists |
Parkway Dental, Royce Dental Group |
|
8031 |
Osteopaths |
The Osteopathic Centre, Osteopathy Health Care Raffles |
|
8041 |
Chiropractors |
Family Health Chiropractic Clinic, Chiropractic Studio Singapore |
|
8042 |
Optometrists and Ophthalmologists |
Capitol Optical, W Optics |
|
8043 |
Opticians, Optical Goods and Eyeglasses |
House of Spectacles, Visio Optical |
|
8044 |
Optical Goods and Eyeglasses |
OWNDAYS |
|
8049 |
Podiatrists and Chiropodists |
Dr Foot Podiatry Clinic, East Coast Podiatry |
|
8050 |
Nursing and Personal Care Facilities |
St. Andrew’s Nursing Home, Charis Manor Nursing Home |
|
8062 |
Hospitals |
Singapore General Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, all Polyclinics |
|
8071 |
Medical & Dental Laboratories |
NewPath Diagnostics Laboratory, Innoquest Diagnostics |
|
8099 |
Medical Services and Health Practitioners (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
HealthHub |
*An MCC is a four-digit code that card associations like Visa and Mastercard use to classify a merchant’s primary line of business.
The MCC matters because banks may explicitly exclude credit card rewards for a specific MCC, so knowing the MCC beforehand can help you select the right card. If you're in doubt about the MCC of a specific merchant, you can try using the Visa Supplier Locator to look it up.
In general, you should not run into issues with any of the above MCCs, except MCC 8062. Go ahead and swipe your usual card when you visit the dentist or get a new pair of lenses made at the optometrist — you'll earn rewards as per normal.
The problematic one is MCC 8062, which covers polyclinics and hospitals (both private and public). Such institutions usually pay a discounted processing fee, which means transactions are less profitable for the bank and payment processing company. As such, some banks have excluded these transactions from earning miles, points or cashback — which is exactly why choosing the best credit card for medical expenses Singapore wide requires more than just comparing headline reward rates.
Public hospitals & polyclinics are likely to be excluded from rewards than optical or physiotherapy.
Check via the Visa Supplier Locator if you're unsure whether a merchant falls under MCC 8062.
Relevant if you're planning to spread a large medical bill over several months.
Several of the top cards here require S$120,000+ annual income.
Unfortunately, a growing number of banks now exclude MCC 8062 from earning rewards, regardless of whether it's a private or public facility. The importance of this classification all comes down to Merchant Discount Rates (MDRs) — the transaction fees merchants pay to accept credit card payments.
Public hospitals generally enjoy lower MDRs, while private hospitals face higher ones. Because of this, banks structure their rewards policies differently: some exclude all hospital transactions from cashback or rewards, while others take a more measured approach and exclude only public hospital payments, where fees and margins are tighter. In short, the hospital's classification determines not just its ownership, but also how your credit card rewards apply when you pay a hospital bill with a credit card.
First, let's take a closer look at the list of hospitals in Singapore, as classified by the Ministry of Health (MOH):
Acute hospitals — such as Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and National University Hospital — focus on short-term, intensive treatment for serious or urgent medical conditions. These include surgeries, severe infections, heart attacks, strokes, and other conditions that require immediate or specialised care.
Patients are typically admitted for a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on their recovery progress. Once their condition stabilises, they may be discharged home or transferred to a community hospital for further rehabilitation.
Here's a list of all the acute hospitals in Singapore:
| Public | 1. Singapore General Hospital 2. Changi General Hospital 3. Alexandra Hospital 4. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital 5. National University Hospital 6. KK Women's and Children's Hospital 7. Ng Teng Fong General Hospital 8. Tan Tock Seng Hospital 9. Woodlands Health Hospital 10. Sengkang General Hospital |
| Private | 1. Mount Elizabeth Hospital 2. Gleneagles Hospital 3. Farrer Park Hospital 4. Crawfurd Hospital 5. Parkway Hospital 6. Raffles Hospital 7. Thomson Medical Centre |
| Nonprofit | 1. Mount Alvernia Hospital |
Community hospitals, like Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital or St. Andrew's Community Hospital, are designed for rehabilitation, recovery, and longer-term care. Patients often move here after being discharged from an acute hospital but still need medical support.
| Public | 1. Jurong Community Hospital 2. Yishun Community Hospital 3. Sengkang Community Hospital 4. Outram Community Hospital 5. Bright Vision Hospital |
| Nonprofit | 1. St. Luke's Hospital 2. Ren Ci Community Hospital 3. Thye Hwa Kwan Hospital 4. St Andrew's Community Hospital |
All polyclinics and the specialist centres listed below are classified under public hospitals in Singapore:
The KrisFlyer UOB Credit Card remains appealing for medical or hospital-related expenses if those charges are classified under MCCs that the card accepts. Because it offers 1.2 mpd on general spend, hospital or clinic bills coded correctly could still earn miles.
However, note that its bonus categories (3 mpd / 2.4 mpd) apply only to a narrow set of merchant categories (airline, dining, online, etc.), so most hospital charges will default to the 1.2 mpd rate. Also, changes from June 2025 will reduce bonus earn rates on dining, online, travel, and transport from 3 mpd to 2.4 mpd.
For hospital or medical expenses, the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend can potentially earn you the base 1.2 miles per dollar (assuming the charge is accepted as eligible spend). Its bonus category rates typically apply to airline, travel, and partner spends, not hospital billing.
Because AMEX is more selective in merchant acceptance and MCC exclusions, you should verify that your hospital charges are coded under a category that qualifies. This card is better leveraged for its high value in airline, hotel, lounge, and partner spends, but it still offers a fallback of earning miles on medical bills when accepted.
The Maybank Visa Infinite Card is occasionally praised as one of the few premium cards that still lets you earn miles on hospital, clinic, insurance, and utility bills, provided those charges are coded under merchant categories (MCCs) that Maybank accepts for rewards.
Because hospital bills often fall outside normal retail categories, many will still earn only the base rate of 1.2 miles per dollar rather than bonus miles. Also, since many card benefits (like lounge passes or limo transfers) hinge on high spending, hospital bills alone may not help unlock them. If you want to rely on hospital charges for meaningful rewards, double-check the hospital’s MCC and whether Maybank treats that merchant as eligible.
SingSaver’s take
The OCBC VOYAGE Card is one of the few cards that officially allows you to earn miles on private hospital bills, as long as those bills are charged under merchant categories (MCCs) that are not excluded. Several trusted credit card guides explicitly list VOYAGE in their tables of cards that still earn miles on hospital / medical charges (e.g. private hospitals like Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Thomson)
However, note that public hospitals, government-coded hospital charges, or excluded MCC codes may still not earn miles. Always verify the billing merchant’s classification, and be aware that some transactions (utilities, insurance, etc.) are explicitly excluded in VOYAGE’s T&Cs.
While it’s increasingly tricky to earn rewards for transactions at hospitals and polyclinics, the good news is that it’s not impossible. If you have a choice of treatment facilities, it makes sense to look up their MCC beforehand so you know which card can help you earn the highest rebate. And while you’re at it, check out some of the best insurance plans that will have you covered medically.
Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.
Spending most of her young writer's phase working as a freelancer, Afina's written for various industries ranging from e-commerce, travel to health and finance. Her expertise lies in her ability to make complex subjects like finance easy to consume for everyday readers.
The information on this page is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. While we review and compare financial products to help you find the best options, we do not provide personalised recommendations or investment advisory services. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.